. . . Demystifying the craft and business of Musical Theatre, with tips, tutorials, discussions and demos for performers, writers, composers, and theatre fans.
Scott shares more than 30 years' professional experience to help you get from where you are to where you want to be.
"My aim is to: - INSPIRE and educate young hopefuls, and REINVIGORATE professionals. - ENCOURAGE conversation between those who CREATE theatre and those who PERFORM it. - Foster a culture of MENTORING between experts and novices."
Exceptional advice! And so funny. But I have a bone to pick with you...Mime is a legitimate and quite frankly underrated art form that deserves far more credit than it's given. How dare you?!?!?!🤣🤣🤣 No seriously... I think that's one thing I learned from doing cabaret, visual humour can be a wonderful break from the endless string of songs. This info is a must for anyone wanting to do a cabaret show! Well done!!!!!!!!!!
I just responded to your comment about mime, in mime . . . sure, you couldn't see it, but can you imagine what I might have said? Thanks for your wonderful comment.
The story of The Rocky Horror Picture Show makes very little sense, and you see more overt sexuality in the average modern music video, but it remains deliciously subversive, outrageous, and a fun, fun, ride. It is more enjoyable than it has any right to be, in great part due to the execution (direction and performances), and the charm of the actors. Whilst it is a product of its time, it still feels fresh, and makes me smile. Along with The Sound Of Music, which has its flaws, The Rocky Horror Picture Show should be compulsory viewing for any fan of musicals. Thanks for your question.
Your voice is so relaxing and soothing. Apart from learning something I am also getting ASMR vibes. ☺️ Also I am surprised how few views you get on your videos. Stick to them, they are brilliant and I am sure any time now your channel will explode with more viewers. I for one subscribed.
Thanks for subscribing. Your comment has really made my day - your kind words mean a lot to me, and it is support like yours that keeps me going. I hadn't realised I was giving ASMR vibes, but if that's how it comes across, and it works for you, I am here for it!
I remember seeing Bedknobs And Broomsticks as a kid, and thinking it was a little bit scary, but fun and exciting too. I must watch it again. Thanks for the suggestion.
That was fascinating to hear how passionate you are about these movie musicals and your reasons for including them.. I have to say that I agree about Seven Brides, and your other choices of course. Haven't seen Pirates so now to hunt down where to watch them all. Also, Linda Ronstadt in tight pants and an open shirt...🤔🤪
As the film version of Hamilton was a “pro shoot” of the stage production, I did not include it in my short list of movie musicals but it is, of course, a modern classic. Good suggestion.
Chitty and Oz are perhaps not quite as "showy" as other, more Broadway-oriented musicals that draw more attention to the songs, but as portions of the story are told and progressed through song, they perhaps earn their place more than my other suggestion, A Star Is Born, which I might strictly call a film with songs rather than a musical. Thanks for your input.
Great list! Some of your choices were surprising (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, 7 Brides…), but some were undisputed classics - Wizard of Oz and Chicago. I agree that the Gotta Dance number in Singing in the rain is out of place, but it doesn’t keep it from being on my top 10 list. And I would probably add a Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers musical like Top Hat because you can’t discount their brilliance, even if they look a little dated to our eyes now. But the one I was really surprised not to see on your list is Cabaret. I think we need a follow up!
Just quietly, I DO still still watch Singin' In The Rain from time to time because there is so much to admire - I frequently watch Donald O'Connor's Make Em Laugh when I need a pick-me-up. Yes, those Rogers/Astaire musicals are brilliant, and Cabaret definitely deserves a mention - it was certainly on my shortlist. Thanks for your thoughts.
SOOOOOO effing exciting!!!! Those short dialogue excerpts really got me hooked. And I didn't realise how bawdy the panto would be. Love it! I marvel at how clever it is and how deep, detailed and layered your thought process is in fleshing out both character and story. Chomping at the bit to see more!!!!!!
Bawdy is the perfect word, and I want to crunch it up against the innocence and simplicity of the pantomime style . . . although the comic roles in English pantomime can be pretty bawdy at times. I will share more as the show develops.
Good question. Whilst that glottal sound might be used sparingly for effect or expression, ideally, the air pressure should be behind the vocal folds where it supports their vibration. The problem with that glottal expulsion (sudden release of air through a closed epiglottis/back of tongue) is that it does not innately engage the vocal folds, and if the vocal folds ARE engaged, the suddenness of the air can cause them to vibrate in an uncoordinated way, causing strain. So yes, ideally, the back of the throat - epiglottis/back of tongue - should be as open as when we breathe, BEFORE making a sound. In fact it is worth practicing to keep that area open unless swallowing. I hope that answers your question.
