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At the end of every school year, I hold a concert for my voice students so they can show off their singing abilities, as well as work on confronting stage fright. It's a great way to end the year and very rewarding for everyone involved.
Picking music for a concert is a balancing act; you want to make sure the songs vary in terms of subject matter, tempos, styles, vocal range etc....there are lots of factors that come into play, but the end result is the same. A concert with variety is FAR more entertaining than one with songs of all the same type. A music professor once put it to me this way; the emotionally wrenching, slow dramatic songs are only effective if they are bordered by happy, optimistic material. If everything you sing in a show is sad, those big dramatic moments lose their meaning. With that being said, sometimes fate makes your song choices far more relevant than you even meant. A month ago, one of my sopranos, Aaliyah, asked me to find a song that was inspirational. I chose "You'll Never Walk Alone" by Rodgers and Hammerstein, which is from the musical Carousel. It's a famous song that has been used for funerals, church services, presidential inaugurations, you name it...because it is so simply and yet beautifully written. The concert with Aaliyah singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" was just four days after the school shooting in Santa Fe. When I picked the song, I told Aaliyah that she had a heavy weight put on her shoulders, as the song can have a dramatic effect on audiences when done well. In the song, a friend sings to the main female lead that even though her husband has died from a shooting, her community and friends will stand by her and her unborn daughter and make sure she gets through this difficult time. I had no idea the song would be so relevant. I can tell you there were a lot of quiet, thoughtful faces in the audience after her performance. It meant a lot to all who heard it, and I recommend you google the song. It's that beautiful. Even though I live thirty minutes from the tragedy, I have students who had friends who were shot or even killed in the school shooting. I actually taught at the high school a few years ago...and while I know those students have graduated, they may have younger siblings that were impacted. This last week of school has been really tough...I've never felt so upset and angry about a national event, other than perhaps September 11th when I was in high school. It's been wrenching and while I have my personal opinions on how we should go forward as a country to reduce gun violence, I know right now people just need to be comforted and know that they too will never walk alone. God Bless Santa Fe. DWS Every singer fits a box or character type better than other roles. Some 'types' are based on physical attributes, others on special skills like comedic timing or dramatic ability, and finally, some roles are based on vocal 'type'. Since this is a blog about singing, I'm going to focus on the singing 'types' and how you can let these categories guide your audition choices.
Before musicals, operas dominated music halls around the world. Because opera was so vocally demanding, voice teachers and opera impresarios came up with vocal categories for opera singers to guide their role and audition choices. These boxes were called "Fachs," which in German literally means 'compartment.' These "fachs" helped singers specialize in music that not only suited their vocal abilities but also increased their chances of having a longer, healthier career by singing roles they were best suited for. While vocal range is the primary driver in determining your Fach - soprano vs. mezzo-soprano (alto) etc... - subcategories within Fach are driven primarily by volume and vocal color. For example, two sopranos might have similar vocal ranges but very different vocal qualities, allowing those sopranos to tailor their audition choices to roles they were best suited for. These Fachs are less important for musicals, primarily because the vocal demands for most musicals are less strenuous than a typical opera. Musicals also give more weight in casting to physical appearances than operas. That being said, vocal type DOES matter for musicals as a role's personality may heavily influence which singer type is preferred. Here are some things to consider: 1) Am I the right age for this role? While makeup can do wonders, the reality is that casting directors only have so much imagination. If you are twenty years old, trying out for a 'grandma' role probably won't work out! 2) Where does the role sit vocally? The Italian word for this is 'tessitura,' and it simply means where a majority of the pitches are for a role. While well-trained singers can typically sing most roles in a musical, it is important to see where the pitches tend to lie. As an example, I am a baritone who can comfortably sing tenor roles in musicals. There is a big exception to that rule, however; while I may be able to sing most tenor roles, a few can stay on high notes for a sustained period of time that would make my life difficult! 3) What sort of vocal color do I have as a singer, and does it enhance or detract from a character's dramatic purpose? For instance, a bright and softer soprano will probably be better suited for romantic and comedic leads, whereas a more powerful and darker soprano will be better for dramatic or villain roles. 4) How much does a character sing? If the character sings a lot, guess what! you probably need to have a very well-trained voice with a range very close to the recommended type. On the other hand, if a role has less singing or requires a 'character' voice for singing, you can probably stretch the rules for that role and not worry so much about the vocal 'Fach." DWS As a voice teacher, it is my first job to make my singers as technically proficient as possible. We work on resonance, range, vocal tone, you name it. But let me tell you this: a perfect singer is a boring singer! Think about your favorite singer. When I was growing up, my mom's favorite was Barry Manilow. Now, he isn't a pop star anymore, so you might need to google him if you are under the age of 40. But he was a pretty big deal back in the day! And yet, listen to his actual singing and you realize, from a technical viewpoint, his singing talent wasn't great. He had polyps on his vocal folds that caused him to have a very raspy sound which limited his range and power. But that didn't prevent him from having a HUGE career as one of America's great crooners. Why? It boils down to this; when you sing, people want to hear you communicate and express emotion. If people wanted technical perfection, they would pay to hear a robot sing. What makes a great singer is not technical perfection - though that helps - but their ability to communicate through song. Now back to voice lessons. As a voice coach, my primary job is to improve your singing. But I have to remind myself that the first goal of any singer to express themselves and move an audience. Technical prowess means nothing if a voice teacher turns you into a robot. I am very careful to keep the uniqueness of each student preserved and encouraged, because "you being you' is what will make you competitive for auditions and solos. How do you increase a person's musicality or artistry? That is a tough question to answer. It boils down to a couple of principles. 1) I encourage my voice students to listen to numerous recordings of different singers and understand what it is they like or don't like about that particular singer. 2) I regularly ask my voice students how they would sing a certain phrase and let them know there is no wrong or right answer. 3) I keep my voice students' tone quality their own; I do not try to force my students to adopt a "one-tone-fits-all" approach. Some students have dark voices; others have bright. Some have big voices, some have small. All are equally beautiful when used correctly. DWS One of the TV shows I watch on a semi-regular basis is Deception. The premise is a bit ridiculous - a master magician aids the FBI in solving crimes - but it is good, fun entertainment. One of the points about Deception is that magic is essentially a bunch of tricks - a little misdirection here, a little flash there, and you can fool anyone. Basically, with the right training, any person could be a competent magician.
