Well, what I do is sing what people ask me to, and occasionally lobby for a
part in something. I'm not a professional (though I hope my standards are!)
and what I have to say may not apply to you, but here goes.
When I had the chance to sing a bass solo in a spurious Bach cantata I did
it as well as I could taking only a low E up the octave so as not to be
drowned out by the (baroque-sized) orchestra. I put myself forward as
second tenor in the Schubert Eb Mass in which I was also singing the bass
solos. That worked quite well. I must say though that I shouldn't have
taken the conductor's advice quite so literally in scaling back the dynamic
in quartet sections in the mass to fit the smaller-voiced tenor. I've made
myself available for any projects that seemed fun, labels notwithstanding.
I hope that more people will get to hear me as a baritone (finally!) this
year, though so long as I can I'll be glad to do bass and tenor things that
are somehow within my compass.
I personally use a lot more head tone when singing tenor, and a lot more
chest when singing bass - it's almost a split personality thing! I have a
big enough voice that I can get away with this sort of thing. At 26 your
vocal cartilages may not have ossified very much yet, though if you are
being considered as a bass-baritone you must have some strength and
presence in the lower register. If you learn to sing well enough that you
can stand hearing yourself on tape, you may then be able to compare
yourself with other singers and come to some conclusion, though the human
voice is very apt at mimicking - and there may even be professional singers
who mimic so well that they've never needed to find their 'true' voice, if
there is such a thing.
If you do solve this dilemma I'd appreciate you telling me how! I imagine
that many singers continue to have doubts about their Fach throughout a
career! john
At 03:58 PM 7/12/00 +0000, you wrote:
... So what I'm wondering is how long do we keep from labeling
>ourselves this or that, and what do we do in the meantime? Thanks!
>Cyrus
John Blyth
Baritono robusto e lirico
Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
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