Q&A FOR HIGH SCHOOL SINGERS

 

Recently I've been getting lots of great questions from high school singers who think they might like to study voice in college. This section is just for them!

 

What do I need to be an opera singer?

What are the drawbacks, difficulties, and hardships of a singing career?

Where can I get more information about being an opera singer?

How loud do you need to be to sing opera?

Why would you need to get an agent if you wanted to be a singer?

What should I look for in a voice teacher?

How much practicing should I do each day?

Can I sing when I have a cold?

What are some ways in which I might damage my voice?

What's the difference between singing musical theater and opera?

Can I get a head start on college by teaching myself to sing from recordings?

How do you know when you're "singing opera" correctly?

What's the best way to practice dynamics?

What's the best way to increase lung capacity or improve breath control?

What are some good techniques to work on for breaks?

How do you increase vocal range?

How do you improve technique?

 

 

WHAT DO I NEED TO BE AN OPERA SINGER?

 

The basic training you need to become an opera singer (in addition to the usual music theory/history/musicianship skills you need to become a professional musician of any sort) include:

 

---First and foremost, careful and thorough training of your voice. No one is interested in hiring you if you can't sing, no matter what your other skills may be. You must have a solid vocal technique and either a beautiful or a unique & interesting voice.

 

---Talent. Skills you can learn; talent is either there or it isn't. Sometimes it's well-hidden, waiting for the right set of circumstances so it can blossom. If you're interested in something, you owe it to yourself to give any hidden talents a chance to thrive!

 

---Mindset. You need a personality that thrives on uncertainty and change; you need a thick skin; you need to be a good schmoozer; you need truckloads of perseverance, among other things.

 

---Knowledge of repertoire (including what is appropriate for you to sing at any particular point in your development), style, and performance practice.

 

---Languages: French, Italian, German, English, Latin (and some Russian, Spanish, and Czech don't hurt). You must be able to sing in the first five languages well enough to be understood; preferably without an accent. You must understand enough of the grammar to translate your scores and take stage direction (even in the US, if you're working in one of the bigger houses, you may have a director or conductor who doesn't speak English).

 

---Acting. Gone are the day s of "park and bark" --- today's singers must be good actors.

 

---Stagecraft. You must understand what is expected of you on and off the stage; how to handle yourself to the best advantage, and most professionally.

 

---Physical training. Today's singers are expected to look good as well as sound good. Singing is also an athletic activity. You have to stay in very good condition

 

---A really good teacher and coach who understand, support, and communicate with you.

 

---Business, marketing, and publicity skills. You will need to manage your own career, whether or not you have an agent.

 

---Oceans of luck.

 

There's more, but those are the basics. Not all of them can be obtained through formal education --- many are things you pick up once you leave school and begin experiencing life as a singer.

 

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WHAT ARE THE DRAWBACKS, DIFFICULTIES, AND HARDSHIPS OF A SINGING CAREER?

 

The conventional wisdom in a nutshell is that the art of singing is unmatchable in its splendor; but the business of singing sucks. I agree with this assessment. Making the art is indescribably wonderful. Getting to a point where you can be paid to make the art, and keep being paid, and being paid to make the art you want to make the way you want to make and where you want to make it --- that's the heartbreaker. The business is rife with drawbacks, difficulties, and hardships. Here are just a few:

 

Too many really, really good singers and not enough jobs

 

Generally low-paying unless you hit the upper echelons

 

Lots of time on the road away from loved ones

 

Lots of time on the road coddling your voice in a hotel room because the slightest cold will affect how you sing and whether you actually CAN sing (and if you don't sing, you don't get paid)

 

Lots of people of varying degrees of niceness and morality in positions of power in the business, and guess what? You have to make them happy.

 

Time-consuming. Singing is a full-time career, whether or not you have to have a day job to support it. Somehow you have to make ends meet and still find time to practice, make calls, send out resumes, make demo recordings ... and live your life.

