Josh Groban – Drummer, then singer?

Josh Groban was a drummer?

So, believe it or not, I don’t get THAT much Josh Groban brought in to the teaching studio… quite surprising given how great Josh’s voice is and how popular he is.

Nevertheless! Here is a great video someone posted on a forum I’m a member of.

Turns out Josh studied with Seth Riggs, the guy who started off the technique of Speech Level Singing (the method I initially trained and Certified as a singing teacher in) and which principles underpin the IVA teaching method.

In this video, he talks about his own background, how he actually started as a drummer (YES! a DRUMMER!), how he started getting coaching with Seth, and how his first gigs were massive concerts. Crazy stories but utterly true. He’s also one of the most humble guys you’re ever going to meet.

Check it out.

For those of you who are also musicians, but perhaps feel that because you started singing AFTER getting decent on another instrument you are somehow disqualified from being classified as a true singer… or that you can never become a great singer… Josh is a living testimony this is not true.

Whatever you think is stopping you from achieving your goals, is not what’s actually stopping you. It’s you THINKING something is stopping you, that is the thing that’s really preventing your progress.

Watch the video and hear the hidden nugget in there.

How to get high notes? Is your volume knocking you off balance? Demonstration courtesy of Circa Survive

How to get high notes?

This is possibly THE most common question I get asked ‘Mark, how do I get to those high notes? can you make it easy for me?’

The answer is ‘I’ll show you’ and ‘yes’, but I want to talk a little about a common culprit and little known issue that often prevents students getting there.

The Issue is often ‘Volume’

So, I often get students come in who sing waaaaay too loud… I often get get students who sing too quietly, but far and away the most common issue is singing too loudly.

Now, it is not that singing loud in itself is a bad thing, but often when singers sing verrry loudly they are knocking themselves off balance. Let me explain…

The voice is a very complicated instrument, but at it’s heart it’s a wind instrument. The sound is generated by your vocal cords, which is stirred into motion by you blowing air through them.

If you play a wind instrument or know someone who plays a wind instrument, then you or they will know that all wind instruments require a certain amount of air to ‘get going’. It’s not about having LOTS of air, nor very little air, but a decent moderate amount of air makes it the easiest way to start learning to play an instrument.

Wind instruments players will also tell you how you CAN increase the amount of air/air pressure, but it requires an increase in skill as well to control the instrument, otherwise you can lose control of pitch or the tone.

The same is true of the voice. Once you leave that comfortable ‘moderate’ amount of air flow, at a comfortable volume level, it requires skill to keep the vocal cords behaving themselves with that increased pressure. At this point, other muscles surrounding the larynx go into ‘panic’ preservation mode, and tense up to protect the larynx and the delicate muscles within the larynx… unless the skill of the singer permits the vocal cords to maintain appropriate behaviour even under that extra pressure.

Here’s an example by a band called Circa Survive. Their lead singer Anthony Green sings pretty darn high, but sometimes sounds like he’s tearing his throat apart in this electric amped environment:

ELECTRIC SONG

But in this acoustic enviroment, while he still strains, it is FAR less noticeable. By simply knocking his volume down 10-20%, he has verrry quickly entered that ‘optimal’ amount of air flow and suddenly the tension he is experiencing (and that we’re hearing) is far more manageable.

ACOUSTIC SONG

THIS is a prime example of where adding volume before the skill is there results in strain and tension. Now these guys are a great band, and I’m not trying to knock them, but the strain he is experiencing is visually and sonically evident throughout the first video.

So, if you’re finding it tough to maintain control, try knocking your volume down just 5-10%, maybe even 20% on those notes that are causing a problem, and see how that tension alleviates itself. It may not sound as strong to you, but that muscular co-ordination of your vocal cords is far more balanced… we can then build strength into that co-ordination so that it FEELS that easy, but SOUNDs absolutely massive.

It’s absolutely possible, just drop us a line to get booked in and we’ll show you how.

Riffing Lesson: Natalie Weiss does Tori Kelly’s Pretty Young Thing

Riffing is something many people think is harder than it actually is. Let me illustrate…

So here is a video of the amazing American artist Tori Kelly. There is just incredible control and artistry in this video by Tori.

Check out her stuff – really fresh and inspiring!

There is a KILLER vocal riff at 2m22s, which I’ve been giving a bash and I can promise you – it’s tough! That said, it is not as difficult as it might seem once you’ve broken it down. Here’s a link to a great singer Natalie Weiss Breaking Down This Riff – she was even teaching at a training conference I went to back in August 2013!

There are a great many things we all think are very difficult, but actually, EVERYTHING is difficult… until we’ve done it so many times that it becomes easy. Not only that, but sometimes it just takes a different perspective and simpler approach to make even the most seemingly-complex issue become pretty straightforward to solve.

With that in mind, if you want to start learning to riff, and learn the riff she pulls off at 2m22s, then check out this awesome video from Natalie Weiss from ‘Breaking Down The Riffs’

See? It might sound crazy but if you take it slow and break it down, it’s actually not as insurmountable as it first seemed.

So do me (and you!) a favour – ask yourself – what was the last thing you decided you COULDN’T do vocally? Is it too fast? Too high? Too low? Once you break it down, you may start to see in-roads to help you tackle the issue you’re struggling with. Honestly, all you need to start moving towards doing the very thing you’re scared of is adopting a different perspective and utilising the right tools.

BeyoncĂ© – Love On Top

What. a. tune.

Whether you love her, hate her, or just don’t really care, there is no denying the phenomenal global talent that is Beyonce Knowles.

She has incredibly vocal ability, robustness, and performance skills that are rare to say the least.

In this particular song she introduces some RIDICULOUS riffs and some nigh-on-impossible key changes. That said, I cover this sort of material with a number of singers and really help a number of people work towards making these sorts of riffs not just achievable, but a standard part of their repertoire.

Check it out, particularly the last 1m30s.

Bruno Mars & Travie McCoy – Billionaire Acoustic Version

As I just tweeted, I am preparing a video presentation on how to build your business, and one of the elements I’m talking about is the importance of blogging. So here is a quick blog on one of my favourite artists (who I have talked about loads before) – the Wonderful Bruno Mars

Apologies for the language at the start – not sure why he opted for that in this version!

What a tune though, and I love the acoustic version. Enjoy!

Bring Him Home – Alfie Boe

This is not my usual musical fare, but it’s so beautiful I felt the need to share it.

Just such a tender and beautiful sound, very well executed. His diction goes a bit astray – singing ‘bring him ham’ made me chuckle!

In any case, check out the magnificant Alfie Boe in Les Mis ‘Bring Him Home’ – amazing!