Can a man singer be a belter?

Posted: 5/3/05 at 11:33pm

I love singing and I'd like to take classes but I want to belt.
Can a man technically belt?

OK laugh. But then help me out. Updated On: 5/3/05 at 11:33 PM

[ChrisLovesShows]

Posted: 5/3/05 at 11:42pm

Absolutely. Raúl Esparza, for one, can sure belt out a tune.

Barry Manilow was a popular "belter" in days gone by.

Updated On: 5/3/05 at 11:42 PM

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 5/3/05 at 11:49pm

Hm, my voice teacher said a guy can't belt. but i think he was talking technically. like we don't have a mix belt or whatever like girls do.

[Chloe]

Posted: 5/3/05 at 11:50pm

Someone who knows more about vocal technique correct me if I'm wrong, but I have the impression that an operatic tenor (or Broadway tenor for that matter) is doing basically the same thing as a female "belter."

[JbaraFan1]

Posted: 5/4/05 at 12:18am

What exactly does being a "belter" mean?
Is there a certain note you have to hit, or what?

Whoever replies, you're explaining to someone who can't carry a tune. In my mind, I'm a terrific singer! But something goes haywire between there and actual vocalizing. :)

[PJZ]

Posted: 5/4/05 at 12:25am

I have to laugh at this one a little.

Come on. Do you listen to musicals?

Rent? Jesus Christ Superstar? HAIR? Les Mis? Miss Siagon? Hell, hundreds of others.

There are men singing songs in each of those that they're belting the **** out of. As a musical theater actor, especially one with a strong belt....i'll answer your question.


Yes. Men can belt.

[Racetrack]

Posted: 5/4/05 at 12:28am

Well I've never really heard it belting like if you mean it in the sense of how girls belt. I can't remember what my voice teacher called it, but that was three years ago so there you go. I don't know. Maybe you mean strong voice? Like a really strong voice and can hold notes a long time?

But there's been a bunch of guys like that on Broadway. A good example of someone who maybe fits the category you're looking for where I live is Louis Hobson. He's got an amazing rich tenor voice that is truly amazing.

Maybe you could specify what you're looking for or asking for?

[Tirso de Molina]

Posted: 5/4/05 at 12:29am

some of the stuff Adam Pascal did in RENT sure sounded like belting to me. also, I'd listen to the new HAIR cd. some of those guys clearly are belting, at least as I understand the term.

[camthom]

Posted: 5/4/05 at 12:38am

Some people see a belt as being able to project in your chest voice sufficiently or even in your mix. Male voices are not built the same as female voices. To other people, belt just means singing loudly. So both are right to an extent. A woman's head voice is what men call their falsetto, and considering I don't know many men that can "belt" in their falsetto, perhaps that was what your teacher was referring to.

I think today, the latter is primarily true, people primarily consider belting to be singing loudly.

Posted: 5/4/05 at 12:39am

Tirso, a fellow Spaniard here. My grandfather was from Asturias.

Whatn I mean by belting is that when I sing Anything Goes like Lupone is it considered Belting. I'm a baritone.(more or less)

[Ourtime992]

Posted: 5/4/05 at 12:41am

Belting, technically, refers to a particular placement of the muscles and tissues in the throat to achieve a stronger, and usually higher, sound. It can be done by either men or women. Ethel Merman used a belt, though it was in her chest voice range. Most belters now are the bastard step-children of Whitney Houston and use the technique to rip off high notes out of their regular range, and it can be terrifically harmful if not done appropriately (which is why many voice teachers frown upon it). Still, there are times when a good, strong belt nails a piece. It's only problematic when someone like Eden Espinosa does it for three straight hours. Then I have to rip my own ears off.

Posted: 5/4/05 at 12:43am

I need to find a vocal teacher.

So is belting in men screaching? Because I just want to sound loud and project and sing"times have changed..." I use that because it's the only example stuck in my cabeza right now.


Updated On: 5/4/05 at 12:43 AM

[Racetrack]

Posted: 5/4/05 at 12:46am

That's why my teacher wouldn't let me sing "As Long As He Needs Me" because it can really turn into a shouty song with people today and she doens't like that sound. Don't blame her at all. I don't know I'm not an expert on this sort of thing.

[Ourtime992]

Posted: 5/4/05 at 12:56am

If you can learn to sing "Times have changed..." by altering the placement of your soft palette and opening your larynx, AND without putting any additional stress on your vocal cords, you can do what is referred to as "pop belting." If you just push your voice to hit really high notes, that is called screeching. Personally I don't care for either very much.

[LightMyCandle125]

Posted: 5/4/05 at 1:00am

after hearing sam harris in pippin, i was convinced that men could belt.

[manders]

Posted: 5/4/05 at 1:04am

Douglas Sills, right?

[threatXthree]

Posted: 5/4/05 at 1:17am

Belting is not usually defined as high singing as opposed to loud singing. A bass can't go as high as a tenor but can still belt. True, certain notes will be high for a bass range but it wont neccesarily be the same for a tenor. So, just because a bass can sing certain notes only at a double forte and a tenor can sing the same notes at a pianisimo or mezzo piano doesn't mean he is not a belter.

[Plum]

Posted: 5/4/05 at 1:20am

I always just thought of belting as a forceful chest voice, but I'm really ignorant about vocal techniques.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 5/4/05 at 1:40am

Belting is definitely a term applied to female singers, except for as others have said, when it is meant to indicate loud.

Posted: 5/4/05 at 1:42am

WHY ARE PEOPLE SO OBBSESSED OVER BELTING. GOD DANG IT. IT DOESNT MAKE YOU A GOOD SINGER. GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

[apdarcey]

Posted: 5/4/05 at 1:43am

technically, belting is purely a feminine phenomenon. that is not to say that all women can or should belt. but men can not. it's the term's definition getting jumbled.

[bjivie2]

Posted: 5/4/05 at 2:41am

To everyone who's commented, "belting" is not only a female characteristic. Vocal chords are the same in men and women, only men's are thicker than women's. They're still the same form. The difference is that women develop their version of their falsetto (their head voice) while men never really have the need to, and when they do it's in very small circumstances. When you hear men in musical theatre like John Raitt (RIP) and then hear someone like Barbara Cook, they're singing two completely different ways. Men basically only need to learn to sing in their chest voice, while women need their head voice for much of musical theatre.

The one person who somewhat defies this trend is Mandy Patinkin, who utilizes both his chest and head voices to an equal extent. The only reason that people think the "belt" is specific to women, is because all men are learning to do is belt. Every man on Broadway is a belter. They may have different qualities to their voice, or different ranges, but they're all belters.

I'd continue explaining, but I'm dead tired.

[Princeton78]

Posted: 5/4/05 at 7:39am

I just asked Michael Ball...and yes, men can belt.

[teh_pretty]

Posted: 5/4/05 at 7:43am

Adding another question into the mix...

What would be the difference between belting, and having a mixed belt?

[trpguyy]

Posted: 5/4/05 at 8:04am

Actually, men have chest voice, head voice, and falsetto. "Head voice" and "falsetto" are not synonyms. Women have one "break" in their voice (where they have to switch from chest voice to head voice). Mean have two (the switch from chest to head, and head to falsetto). The real trick is devoloping all three voices, and then working on minimizing thet "break," or even stretching your range so that the break is almost non-existent.

When you hear vocalists doing "sirens," they are concentrating on making the sound continuous, with no break.