For many years, the divide between opera singers and musical theatre singers seemed vast. Sometimes opera singers could be heard snickering at a young actor belting out yet another take of “Defying Gravity.” And right down the hall, the musical theatre bunch could be heard imitating the vibrato of a soprano trying to wrestle her voice through the daunting passaggio of “Dove Sono.” It often felt like you “legit” singing folks stay over there, while you belters, stay over there. But then there’s “mix.”
After seeing the recent revival of Company I noticed that lead artist, Katrina Lenk, performed a substantial portion of the role in a voice that seemed to lean heavily on a combination of musical theatre style with a more “legit” sound. It made me wonder, is this a new trend or something that’s been happening in musical theatre for quite a while, but we in the opera world just hadn’t noticed.
I asked voice teachers, Susan Eichhorn-Young, whose clients include artists from the worlds of opera, musical theatre, film and television, and is the author of Beyond the Technique: An Exploration of Artistry and Authenticity; Kate Merryman, an Adjunct Professor of Voice (Musical Theatre and Commercial Music Digital Instrumentation, aka Contemporary Music) at Ohio University and avid performer of both opera and musical theatre; and bass-baritone Daniel Klein, whose recent appearances include Seattle Opera, the New Jersey Festival Orchestra, and is a recent addition to the voice faculty member at the Aaron Copeland School of Music about the idea of “mix” when it comes to singing in the theatre world.
In the simplest terms possible, what is “mix?”
Kate Merryman: Mix is a technique that allows seamless transitioning between vocal registers. It allows singers to continue a bright, powerful, and resonant sound throughout their range.
Susan Eichorn-Young: It really is simply mixing resonances together. It’s a word that gets thrown around a lot and means different things to different people, but at the end of day, simplifying is best.
Daniel Klein: The most common terms you will hear are head voice which usually refers to higher notes, chest voice which usually refers to the lower end of their range (and closer to the speaking range), and middle voice which is between these two. With that information, a “mix” from a layperson’s point of view would be using more than one of these “voices” on a given note but not in its full capacity.
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It seems that more and more female singers are employing “mix” on Broadway and in musical theatre in general. Why do you think that is?
SEY: Hmmm, I’m not sure I agree with that. I think singers’ goal is the “mix” to maintain the resonance balance no matter the register, is and has been the goal all along. This assumes people weren’t using balanced resonance before.
KM: The musical theatre sound is one that is typically bright and “twangy.” The goal being that singers maintain that sound throughout their range and gives power to the voice without strain.
DK: The last decade or two we’ve seen big swings in styles of singing on Broadway and in regional theater. If you look at what a working MT singer does, there are a myriad of styles present in the repertoire at present on Broadway and in regional theaters. The drastic vocal demands of Jagged Little Pill compared to King and I are far larger than the differences stylistically and vocally between Rossini and Verdi. I believe the mix’s rise is due to its versatility.
So, in essence, “mix” is combining the chest and head resonances to create an optimal sound that is also sustainable. Do men “mix?”
SEY: Male voices tend to be chest dominant due to the vocal fold weight. Learning how to manage the mechanism to allow the voice freedom no matter the register, and allowing the style to inform the tone would give reason to “mix” at times.
KM: Yes, men do use mix. “Mix” is helpful to provide resonance or “ping” to pitches that are higher in their ranges. Like female voices, it helps maintain a resonant sound as they move through their passaggio.
DK: Men are capable of it, and many singers do. It is not 100% analogous to the female concept of mix, but many great singers do.
As a voice teacher what are some exercises you employ to help students feel the difference between chest, head, and “mix?”
KM: Different vowels and onsets can be helpful in discovering these different sounds.
For head voice, /u/ and /i/ are helpful. You can try a “yoo-hoo” 5-1 or so do or /u/-/i/ on a 5-note scale 54321.
For belt, try a trumpet shaped vowel like /ae/ or /a/. Try a “wah” sound on a 5-note scale. Another fun one is “that’s mine” (5-1). With this exercise, make certain you approach it as if you are speaking at someone. The goal is not to sound pretty.
For mix, try changing the vowel to an /Ih/ and sing “this is mine” (5-5-1). Another popular exercise is to make a pouty face and sing “nyah.” However, be careful that you are not confusing nasality with mix in this exercise.
Another key factor of learning to mix and belt, is to make sure you work on your chest register. You can do some slides into chest voice or speaking in that range.
DK: My go to calibration exercise with my students to understand their voice is a 1 3 5 8 10 8 5 3 1 on an “ah” (as in the name “Alice”) and a hollow choo or hoo(t) like an owl on the descending. Their goal is that during the entirety of this exercise they can maintain the integrity (understandability) of the vowel, they are the correct discernable pitch, the structure is not compromised (the jaw position, lip opening and tongue position relatively consistent) and that they are singing it with the least amount of effort/volume/intensity to maintain those other elements
SEY: I view these ideas and concepts as “positions” and not a “voice.” You have two folds; you have one voice. Accessing different physicality and accessing different resonance positions through language and onset allows a singer to find these qualities in their voice.
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CS: If a singer is interested in listening to a well-produced singer who uses “mix,” what are some go-to artists from the past and the present?
SEY: So many! Any well-produced voice in theatre uses “mix”! Kelli O’Hara, Audra McDonald, Elena Shaddow, Melissa Errico, who are more on the legit/mix end. Then more contemporary mix would be Jessica Vosk, Eva Noblezada, Ciara Renee… Lillias White “mixes” all the time and uses the belt as it should be done—for dramatic height!
DK: Sara Bareilles, start here. Kelli O’Hara (she is doing both Legit and mix and moves between them well: Light in the Piazza for example), Laura Osnes, Judy Kaye, Sutton Foster (probably better to listen for the Mezzo/Altos), Heather Headley, Marin Mazzie, George Dvorsky, Reeve Carney, Mandy Patinkin (leans more towards a falsetto), Colm Wilkinson, Gavin Creel.
KM: Jessie Mueller, Cassie Levy, Christy Altomare, Phillipa Soo, and Kate Baldwin for current singers. Mary Martin, Gwen Vernon, and Betty Buckley are some great earlier examples.
Modern male voices are Steven Pasquale, Derek Klena, Gavin Creel, and Tam Mutu. I recommend all singers immerse themselves in the repertoire by listening to various singers sing the same song..
Does “mix” alter when the singer is a soprano versus a lower female voice?
DK: Ratios of chest, to middle, to head all need to be figured out for what it optimal of that singer. Some “sopranos” that I have met have extraordinary chest voices while others have nearly none at all. Even looking at musical theatre singers out there, what constitutes a good mix is not somethings homogenous. We still need to strive for our best version.
SEY: If we are coming from the premise of “mix” being balance of resonance between registration, then no. Where this blend happens will be different depending on transitions in registration.
KM: Sometimes lower-female voices have an easier time with belting as they sing in chest voice more frequently. The transition point of where the mixing strategy occurs will likely be different too. However, both sopranos and lower-female voices will use the same strategy to achieve a “mix.” Also, mixing happens even in classical singing. It might have less of a musical theater sound, but mixing is a strategy, not a register or a style.
For classical singers hoping to refine their musical theatre offerings, one must address their understanding of onset, vowels, balance of registers, style. The same applies to musical theatre artists wanting to find a more sustainable technical approach thus widening their ability to take on different vocal roles within the musical theatre repertoire.
So, whether we’re singing opera, musical theatre, or even pop/R & B/country or any other style of music, the goal is to approach it with a complete understanding of our vocal abilities and style and find the optimal resonance that keeps our sound beautiful, healthy, and exciting.
