Mark JW Graham - Singing Lessons Nottingham

August 6, 2012December 2, 2017

Charlie Hunter – Portland Jazz Festival Concert

Not a singer, but someone amazing and worth listening to. This guy has pioneered a unique style on his own design of guitar that involves playing bass lines with his thumb and guitar lines with his fingers, all at the same time. Has to be seen to be believed it’s that amazing. This is a full live concert from February 2012.

WARNING: Jazz contained within ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8xPaAnx5OM

He’s a massive inspiration to me to not be afraid of what people say is or isn’t possible, to not be afraid to try something new and not be put off by others.

July 17, 2012December 2, 2017

Stevie Wonder – For Your Love

The last few weeks I’ve been listening to lots of Stevie Wonder – he is an absolute monster songwriter and vocalist. This one is particularly excellent. In particular, check out the epic key changes and effortless pure high notes towards the end. The man is unbelievable.

I should also point out that he is a long-time student and friend of Seth Riggs – if you want to know more about Seth and his contribution to the progression of vocal technique (trust me, it’s important!) then just click here.

Love it.

July 11, 2012April 27, 2025

500 words or less: Stuck in a rut

Stuck in a musical rut?

Are you stuck in a rut? Just rehashing the same stuff over and over? Maybe it’s singing, guitar, piano, bass, whatever, you just feel like you are going over the same ground again and again…

Well, here’s my top tip for getting out of a rut:

Listen to something you’ve never listened to before

Why? Let me tell you why…

Something from nothing.

Music is a wonderful thing. It can take so many different forms, encompass so many different sounds, be expressed in so many different styles, be incredibly complex or ridiculously simple, pieces can be hours long or less than a minute. It can be created from nothing, and can feel like it becomes everything in a given moment. It really is a beautiful thing.

Those who are able to make their living from music are truly blessed. They get to make music and play around with it every day.

One thing that surprises me about a select number of musicians, professional and amateur alike, is their propensity to listen to just ONE style of music to the exclusion of all others. They might profess that they want to be the best at that one style, to shine out above everyone else operating in that genre… and I say that they are shooting themselves in the foot.

Products of our environment

We are all products of what we surround ourselves with. People, television, music, etc. This is reflected in our personalities and in our music. If all we do is listen to one particular style of music, then we will only regurgitate combinations of music that already exists. There is nothing wrong with listening to music we love, nothing wrong at all. But if all we do is indulge in the SAME stuff over and over, how can we ever expect to produce anything OTHER than the stuff we’re indulging in?

However, if we immerse ourselves in as many different styles of music as we can, we can take in new ideas, play around with undiscovered – or at least underutilised – combinations of sounds, and we can still further identify things we DON’T like and why… which means we can become more discerning with the music we make. All music is useful in some way. If you like it, learn how to play it, ask yourself why you like it. if you don’t like it, maybe learn how to play it, and ask yourself why you don’t like it. By doing this, you can expand your musical horizons and creativity. Why would you consciously limit yourself?

You want to get out of a rut? Ask someone to lend you the most quirky thing in their music collection, and listen to whole album. Ask yourself what did you like and why, and what didn’t you like and why. Try and incorporate ideas from this quirky stuff, and expand your horizons. If you’re a rocker, get some jazz. You a jazzer, get some country. You a bluegrass artist, get some opera in your ears…

Listen to something new today.

July 4, 2012December 2, 2017

500 words or less: Five Favourite Lyrics

What are your favourite lyrics?

Now, despite loving singing and songs, and as well as having a near photographic memory, I do find it difficult to pick apart lyrics for an entire song in a first listen – finding favourite lyrics can be tough. So when a lyric really sticks in my mind on first listen I KNOW I’ve got something I want to listen to again and again.

“Yes I know the name, sounds a little bit familiar, like a melody to a dream,
Yes I know, he wore the same face the same clothes, but that was so long ago”
‘Ghosts’ – Chris Cornell

This one (today) is one of my favourite lyrics because I felt it ‘revealed’ the nature of the whole song in a single phrase (the bridge). I felt it summed up what I felt the whole vibe of the song was about… the idea that someone is looking for a person they knew, but that person has left their old life behind and ‘isn’t there anymore’. Beautiful concept and wonderfully captured in song.