The same is true of singing. Anyone, and I do mean ANYONE, can become a good singer and enjoy singing. There is no 'magic' to singing: there are a bunch of tricks, provided by your voice teacher, to help you improve your vocal range, projection, and tone quality. I've been fortunate to work with lots of singers of all types. From country to classical, from young to old, and from inexperienced to professional-level, I've had a lot of exposure to different levels of singing ability. What I have found is quite simple: those people who WANT to become great singers, do in fact, become great singers. It really isn't about talent. Talent is widespread; willpower, drive, artistic expression, and intelligence all put together in a package are what makes a great singer. One of my favorite students was a young high school singer I worked with five to six years ago. I have to tell you, he could barely match pitch when I first met him. But I could hear how badly he wanted to sing and the vocal ability behind the bad pitches. So I stuck with him, and in about six months, he was singing opera at a decent level. Fast-forward another year, and he was auditioning for high-level music programs. If you want to sing, but are afraid you aren't good enough, or have the right amount of talent - you can do it. Call up a voice teacher you trust to give you the guidance you deserve. I promise it will be worth it. DWS One of the hardest fears to overcome is stage fright. It plagues singers and actors of all ages, experience levels, and abilities. And while there are lots of mental tricks to help you (picture the audience in their underwear...), there really is no better way to confront your fear in singing in public than by....wait for it...singing in public!
However, there are ways to tilt the odds in your favor. Choosing WHERE you sing in public can help boost your confidence by giving you a friendly audience to perform in front of. As a voice teacher, I create vocal recitals for all my voice students, so they can perform in front of their fellow students and peers who want them to succeed. Another venue to sing at are as a soloist or chorister in church. Church audiences are probably the most friendly audience you could have as a musician. Since you are volunteering and most churches cannot afford professional musicians except on special occasions, the vast majority of the church will LOVE you, regardless of how well you sing. Trust me - I've sung many solos in front of my churches and always get wonderful compliments even when I know I did not sing to the best of my ability! Another factor in reducing stage fright is picking the right music. In singing lessons, your voice teacher tries to stretch your abilities and improve your vocal range, resonance and tone quality. But when you perform in public, you should always go with the music that you could sing the minute you wake up and get out of bed. That doesn't necessarily mean easy; rather, you should sing music that you know backwards and forwards and have no concerns about your ability to sing the song well under pressure. I can think of no worse feeling than going to a concert not being ABSOLUTELY SURE of my music...that is scary for anyone! DWS Belting is a vocal technique that women use for musical theater. Anatomically, it involves women using primarily the thyroarteynoid muscle to create higher pitches, as opposed to the cricothyroid (in voice lesson speak - TA dominance). In layman’s terms, belting extends women’s chest voice higher than traditional vocal technique.
I always joke with my choir students that belting throws out all the rules they learned in choir. In singing lessons, we traditionally teach women to extend their head voices (cricothyroid dominant) throughout their range. Voice teachers ask for taller vowels to create more resonance. And we encourage a rich, deep tone quality in singing lessons. All those rules go out the window when you belt. Instead of primarily using the head voice, belting asks women to stay in their chest voice as long as possible. Belting also encourages “spread” vowels and a brighter, more forward vocal placement than in normal voice lesson instruction. For past generations of voice teachers, belting was typically discouraged. Older voice teachers tend to believe that belting was somehow harmful or dangerous, when the facts are that belting is only harmful if you are using bad vocal technique. The reality is any singing can be harmful if you don’t sing with proper technique! As a singing instructor, I don’t have those biases and enjoy working with women on their belting technique. It’s a fun and exciting way to sing and gives singers a more versatile palette to create a character. Belting, in the end, becomes as much as an acting choice as it is a vocal choice. It works for some characters and not for others in musical theater. The job of the voice teacher is to understand when belting is appropriate and when it is not. DWS Voice lessons and singing instruction have probably been around since music was invented, but the idea of formalized, one-on-one instruction emerged with opera in the early 1600s. Before opera, singing didn’t require in-depth vocal training. As people do not naturally create such resonant tones, singing lessons became necessary for aspiring opera singers.
