Ms. Ardrey,
I think I'm much more self-absorbed than you, but here is what I want to
know anyway!
Your voice is your voice, though it may well come close to one of the
standard voice types. These some people sometimes try to classify according
to where you naturally flip over into head voice, though years of trained
habits may have obscured this. When you sing something you like from the
radio or such, where does your voice lie? Can you find very odd squeaks
way above that elusive high C? What sort of feedback have you had from
teachers and other singers when you have attempted really low repertoire?
What is your speaking voice like? Do you feel you aupport appropriately?
What is your vibrato like in different parts of your range?
I think (perhaps only I) that most voices have a wide range of
capabilities, for instance, I can sound like a true bass, if I don't go to
low and expose me for the baritone I am. I can also sound like a tenor,
provided you don't want any of those horrible high 'c's out of me. And I
can sound like a variety of baritones, any choose to, depending on the
repertoire I am called upon to do, or that I choose to do. presumably there
is one thing that I can do the best, though it wouldn't surprise me if the
next best thing is still pretty close. All that seems to be clear from your
post is that high notes have givenyou grief, either because of technique
ideas, or because your voice doesn't go there.
In conclusion, please reply to these questions in this public forum, as
there are many on this list better equipped and more experienced than I
here. I have learned and continue to learn a great deal from this list. john
At 09:22 PM 6/7/00 -0400, you wrote:
>Hello, vocalists!
>
>It is clear that you are all people whose opinions I value, even though I do
>not know you. Your wisdom and ideas on this list have been valuable to me
>as a singer and a teacher of singing.
>
>I need your advice and opinions....
>
>Fast forward... now I'm 39, and voice teachers I've had since my Master's
>degree studies have continued in a similar vein just because (I think) this
>is the literature I have studied in the past.
>
>My concerns are this: I have never developed any extended upper range but
>have developed good chest and mixed voice down to the f below middle c, and
>I can sing lightly or in full chest voice down to d or c an octave below
>middle c. I did have physical vocal trouble soon after completing my
>Master's studies
>(small nodules), so I'm now (after the fact) considering that I was probably
>singing literature with a tessiatura that was too high for me.
>
...
>Any suggestions for literature that might straddle the soprano/mezzo fence?
>The countess' arias in Marriage of Figaro work well for me, and seem to sit
>in the right place in my voice.
>Or should I forget this soprano stuff altogether?
>
>Opinions are welcome. Teachers in this area are good, but mostly want to
>know what literature I want to work on (I think they may be a little
>intimidated because I often have as many vocal pedagogy studies under my
>belt as they do). I keep telling them that what I really need is just
>another pair of knowledgeable ears listening to me.
>
>Sorry this is such a self-absorbed ramble. I've been so busy listening to
>my students for the past several years, that I've forgotten to listen
>critically to myself until recently.
>
>Thanks!
>Catherine Ardrey
>Charleston, SC
John Blyth
Baritono robusto e lirico
Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
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