Saturday, 7 January 2017

A West End Guide To Singing | Gabriela Garcia

I am one of those people who is obsessed with hearing other peoples stories and tips and tricks of how they do what they do. So when I see any show I instantly want to pick the brains of the cast about how they sing as well as they do. I'm sure I'm not alone in this so I'm starting a series called 'A Stagey Guide To Singing' where West End stars will answer a series of questions about singing! I hope you find it interesting. Let me know if you have any specific questions or people you'd like answers from!

So for our first instalment we have all of Gabriela Garcia's singing secrets! Gaby is currently starring as Nina in In The Heights and her voice is blowing away people every night so without any more rabble, here we go...

When did you realise you could sing? Did you have singing lessons?

I always liked singing since I can remember but I have videos of me being totally tone deaf all the way up to when I was 16! I started taking singing lessons at 16.

How do you keep your voice healthy, do you have any rituals before shows?

I go to singing lessons regularly (once a month maybe once every 2 months) and I do a short vocal warm up - I concentrate more on my breath warming up rather than my voice. I have to sing through 'BREATHE' before every show on my own just to make sure everything is in place lol

Have you always been able to belt? If not, when did you start belting?

hmmm belting...I guess I was always able to belt as I thought belting was just shouting...during my time at drama school my teachers started to teach me a safer way to 'belt' by mixing and making the sound a bit 'smaller' this is to be able to sing 8 shows a week safely.

What vowels do you find easiest to belt? Do you modify words to make them easier to sing?

Yes, its all about the vowel modification - keeping the vowels as narrow as possible work for me.

What tips do you have for singing and dancing at the same time?

hmm I'm still learning how to merge the two as the breathing is so different! I guess identifying the breathing moments in the choreography and being conscious of not 'pushing'

What's the best exercise to get your voice ready for belt/twang?

I just do witchy and baby sounds which works for me

Overall, what's your number one piece of advice for finding and developing your singing voice?

You never stop learning and you are always developing your technique I guess being open to different teachers advice and being able to identify what works for you and what doesn't.

Interview by Olivia Mitchell, Editor

Read our previous interview with Gabriela at: http://www.rewritethisstory.com/2016/07/in-conversation-with-gabriela-garcia.html

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