VoiceCouncil Magazine

Elijah Singleton – Me singing Valiant, by The Spill Canvas.

Greg Barker — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:47:39 +0000

hey, i’m 19.. I like to play music.. that’s about it.

Promoting Your Voice III: Your Story

Greg Barker — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:30:02 +0000

Have you identified and shared the aspects of your life-journey that are compelling to others? Marina V shares how…

I have a strong opinion about the bio-cards that vocalists and bands hand out.

The typical bio-card has the artist’s name, website details and a few endorsements on the back. It’s usually glossy and visually appealing.

Those are all important elements, but the most important element is usually missing: Your Story.

Each of us has a story, elements of which are very appealing or inspiring to our audiences; we must share this story. After all, we are already sharing our soul through song.

In my case, people find it interesting that I have had a musical journey that defied the odds; that I have come from Moscow to the US, become a citizen here and am trying to bring together a wide range of musical influences.

Here’s a part of my current bio:

Your Story is Relevant

There are aspects of your story and your struggles that are very important for you to share in order to help people to understand you – this will help people connect to you and your music.

Since it is your story, it may be that you have grown complacent about it, or have forgotten how relevant to others some of your challenges or successes are.

It is all too easy to think that others’ stories are more important than our own – lay this kind of thinking aside – it’s self-defeatist!

Instead, think of what you’ve accomplished, what you are most grateful for, the aspects of your story that others find interesting. Sometimes there are little quirks or details in our journey that are of interest to others.

Your first job is to write these aspects of your journey into a brief paragraph and add it to your bio card.

Beyond the Bio Card

You will find your own rhythm of sharing aspects of your story between songs in your set. Discovering this rhythm comes only with experimentation – I just want to encourage you to experiment.

Remember, people are reflecting on their lives as they listen to your music – some personal and thoughtful reflections on your music and where it comes from can enhance their experience.

Of course, there is no formula for this; each performer will have their own ways of sharing and sometimes a brief sentence is better “connective tissue” between songs than a long narrative.

The important thing, though, is that you make this effort and that you maintain awareness of the reactions as you share, so that you can change and adapt in how you connect your story to those who gave gathered to listen to you.

Your Current Journey Can Be Shared

Your current vocalist/musical goals are also a part of your story and need to be shared with others, most importantly your fans.

As a gigging vocalist, you are a part of a musical movement – your own. That’s pretty interesting in a hum-drum world of bureaucracy, bill paying and 9-to-5 jobs.

First and most obviously are the gigs you have lined up.

Even if you have only one gig lined up in the next six months, get the word about this out. Share what you are planning to do at the concert on your website, with friends, in emails, etc.

Or perhaps you are recording a CD – this journey needs to be shared!

You might consider giving your fans a track from this developing album – I even have fans sponsoring this aspect of my journey.

Sharing your current journey communicates dynamism to those who look at your website – this is important in a web populated by static sites.

And the wonderful thing about sharing your journey in emails and on the web is that people aren’t “captive”, they can take a short glance or a long look – it’s completely up to them.

If you look at my website, you’ll find that I even share my journey with culture, the environment and recycling. These thoughts lie behind my songs and I make no apologies for wanting to share them with interested fans.

Promotion Help is Closer than you Think

If you were to take away only one aspect of promotion from this series, I hope it is this: you already have the opportunities you need to step ahead with your music.

They may not be the opportunities you want! After all, there were times I was tired of my 125 Borders gigs! However, these are the places you work from.

Start noticing what helps you to connect to people at your gigs, get to know your fans and think creatively about how they can help you.

And always value your story; use it to gather your courage and share it with others.

There are always going to be people more successful, more talented and better looking than you (as there are for me!) but if you’re great at what you do, perform with passion, keep knocking on doors and be a kind, polite and good human being – things will happen for you.

*Written by Gregory A. Barker in conversation with Marina V.

Marina V is a singer/pianist/songwriter with an incredible life story involving a journey from her native Russia to the USA. Marina’s music is a magical blend of her angelic voice, hooky melodies, thoughtful lyrics, and fresh chord progressions, which make this new artist truly special. “If the Beatles & Tori Amos had a child raised in Russia by Tchaikovsky, that would be me” muses Marina V.

Useful Links

Marina’s Website

Marina on MySpace and FaceBook1 and Facebook2

Promoting Your Voice I

Promoting Your Voice II: Fan Power

The Good Habits of a Singer II

Greg Barker — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 19:35:55 +0000

Featured Video

The Good Habits of a Singer II – Vocalist Insight 23

Do you stick with what works for you? Leontine Hass explains when you should challenge yourself – and when you shouldn’t.

