# Reinventing myself - is there a market for opera singers?



## Morodiene (Jan 2, 2016)

Like many classical musicians, I've worked really hard to hone my craft. But being a soprano - especially a larger voiced one - goes against me in the opera world. Way too many people trying for the same jobs which are getting fewer as large/established opera companies die off.

So I've decided to just compose and record my own music. But I was thinking, is there a need for an opera singer to record other's compositions? 

It seems like big singing might be a thing to go along with all the epic music being written these days. 

What do you think? Any suggestions on how to go about doing that? I appreciate ideas on practical matters like pricing and marketing, but opinions based on your own experiences is great too.


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## SillyMidOn (Jan 2, 2016)

do you have a link to some of your work?


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## Morodiene (Jan 2, 2016)

SillyMidOn said:


> do you have a link to some of your work?


Just live recordings right now, but I'm planning on recording my own compositions and perhaps some covers to show different styles I can do.

I'm literally just getting started on this


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## Robert Cote (Jan 2, 2016)

Maybe you could try doing something like Hannes_F is doing with his Strings on Demand. People could give you their composition and specs and you could layer your voice to create the different sections of the choir that your range can cover. I bet you would get some impressive results if you took the time to figure out a good pipeline and solve any technical problems.


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## Morodiene (Jan 2, 2016)

Robert Cote said:


> Maybe you could try doing something like Hannes_F is doing with his Strings on Demand. People could give you their composition and specs and you could layer your voice to create the different sections of the choir that your range can cover. I bet you would get some impressive results if you took the time to figure out a good pipeline and solve any technical problems.


Good idea! I can sing soprano and alto/mezzo, and even most tenor stuff if it's in a choir setting.

I just ordered Symphonic Choir and I was going to try adding a few tracks to at least the treble voices to help with word clarity, so that would probably help - especially those who are using choir vsts that don't really do words. Thanks!


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## tonaliszt (Jan 2, 2016)

The interview in this magazine might be of help. 
http://www.sonokinetic.com/downloads/sonozine/04/Sonozine-04-Edition-Spring-2015.pdf


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## FredrikJonasson (Jan 2, 2016)

I'm in a similar situation, but being a tenor I've got the opportunities for remote services of the kind are quite scarce but I hope I will be proven wrong. 

But hey, why would you not want to have a larger type of soprano voice? For me, it seems that just that can open a lot of doors in the opera world - there are after all a lot more of the more light type, right? Of course, some Baroque and early music nerds may hire someone else for their oratorios..


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## Morodiene (Jan 2, 2016)

FredrikJonasson said:


> I'm in a similar situation, but being a tenor I've got the opportunities for remote services of the kind are quite scarce but I hope I will be proven wrong.
> 
> But hey, why would you not want to have a larger type of soprano voice? For me, it seems that just that can open a lot of doors in the opera world - there are after all a lot more of the more light type, right? Of course, some Baroque and early music nerds may hire someone else for their oratorios..


Well, it doesn't work well unless they happen to have a large tenor voice. That is only one of the reasons though. I completed my education late, and there's maybe one 'young artist' program I could do. But basically, I'm old and less 'malleable' lol.


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## d.healey (Jan 2, 2016)

Slightly off topic.. are there any specifically Operatic sample libraries?


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## Morodiene (Jan 2, 2016)

d.healey said:


> Slightly off topic.. are there any specifically Operatic sample libraries?


Good question! I have no idea, but worth looking into.


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## Rodney Money (Jan 2, 2016)

There's always a market for talent.


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## Morodiene (Jan 2, 2016)

Rodney Money said:


> There's always a market for talent.


I'd like to think that's true...


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## d.healey (Jan 2, 2016)

Morodiene said:


> Good question! I have no idea, but worth looking into.


If you fancy making one let me know, it could be a fun project


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## ag75 (Jan 2, 2016)

Yes to the opera library! I don't think anyone has ever done anything like that. 

If you are trying to start a service where you layer your voice with tracks people send you, make sure you invest in a good vocal microphone.