 

Singing professionally is hard, hard, hard at every level --- more difficult than anyone who hasn't tried it can imagine. I don't say this to discourage young singers, but to give them a heads-up. After all, everyone has a different definition of success, and frequently we find as we grow and experience life that our definitions change.

 

I suggest you check out the resources below the next question to get a picture of what it's like to be a professional singer.

 

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WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT BEING AN OPERA SINGER?

 

Here are some resources to get you started.

 

Classical Singer Magazine
www.classicalsinger.com
Also check out their online forum.

 

Opera America
www.operaamerica.org
This organization offers a series of guides for singers and a newsletter. It is geared towards the college-aged singer.

 

The New Forum for Classical Singers
www.nfcs.net
Besides being the best forum for singers, there is a tremendous links page.

 

National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS)
www.nats.org

 

Laura Claycomb, soprano
www.lauraclaycomb.com
Lots of terrific advice for young singers

 

Opera Stars
www.operastars.com

 

My own Resources Page.

 

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HOW LOUD DO YOU NEED TO BE TO SING OPERA?

 

It's not about loudness, it's about focus, projection, and singing the appropriate repertoire. A trained opera singer can project over an orchestra and chorus and 5 other principals without the use of amplification, and be heard, IF she's singing the right repertoire for her voice, IF the cast is properly vocally balanced, IF the orchestra isn't allowed to play too loudly, and IF the acoustics of the hall are correct.

 

Your voice may be huge. It may be tiny. Unless it's teensy-weensy tiny, can't-be-heard-without-a-mike tiny, it's not something to worry about. And even if it is, there are several big name singers today who work all the time despite having tiny voices.

 

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WHY WOULD YOU NEED TO GET AN AGENT IF YOU WANTED TO BE A SINGER?

 

Managed singers are taken more seriously by the people doing the hiring. It's sort of a stamp of approval to have a manager/agent, even though there are some really bad singers who are managed and some really terrific ones who aren't. But this is not something you need to worry about as a beginning singer, or even as a college grad. The career must be established before you can attract an agent.

 

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WHAT SHOULD I LOOK FOR IN A VOICE TEACHER?

 

First, you should look for someone who really knows how to sing and has some experience performing on more than just a local level. (Not everyone will agree with me here, but this is my opinion). If the person is a bad singer, he or she cannot possibly be a good teacher. If there is an area of his or her voice that doesn't work properly --- they always sound fuzzy in the middle or can't quite get the top notes --- they will pass on those problems to their students. Try to hear the teacher sing if at all possible, or at the very least listen to some of his or her students.

 

Second, you should look for someone with a good knowledge of repertoire and pedagogy --- in other words, someone who knows how to teach. It's not enough to be a good singer --- you have to have the knowledge, training, and personality to be a good teacher as well. Later in your studies, you will also need someone who can help you make connections. But you will never find all things in one person. Be prepared to have more than one teacher in your career.

 

Thirdly, look for someone who is kind, supportive, patient, and secure. Under no circumstances should you put up with a teacher who yells, bullies, puts you down, threatens, or in any manner abuses you. Stay away from the guru types as well, the ones who want to run your whole life and make you go to their therapist; or the people who insist that they have the key to the One True Vocal Technique that they alone can teach ... you get the picture. There are a lot of wierdos and charlatans with a Voice Teacher shingle hanging out, so investigate well. Talk to, and more importantly, LISTEN to their students, and to them if you can. If a teacher's students can't sing or demonstrate similar technical problems across the board, chances are they're being taught a faulty technique.

 

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HOW MUCH PRACTICING SHOULD I DO EACH DAY?

 

Practicing singing, you should do anywhere from half an hour to two hours, depending on how much else you're singing during the day, the demands of the music, and whether you're preparing for a performance. You can and should do a lot of effective study without ever opening your mouth. Translating, studying the score for rhythm, tempo, and dynamics, rehearsing the diction, researching the origins of the piece and performance practice --- all these can be done without tiring your voice.

 

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CAN I SING WHEN I HAVE A COLD?