“Gentleness, sobriety, so rare in this society, at night a candle’s brighter than the sun”
‘Englishman in New York’ – Sting

Ah another set of favourite lyrics. I like this one because for the longest time I didn’t understand the link between the first half of the line and the second half. Then it dawned on me that (at least in my interpretation) that it was meant to convey the idea that being something rare stands out like a sore thumb. Nice combination of literal and metaphorical in the same line as well… a real eye/ear-opener for me.

“You can’t trust freedom when it’s not in your hand, when everybody’s fighting for the promised land”
‘Civil War’ – Guns N’ Roses

I don’t know what it is about this line that I love, I think it’s the raw visceral energy of the line… coupled with the strong rhyme between ‘hand’ and ‘land’. It just resolves perfectly, both musically and lyrically… yea… it’s a great song!

“You never thought you’d be alone, this far down the line, I know what’s been on your mind… you’re afraid it’s all been wasted time”
‘Wasted Time’ – The Eagles

This is another one that just transcended words for me, I felt it captured a moment into the life of a person (or both people) coming out of a broken relationship. The idea that the time spent on that relationship is lost, dead, wasted time. But the song wraps around on itself by the end and says ‘y’kno what, maybe it hasn’t all been wasted time’. And I like that ‘turnaround’ aspect… a lot!

“But is the best you can be, the best thing to be”
‘Crossroads’ – The Offspring

Great songwriters. I just love the play on words. Is the best you can be, really the best thing to be? I stopped paying attention to the song at that point because I was just totally lost in the world of that one lyric. Wonderful stuff.

There we have it, my favourite five lyrics. Why not share yours below?

July 2, 2012December 2, 2017

Adam Pascal – Pity The Child

Another great youtube video. This guy’s name is Adam Pascal, and you may recognise him from the movie ‘School of Rock’. He was the bassist of the band that fired Jack Black’s character. He is an excellent all-round vocalist and singer.

The top notes if I recall correctly are around C#5/D5, and the run up into them is tough, but very melodic.

Key Learning Point

I’ll be honest, as impressive as this sounds, it gets a bit shouty. It’s not the widest I’ve ever heard someone sing and by jove he’s doing something incredibly difficult… but does it sound good? If we stuck it down a minor third, I reckon he’d FEEL a lot better whilst singing, and it’d SOUND a lot better.

It doesn’t lack quality, but there is an easy way to MASSIVELY bump up the already existent quality in his voice. If he can make it sound that good in THAT key, how much better would it sound when he’s not working for EVERY note?

I know we harp on about that, but quality matters. It’s what makes the difference between great singers and “merely good” singers. It’s ALSO what makes the difference between singers who last 5 years and the ones who last 50 years.

Remember, put quality first and the rest will follow.

June 28, 2012December 2, 2017

Queen – One Vision (Live)

Following on from my post on Five Great Male Vocalists, I couldn’t resist sticking this awesome live version of one of my favourite songs up there. ‘One Vision’ by Queen.

Queen was a band that took the world by storm with ridiculous songwriting, vocal lines, guitar riffs and general bandcraft. This is one of my favourite songs of theirs, performed live at Wembley in 1986.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv1qcUAcIpE

Learning Points:

#1 – Live Vs Recording – Freddie was an outstanding vocalist, there’s no doubt there. BUT, what you record in the studio vs what you can actually consistently do live is another test altogether. Freddie was known for incredible recordings (as well as incredible performances), but he regularly had to alter the melodies of his songs to sing them live. Specifically, he would sing songs over 2nd bridge in recordings, but live would completely eliminate this in almost every song. The live version of ‘Hammer to Fall’ demonstrates this most obviously.

A key lesson from this is to not give in to ego, but to record songs only in keys you know you can do live. That way way you are never having to compromise on what you’d like to deliver.

#2 – Stage presence MATTERS – The above said, you can hardly complain about any of the performances by Queen – why is that? If the live performances deviate that much from the recordings, why is this not bothering anyone? Because stage presence counts for A LOT. Freddie was excellent at holding the audiences attention no matter how much he might have been reaching for certain melody lines or having to modify things to hit the notes. Yet, how many singers just stand still on stage? Plenty. There are the Adele’s of this world, but they MUST focus their efforts on their voice. Their voice sells the song completely, such that standing still on stage doesn’t detract from the performance.

It’s not that you have to pick one over the other (it’s more a sliding scale), but recognise that if you don’t feel comfortable throwing shapes to the extent of Freddie Mercury or the like, the less you want to move around, the stronger your vocals have to be. Ultimately, your stage presence should be a reflection of your personality, but recognise that the less energetic you want to be on stage, the tighter your vocals need to be.