Matt Farnsworth and Tim Kashani explain why classical singers need to thin out their voice for rock musicals like Rock of Ages and RENT. Using the thin edge of vocal folds, like babies crying, prevents fatigue and damage. Full operatic technique on rock songs sounds wrong and can hurt your throat, especially doing legit workshops by day and rock shows at night.
Let's talk a little bit about that technique and the voice then, because as you mentioned, some of these shows that have the rock element to them, people can come in and audition and get the part, but it's 8 shows a week. Yeah, that's right.
You have to teach someone, first of all, how to be on their body, and you have to teach them how to thin out the voice. You know, when babies cry, they scream and scream and scream and they never get tired because they're using the thin edge of the vocal fold. But a lot of these kids that come out of conservatory programs have been trained by opera teachers, which train them the way they they know, but you cannot apply that technique to a rock and roll show. Not only does it sound ridiculous, but it will ruin the throat. You know, it really will. The other thing that's really not great for the throat is to be doing a completely legit workshop during the day and a rock show at night. Because the voice gets into a position, just like the Frankie Vallis who go out on the Jersey Boy tour. When they're doing all that high pharyngeal falsetto stuff, it gets it into a position, and when they get off tour, you've got to rebalance their voice back to a normal singing voice. 'Cause the muscles get confused, do you know? So you have to look at it like a muscle. But so for the rock and roll stuff, for the RENT stuff, I've got all the kids in Rock of Ages, I had the Drew forever in Rock of Ages, and I've got all the Cherie understudies. It's like you have to really get their voice in a position, and then when they come, they usually come in for auditions because I have to get it out of the position for if they go for something legit. [Speaker:RYAN] Right. [Speaker:PAUL] You know, so.
[Speaker:RYAN] That's good for them to have the different bag of tricks because there are a number of different styles that are going on right now.
Absolutely, and knowing, and knowing you can't switch back and forth all the time. It's just, it's too hard on the voice.