More of this! Help us create that "base" vocal tone that sounds good! I feel at times i find it, but if i ad any sort of power to it, i use the wrong muscles and tone vanishes
Glad you found this useful. Keep in mind there is no one perfect vocal sound - it varies from person to person and between styles. But if, as you say, you find the tone but it vanishes, focus on whichever vowel shape makes the tone most obvious for you (in chest voice it might be an "ooh" or an "oh" with the jaw long, and lips forward enough to contain the sound in the mouth to some degree. You might also check that you have some air coming through the nose to enliven that frontal face plate), and make an exercise of that vowel until the "placement of tone is consistent. Then, adjust the mouth shape to introduce other vowels while maintaining that placement. They may feel different, but as long as you maintain that placement - that "drone" - your tone will be more consistent. But yes, I will bring more videos to build on this subject.
I once heard a woman at a vocal showcase singing the title song from the musical Cabaret, and she pronounced it cabooray. No maters how it is spelt or spoken however, it is an exciting genre of theatre. Thanks for your comment.
Wonderful advice. The whole audition process can be dauting,. I can see that utilizing this information wll bring about an air of preparedness and confidence, and take some of the 'fluster' out of the moment, to create a more enjoyable audition for all concerned. Thanks for your video, because sometimes it is a matter of 'you don't know what you don't know' , until you meet a voice of experience.
Great advice for all performers! A few years back after seeing a friend of mine put on a one-woman cabaret show I decided to take on the challenge myself. Everything you just mentioned is all true. I think the thing I got the most out of it was confidence in story telling, stand-up and connecting with a live crowd. So valuable. And where did you get that footage?????? BMC rules!
You're right. It takes some confidence to undertake your own show, but it builds confidence at the same time. As for the footage, thank goodness for bootleg videos! And yes, BMC rocks! -It is something I look back on fondly.
That comment about quantity versus quality....GREAT! I've never heard the story of the 2 pottery classes before. Another lovely video! Cory's 911 idea was very interesting 😉
And I love your comments. You always pick up on some great details, and I appreciate it. And yes, lots of little gems from Cory. I am rewatching the video myself, to make sure it sinks in.
Thanks for makin this. I've watched many videos about vowels, but they are all about shifting to reach the note more easily. I was trying to find a video like yours. I've been for a while thinking about the concept of how instruments sound good because they have consistent harmonics/timbres which just move up and down with pitch, and since vowels and vocal resonances is how we control our harmonics, if we could make our harmonics while singing sound more consistent by taking advantage of that, I imagined that would make our voices more beautiful, more similar to a musical instrument. This is related to the concept of how vocal coaches teach you to not change registers randomly all the time, because that is an extreme case of harmonic shifting. This thought has made me sing lately in way where i almost merge all vowels to the same vowel and, the thing is i actually sound better (the melodies are more satisfying to hear), but then it causes problems with word enunciation, thats what I'm trying to improve. I'm gonna watch your other videos about breath, resonance, articulation and pitch... this one touched a topic that was very rare for me to find and you seem like a great teacher.
Thank you for your wonderful response. I am glad it made sense to you. You point out a great dilemma for singers: how do we adapt our vowels for greatest musicality, while remaining intelligible? The solution is largely up to personal taste, but the key to clarity is enunciation and strength of consonants - clear, crisp voiceless consonants (e.g. T, K, S etc.), and full, rich, resonant consonants (e.g. M, N, R, Z etc). The clearer our consonants, the more the listener can comprehend the words, and the more leeway they allow for "adjusted" vowels. I hope you enjoy the other videos.
That was GREAT! So insightful. I love that you asked about your channel and which social media platform would link well to your YT channel. Cory is a wealth of knowledge and so humble and giving. Bring on the next one!
It was a beautiful moment you returned to day one with 'Loved By You' and then showed the progress after 28 days. Great video! Loved the orchid, Dyson, karaoke montage!
