r/ClassicalSinger

hello! i’m a beginner singer, and i saw an ad online for a device that could enhance vocal range & remove voice cracks. upon further review, i noticed it wasn’t absolute BS, however now i have a decision to make…

what device could enhance my singing the best?

to the advanced vocalists, prestigious, and teachers, i humbly request that you recommend devices that you know could benefit my capabilities.

TLDR: what singing devices / trainers could help me improve along with my current practice & training?

In terms of tonus when you sing in the best tone for opera. The professor will tell one that the best one will resemble an instrument. Ex: Tenors in their best tone resemble a chello. what instrument best resembles the opera tone for altos. does the tone differ for sopranos? I heard there may be a resemblance of altos singing in the tone of an alto oboe. what do you base your tone on and what range do you sing?

Hello! Im a 17y/o untrained male singer who is starting classical training in music school next year. I think im a bass (I can sing as low as C2), but my biggest fear is that music teacher will focus too much on the lower part whereas i want to develop skills for singing higher (so far i can hit F4) because im in a rock band. I just want to know what to expect from music school and any tips for beginners!

Hi all! I am a low mezzo-soprano and am looking for some suggestions for interesting contemporary (or modern) a Capella vocal music to put on a recital.

Ideally I would love something with Italian text, but that’s not strictly necessary.

I love playing with extended techniques and I have perfect pitch so the piece can absolutely be challenging, but I need to be able to purchase the sheet music (ideally as digital download) and it can’t keep the singer well above the staff.

I would love to hear any recommendations you all have!

Thanks

Hello Reddit! I am an advanced student/baby professional countertenor who is looking to gain confidence in singing in French, but I am having a hard time finding my way into the repertoire. Do you happen to have any recommendations of classical solo works that are:

- appropriate for a light alto voice

- exist in some sort of keyboard + voice edition

- equipped with a good English translation of the libretto

- about LITERALLY ANYTHING other than straight male love for beautiful and disempowered women, women desiring to be objectified by men, or nature as a metaphor for said heterosexual relationship dynamics. (Other themes such as class struggle, gay love, religious devotion, depression, death and aging, and nature not as a metaphor for straightness are all welcome!)

Things I have been exploring so far: Nadia Boulanger songs as recorded by Lucile Richardot :)

essentially I am carrying my full chest all the way up which isn’t right. My teacher tells me to send it up the back top molars of my head. Creating more thin whiny sound. It doesn’t feel like more normal vocie and kinda sounds weird. It does feel lighter however.

Does anyone understand what happened to Andreas Scholl? What started as a velvet sound able at the same time to maintain brilliance up to the top register has for quite sometime turned into a very nasal timbre, lacking projection, a la David James of Hilliard Ensemble (in)fame (witness the Metropolitan Rodelinda Video where it is saddening to hear him on the leading role while Iestyn Davies delivers his music with the most natural, healthy timbre besides impeccable technique; I wonder how Renee Fleming felt during the comments when she had to stick to the script and call Scholl the Rolls-Royce of countertenors...).

I mean, the guy didn't force his voice singing overheavy repertoire and is an inteligent musician. Just bad luck/voice didn't age well?

I feel like I'm constantly a few steps behind my peers in my graduate cohort, because I still don't quite understand these terms and what they mean despite someone trying to explain it to me a few times. It feels like it just doesn't want to stick, it's just in one ear and out the other. Even more baffling is some people tell me they exist, some people tell me they don't, and I feel like my brain is a pretzel trying to grasp it.

Hello there. Every month at my performing art school, we perform a piece that has something to do with the unit we are working on. I am looking for recommendations on more challenging or more advanced English art songs to perform. I am more familiar with Italian repertoire so let me know what you think.

I watched this performance from 1967. (I’m sorry but I’m going to gush a bit so if you hate it please skip.) She just had me in stunned silence & rapt attention the whole side. Her amazing facility with dynamics and expression, her coloratura was wonderful — but also, how those vocal choices seemed SO tuned into embodying the meaning of the music and words. The only soprano I’ve ever heard who wowed me in that way, is Maria Callas. I hear a lot of singers that are emotive, that are good or great actors while singing, but I feel like Scotto and Callas simply take storytelling through singing to a new level.

