The Intelligent Vocalist

Your voice will change dramatically from birth to old age. What can you expect during these different periods? Can you sing well your entire life? In this episode, John takes you through the how and why of your changing voice and gives you tips for staying healthy throughout your vocal lifetime.

It is a common question for singers (and all creatives) - do I have what it takes? But is this even the question to ask? And if asked, who is to answer? In this episode, John looks at this fundamental struggle of self-doubt and how it impacts you, the singer.

One of the best compliments you can give a musician is to say he or she has "big ears." This means an ability to hear music at a deep level. Singing is a skill that requires so much attention that the ability to focus on the music around us is often diminished. In this episode, John gives some simple exercises to increase your focus and ability to listen on a deeper level.

The tonal variations and shades of a musical instrument (such as the guitar) are nearly infinite. From the choice of woods, to strings, to the musician's approach, each element helps create a rainbow of sound variations. Singers have their own infinite color choices, and vowel shadings are a significant source of variations for musical expression. In this episode, John discusses how to think of and approach vowels for maximum variety and suggests exercises to help find your musical color palate.

The mind is a stimulus-seeking machine, which creates opportunities to be constantly distracted. Technology, especially social media is engineered to take advantage of our increasingly short attention spans. The problem is, the work we singers seek to do takes a great deal of focus and awareness. In this episode, John discusses the problems of distraction and how to find your focus in an increasingly noisy world.

Great singers have a uniqueness that makes them rare and special. But they also have traits in common that help fuel their greatness. In this episode, John discusses these traits so many leading singers have cultivated and developed in their musical lives to lift themselves above the pack. These traits are: Consistency Self-Awareness Kinesthetic Awareness Attention to Detail A Story to Tell Humility Fearlessness Developing and nurturing these traits will help catapult your singing and performance to a higher level.

It all starts with sound, however, few singers understand the nature of sound and the importance of creating balanced sound waves. In this episode, John breaks down how sound works and the differences in balanced and unbalanced sound waves. SHOW LINKS: January Voice Challenge

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I can't change - sage advice through the ages, but often ignored by singers. The beauty of singing is it is a discipline of continuous improvement and discovery. But there are also limitations in each of our voices, limitations that should be accepted so we can focus on what we can change and improve. By focusing on our strengths and accepting our weaknesses, we can blossom into the best vocal version of ourselves.

Bad habits are easy to form but hard to live with. Good habits are hard to form but easy to live with. Your current level of singing ability is the culmination of your daily work habits and routines and while every voice can improve, not all of us have formed the habits to make consistent improvement. In this episode, John discusses the importance of habit and consistency for your voice and music and gives some tips to help make 2019 a great singing year. Suggested Links: Atomic Habits by James Clear - A fantastic method for starting and maintaining solid habits. For more information on John's January vocal commitment special (and the chance to work with him at a special rate) CLICK HERE

2018 was a year of continued advances in singing science and the influence of media savvy voice teachers. In this year-end wrap-up, John looks at some key areas of voice and discusses the current state of singing and teaching.