Your Body

Are You an Adrenaline Junkie?

Succeeding at An Audition

The Good Habits of a Singer I

Vocalists: Know Your Jaw

When You Don’t Need an Agent

Vocal Style and Technique Are Not the Same

The Singer’s X-Factor

Beyond Opinions of Your Voice

Elena – Heartbeat – Original Song

Greg Barker — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:13:13 +0000

To be completely honest with you, I really have no idea what to write here. Haha. I’m just a regular seventeen year old who likes driving around singing in cars on summer nights, getting cheap food at Taco Del Mar, and occasionally making a fool of myself in public. :) I also enjoy attempting to write songs, but that’s probably pretty evident already ha. Anyway, thanks so much for taking the time to watch. It means the world to me! Take care. Elena

Review: The Voice Band App

Greg Barker — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:13:12 +0000

Review of Reviews: we’ve studied the most important product reviews so you don’t have to.

Type: iPhone App

Item: Voice Band for the iPhone
US $3.00 (a lite version is available free at the App Store)
UK -not yet available on the UK iPhone app store

Mic Scale

At a Glance: Voice Band turns your voice into songs; simply use your voice to record multiple instruments on to separate tracks and mix your own original compositions. Choose your ‘instruments’ from guitars, bass, sax, synthesizers and drums and add built-in effects of distortion, reverb or delay.

High Notes: While it may seem like “cheating”, it does allow you to sketch out and arrange a song very quickly when you have an idea and no other way of getting it down. You can also export your creation as an MP3 file and email to your band mates and friends.

Off Pitch: Some reviewers are warning that this kind of application contributes to future generations unable to play real musical instruments. At the end of the day, though, it’s just a bit of harmless fun.

More: There are rumours of the manufacturers producing another product which is described as “pro-audio”; it seems safe to assume that Voice Band is not. Singers will want to consider this to be a fun product rather than a serious tool.

Website

See Other Reviews

A Fantastic Morning Voice

anthony — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 01:13:56 +0000

How can you have an ideal morning voice under less than ideal conditions?

Dear Dr. Jahn,

I’d like to have a great singing voice first thing in the morning! So, what would be your ideal plan? I have to also add that pollen allergies, some late nights and * ahem * less than ideal performance venues add to my challenges!

Best wishes,

Brad

Dear Brad:

Many singers have “morning voice”, especially after a performance the night before. While some of this in unavoidable, I have several suggestions that should minimize the impairment.

By way of prevention, try not to abuse your voice the night before: use good technique and minimize social voice use, saving it for your actual performance.

Minimize the use of alcohol— it has a dehydrating effect on the vocal folds, and an anesthetic and dis-inhibiting effect centrally, both of which can lead to excessive trauma to the larynx.

If your performing environment is smoky or otherwise polluted, a steam inhaler in your dressing room would be useful for moistening the vocal tract between sets.

Those breaks between sets are golden: guard them jealously! Rest your voice, try to minimize chatting with well-wishers, and stay in a relatively quiet setting, rather than mingling with customers or fans.

At the risk of having to get up at night for the bathroom, drink two large glasses of water on retiring, and keep the glass beside your bed for additional sips if you happen to wake up during the night.

If you feel you have abused your larynx excessively, you may also consider taking one anti-inflammatory pill, such as Ibuprofen (200 mg), provided that there are no medical contraindications to this.

If you have any history of reflux, a tablespoon of antacid will minimize the risk of further irritation to the vocal tract at night.

The next morning, start with another glass of water. Then, take a long hot steamy shower, and gently begin to vocalize in the shower.

Do this even before making any phone calls, or engaging in any conversations.

While vocalizing, concentrate on flexibility, doing some glissandos (slides) through the passaggio (the part of the voice where you transition from chest voice to head voice)— start with slides from top to bottom (easier), then from bottom to top, in a soft voice.

Don’t start your warm-ups by pushing the voice, especially at the top, and never start to sing full out without warming up, especially after a “less than ideal” performance situation the night before.

Anthony F. Jahn MD

Dr. Jahn welcomes your questions. You can send these to editor@voicecouncil.com.

This discussion is for general information and not to be construed as specific medical advice that you should obtain from your own physician

Lee Whittaker – Turned My World Upside Down

Greg Barker — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 23:28:47 +0000

Hi, I’m Lee. I’ve been writing songs for about seven years now , hope you like my them, Thanks.

Promoting Your Voice II: Fan Power

Greg Barker — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 22:41:37 +0000

Marina V shares how she’s realized the potential of her fan base.

