"Losing Control".

Most singers talk about seeking greater control over their instrument. Thats actually the opposite of what I coach and not at all how the best singers think about their voices. But an honest misunderstanding of what we do as singers.

Control is something we want to feel we have over our voices so that the notes we hit are "true", the pitch is "correct" and the tone "pleasing".
Yes, of course we want all that and more, but when we focus of "control" of our voices as our goal we actually limit what is possible!

All kinds of problems crop up when singers are focused on "control" as their goal. The first of which is a potentially clenched throat with muscles that are straining and pushing on the chords to create sound.
(That's why I use the tongue out during the "sigh" or AAAAAAHHHHHH exercise in this first of The Basics of Singing Video's, it allows us to get used to the neck muscles letting go and relaxing during the process of making tone).

Diaphragm muscles that become tense during the process of breathing are also an unfortunate byproduct of seeking control in our singing. Thats the kind of "support" that leaves us tired out and exhausted in the process of making music. Without a relaxed diaphragm everything a singer is trying to do it in jeopardy.
Thats why we focus on filling a balloon or inner tube around our torso (just under the rib cage) as we fill up with air, (see video),and completely relaxing as the air leaves our body (and the imaginary balloon deflates), with no squeezing or pushing involved at all.

Eventually the open "sigh" with a relaxed diaphragm can become the template for all of our vocalizing and I recommend singers work with this exercise at the top of any warm up session before singing.

We think our job is to "sound good", "sing well" and have "good pitch".
Sure, but all of those are byproducts of good technique and focusing on much more useful stuff.

Our job as singers is to be able to "feel" the lyric, "inhabit" the melody of the song and express the emotions that the material creates, so that our audience can go on their own journey with us.

But how are we going to be open and available and free to express the music when we are busy pushing, straining and seeking "control" of our voices?
Thats the wrong message to be sending our body and indeed a limiting way of working our instruments.

What Does A Coach Do?

Writing to you as a light snow falls outside in Toronto end of Nov 2011, in preparation for the Q & A video what we will be posting in the New Year in response to your questions, (please send 'em to micah@singersplayground and we'll pick a few to film answers for!).
I've been ruminating about what we coaches do for our clients. I've been coaching in Toronto, Los Angeles and recently New York over the course of almost 30 years and have found there is are consistent themes in the way singers can use a coach.
The first way is as a trusted partner in the building of the singers voice. This is the single most important (and life changing skill) that a coach can bring to a client. The issue that would bring a singer to a coach is usually one of lack of knowledge and experience around technique. The challenge as a coach tends to be how few singers actually dig in and spend the time (and funds, which is a practical consideration), to complete the process of acquiring a solid technique.
A good coach can make the quick changes necessary for the singer to feel a new freedom, and of course managers, labels and producers (as well as artists) rely on quick results. It's fun playing magician a few weeks before a singers studio session or tour dates, but in truth thats not how the best results are attained. In my experience the best results come from regular sessions (and lots of practical application) over the course of many months. This can be hard to do (especially with busy schedules) but in truth thats the only way systemic changes in technique can really take root. Singers have trouble thinking of their voice work as a daily practice over the course of time, but in my experience thats how real change is best achieved.

The second way that I try to be useful is as a trusted advisor to the artist in things connected to their approach to their work. I was never confident that I could be really and truly helpful in my early years of coaching and kept my focus on the voice but in recent years as I've gained knowledge and experience in the music industry, I have found that I've been able to extend my support to both fledgling and mid career artists in their business practices.
Changing perspective so that artists feel their empowerment and putting themselves in the drivers seat is essential for careers to function well.
That usually entails a large scale shift in perspective for even though the industry has crashed around us artists still feel the need for "Big Daddy" to come and rescue them from all the hard work it takes to establish a career.
This shift in perspective can happen during Private coaching sessions and in group seminars that are designed to expand the singers knowledge and help them find practical application and design step by step game plans for themselves.
Assembling a team to support the singer is an important focus for me in these Career Strategy sessions, and making sure the singer is taking full responsibility for the health of their career is also key. I think it's important when I coach "music industry skills" that I never seek to take the place of a manager or producer but help the artist ask the questions they need to be asking themselves in order to better be prepared to attract top notch professionals from the industry to work with them.