 

It's not very pleasant to sing with a cold, but it can be done. The danger is when you have drainage dripping on your vocal cords, which irritates them and causes them to swell, resulting in laryngitis. It's better not to sing on a cold, but as long as it's not in your throat you can do it safely. However, if you are hoarse or have a lot of drainage, it's better to stay off the vocal cords --- and that does mean no singing, no talking.

 

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WHAT ARE SOME WAYS IN WHICH I MIGHT DAMAGE MY VOICE?

 

Oversinging, singing incorrectly, screaming at the top of your lungs on a regular basis for long periods of time (like cheerleaders at a football game), smoking (cigarette smoke is bad enough, but pot is three times as bad), using illegal drugs, belting, singing a lot on certain kinds of medication (such as steroids).

 

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WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SINGING MUSICAL THEATER AND OPERA?

 

Musical theater singing for women usually involves bringing the chest voice up fairly high (aka belting). Generally speaking, the tessitura of the music is quite a bit lower for the different voice types --- a MT alto might be asked to sing in what a classically trained singer would think of as a tenor or contralto range; but she would be belting. I am no expert on belting, but it seems to me that a lot of MT singers use a certain amount of tension in the throat to achieve it, which is the antithesis of classical singing technique. Some of my colleagues who teach both styles of singing insist that there is a healthy way to belt, but that's out of my area of expertise. MT singing is not necessarily about vocal beauty, which is not to say that it's ugly, but merely that it is more important to express the text using a wide palette of sounds, some of which are unmusical. Also, the MT technique requires miking to be heard.

 

Operatic singing is more supported and concentrated on beauty and evenness of tone. The basic idea is to make all the tones match in all parts of your voice, and to sing with the greatest possible legato. Expressing the text is very important, but unmusical sounds are used rarely, only in special circumstances, for special emphasis. Vocal beauty is paramount. Generally speaking, opera singers do not require miking, although there are circumstances in which it is required.

 

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CAN I GET A HEAD START ON COLLEGE BY TEACHING MYSELF TO SING FROM RECORDINGS?

 

Read, study, and listen as much as you can, but please do NOT try to teach yourself to sing by listening to recordings and imitating what you hear there. Instead of giving yourself a headstart, you may be unwittingly setting yourself back. If you really want to get a headstart, find a reputable teacher and begin voice lessons.

 

As I've stated elsewhere, singing is not something that can be learned from books and recordings. They are great tools which can enhance your study, but on their own they will do you more harm than good. You need feedback from a trained set of ears, and someone who knows what to look and listen for needs to monitor your progress. When you don't have feedback, it's very easy for little tensions and bad habits to creep in --- even for experienced singers! Also, when you listen to recordings, you are hearing singers at all levels of expertise, at different points in their careers, with different voice types. Just because it's on a recording does not mean it's good technique, or what YOU should sound like with your own voice. If you are 17 or 18, you do not need to be imitating the sound of a 40-year-old soprano. This could be extremely harmful to your technique --- it's very hard to unlearn bad habits. I feel very strongly about this because one of my most talented students tried to teach himself from recordings, and we have spent months trying to break the bad habits he picked up. It's been very frustrating for both of us.

 

The following are some very good technical questions from a self-taught HS singer. Unfortunately, technique questions can only be answered generally in an online forum, or in any other arena which does not involve one-on-one interaction. Learning to sing is a very individual process, and much depends on your relationship with your teacher and the language the two of you develop to describe technical issues.

 

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HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN YOU'RE "SINGING OPERA" CORRECTLY? DOES THE SOUND YOU PRODUCE FEEL AS IF IT WERE COMING FROM YOUR STOMACH AND SORT OF FILLS YOUR ENTIRE MOUTH?

 

Proper singing takes a lot of energy, but is relatively effortless in that the only muscles that should tire are your abdominals, which are responsible for your support (and they will only really tire after quite a lot of use). Support comes from the lowest point in your torso, and you should think of the breath as originating there as well, so you may well feel that the sound comes from there as well. It's different for everyone. However, the sound that YOU hear inside your head is not what your audience hears. You cannot judge your own voice by the sound you hear.

