r/ClassicalSinger

How would I mark on sheet music where I want the pianist at an audition to play a different character's line? I won't have much time to talk with the pianist.

In one aria, there are a couple of measures where another character introduces my character. I would like the pianist to play the melody notes for that, not just the orchestral part.

Same with a different aria where I pause and a character briefly interrupts. I don't want to cut these parts out because they contribute to the flow, and are very short.

What's the clearest symbol or written indication of "please play this vocal line but then jump back only to the non-voice orchestral bits"? The character abbreviations are tiny and would be confusing to sight read. I'm not sure how well the pianist knows this rep.

Thanks for your help.

Hello everybody!

I see this kind of post everywhere, and I'm sorry to add to the noise, but I'm searching for repertoire to expand my knowledge (maybe for YAPs or Competitions or just for fun)

My teachers say I'm a soprano, but I feel more comfortable on the mezzo range, though I've noticed my voice wanting to go higher. I've sung Pergolesi's Eja Mater form his Stabat Mater, Hahn's l'Heure Exquise, Schubert's Der Tod und das Mädchen, and lately Cavalli's Lucisissima face and Britten's Puppet, why so.

My teacher said these pieces are really good for my voice, so I'm searching for pieces that might be somewhat similar, but that will stretch my repertoire and my abilities. Any language, Any time period, art song and opera... anything!

Any recomendations?

hey everyone, i've been diving into my classical singing journey for a while now, and i'm at that point where i need to choose pieces that truly highlight my voice type. i'm a mezzo-soprano, and while i have a few arias in mind, it can be overwhelming sifting through so many options. do you have any go-to recommendations for repertoire that fits this voice type? also, how do you approach learning and interpreting new pieces? any tips would be hugely appreciated!

Hi, I’m a tenor looking for a song to tack onto my upcoming solo performance in July. I currently have the aria from Haydn’s “In Native Worth”. Something to follow it, hopefully about the nature of God or how God loves his creations, would be incredibly appreciated. We are a progressive Protestant church, so while absolutely not mandatory, it would be preferred if song recommendations had lyrics that treat god as gender neutral (i.e. the lord, God, the holy one) rather than using “him”. Any help at all is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi! I'm trying to connect with my ancestry a little more musically. Curious if anyone has art song recommendations. My family comes from opposite sides of the Bessarabian sea -- Moldova, Ukraine, Romania, Russia roots. I'm a lyric baritone. Thanks!

Hi I'm 32 years old, started classical voice lessons 4 years ago and I was extremely quiet and breathy but that went away within a few months. I'm just going to info dump here about my situation. Starting range in chest was D2-G3, quickly became Ab1-F4 within a couple of years, and since then my low range has expanded. I was concerned about issues with neck tension so I saw an SLP 6 months age and she gave me exercises for lowering the larynx (it was so tense she couldn't manually lower it) and tongue tension. I also struggled to hold a note for more than 8-9 seconds, apparently normal for a healthy voice (including non singers) is 15-25 seconds. She thinks damage is unlikely.

Fast forward to now and I'm just confused. Made huge progress on tongue and laryngeal tension but still can't hold notes longer than 8-9 seconds, except for C2 which I can hold 15 seconds and D2 for 11. My low range now extends to Gb1 on a compressed hum when I'm not warmed up, and E1 when warmed up (also on a compressed hum). At about A1 and lower my larynx goes up. I have up to F#4 highest in chest if I massacre the vowel, and up to B4 in falsetto (very strained). I can only phonate on high pressure, I can hold an sss for up to 40 seconds but when I add phonation (like a zzz) I can only manage 8-9 seconds.

I normally can't do vocal fry, except for after doing a hum with a glottal start on a few notes, that unlocks brief vocal fry. I can hold this for up to 25 seconds max, and when I do SOVTs (which I've done a lot to improve closure to no avail) I can do straw in water for up to 25 seconds. I've found brief success with glottals and staccato, but I usually see a day or 2 of improvement then it plateaus.

I struggle with volume and resonance as you'd expect for someone with apparent closure issues, and I hoped to be able to do opera/oratorio by 40 as that seems to be the beginning of the prime of a bass and I'm getting worried that at my current progress I won't make that.

Ultimately the actual question is that I found a place that does stroboscopy of the vocal folds, but it's half a grand to do a full vocal evaluation and I'm not sure if it's worth it? Any tips on improving closure are welcome, although I've tried almost everything to do with SOVTs.