So, as we prepare to film Q & A video's please dig into your voice and career challenges and ask away! Please slip me an e mail at micah@singersplayground.com and we'll try to get everything answered whether it ends up in the upcoming Q & A video clips or not.
These two areas VOICE TECHNIQUE and CAREER STRATEGY are good places for us to start…what would you like to know?
cheers
Micah Barnes

Notes On "The Warm Up"

Our goal as performing artists is much like that of a top athlete or dancer, to be completely relaxed at the same time as being ready for anything. To be energized, (like an athlete or dancer), we need preparation. Being this "available" to the moment entails warming up properly.
For singers with stage fright or less than strong technique a quick vocal warm up before soundcheck isn't enough to contract the underlying panic and ensuing physical tension. We need a more comprehensive approach that includes a really solid vocal warm up, so there are no lingering doubts about our ability to perform the material.
A vocal warm up not only prepared the voice for the demands we are about to place upon it, but can also create a psychological calm knowing we are truly ready for the job at hand. I also highly recommend a good physical warm up made up of relaxing exercises that will help focus both the mind and body to be present and ready for anything that might come our way on stage.

USING BREATH AS THE BASIS FOR YOUR WARM UP

For a singer this warm up always starts and ends with the breath. The breath is the first place that stage fright will manifest. Fear makes us freeze up so that our breathing becomes shallow. Sometimes our diaphragm will stiffen leaving us unable to create sound in a relaxed and liberated way. Taking the time to breath through a warm up will help remind us to breath during the show and plant the idea in our heads that we can only do "the best we can" under the circumstances.
I have found the single most important way to counteract perfectionism
and the ensuing anxiety singers experience before studio or live dates is to use a vocal and physical warm up that is calming at a core level. It is important that the warm up builds in the idea of just "doing our best" and let go of the pressure to achieve the "perfect" performance.

And if we find ourselves losing control, straining for notes, losing pitch or running out of air? The best rescue for a song going wrong is always big deep breath. All the useful oxygen floods our brain, and the motor of the car is suddenly flush with gas. Your pitch will start to correct and suddenly you will be able to hold notes again. Try it! You'll be glad you did!
It takes years to develop the pre show warm up that works best for you but once you start preparing for shows in this way you will start to feel an increased sense of liberation and ease in performance knowing you've done everything in your power to make the experience easier.

Happy Singing!
Micah Barnes
(PS DEC 4TH SINGERS PLAYGROUND Performance workshop at the beautiful Winchester Street Theatre in Toronto is filling up fast...do get in touch if you are interested in jumping in. We do cover a proper warm up in class!
Details at http://www.singersplayground.com/workshops.html

Dances With Coaches pt 2: Choosing A Coach

Lets take a moment to talk about how to choose the voice coach thats right for you shall we?
A lot of times we hear that a coach has done wonders for someone's voice, or has an excellent reputation and so we eagerly sign up for sessions with that coach hoping that miracles will occur for us, sometimes without really looking into how the coach works or what their actual experience is.
For example classical coaches often have no experience with other forms of music or voice production and sometimes actively discourage ways of producing sound that are outside the specifics of classical technique. This is not necessarily a bad thing, especially if you are looking to work in classical music of course, HOWEVER, sometimes a singer is working with a classical coach from a very early age and later discovers an interest in pop songwriting or musical theatre and is actively discouraged from "ruining their voices" with other styles. Yes. Happens ALL the time.
Likewise, a coach who works as a Musical Theatre coach will understand how to prepare us for auditions, support our working up repertoire and a specific style of performance skills, but could be ill- suited to helping us work with jazz or pop material.

