I am a lyric soprano, which means I can sing the very high soprano notes and I can sing alto notes as well, but my weakness is my middle range. I'm not saying that I can't sing the middle notes at all, I'm just saying I can't sing them as well.
I have to sing the song "At The Ballet" from A Chorus Line which mainly has alto notes in it, but goes up to the middle range. I sing the Alto parts very well but when I sing the middle notes there is a dramatic difference between the power and tone in my voice. I think this stresses me out and causes me to do worse, maybe because the event which I will be performing this song is a big deal. Does anyone know the best way to deal with this problem?

Thank You so much to anyone who can help!

p.s. I had this problem before in another musical I did because I'm not a big belter (up to F or G is all.) and I didn't handle it very well causing my singing to be slightly above average and it sounded unpolished.

This sounds like nothing more than a basic vocal/breathing technique issue that will abate with proper legit training. Search out a qualified instructor who can help you overcome your current limitations.

But in the interim, best to stick to performing material that is well within your range.*

*Often selecting less well-known songs for auditions can work wonders! My client Dale Kristien, the longest-running "Christine Daae" in the Los Angeles "Phantom" company, recounted to me that the very song that landed her the starring role wasn't the usual tune that most of the hopefuls thought Andrew Lloyd Webber wanted to hear at all.

www.robertkim.com

This isn't actually an audition, it's a performance. And I do have a professional voice teacher, but I may not be able to work on her with this because the timing isn't perfect.

I see.

Perhaps if your musical director could transpose the song -- say an octave one way or the other, that may provide a "quick fix" to your dilemma. But in a live performance, that will no doubt be an impossibility.

I still maintain that proper breathing and placement should solve any remaining vocal weaknesses you may have. In the meantime, just do what any working professional would do in your situation -- blow 'em away with the strong notes, and fake the rest!!

I really appreciate the singers helping out here, I can't sing to save my life.

Hi Thespian101,
I'm a singer working and studing in NYC--and I'm a soprano! I would say use as much support as you possibly can, dig into the ground. I do more of a mix/belt but one exercise I find that really helps me open up and get into a good pocket of resonance in my middle regestar is sliding up the scale on eee. Slid up and then make it stacado at the end--don't hold on to the slide and begin to slide back down the scale. Just go Eeeee up the scale and let it go. Don't try to make it pretty, think of it more as noise making in a legit sense. Just one big sound that makes your neighbors want to bang on the wall(haha Try it, see if it helps. You don't even need to play the scale on the piano, just pick ones all over the place. It's really, as I said more noise making then "singing" but it works! And don't forget super support in thoses middle areas of the song. It will give you more power and fullness. Best of luck! Let me know if it works

Thanks for all the help you guys! I am working on my middle!

Hi Thespian101,

I just saw your note as I don't usually visit this forum. How did you make out or are you still in rehearsals?

I don't have an answer, but my daughter had the exact opposite problem last summer in a show she was in. They cast her as one of the leads in Babes in Arms (Susie Ward), and she is a belter working on her head voice. She had to sing "My Funny Valentine" and her head voice wasn't strong at all. She sang 90% of the song in her chest voice which was wonderful; however, when she got to the part where she had to use her head voice, she just sang through it - she was on pitch, it was pretty but compared to her chest voice, it was weak. She had been stressing over it for weeks, and she asked the musical director to try and lower the key, but there was only so much she could do without effecting the other part of the song. It was very noticeable the change from chest to head, but I was very proud of how she handled it all. She was only 12 (a very mature 12) and the rest of the cast was a group of teens 16-19. It worked out fine in the end, and in the fall, she worked on her head voice with her voice teacher using certain songs to help build it. It didn't take too long actually. She now has a beautiful mixed voice.

Let us know how you made out and break a leg!

Thanks! I pulled it off, but the most important thing I realized was that my nerves can affect me in a positive way.