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## Morodiene (Jan 2, 2016)

ag75 said:


> Yes to the opera library! I don't think anyone has ever done anything like that.
> 
> If you are trying to start a service where you layer your voice with tracks people send you, make sure you invest in a good vocal microphone.



Yes, indeed, as well as figuring out the best space to record. Singing in a small room that's dead doesn't work well for opera recording, I'm told. I currently own a Rode Nt1a, but I think I'll have to get another mic for room sound as well.

Any suggestions on equipment and methods are welcome


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## SillyMidOn (Jan 3, 2016)

Morodiene said:


> I just ordered Symphonic Choir



... can you cancel the order? I know there will be people with other opinions, but it's a seriously old bit of software, and there are much better options out there. Wordbuilder is just awful.

... that aside I am always looking for good reliable singers, I have found quite a few good singers, but they tend to be unreliable and slow to get tracks over to me. Not really looking for operatic singers, so if you can do other styles as well that would help.

Private message me, I'm happy to help with software suggestions. If you have a Rode Nt1a you don't really need to get another mic night now.


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## Morodiene (Jan 3, 2016)

SillyMidOn said:


> ... can you cancel the order? I know there will be people with other opinions, but it's a seriously old bit of software, and there are much better options out there. Wordbuilder is just awful.


I could, but I looked at the other options and really none of them can get close enough to English words that I need. I'm writing an oratorio in English (and a little German thrown in there), and none of the other software was able to get as close. I've gone back and forth over this in my mind: what's more valuable, ease of use/less time intensive, or getting the sound I want? And also, if I go with the easier software to use, won't I still have to overdub my voice on most of the parts to make the words intelligible, which means more time but in a different way? 

Also, this isn't for demo purposes only and it will eventually be performed by a real choir. That would be great, don't get me wrong, but realistically speaking I don't anticipate that happening. I will listen to arguments for other software though. 



> ... that aside I am always looking for good reliable singers, I have found quite a few good singers, but they tend to be unreliable and slow to get tracks over to me. Not really looking for operatic singers, so if you can do other styles as well that would help.


 OK, I pm'd you, but just to answer this question in public, I can do other styles as well. If there's a particular sound you've heard that you are looking for, that helps me a lot to be able to imitate a particular kind of sound.

So I guess it would be helpful to make some demos showing what I can do!


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## FredrikJonasson (Jan 3, 2016)

Morodiene said:


> Well, it doesn't work well unless they happen to have a large tenor voice. That is only one of the reasons though. I completed my education late, and there's maybe one 'young artist' program I could do. But basically, I'm old and less 'malleable' lol.



I was heavily distracted when I posted which seems to have yielded the result of a reply to something that I don't know that I've said..

What I meant was, I hope there will be room for your talents as well as other opera singers such as myself. What large voiced tenors are you speaking of and under what circumstances? And also that you should be proud of your large voice, even if the road to mastery is more likely to be longer and painful as I'm sure you know. Gosh, tell me about it  

If you've completed your education, do you need to apply for more programs? I assumed that your education was some sort of opera program, but that doesn't have to be the case of course.


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## SillyMidOn (Jan 3, 2016)

Morodiene said:


> I could, but I looked at the other options and really none of them can get close enough to English words that I need. I'm writing an oratorio in English (and a little German thrown in there), and none of the other software was able to get as close. I've gone back and forth over this in my mind: what's more valuable, ease of use/less time intensive, or getting the sound I want? And also, if I go with the easier software to use, won't I still have to overdub my voice on most of the parts to make the words intelligible, which means more time but in a different way?
> 
> Also, this isn't for demo purposes only and it will eventually be performed by a real choir. That would be great, don't get me wrong, but realistically speaking I don't anticipate that happening. I will listen to arguments for other software though.


... fair enough, if you really need to program specific words, then it makes sense, but boy oh boy that wordbuilder is no fun. Sounds like a cyborg choir on speed to me.

I'll reply to your pm.


