The art world is known to be fascinating. And even more, within it, that of lyric music.
We like contemporary singers, of course…
But the most demanding of us, those who want to be scholars, those who have studied harmony and the history of music, will tend to go more spontaneously towards traditional music.
Roberto Alagna or, in the years before, Luciano Pavarotti, give their own desire to try to imitate them, reaching the extreme limits of the extension of the human voice, as did Maria Callas and Natalie Dessay, as regards the female universe …
Having a beautiful voice is a condition sine qua non to become a singer:based on the weaving – mezzo-soprano, baritone-bass, alto, counter-tenor … – you may or may not have the luck to make a name for yourself on stage.
Let’s explore together the horizons that can unfold before those who take some singing lessons!
Singing courses to train your tenor voice
Do you have the potential of a tenor and want to develop it correctly? So try to turn to the right person, if you are looking for private singing teachers! A course in gospel singing, just to give an example, will certainly not be the good initiative!
Let’s start, however, from the basics of the whole thing.
Musicologists have the habit of classifying human voices and musical instruments as a function of weaving. It is a matter of taking into consideration the environment that each of them is able to ensure, by playing, bounded by the extreme notes (high and low) that can be emitted.
As for the male voices, the tenor occupies the ends of the sound frequency, below the bass and baritones.
Only the counter-tenors and the castrati can get the loudest sounds.
As if to say that opera singing, in general, and the Italian opera, particularly from the second half of the nineteenth century, are shaped by tenors among the famous.
Thanks to the improvement in the technique of singing from tenor and the passion of the public for this kind of weaving, the tenor characters often become stars, as happened in the last two centuries.
The vocal technique linked to these acute registers has gradually evolved over the years. Initially it was exclusively a falsetto voice or head voice, then, after the Baroque and classical eras, it began to be a chest voice (from 1840 onwards, in particular).
The first to spread the famous “counter-do” from the chest, in a piece by Rossini, was a French opera singer.
A good singing teacher will also teach all this, to his pupil who longs to become a tenor. Singing with a chest voice, in a gradually more acute way, after having tried and assimilated every sound at first with a head voice.
It is a consistent work, which takes place in the light of the sun; it is possible only if the serious sounds are perfectly assimilated and mastered and the mid equally well supported.
Without these preconditions, the neophyte tenor risks maintaining forever unstable vocal cords and a texture or coloring that is always in motion …
We remember a fundamental aspect to keep in mind, going to singing lessons: your area will be largely predetermined, from innate elements.
If a “light” baritone can claim to become a heroic tenor, bass won’t even have to think about it!
Never forget that the term tenor refers to a vast reality: higher or lower sounds, with numerous sub-definitions.
And so, excluding some exceptions (Alagna, Pavarotti …), a singer reputed tenor will not be able to play all kinds of tenor roles. Some of these, in fact, are particularly specific: let’s think about Giuseppe Verdi’s music and scores .
Patience, seriousness, diligence and continuous work will be the true keys to success, if you want to become a tenor, attending a course in opera singing.
A singing lesson to become a baritone
In the ranking of male voices, baritones occupy the space of a picture between the low bass and the most acute tenors: if you excel in the medium sounds, following a course of singing for baritones will probably be the choice of your life.
In the lyric song, especially romantic, the role of the baritone is quite relevant and frequent.
Most composers have thought of baritone, writing. Verdi, Bizet, Wagner, in which the heroic register highlights the grave and the average sounds.
In the end, the most common and natural male weaving is that of the baritone. Which allows you to sing different pieces of different genres.
From the professional point of view, it is the voice that makes the best, being able to give rise to different tasks, as long as the underlying quality exists.
Singing correctly requires a collaboration on the scene!
On a piano keyboard, the baritone is roughly in its ideal register, considering the notes between the first and the third there .
Often, as we age, tenors glide towards the baritone , hence the importance of preparing ourselves as soon as possible for certain scores and earning without waiting for more serious sounds, widening our scope.
This last point must be the prime objective of the baritone (besides the ability, of course, to sing to perfection the notes), something that a good singing teacher will be able to facilitate.
The icing on the cake, then, is almost always easier to assimilate the serious, than the acute ones … Progress, especially for the amateurs will be much easier!
In this case, as in others, the exercise will make a difference. Daily training and practice will be the basis of any possibility of progress.
The more you are master of the scores, the more you will have the chance to succeed and to keep yourself at high levels.
From a singing teacher to develop the opera voice
Which of us wouldn’t feel like singing in front of a small group of friends and relatives?
But being able to sing the opera, of course, is something else entirely.
Usually, we can all sing a little song from when we were little or resume a summer hit. The melody is simple, the vocal virtuosity required is quite limited.
It must be admitted that successful singers such as Francis Cabrel and Jimi Hendrix, no matter how pleasant to listen, certainly do not have a vocal organ worthy of an opera singer.
The lyric song refers, in effect, to a power and a value without equal compared to pop music.
Placido Domingo would have burst out laughing if he had been offered to use a microphone to perform.
Like all great composers, he too was at the Paris Opera!
If you want to get a vibrato worthy of the name and become a master or expert in vocalizing, you will have to train above all .
Having a beautiful voice, with color and warmth, is first and foremost a gift from nature. For the rest, it is precisely perseverance that makes the difference: you need to warm up and train almost every day, to perfect your singing technique.
Every muscle in the body, and especially the organs and tissues of the vocal areas, must be stressed and optimized in order to gain volume and sound quality.
It is a question, in short, of working at every moment, to determine and overcome the limits of one’s own weaving, gradually and constantly.
An opera voice stands out, then, for its own object: the pieces interpreted. The musical writing of the operas, strong of a secular history, is very particular and full of character.
It certainly requires a specific initiation, as it happens following opera singing courses at specialized schools.
The example of Luciano Pavarotti, perfect self-taught, remains something exceptional.
To be successful in this kind of profession, know how to find a good vocal trainer, then make sure you have an iron mental, so you can win the singing competitions.
And if you like it, look for collective singing lessons in Rome.
Singing course for the mezzo-soprano
After dedicating ourselves to men, let’s move on to women!
The division of the female voices is symmetrical, with respect to the previous one: it goes from the most serious sound ( contralto ) to the most acute ( soprano ).
In the middle we find the mezzo soprano , exactly placed halfway between the other two registers.
Maria Callas: an impeccable vocal technique!
The best half-sopranos know how to show themselves multi-purpose, perfectly taking semi-tones from one side of their sphere to the other.
The way of training a mezzo-soprano voice does not differ at all from that concerning all the other textures.
Becoming a mezzo-soprano is easy for most women, unless you have exceptionally sharp or exceptionally severe vocal cords!
Don’t forget that self-confidence makes the difference between those who leave immediately and those who continue singing and singing lessons! Ask your singing teacher.
Carmen is certainly the leading role in the world of half-sopranos.
Why not learn it by heart, if your weaving is this ? Inform yourself with the teacher who holds your singing course.