Calling All Singers

[Lisa_Turpin]

Originally Posted by Gypsy

Ooo, singers' thread!

I'm studying to be a classical singer (i.e, opera, etc) and singing is amazing. Really hard though (who knew that breath support would be so damn necessary and annoying?) I'm mostly singing some arie antiche and some arias from Mozart, Handel, Verdi, Spontini and Donizetti.

I'm considered a lyric soprano for now but my maestra thinks that in a few years I'll end up as a dramatic coloratura.

Another classical singer! I'm glad to see someone else out there who is training like I am.

How old are you though, Gypsy? Usually people aren't classified that specifically until their late 20s at the earliest so I was just curious.

What pieces are you working on right now?

[Gypsy]

I'm seventeen but I did say that my teacher thinks that for now. Who knows? I might end up as a lyric soprano instead.

Or a baritone..

She says that mostly because I have a big voice (for my age, of course) and my voice is "heavier" than what is considered a lyric. Coloratura mostly because I don't have a problem with fast passages.

Alas, only the future will tell.

I'm working on:

"Lascia ch'io pianga"- Handel
"O Nume tutelar" - Spontini
"Ave Maria" - Verdi
and some other old italian arias that I'm too lazy to type up.

But no one them go very high. Thank God, high notes are amazing to hear but one has to be so concentrated when actually singing one (opening your mouth, no tension, etc) Then again we're screwed since we're sopranos, you're nothing without high notes.

Though secretly, I've always wanted to be a mezzo.

[Lisa_Turpin]

Originally Posted by Gypsy

I'm seventeen but I did say that my teacher thinks that for now. Who knows? I might end up as a lyric soprano instead.

Or a baritone..

She says that mostly because I have a big voice (for my age, of course) and my voice is "heavier" than what is considered a lyric. Coloratura mostly because I don't have a problem with fast passages.

Alas, only the future will tell.

I'm working on:

"Lascia ch'io pianga"- Handel
"O Nume tutelar" - Spontini
"Ave Maria" - Verdi
and some other old italian arias that I'm too lazy to type up.

But no one them go very high. Thank God, high notes are amazing to hear but one has to be so concentrated when actually singing one (opening your mouth, no tension, etc) Then again we're screwed since we're sopranos, you're nothing without high notes.

Though secretly, I've always wanted to be a mezzo.

And then there are all the mezzos who secretly wish they had all of the notes of a soprano.

I'm mainly singing mezzo right now, but I've had teachers in the past who have been absolutely convinced I'm soprano. Then again I've sung second alto in choir since I was 14. My current teacher keeps saying that the mezzo is just a passing phase and that with my big voice I'm going to end up as a Wagnerian soprano! (Or something just as bright and dramatic...)

17.... that means you're prepping for the college hunt, right? Any places you've started looking?

[Gypsy]

Big voices unite!

I feel very odd sometimes with my voice, considering that all our international singers have medium to small voices. It's like the big voices disappeared from the face of the earth...or maybe the recording companies and opera houses don't have patience with them since they take longer to fully come into their prime. You can easily find a soprano to sing you a splendid Zerlina, try finding one who can accurately sing Lady Macbeth or Brunnhilde.

I used to sing alto in my choir. Before taking lessons I thought I would end up as a contralto or mezzo. Turns out I'm a soprano but I can sing pretty low (my lowest note is a F sharp below middle C)

Haha, my teacher also said that I would be able to sing Wagner in the future, however, I prefer Italian opera.

I'm actually considering finishing my high school and then enter an Italian conservatory. Or elsewhere in Europe.

[lacrymosa92]

Last weekend I tried out for All State Chamber Choir... and I made it! It's been a long time since a sophomore from my high school has made it, and I've broken that "curse", I guess! Unfortunately, my bf didn't make it (and he tried out, too! What a pity...).

[anabel]

Originally Posted by Gypsy

I used to sing alto in my choir. Before taking lessons I thought I would end up as a contralto or mezzo. Turns out I'm a soprano but I can sing pretty low (my lowest note is a F sharp below middle C)

I thought I was an alto for most of my early teens, but ended up realising I was a soprano! I never quite made it to the top G in the Queen of the Night, though, so I'm not that much of a soprano! And I don't sing much classical stuff any more - there's more demand for folk music and pop.

[Lisa_Turpin]

Originally Posted by anabel

I thought I was an alto for most of my early teens, but ended up realising I was a soprano! I never quite made it to the top G in the Queen of the Night, though, so I'm not that much of a soprano! And I don't sing much classical stuff any more - there's more demand for folk music and pop.

Queen of the Night is an exceptionally hard piece to perform! I don't think it says much about your ability as a soprano that you couldn't get to the top notes-- there are few who can. Even in classical singing, a soprano is defined as anyone who can carry a solid C6 apparently. (According to Wikipedia at least! ) If you've got that, then I wouldn't worry about it.

[Gypsy]

Originally Posted by Lisa_Turpin

Queen of the Night is an exceptionally hard piece to perform! I don't think it says much about your ability as a soprano that you couldn't get to the top notes-- there are few who can. Even in classical singing, a soprano is defined as anyone who can carry a solid C6 apparently. (According to Wikipedia at least! ) If you've got that, then I wouldn't worry about it.