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## Morodiene (Jan 3, 2016)

FredrikJonasson said:


> I was heavily distracted when I posted which seems to have yielded the result of a reply to something that I don't know that I've said..
> 
> What I meant was, I hope there will be room for your talents as well as other opera singers such as myself. What large voiced tenors are you speaking of and under what circumstances? And also that you should be proud of your large voice, even if the road to mastery is more likely to be longer and painful as I'm sure you know. Gosh, tell me about it
> 
> If you've completed your education, do you need to apply for more programs? I assumed that your education was some sort of opera program, but that doesn't have to be the case of course.


Heh, no, I don't think your post was unclear, it's just a sore subject for me. Ah, to be a tenor...I know the competition is fierce, but you have no idea. It's a multi-faceted issue that I've finally come to terms with, but I won't bore you with my "95 Theses".

Anyways, I didn't want this to turn into a rant about my issues with the opera world. Everything happens for a reason, and I'm really excited about branching out into this new area. 

edited to add: I do think there is definitely a market for good singing anywhere, it's just perhaps different styles that we will have to explore in addition to a more legit sound. At least, that is how it's looking for me.


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## Vlzmusic (Jan 3, 2016)

Morodiene said:


> I do think there is definitely a market for good singing anywhere, it's just perhaps different styles that we will have to explore in addition to a more legit sound. At least, that is how it's looking for me.



Morodiene,

In any case, please avoid the common mistakes that many many (even accomplished and seasoned) classically trained voices do when switch to contemporary material - shallow breathing, banal pop style tricks, nasal and microphone singing etc. Make sure you always sing to your max, pick the right material, use everything you learned. There was a reason why you choose classical training in the first place - don`t wipe out your individuality, to become another "ooh, aah, yeh eeh yeh" clone.

Best luck - and make sure you post your links fast!!  (how can singer tell about herself, instead of just sing?)

VZ.


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## Morodiene (Jan 3, 2016)

Vlzmusic said:


> Morodiene,
> 
> In any case, please avoid the common mistakes that many many (even accomplished and seasoned) classically trained voices do when switch to contemporary material - shallow breathing, banal pop style tricks, nasal and microphone singing etc. Make sure you always sing to your max, pick the right material, use everything your learned. There was a reason why you choose classical training in the first place - don`t wipe out your individuality, to become another "ooh, aah, yeh eeh yeh" clone.
> 
> ...


Great advice! I've worked too hard for this sound to throw it away, and honestly a lot of the pop singing I hear really bothers me. I teach my students that are interested in pop how to sing it well and not hide bad singing behind endless, unmusical runs (drives me nuts!).


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## Robert Cote (Jan 3, 2016)

Morodiene said:


> Yes, indeed, as well as figuring out the best space to record. Singing in a small room that's dead doesn't work well for opera recording, I'm told. I currently own a Rode Nt1a, but I think I'll have to get another mic for room sound as well.
> 
> Any suggestions on equipment and methods are welcome



Unless you have access to a great acoustic space, I think the path of least resistance for you would be to record your vocals dry, with the least possible amount of reflections and room noise, and then put them in a virtual space with good reverb plugins.The best way to put dry libraries (like offerings from VSL and Sample Modeling) in a space in has been exhaustively discussed on this forum. I imagine the same principles would apply to your situation.

Especially if you were going to layer together enough parts to build a choir, remember that you'd be stacking room tones on top of room tones many times over. You may also need some amount of noise reduction in a case like that.


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## Morodiene (Jan 3, 2016)

Robert Cote said:


> Unless you have access to a great acoustic space, I think the path of least resistance for you would be to record your vocals dry, with the least possible amount of reflections and room noise, and then put them in a virtual space with good reverb plugins.The best way to put dry libraries (like offerings from VSL and Sample Modeling) in a space in has been exhaustively discussed on this forum. I imagine the same principles would apply to your situation.
> 
> Especially if you were going to layer together enough parts to build a choir, remember that you'd be stacking room tones on top of room tones many times over. You may also need some amount of noise reduction in a case like that.


That's true. I'll have to experiment with some moving blankets.


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