Here’s a typical scenario…you enter the studio with a brave face, energy held back and nerves in check (mostly). Maybe you’re slightly caffeinated. I seat myself behind my Mac as you make your way to the centre of the room and stand behind the microphone, held in a boom stand (in case you play guitar as well). You adjust the mic stand to your level and arrange your notes on the music stand as you offer up a plausible excuse as to why you won’t sound good today. Something along the lines of…

‘I’m not warmed up…I’ve had this cold…I’ve been really busy so I didn’t get a chance to practice much…’

I smile and pull up your track, ready to record your vocal, having heard it all before.
‘Then just sing gently to begin with…’ I suggest, familiar with all these garden variety excuses and countless other imaginative justifications for why we let ourselves down, universally it seems, by not making time for making music.

We singers are a funny breed. We grew up singing along with our favorite recordings, emulating the performers we admired and dedicating songs into hairbrush microphones, clad in Mickey Mouse pajamas. You didn’t? OK, so some of us are funny and others are in denial. Maybe not you. Maybe you sing when no one’s around with the discretion and decorum befitting this special event… in other words, rarely, and here’s the thing…you must sing, at performance volume, with focus and dynamic expression, every day to become proficient. That’s right, I said it. Every single day.

Once you arrive at competence and confidence, you can do with your voice what you will…chain smoke Marlboros, shoot Cuervo in between songs and open for Metallica every chance you get but until you have the expertise that comes with approximately 10,000 hours* of vocal practice over years of performing, you are, in all likelihood, underdeveloped (and of course I say that with all the love).

I’m not claiming that you must be a technically excellent singer to become a compelling performer but if your voice is your primary instrument and you’re an aspiring amateur or a struggling professional, you’re well advised to learn how to make the most of your voice and to understand what’s necessary to remain healthy through the ongoing rigors of rehearsal, recording and, in some fortunate cases, extensive touring.

A good vocal coach can help you prioritize your goals and help motivate you to up the ante and challenge yourself. A good coach will listen deeply…to how you sound, to what you say and, sometimes more significantly, to what you don’t say because fear is a powerful silencer. A good coach will also discourage any negative self-talk you may indulge in and call you on your self-deprecating tendencies as the power of your words cannot be overestimated and you’re best served by befriending yourself rather than berating yourself internally, as some of us do incessantly, and to our spirit’s detriment.

A good coach will encourage you to believe you can improve significantly, with focus.

I’ve been coaching vocalists now for about a decade, having spent the previous 20 years learning the craft and, to a modest degree, the art of performing on stage as a lead vocalist. I started out in children’s choirs, then fell under the spell of the folkies (Joni, Neil, Bob) as I made my way into the blues rock arena (Joplin, Stones, LedZep) and R&B club acts (Marvin, Aretha, Stevie). Finally, inevitably it seems, I landed in a jazz trio (Billie, Ella and Sarah, respectively). My career seems to have peaked in 1986 when I opened for great acts like BBKIng and Tower Of Power while 2010 finds me releasing my 3rd album of self-penned songs to a small but mighty following (admittedly made up largely of family and friends… cue the crickets).

But back to my original point. If you’re uncertain as to how to make the most of your vocal strengths or if you struggle with ongoing inconsistencies in your delivery, you will likely benefit by having a vocal coach evaluate your performance. Ideally, this is achieved through recordings so that you can develop solid mic technique and learn how to make the most out of future studio time in the process. Had I known then what I know now, I would have asked for help earlier and more often in my career, without the mistaken belief that by doing so I was admitting to a lack of capability that would somehow ‘out’ me as an impostor. This fear of being found out keeps many a potentially exceptional performer from getting help when it’s most needed and can contribute to the despair and insecurity many artists are prone to feeling to begin with, even at the best of times.