Jazz and Pop coaches tend to be attractive and powerful personalities,"self taught" in some instances, and although potentially very useful in the short run for helping us understand ourselves as artists, sometimes their lack of technical understanding shows up in our lack of foundation as we move out into our careers and stumble on our own bad habits.
ALSO
Not all coaches have YOUR best interests at heart!

Many coaches may have a decent skill set but are in fact frustrated singers, demanding of your respect and obedience without offering a respectful and supportive environment for you to grow in. You'll know it because you will feel like you are never "good enough", and you're working to "please the teacher" rather than understanding the technique for yourself and growing into a "self coaching" professional singer!

SO…Not all coaches are good for all things. I always suggest a singer INTERVIEW THE POTENTIAL COACH FIRST in person or on the phone. Most pro coaches will have a short "meet and greet" moment with a perspective client. Take advantage of that and ask as many questions as you can about their background and experience, client base and working methods!

A quick interview will help you determine if the relationship will feel good to you and allow you to be supported while you grow!
Find out how they trained, who they coach, how they work and what their expectations are before diving in and becoming either financially or emotionally committed!

Dances with Coaches part 1

This weeks "Basics of Singing"clip #7 is about the "trill" or the rolled "R". This simple exercise isn't easy for everybody, but it's the fastest route to increasing head resonance. In fact it's been a common exercise covered by every single coach I have ever worked with as a singer.
Lois Pearson, who was an excellent first voice coach to have, taught me the basics of breathing and how to vocalize safely after I lost my voice touring my rock n roll band as a teenager. Although we sang Frank Sinatra songs in class which was awkward for me at the time, her knowledge of how to coach breathing technique is something I still use in my work today.
The trill was part of how she started me vocalizing without pushing and squeezing on my chords to produce sound. Loy Coutts with whom I studied voice for stage used the Linkletter approach which also utilized the trill to bring the skull resonance into focus.
Jose Hernandez, (who now coaching the Canadian Opera Company), was coaching singers I respected like Jane Siberry and I could hear the changes in their sound, so while I was performing regularly with my band on Queen Street I would visit his studio and learn the deeper and more powerful breathing techniques of Classical singers. Jose's work with me helped broaden my range and allowed for a kind of comfort and ease, he used the trill along with other exercises to create a more resonant sound.
It was when I joined the Nylons that my need for a coach became essential. Producer arranger Peter Mann helped me focus my Baritone voice but the arrangements also asked me to reach up (dependably!) into falsetto and occasionally down into the bass range, (something I never really mastered truth be told). Bill Vincent had been helping Nylons frontman Marc Conners achieve a vocal freedom and precision that I was very impressed by. Bill was a taskmaster who demanded a rigorous attention to detail and a deep focus. Under his tutelage I gained a freedom and ease that allowed me access to ALL of my range night after night as we toured and played concerts around the world. His extensive warm-up exercises set my technique for life…..and relied heavily on the trill!
When I worked with Seth Riggs while in California, (he basically checked the technique I had learned with Bill), his "speech level singing" approach used "less energy for larger results", perfect for his high level clients whose demanding schedules ask them to be in good shape vocally at all times. And trilling was one of the arsenal of techniques Seth used with Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson.

