Coach helps Keira Knightley find her singing voice

Keira Knightley hates karaoke. She describes her relationship with singing as the occasional tune in the shower. Yet in an early scene in her new movie, she's apprehensively clutching a guitar on a small stage, singing an original song over the hum of a New York bar.

It's a sweet moment that launches the trajectory of the new romantic comedy/drama Begin Again. Knightley plays Gretta, a shy singer-songwriter who performs with the coaxing of her costar Mark Ruffalo, who plays a down-on-his-luck record producer.

Music is the driving force in the film, the second feature from John Carney, whose 2006 film Once was a phenomenon, becoming an Oscar-winning indie hit and Tony-award winning Broadway musical. Unlike the stars of Once, Knightley's musical talents were limited at best.

"I don't listen to a lot of music," Knightley said. "This is a challenge."

Carney knew that turning Knightley into a plausible singer was a key to the movie's success. And he knew just the person to make it happen: Roger Love.

A prominent Hollywood vocal coach for decades, Love teaches singers and speakers how to use their voices as instruments as well as non-singing actors taking on musical roles.

"It's a misconception that just because you're a good actor that you could be a good singer," said Love, 55.

Before filming began on Begin Again, Carney sent Love a track of Knightley singing, asking if he could "work with this."

"I was very sort of [skeptical] not because of Keira's voice, but the last musical film that I made was with Glen Hansard (the star of Once and singer in the band the Swell Season), who has an incredible voice," Carney said. Love "was so sort of calming and convincing in terms of 'Don't worry, I've heard this, I can totally work with her voice and get the emotion out of her.' And he did."

Love worked with Knightley over Skype - Love in Hollywood, Knightley in London - and in the recording studio in New York. Love and Carney agreed that Gretta, a songwriter not seeking the spotlight, wouldn't possess more than a "sweet voice," and they shaped Knightley's performance to fit that.

Knightley's thin singing voice contrasts sharply with that of Maroon 5's Adam Levine, who plays her ex-boyfriend-turned-music-superstar in the film and transforms the songs Gretta pens into radio hits. Her meek voice manages to just barely float on key.

"I felt that she really portrayed what it sounds like to be a singer-songwriter, not somebody who was seeking the spotlight."

Love says he sets himself apart from other vocal coaches by teaching three parts of the human voice, recognizing that there's a "middle voice" between the chest voice and head voice that bridges the two to create a greater range. But more than technique, Love tries to build a relationship of trust with his clients.

He worked with Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix to prepare them for Walk the Line, and Witherspoon's performance as June Carter earned her a 2006 Oscar for lead actress.

Love said Witherspoon called him three weeks before recording for the film began. The actress, insecure about her voice, considered not doing the film at all, he said. Love worked with Witherspoon to expand her range for the role. At her urging, Phoenix worked with Love, too, and went on to snag an Oscar nomination.

He kept up an "Oscar streak" by coaching Jeff Bridges and Colin Farrell for 2009's Crazy Heart, for which Bridges won the lead actor Oscar. Bridges went on to record his own album.

When coaching actors for a role, Love works with the production team to develop the right voice for a character. For Witherspoon in Walk the Line, she needed a deeper sound. Bridges in Crazy Heart had to take on the powerful sound of a country superstar.

His next film project is teaching singing to 10-year-old Quvenzhane Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) for her lead role in the new film version of the musical Annie.

Love understands that even for actors, singing in public is scary. "Just because they're used to having cameras in their faces doesn't mean they can open their mouths and sing," Love noted. "Most of them are terrified to death."