Edit: clip https://voca.ro/153BMgV9nSkf

other clip cut out low note, here's something low E1ish but high larynx and bright https://voca.ro/1gfTUm2GDcy1

I notice this odd phenomena when i am obsessively thinking about placement in the mouth things tense up in the mouth. I notice if I think strongly about my body then my body is used moreso than the sound and unable to notice tension.

I notice this when I went to the dentist. When my dentist was poking at my teeth I notice tongue would get extremely tense fighting the pokes. When I took a deep breathe and took my mind down there I was able to relatex the tongue.

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Hi all,

I have a few questions, I will list them for those who don't have much time, and then provide context for those who want to read on why I am asking these questions.

1. Can you succeed as a part time student of voice (even if it takes longer)? I have a disability that makes me fatigued so I couldn't take a full course load, especially while working.

2. When is considered too old to study voice at the university level? Does it depend on your goals? I'd ideally like to become a voice teacher.

Context (sleepy ramblings actually):

I've been seriously working on my singing for about four years now and have been seeing a teacher off and on for much of that time, finances permitting. It was once my dream to go to university for vocal performance, and the teachers I've had over the years have been very encouraging of that goal. I probably would have pursued it, had I not started testosterone as a trans man a year and a half ago. As of now my voice is still really unstable (mostly cracking between registers), and I haven't been able to see my voice teacher in a few months as I've been in psysical therapy for my fibromyalgia and can only afford one or the other currently.

My voice changing wouldn't be a problem if I didn't want to go to uni for voice, and for a while I gave up on that dream as my voice isn't as beautiful as it once was, in my opinion (my partner would argue with me on that but the voice cracking has truthfully been demoralizing).

Lately I've been thinking of my dream to study voice again, against my best efforts to forget it in exchange for potentially persuing a speech therapy assistant degree (which is still not off the table and is more practical). However it may take several more years for my voice to really settle. And in the mean time, I am reaching 30 (currently 28). I just feel like by the time I am vocally ready, it will be too late, but maybe I am being a doomer. I just need some perspective.

Thank you to anyone who read this and sorry if anything is poorly written, it's been tech week for the community choir I'm in and we just had only our first performance of the weekend and I am dead tired haha.

Just curious, as I believe this could be something that can apply to myself, I’m just not sure how to execute it. I think a habit I have gotten into myself has been over singing. I have recently made something changes and am learning that smaller is bigger. Does anyone have any exercises to help achieve closure at the top of the vocal cords. To assure no air is leaking. I appreciate any ideas. Thank you.

Hello! Thank you all in advance for your perspectives. I’m using a burner account so this can’t be easily traced back to where I work.

For context, I’m a professional singer with an MM in performance, several YAPs under my belt, and I currently work full-time as a choir director while also contract singing at a church and with a regional symphonic chorus.

I’m starting to wrestle with whether my symphonic chorus position is sustainable long-term, and I’m curious what similar arrangements look like for others in the field.

Our contract is a little over $2,000 for the year. On paper, that initially felt reasonable for the market I’m in, but the actual time commitment has become difficult to reconcile with the compensation. We are expected at all weekly rehearsals, dress rehearsals, and performances, along with additional rehearsals that tend to get added when large works aren’t fully performance-ready close to the concert dates.

For example, we just finished a concert cycle involving weekly rehearsals since February, two dress rehearsals, and a two-performance weekend. My compensation for this cycle will end up being $400 total. Last fall I finally calculated the effective hourly rate after rehearsals, prep, performances, and added calls, and it raised some concerns for me about sustainability and burnout.

I do understand the chorus master’s reasoning for requiring the contract singers at weekly rehearsals. It can understandably feel frustrating for the volunteer/community members if the professional singers only appear at the final rehearsals and suddenly elevate the ensemble at the last minute. I genuinely respect that perspective.

At the same time, though, the level of commitment sometimes feels disproportionate to the compensation structure, especially when the professional singers are effectively functioning as a core part of the ensemble’s musical infrastructure throughout the entire rehearsal process.

So I’m curious:
What do contracts look like in your organizations?

Are professional singers expected at every weekly rehearsal, or primarily the final rehearsals and performances?

Are you paid per appearance (rehearsal/performance), per concert cycle, salaried, stipend-based, etc.?

Have you found ways to make these kinds of positions sustainable alongside full-time work?

I’m not looking to complain so much as genuinely trying to understand what is considered typical or reasonable in this corner of the profession. I love what I do, and nowhere else do I get to do the high level repertoire we do with this group, but I’m starting to burn out and could use some perspective.

A bigger body would include a larger diaphragm & more space for “resonance “. I have heard smaller people with amazing voices even without microphones. What attributes of sound does the size of the body affect?