Yes, to some degree, I am using that shouting energy in this experiment - I was focused on strengthening first, and finessing later. I find that top-down exercises work for me in head voice/falsetto, where I can achieve a lighter tone and lower volume, but not so for the top part of full voice/chest voice when I am trying to extend my range, and a lighter touch may result in strain until those notes are consolidated. But if you have a specific exercise in mind, and are happy to describe it here, I am open to suggestions and will try it. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Loved this video! I´m trying to get vocally fit as well. I´m wondering how your singing practice was sectioned. Did you start with warm ups and exercises and if so for how long? Did you do the same warm ups? I´m always confused if I should stick to only working on agility for example several days or switch between different exercises on different days. And how many songs and how many times did you practice each song afterwards? I always get quite hoarse after singing practice even though I warm up and try not to strain, not a lot hoarseness but a bit for about 30 minutes, I´m wondering if I´m doing something wrong or if it´s natural when you haven´t been singing in a while and your voice isn´t trained :) thanks for sharing this video
Lots of really good questions in your comment. Perhaps I should do a video to address yours and other great viewer questions in detail? These days, because I can confidently identify the technical aspects of my own voice, I rarely do a discreet warm-up. I start with less demanding songs in an easy part of my range, and if a particular phrase or section is difficult, I repeat it, and turn it into an exercise. Other than my "benchmark" songs which I sang most days of this experiment, I sang each song only once in each hour of practice, but I might have made more progress had I focused on building each song to performance level. And yes, if you want to develop a specific area of technique, it is worth focusing on that until it fells fluent, and then add the next element of technique. Hoarseness might indicate that your vocal tone is overly breathy or husky, where the vocal folds are either not meeting efficiently, and that you are using more volume and air pressure to compensate. In this case, the solution is to emphasise a brighter, more focused vocal tone to ease the effort in the vocal folds. Each voice is different, and this is where a great voice teacher proves their value in giving that outside feedback, and identifying those sounds unique to your voice. I hope this helps.
@@ScottCameronInsideMusicals Thank you so much for taking the time to answer! I appreciate it :) I will try to implement these tips and try it out. I would love a video like that and I´m sure others would as well, you seem to have a very well spoken and straight forward way of explaining things that is easy to understand so it would definitely be helpful.
Ok Scott, you said it first, and I love you too. I really enjoy your videos. Aside from the great educational aspect, you are so entertaining and brilliantly talented! How can I see more of your work outside of these videos? Thank you so much for sharing and all you do.
I appreciate that. As I develop my musical, I will share some table readings or workshop excerpts, and if it ever gets a staged production, I will let you know . . . I will let EVERYONE know. In fact, you probably won't get me to shut up about it. Thanks for your support.
My range is very similar to your starting range about D2-F4 however I’ve been unsuccessful in expanding that mostly on the top side. I think I struggle with too much singing volume as I’m doing 3-5 three hour gigs a week. So any time I’m not performing I’m resting my voice
Range is only an issue if it limits the material you can sing, but if it's working for you, then there's no need to force it. And with 3-5 gigs a week, glad to hear you rest your voice.
@@ScottCameronInsideMusicals it does limit a lot of material I feel I can do justice on. But for the volume of singing I’m doing I’m lowering most songs at least a key or two. If I could get a consistent G up top it would open up a lot of material but yeah range isn’t everything for sure
Brilliant! Makes perfect sense and feels very write...(see what I did there?) Now that initial set up of the show seems freer allowing for far more fun and shenanigans. Can't wait for the first draft....
I’m not a musical theatre guy by any means but I do play music full time and this is an excellent series. It’s refreshing to see a vocal tutorial where it’s not some high tenor trying to sell baritones a secret formula for belting B4’s. I have a very similar chest range to you where I top out around F#4 and this just reassured me that my voice isn’t broken lol. Just have to keep working on the fundamentals described here
Yes, your voice is not broken. Whilst is is useful to extend our range to its potential, no one voice type is innately better than another. You could for example sing a tenor song transposed down a few keys to match the equivalent register in your voice. It won't sound exactly the same, as the timbre of a tenor and baritone is distinctly different, but you can make it your own with the brilliance of your own sound.
Hi, I'm a voice coach... I am... SO impressed with this video!! You are so funny and easeful.. alongside your legitimately MILLION DOLLAR tips! I'll be showing this to my students! (Hi students) I regularly utilize exercises similar to the ones you've outlined, and I'm glad to know I'm not alone in the universe! To releasing tension and inspiring expression!!! 💖
Glad to hear I am not the only one with some crazy approaches to vocal technique. I believe that developing a great voice requires exploration and curiosity, so I encourage my students to think outside of the box, and build on the sounds they already know how to make, and for me, something like shouting (without strain) helps to coordinate these techniques without over-thinking it. If you have any suggestions for videos, I would love to hear from you. Keep up the great work - lovely to know you are sharing your skills with others.
what i can add is you can become too mechanical over thinking it, Roy Orbison had chocolate milk, and cigarettes before singing, the worst things you can take, and yet probably the greatest of all time.
You are right of course. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to singing or vocal health. But if circumstances are less than ideal, if you are unwell, or if your performance demands something extra from your voice, any of these tips might give you the edge you need. The most important thing is to get to know one's own voice, recognise when it is working at its best, and have some effective strategies for when it needs some help.
