Bridging Legit and Belt and Techniques for Music Theater Treble Voices

Vocal demands are varied and intense for contemporary music theater treble voices. The vocal athletes equipped to meet these challenges are tasked with belting above C♮5 or floating above B♮6 while demonstrating expressive style that brings the house to its feet. This requires reliable flexibility of vocal registration, restraint of sound intensity, and a nuanced commitment to the text regardless of pitch range. Targeted exercises develop skills in registration flexibility that can be seamlessly integrated into repertoire. In this interactive workshop, musical theater performers will sing cut versions of two contrasting songs with belt and legit techniques. Songs should span the range of current musical theater needs (i.e., pop, rock, folk, country, etc.). The legit song can be contemporary or classic but should exhibit mostly mode 2 singing. By the end of the workshop, participants will better understand how to coordinate the effort, breath, and craft needed to successfully traverse these very different singing styles.

Ereni Sevasti-Rosenthal, Ed.D.C.T. Student, Teachers College, Columbia University