Three Amazing But True Facts About Singing (That You May Not Know)

1. Ensuring that your song is in a suitable key for your vocal range is imperative.

This is the most common mistake singers make. Either by straining to hit the money notes of the original vocalist or by jumping up the octave when the melody goes too low to follow. If you’re not able to cover the notes that a given song requires, either change the key or choose a song that is within your range capability. And no, singing the harmony part when the going gets tough is not a viable solution to this dilemma but I admire your strategic thinking here. Nice try!


2. All singers have a ‘vein of gold‘, and it’s your holy grail quest to uncover your own.

The ‘vein of gold’ concept, introduced by Julia Cameron of The Artist’s Way series of publications, describes an important concept in developing your style as an artist in any medium. While it’s true that the great actor Robert DeNiro is capable of playing a comedic role, I’ll bet we can all agree that he’s not at his shining best in this genre. DeNiro’s most compelling screen characters come to life when he is Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver or Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull. These dark and dangerous men are depicted innately, one might say more naturally by the actor. This is DeNiro’s vein of gold. And so it is with singers. You too have a genre-strength, a kind of story that becomes you, a language of nuance or bombast (occasionally both) that best fits with your energy and your personality. It’s not that you can’t sing in a wide variety of styles but rather that by honing in on the style that suits you best (by an audience’s estimation, not just your Mom’s) you will stand out in a way that makes recognition by peers and critics possible. Not likely, mind you, but possible at least, and that’s a start.

For the benefit of those born yesterday, there are countless excellent singers out there, able to imitate their idols admirably, but figuring out how you set yourself apart from these showboating model/dancers is very likely key to your success as a performer.
Gimmicks may work for a while but a unique voice is timeless and unforgettable, especially when telling a story of its own, and that’s what we’re shooting for here.
Also, any adult unfamiliar with the grail quest is emphatically and enthusiastically encouraged to go directly and without delay to the writings of Joseph Campbell, specifically, the stages of the hero’s journey, a psychological trip that we’re all on, whether we know it or not. For an excellent albeit brief overview of the steps involved, see http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/smc/journey/ref/summary.html.

And lastly, because I know you’ve got better things to do that read my ramblings all day long, why don’t we all learn to play a musical instrument?


3. A basic understanding of how to play an instrument is invaluable for singers.

Piano or guitar seem to be the most practical in the long run, but any instrument is helpful. The ability to chord along with the songs you’re learning is a very useful skill which often leads to writing songs of your own, given time and a concerted effort on your part. You owe it to yourself to explore playing, even if you just learn a few fundamentals. If you can get to a level of proficiency that allows you to accompany yourself as a solo performer, you will open up a world of opportunities that may be lost given a complete reliance on the availability (and interest) of other musicians.

May I suggest that you go to making music as one whose hair is on fire goes to water?

No one can make it happen for you, though some may be able to guide you in the right direction. Others will offer helpful maps that may be worth making room for in your gig bag. You decide what’s worth carrying when you’re ready to travel.

Here’s the truth as I see it… only you know what you’re capable of creating and who you are becoming as a performing artist. Only you know your reasons for wanting to be heard. Only you can determine what you will say, once your audience is before you.

Thing is, we all can use a little help gettin’ there. Don’t be afraid to ask for directions. Don’t worry if someone ‘doesn’t get you.’ Just find someone who does and move on to where you feel supported and understood. Coaches, like teachers, friends and band mates, may come and go, some are a good fit while others are not but if you can connect with someone who can truly inspire you, you’ll be richer for the experience in all your days to come.

And this is what I hope for all people everywhere. I hope you give yourself a chance to uncover your musical voice and that you explore it’s full range of color and expression.
I hope you find a way to share the stories of your life.
I hope you find other singers whose voices blend with yours.
I hope you find yourself in the company of musicians who bring out the best in you.
I hope you sing for your soul, to comfort and to console, to celebrate and to mourn, to live fully, musically, until all sound fades and we go, gently or not, into that good night.



* In his book ‘Outliers’, Malcolm Gladwell cites the “10,000-Hour Rule”, claiming that the key to success in any field is, to a large extent, a matter of practicing a specific task for a total of around 10,000 hours.