I have a passion for the expressive abilities of the human voice so it is really thrilling and exciting to see someone perform like this. Again, sorry to gush. I am truly astonished and delighted by this performance and I would love more recommendations for exploring Scotto’s recorded work, or anything else you might recommend based on my post. I am a soprano so it would be helpful to listen to sopranos, but I’m sure I would enjoy anyone who fits the bill for being a great vocal storyteller. Thank you. :)

I’ve been wondering whether other people in the opera world have noticed a change in the physical expectations placed on singers.

With HD broadcasts, social media, promotional photography and more naturalistic productions, singers seem increasingly expected to conform to the appearance standards of film and television. One thing that concerns me is how extreme thinness can sometimes become aspirational, particularly on social media.

To be clear, I’m not criticizing singers who are naturally very thin, nor am I suggesting we can diagnose someone’s health by looking at them. My concern is when weight loss, very small clothing sizes or becoming progressively thinner are repeatedly celebrated or presented as achievements.

I’m also not coming at this from a “body positivity at any size” perspective. Obesity has health consequences too, and fitness, nutrition and physical conditioning are legitimate concerns for professional performers. But there’s an enormous middle ground between obesity and extreme thinness.

Eating disorders and disordered eating are serious issues, especially in competitive, perfectionistic and appearance-conscious professions. And for singers there’s an additional irony: our bodies are literally our instruments.

I wonder whether opera has overcorrected from the old stereotype that appearance didn’t matter as long as you could sing. Are we moving toward an industry where singers increasingly feel they need both an exceptional voice and an actor/model’s physique to compete?

TL;DR: Has opera’s increasing emphasis on appearance created unhealthy pressure toward extreme thinness, particularly through social media? Have people working in the industry noticed casting expectations changing?

Hi there! Does anyone have any recommendations for contemporary art songs with subject matter about NYC and/or city life. It doesn’t have to have any direct mentions of NYC or a city either. Anything about hustle and bustle, the loneliness in large groups, etc etc.

Thank you so much!

this is my first time soloing with an orchestra, and I don't know what to wear.

the solo is "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" from Cinderella, and the whole concert is Disney. The director told me I could wear whatever I want, but that feels so broad.

Should I wear a costume? A nice dress? Concert black (I will be hopping on my bassoon for another of the pieces)

if you were going to an orchestra concert that is Disney themed, would you expect the soloists to be in costume, or would that be weird?

thanks for the advice.

I guess it’s kinda obvious but I’m a male baritone. My voice starts to sort of get shaky around C4, not a full on shake but you can tell it’s not stable. He takes me up higher in the scale and tell me to make more space in the back molar area. However seems fine with the Instability instead of giving solutions. Is it normal and just overtime it becomes part of my range? I’ve been taking lessons for 3 months for reference.

thanks

TL/DR: my voice teacher does not want me to sing outside of lessons, but I love singing in everyday life and I am wondering if I should find another teacher whose style supports my lifestyle of singing for fun and training classical.

For context, I am 25, have played music for most of my life but never took it seriously as a career because I was focused on medicine. In the past year I have realized that medicine just does not do it for me and my real passion is in music. I’ve played violin since I was 9 and had a private teacher from age 12-17, played percussion in school bands and am self taught in guitar, a little piano, and voice. I arrange and write my own songs, and never formally trained voice but I would love to be a professional singer. My goal is to go back to school for a degree in vocal performance, but since I have little to no formal experience in voice I decided to start training with a private teacher.

Just had my first lesson with her last night and I kinda barely sang for the whole lesson (it was 1 hour long, I may have actually sang for 10 minutes collectively). I understand I am starting from bare bones scratch, I never sang opera before! Many times she would stop me to correct my singing, that is fine. But she told me she doesn’t want me to sing outside of lessons at all, and she estimates that it will be this way for approximately 3-4 months depending on how my voice develops. This is so foreign to me because with violin or guitar, the more time I dedicate to practice the better I become. I understand that she doesn’t want my vocal placement to be altered between lessons only for us to have to correct over again at the next. But it is very difficult for me not to sing, it‘s an everyday part of my life. It is how I regulate my emotions and express myself, or relieve stress at the end of the day.

Now, in the grand scheme of things, I suppose sacrificing a few months of singing however I want in the interest of developing strong technique and skills is worth it, but I am wondering is this the only way to train classical?Should I find someone else with a different teaching philosophy? And really the only reason I am looking to train classical is because I think it will aid my strength and stamina in singing any style and also will help me be accepted into a program. You could say there is a huge gap in my “musical resume” from the time I graduated high school to now, so I know I have to start building SOMETHING, I just have nooo idea where to start or what is the right move. Thoughts?