AboutWanda Reinholdt Expertise prepping for role; living in the moment; connecting with an audience; warming up; voice tips; connecting with scene partner
Experience Acting in community theatre; directing in community and semi-professional theatre; study of acting and theatre
Expert: Wanda Reinholdt Date: 11/30/2007 Subject: Only Sing Female Songs...
Question QUESTION: Hi I'm an 18 year-old baritone and was wondering why am I only comfortable
singing songs by female artists? I can't sing songs by male artists because they
tend to be too high and out of my range but I can sing songs by female artists
like Kelly Clarkson and Jessica Simpson. I always thought this was weird.
ANSWER: Hi Kenneth...Thanks for writing.
Well, there could be a few things going on here. I'm not sure exactly what it is but maybe together we can figure this out a little more for you.
First of all, if you are a true baritone, it could be that you have too low of a voice for most of the songs that males do. Most male songs are sung by tenors or persons who have similar ranges. Have you ever tried to sing along with a Josh Groben (spelling?) song? He has a terrific range. My guess is that the lower part of his range would work great for you but the higher would not.
What's probably happening is that you are able to sing women's songs because you are singing an octave lower than they are so it works.
Having a rich baritone voice is a wonderful gift :)
Does that help you?
Wanda
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thank You Wanda, you really helped me to understand the problem I had. I
checked out Josh Gorban and your right his songs are somewhat in my range.
Some of his songs like Your Raise Me Up I am able to sing but during the end
of the song it gets a bit difficult. Most male pop singers these days are tenors
and I never thought that I could compare. I really want to make it in the
music industry someday and now I have some hope :). Sadly I have another
dilemma, I've been trying so hard for the past year to develop a natural
vibrato and I've been working with a vocal coach for the past 5 months. She
has been trying to help me find my vibrato. So far I am only able to create a
fake vibrato using my diaphragm which, is such a bad habit I do because it
sounds technical. When I sing I have a little bit of tension in my throat and
my larynx moves up and down when I sing high to low, do you think that
might be the problem?
Answer Oh good, Kenneth! I am so glad that helped you. Sometimes by coaching from afar like this it can be hard to know what it is that is going on. I'm glad that Josh helped :). Yea, most guys are tenors.
As far as your vibrato, finding your vibrato takes time and practice. It usually occurs naturally when you are relaxed and the breath is freely moving through your body and vocal cords.
The tension in your throat is something that you want to see go away eventually but the movement of the larnyx is quite normal in my experience. If you have concerns about these things, though, talk with your vocal coach about it and get some input from someone who can work with you face to face so that you co not hurt your instruments (your body). Ask about some exercises that you can do to help you with your vibrato and keep working at it. It should come.
