What about Medium mechanisms? What do they do?

The medium mechanism “size” is a very large spectrum. Some lighter mechanism voices grow into a more light-medium with age. This spectrum can move through the many angles and kaleidescopes of Posh Spice and can lean into Ginger Spice. It’s a big category, so buckle in!

The medium mechanism voice can sing the leading lady; the mother; the strong female character; the wise woman; These are the sophisticated characters, the larger than life characters with nuance and depth. These are the characters we hurry up and wait for in our own voices if we are medium mechanism creatures! (and yes, heavier mechanisms can go into these characters too - all a spectrum)

The voices are often a little more heavy in weight and texture. Their belt capacity is a balance of chest dominance and head dominance and it adjusts accordingly. The voices can move from spacious, plum-y sound, to more dense and metallic and everything inbetween! Often these voices can move into the slightly metallic energy when they need their high belt. These voices can move between belt and neutral and adjust the weight of the belt depending on the need of the phrase fairly quickly either naturally or with technical balance. No matter what, the intensity is there. The color can range from a more burnished brightness, through a warm density, to a more metallic edge that has buoyancy and silver edge! It can have an elegance about it in texture.

These voices live in many eras and genres in theatre. Again, remember, everything is NOT belted. The higher relief of emotional intensity requires this stylistic and technical ability. From “old school” belt (more chest dominant) like Annie in Annie Get Your Gun, Lola in Damn Yankees, Janice in Silk Stockings, to “mix-belt” like most of Sondheim’s leading ladies, to Velma and Roxie in Chicago, Angelica in Hamilton, to Elphaba in Wicked, and more. So many possibilities in this category. Male characters as well, like Jesus and Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar; the Princes in Into the Woods, Jay Gatsby in Great Gatsby, Jamie in The Last Five Years.

Singers who are medium weighted mechanisms, no matter how the mechanism is weighted, are always discovering balance (aren’t we all?). Some are more legit-based, some are more contemporary-based. The technical balances can always be learned, but our instruments and our psyche will always gravitate toward things we are comfortable with!

Some examples of medium weighted voices in music theatre (and this category is huge so this is just a small taste) are:

Jessica Vosk, Julia Murney, Shoshanna Bean, Eden Espinosa, Rachel Tucker, Isa Briones, Ciara Renée, Kayla Davion, Cynthia Erivo, Julia Lester, Renée Elise Goldberry, Adrienne Warren, Audra McDonald, Cassie Levy, Lea Salonga, Victoria Clark, Melissa Errico, Kate Baldwin, Beth Leavel, Donna Murphy, Christine Ebersole, Marin Mazzie; all very uniquely authentic voices that move through the spectrum of medium mechanism possibilities. Male performers like Ryan McCartan, Jeremy Jordan, Andrew Leeds, James T Lane, Christopher Jackson, John Legend, Gavin Creel, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Brian D’Arcy James, Raul Esparza, Jake Gyllanhaal might fit this expansive category.

Listening to singers to see how they negotiate the weight of the mechanism can be a fascinating exploration, to allow you to do the same with your own. The practice room is the place to explore, and the voice studio is the place to explore further to see what’s available and what is possible in your instrument, and what it FEELS like.

When we hear the intensity of the belt in a singer who has learned how to balance it in their voice, we can assume a great deal - it’s illusion in a medium mechanism - it sounds differently than it is produced. We are constantly figuring out how to do it and sense it when the phrase/note/word requires it and often when we find it we are surprised at the “feel” of it. Some singers find these things organically and naturally, and some need to discover them gradually. We all figure it out! The most important thing is discovery and consciousness of what you are doing, so you can replicate it with consistency and ease!

Enjoy exploring what is possible NOW and what might be possible later in your development as a medium mechanism weighted singer, should you be one. This takes time! So take it!