 

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WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO PRACTICE DYNAMICS? WHEN I ATTEMPT TO SING OPERATICALLY, I ONLY GET GOOD RESONANCE IF I SING LOUD. WHEN I SING SOFT, I AM VERY BREATHY.

 

If you're breathy, it's because you're not supporting properly and not focussing the sound. Your teacher should be able to give you some exercises to help develop your support, as well as some exercises to focus your breath. One of my exercises is to do a mezza di voce on one tone, while alternating the vowels <u> and <i>, concentrating on keeping the crescendo/decrescendo absolutely even.

 

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WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO INCREASE LUNG CAPACITY OR IMPROVE BREATH CONTROL? I WANT A LARGE SOUND, BUT I CAN'T SEEM TO GET MORE THAN TWO MEASURES OUT IN ONE BREATH. WHEN I TRY TO "SAVE" AIR, I FEEL AS IF I TIGHTEN MY THROAT --- CAN I HELP WITH MY LIPS?

 

You cannot manufacture a large sound, and this is one of the wrong ideas that listening to recordings without the benefit of a teacher to explain things gives you. You're trying to compare your progress to singers who are much older and much further advanced in training --- you aren't SUPPOSED to sound like that at this time in your life. Also, you can't really tell much about the size of a voice from a recording, in which the sound has been manipulated through the use of microphones and engineering techniques.

 

Your voice is what it is. You may or may not have a naturally big voice. Your natural voice will develop with time, training, and maturity (at 17 or 18 years old, you still have quite a bit of growing to do, and your voice will mature along with the rest of your body). As you train, you will be able to project more and your sound will increase in volume; you will also have more control over your dynamics.

 

Now, increasing your breath control comes with practice. The first thing you have to do is really learn to support (and this is an ongoing process which you'll work on all your life as a singer). It sounds to me like maybe you aren't supporting enough and you probably don't "spend" your breath properly. If you were my student, I'd have you make a sustained "ts" sound, hissing through your front teeth, and make the tone follow the path of that hiss. Then I'd have you sing without the hiss. I would also show you how to breathe very deeply and slowly in order to have more air to use.

 

You can't save breath. It must be focused and directed by use of the abdominal muscles. Your lip shape affects vowel sounds, but most of the work is done with the tongue, not the lips.

 

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WHAT ARE SOME GOOD TECHNIQUES TO WORK ON FOR BREAKS AND GETTING RID OF THOSE AREAS WHERE MY SOUND IS VERY BREATHY?

 

Again, the breathiness occurs when you drop your support. I have my students sing a sustained "mi-me-ma-mo-mu", followed by "mieaou" on a single pitch, working on supporting all the way through the line and channeling the breath.

 

For negotiating breaks, it's usually easier to approach them from the top going down, very slowly, keeping absolute legato connection the entire time you're singing. That way you can feel when the "gears" start to shift, and learn to blend accordingly.

 

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HOW DO YOU INCREASE VOCAL RANGE? I ESPECIALLY NEED HELP EXPANDING MY LOW REGISTER BECAUSE I HAVE TROUBLE GOING BEYOND MIDDLE C. ALSO, MY HIGH REGISTER TENDS TO CRACK SOMETIMES WHEN I'M NOT CAREFUL.

 

Your range will increase naturally as you develop your technique. It's good to stretch a little in both directions, but your teacher should guide you through this.

 

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HOW DO YOU BUILD TECHNIQUE?

 

Very slowly, very carefully, over a long period of time. You start with lots of vocalises, graduate to simple songs, and eventually get to opera. If a teacher starts you off on opera, that person doesn't know what he/she is doing. I start my students off learning how to breath properly and support; singing without tension; proper posture; the proper embouchere for singing in different parts of their range; negotiating the breaks; singing with line. Support is the key.

 

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