Actors Should Study Singing – Part 2

In part one of our discussion of why actors should study singing we went through some of the benefits that actors will gain by learning how to sing correctly; you can read the first part here.  Today we go over why it is important to choose the right person.
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Why it is important to study with the right person

There is a significant difference between talking with a classical teacher and someone that understands non-classical technique.  In women, a classical approach means bringing the high voice (head voice) down low.  It’s a very outdated sound that compromises the intelligibility of the words and does not fall in line with current standards of theatrical singing.  Over 80% of musical theater roles require some kind of belt.  Belt means a firm connection out of your speaking voice (chest voice) with an upper mix (sometimes hard, sometimes lighter) with vowels that still sound speech like.  Women that study classically, or have no training, when they try to belt usually have disastrous results.  They pull pure chest voice too high and then crack.  With men, the opposite is true.  Men come out of chest voice, but usually lack mixed production (a combination of chest and head) and have a shortened range.  Many of these men are actually tenors (the predominant voice type in today’s environment) and cannot take on roles they actually could.  They are misclassified as baritones which limits them to golden age roles.

A lot of classical teachers have started appealing to theatrical singers to increase studio volume, yet they don’t even know how to listen to the production of this type of singing.  You need someone that knows it inside out and pick up on cues from your voice and knows how to adjust it in a commercially viable manner.

Q&A

In future blogs I would like to periodically answer questions from you.  Please contact me with any questions using the form to the right.