Initially, singing lessons (and training for an opera career) were only for the nobility and wealthy. Voice lessons were a part of overall music education given to children of the nobility, along with song-writing, piano, and other instruments. But as industrialization created a solid middle-class in Europe, singing lessons (along with piano instruction) became a fixture of middle-class life. The spread of sheet music, a middle-class with money to spend on music education, and mass entertainment such as opera and vocal recitals created the demand for professional voice teachers who could focus solely on voice lessons for income. While most music professionals still branched out and taught other instruments and subjects, the idea of a voice teacher solely focused on teaching vocal lessons was no longer an impossibility. The same evolution was occurring within all music careers. Composers, instrumentalists, singers etc...were all able to become more specialized and devoted to one aspect of their profession because middle-class Europe was able to support a large class of professional artists. What is perhaps most surprising is that the actual singing lessons and exercises used today have not evolved that much from instruction in the 1600s. The vocal exercises and warmups are basically the same because the human vocal instrument has not changed. To create resonance and a beautiful tone, certain elements of breath control, vocal tract shape, and projection must be produced in a certain manner. What did change was technology. The invention of microphones and artificial amplification changed two aspects of voice lessons. First, voice teachers did not have to focus so much on creating resonance to power over orchestras and large concert halls. This opened a huge realm of possibilities on how a person could sound and still be heard by an audience. In addition, amplification allowed new genres of music to emerge, which would require different styles of singing lessons. Rock and roll, country, big-band, you name it…none of those would exist as commercial music without microphones. The market for singing lessons is now massive due to the different styles of singing. Whereas voice lessons were once the realm of only opera singers and rich patrons, most middle-class families can afford lessons and tailor their instruction to widely different music genres. DWS A recent New York Times article investigated the different reactions to rule changes in the ACA (“Obamacare”). What was pertinent to this blog was that one of the profiles included was an aspiring opera singer who lived in the Northeast.
She attended Manhattan School of Music, which is one of the elite conservatories of the country. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most expensive, especially after taking into account living expenses in New York City. The woman dropped out due to the financial stress of tuition and is currently paying student loans for a degree she never completed. I will always encourage in my singing lessons for voice students to follow their dreams. That being said, one can also be aware of how to reduce the financial stress an aspiring singer is faced with. A broke singer will have a hard time auditioning well! Here are some rules for succeeding in the music business financially. A. Never, ever go into serious financial debt from college for a music degree. There are several reasons for this.
B. Develop Side Work you can do while traveling. I know lots of singers who support themselves by developing websites, being a travel agent, or doing some work that is portable when they are traveling. You can certainly be a waiter when you are at your home base but that work is very difficult for a singer: the constant noise and manual labor can be rough on a singer's vocal health. C. Find a few people you can trust. They may be family or a close colleague, but you need people who can be brutally honest with you on your goals. Singing requires outside ears to judge where you are headed. You don’t want to waste time pursuing opportunities you aren’t likely to earn. Have your voice teacher guide you to what is best for you. DWS You may have heard that robots are taking over the world - automation in our cars, factories, you name it...if a job has repetitive tasks, it can be given to a robot or computer to perform.
Singing, like most of the creative arts, is inherently non-repetitive. Even more importantly, the whole point of singing is to communicate, which is something robots cannot do. Any robot can produce a pretty pitch, but no machine can make you cry. Yet many voice teachers teach their singing lessons as if they want to make their students sing like robots - that there is one right way to produce a sound. Little attention is given to the performance of a song and how to convey emotion through your voice and acting. Many voice teachers seem to think they should let acting teachers handle that aspect of singing. In voice lessons, I focus on how to perform a song almost immediately. It is of vital importance that you start developing a student's artistry and ability to make musical choices from the get-go. After I teach a song or two to a new student, I start asking the student questions. “How would you sing this phrase?” or “What is your character feeling in this phrase?” There is no ‘right’ answer. I simply want my voice student to develop their musical ability so that they communicate through song and sing with emotion. The most wonderful part of singing musically and working on your acting is that it in fact ENHANCES your vocal technique. I cannot tell you how many times a voice student has had a vocal breakthrough because they were focused on the performance of a song rather than its technical challenges. For example, many people struggle with their high notes. While I have many technical tricks to help students, sometimes the best way to address a high note is to tackle the acting and emotion behind the phrase. When a student focuses on something else other than their voice, they often 'loosen' their body and instrument, enabling them to hit the high note. All these lessons my students have taught me have come to me preparing students for their auditions (college or professional). I see how focusing on the acting and performance of a song releases physical tension in my students' singing, enabling them to sing better than if I had only addressed the vocal technique. Thank you to all my students prepping for college auditions right now! DWS |
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