Agreed.

The majority of sopranos can only sing up to a C6 or D6. And anyways, you won't find composers who demand more than a C6 (except for Massenet who demands a high G6 in Esclarmonde) Monserrat Caballe's highest note is a D6, yet she is considered a prima donna. Same with Rosa Ponselle.

Then again there are the prima donnas who had large ranges, like Maria Callas.

The Queen of Night is a hard role. Anyone willing to approach it should do so with a ten-metre stick. Okay, maybe not that much but not every soprano can sing very high.

[Lisa_Turpin]

Originally Posted by Gypsy

The Queen of Night is a hard role. Anyone willing to approach it should do so with a ten-metre stick. Okay, maybe not that much but not every soprano can sing very high.

Exactly. There are sopranos who may not be able to sing anything higher than a C6 or D6, and there are mezzos who can sing the same top notes as many sopranos. It really has a lot more to do with where your voice sits and where it sounds its best.

[Gypsy]

Yup. I know some mezzos who reach high E's and some even high F's but they are considered mezzo because they are not comfortable in the higher regions of their voice. They are at home singing at a lower tessitura.

And also their timbre determines their voice type but I've always thought that at the end of the day, your range doesn't actually tell you what you are.

My maestra can only sing up to a C6 and on a good day, a D6. But she's still a soprano.

[hermoninny93]

I wish I was in a bannddd!!! *wailllllllllssss!!* My ex is in one and they needed a singer but htey found one and I still go around singing trying to get him to say come join the band! LOL it's SOOO unfaiiiirrr!!! I think I'm really good at singing once I have th right songs!

best stuff for me to sing is:
Paramore - almost ANY of their stuff! and if i cant sing some of the songs well i still sing cause they are one of THE best bands in the WORLD! lol

Some Evanescence (did you know Amy Lee sings when breathing in AND out?! and she makes most of her dresses for performing and videos?! :O)

Err I can sings stuf like My Chemical Romance - some not all! - er Three days grace - I'm really good wiht some of their songs - um Avril Lavigne is easy to do for me (most) Kelly Clarkson..yer thats the end of this list otherwise i'll be here all day

I sing what I like which is mainly punk/rock/emo/indie-pop/some metal/heavy rock (intersting combo yesh? lol)

[EverLore]

I would love to major in something like vocal performance, I just think it would be so much fun!

Anyways, I've always sung alto as well, and my range is between low E (albeit, uncomfortably...low G comfortably) and high A (high F# comfortably)

My voice is of the "belt it" quality which is between low G and the Bflat above middle C

Also, I'm unfamiliar with the numbers you guys are using...how high above the staff is a C6?

[xmermaidx]

I'm not a bad singer- not great, but not terrible :]
I love singing! I mainly love slow pop ballads.

[Lorena]

Originally Posted by EverLore

Also, I'm unfamiliar with the numbers you guys are using...how high above the staff is a C6?

it is the first C above the staff. two octaves above middle C.

[Lisa_Turpin]

Originally Posted by EverLore

Also, I'm unfamiliar with the numbers you guys are using...how high above the staff is a C6?

The numbers start with Middle C at C4. All of the numbers change at C from there so an octave above middle C is C5, an octave below is C3, and so on. All of the letters between the two Cs take the number of the preceding C. So a D right above middle C (C4) would be D4, and the B below middle C is B3.

Does that make some sense?

[Lorena]

Originally Posted by Lisa_Turpin

The numbers start with Middle C at C3. All of the numbers change at C from there so an octave above middle C is C4, an octave below is C2, and so on. All of the letters between the two Cs take the number of the preceding C. So a D right above middle C (C3) would be D3, and the B below middle C is B2.

Does that make some sense?

I dont know.. I always thought the high soprano C was C6 and that the F above that one( like in mozart queen of the night arias) is F6
according to you, the first C above the staff, is a C5 then??? I do not know if the human voice can reach up to a C6 then (well, probably it can, but I could not consider that singing!!!)

[onyxdiggory]

been singing since I was 2 idk why but i love it

[Lisa_Turpin]

Originally Posted by Lorena

I dont know.. I always thought the high soprano C was C6 and that the F above that one( like in mozart queen of the night arias) is F6
according to you, the first C above the staff, is a C5 then??? I do not know if the human voice can reach up to a C6 then (well, probably it can, but I could not consider that singing!!!)

I feel incredibly stupid all of a sudden. I mistyped my first middle C, which you correctly identified as C4, and that caused the rest of my post to be off. I'm going to go back and edit it so to make sure it is less confusing.

Sorry for that!

[cathairetic]

I was a choir director for 33 years. We sang mostly liturgical and classical style music although after I found John Tavener and Alan Hovhaness we did some of their music also. Eric Whitacre is a newer composer that I am very fond of. If you have not heard his choral music I encourage you to look it up or buy a CD. His Lux Aurumque is absolutely exquisite.

[Hamka]

I used to have a light soprano voice , but as i turned older my voice changed and now my voice is simliar to this singer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-sormvP7yM

The songs i do best are:
Led zeppelin - Stairway to heaven
Blind Guardian - Harwest of sorrow
Rhapsody - The magic of the wizard's dream
Annie Lennox - Into the west