It was in a Borders bookstore gig that a returning fan asked simple question: “Is there anything I can do to help?”

There certainly was. I needed my bio-cards handed out, assistance with setting up equipment and help spreading the word about my next gigs.

How should I respond to the question?

People want to participate in meaningful work and with a little thought and planning this can be turned into a wonderful opportunity for both the fan and the artist.

It does need to be managed with care and insight but I have to proclaim, loudly, that without the participation of my fans, I would not have been able to reach my goals.

My answer to that fan in Borders was a resounding “yes” and this continues to be my answer today.

Healthy Working Relationships with Fans

One key to maintaining healthy relationships with fans is to offer different levels of involvement; people can “plug in” to your musical journey in ways that they feel are most appropriate, with commitment levels that suit where they are at in their lives.

Some people merely want to hear more about you, to communicate their thoughts and to feel a part of a musical community.

So, I developed more interaction with my fans online: MySpace, Facebook and email lists. Setting up a forum was critical to helping people stay in touch with what I’ve been doing.

All of this communication has been very helpful in letting people know my latest news; after all, it is not good enough to merely have a website – it is about having people actually looking at it and interacting with it!

Going Deeper with Fans

But my work with fans goes way beyond this level. Fans help to manage my work on the web, moderate the forums, make important connections, sponsor recording sessions and host concerts.

That’s right: host concerts.

You see, I absolutely love live performance, so if a fan wants to sponsor a house concert, I’ll show up.

Imagine a private setting of twenty to fifty people who already love your music, or have been told by a friend that they must hear you—who wouldn’t want to perform?

These house concerts are a real delight for me, though often they are not actually in a house, as they frequently grow larger than the sponsoring fan first imagined.

Fans are in charge of organizing, promoting and ensuring that the event goes well. For them, it’s exciting to enable an artist they enjoy to come to their town; for me, it’s a built-in audience.

To ensure that the event comes off and that the fan is committed to the process (and that I don’t make a trip that I can’t afford!), we sign a short and simple contract.

I have to underscore how effective these concerts are: we all need to support ourselves and these gigs guarantee an income – consider the fact that many venues in larger centers like NYC take a large cut.

I want the kind of exposure that comes with New York City, so I do book myself into traditional venues—but I don’t make the trip without having some house concerts lined up too.

The Fan Team

I invite my fans to join my V-Team; you can see details of it here– and perhaps get some ideas for how you might work with the fantastic energy that fans can bring.

The work with my fans is the centerpiece of all that I do; however, it wouldn’t go anywhere without one other activity that I do entirely by myself…

I hope you will check out my article next week… (yes, I am going to keep you in suspense!)

*Written by Gregory A. Barker in conversation with Marina V.

Useful Links

Marina’s Website

Marina on MySpace and FaceBook1 and Facebook2

Sign up here for our ‘Monday Vocalist Motivator’ emails if you want to find out when the next part of this series comes out.

Review: The VAM™ Monitor

Greg Barker — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 20:10:16 +0000

Review of Reviews: we’ve studied the most important product reviews so you don’t have to.

Type: Vocal Monitor (Acoustic)

Item: VAM™ Vocal Acoustic Monitor

US $12.99 – $29.99
UK £19.99

Mic Scale

At a Glance: If you can’t ensure proper monitoring by using floor wedges and you don’t have an in-ear monitor, you could get a vocal acoustic monitor. The VAM™ is basically a piece of plastic designed to cup your ear and mouth in order to cut out distracting background noises. If you can hear your own voice, you stand a much better chance of staying both in time and in tune with the rest of your band.

High Notes: The Vocal Acoustic Monitor will accommodate almost any microphone, handheld or on a stand. Plus, it leaves your hands free for other things. Having no electrical parts, it won’t generate feedback.

Off Pitch: Great for practice sessions, in a studio setting or for private vocal training but in a live situation would any serious singer really choose a VAM over a good sound engineer and decent on-stage monitoring?

A Singer Says: “This product is solid and uniquely shaped to reach from the ear all the way to the mouth. I could not believe the difference in sound. Let me tell you, these things are amazing and will be as common as the microphone clip” Jamie Vendera Vocal Coach

VAM’s Website

See Other Reviews

Review 1

Review 2 (YouTube – demo)

Review 3

Review 4

Steve Russell – Broken Radio

Greg Barker — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 20:02:31 +0000

I sing, I play, I write. I like sunny evenings, the smell of freshly cut grass, my cat Harley, Jack Daniels, Coca-Cola, and Tom Petty songs. I dislike rude people.