Next week: Dances With Coaches part two: Choosing A Coach

BREATH IS CONFIDENCE "The Basics of Singing" 6: The Belt

When I hit stage, whether it's a new situation (under rehearsed with a new song, working with unfamiliar musicians or performing in a new venue) the one thing I have unshakable confidence in is my breath. I feel like there's nothing that you could throw at me that I couldn't do because of having a flexible, worked and accessible diaphragm. That kind of breath control lets me be calm and peaceful in situations that could be stressful and scary. It gives me room to create a relationship with the audience, or sink down into the emotional lie of my material instead of worrying about whether my air will last to the end of the phrase!
Our goal should be feeling we have enough breath to do anything!
That kind of confidence is something our audience can feel in our presence and our fellow musicians can feel it in our approach to the job. We're easier to work with because we're less scared and more relaxed as performers! We find ourselves much less given to stage fright and performance anxiety when we know that our bodies are working at peak to help us do the job at hand. It does, however take lots and lots of practice to build the diaphragm into a working muscle! I am able to get a whole lot of air into my body quickly because of the hard work I did with classical coach Jose Hernandez back in the day. Jose went on to coach the Canadian Opera Company but at the time his clients were artists like Jane Sibery, Taborah Johnson and Rebecca Jenkins. We all grew immeasurably under his guidance. I learned the "belt" technique from him. The new clip demonstrates using a belt to help build the diaphragm as a muscle, It's best used in tandem with the mental image of our diaphragm as an inner tube that we are expanding. An inner tube that is wrapping all around our torso and that we are consciously filling with air, working against the belt to build the muscle up and get it activated. Now of course it's actually our lungs that are filling with air BUT the use of a visual image of our filling and emptying an inner tube is useful to expanding lung capacity. The more our "inner tube" or diaphragm expands the more air can fill the bottom part of our lungs (which is where they are largest, the lungs are actually pear shaped!). The belt offers resistance for the muscle to work against and that helps us develop the muscle tone needed get the most amount of air into our bodies!

If you're career isn't where you want it to be, you aren't working hard enough!

Artists don't like to hear it but if your career is NOT where you want it to be, likely YOU are actually the problem. Of course the "problem" will most seem like it's the industry out there that isn't paying attention. Either you don't know anyone who is truly "connected" or industry folks aren't getting back to you. (File under it's "their" fault).
Sometimes it's the band or the club owners or agents that are too difficult to deal with, or it's a producer isn't delivering the sound you had hoped and paid for.
The fact is we artist are crazily driven and ambitious creatures who think the world revolves around our desires and without a very good sense of "reality". Egomaniacs with low-self esteem that need approval from an audience and industry to feel validated. We almost always take things personally, as if the entire music industry is designed to keep us back and miss the simple fact that the onus is ALWAYS on the artist to create enough "buzz" to warrant the industries attention.
How do we create that BUZZ you ask? By being incredibly good. By being OUTSTANDING! (Nothing less is actually going to win any attention in the long run)
Usually it is our own "product" that is missing an important element that makes us a complete package. Sometimes it's our songs which may express our experience well but simply aren't packing enough punch to have impact in a crowded marketplace. Sometimes our voice isn't up to scratch and we're getting by on shoddy technique or not getting the most our of our natural gifts. Could be our live show isn't a stand out experience for the audience, or that our recordings aren't serving our core "identity" as an artist.
If even ONE of these elements are weak then folks int he industry will hang back until we have solved the issue. Challenging? You bet! But the industry, which used to do "artist development" deals, is not financially in a position to take on an artist any more. Its up to us to figure our weaker links and get help in solving the issues.
We need input to truly understand what our strengths and weaknesses but most of us are too afraid to ask the question "What am I missing", or "What would I have to do in order for you to work with me"?

We are scared to hear the answer, we're scared to have to do the work.
Why? Everyone is scared they're not good enough. But artists are extra insecure and we expect the world to fill us with praise, making it hard to ask even the most basic questions that would potentially move us ahead.
The most successful people in every walk of life are dedicated to "getting it right" and work tirelessly to achieve their goals. Sure they get scared, sure they have self doubt but they raise above their fears with courage. Thats what we must develop if we want to be high functioning in this world. What is it about artists that makes us believe we should simply be "discovered" in our naturally brilliant state? Thats a myth that simply isn't true.(more on artist development in future posts)
An industry built on stars being perceived as "unique" and "special" has handicapped the up and coming artist looking to achieve their goal, it's lead us to believe that singing on a TV show is all we need to be "discovered" and become a star.
There is no one at the top of this business in front of the audience or behind the scenes who doesn't work really really really hard to deliver the strongest possible product. Simple Fact. Check the story of any of your favorites stars careers and how much they did before we ever heard of them!