Vocal strategies than can help captivate the listener

Pro Songwriting Masterclass | Liz Rodrigues (Eminem, Céline Dion, Gwen Stefani, Nicole Scherzinger ...)

It all starts with creating the right mindset, before the work that that is part of the work before you start to interpret a song.

I was listening to a fantastic podcast by a  great vocal coach by the name of John Henny. Check him out if you, if you’d like H-E-N-N-Y. he had a podcast on mindset.  And, his whole thing is about mind body connection and voice.  So if you think of it this way, our instrument, is connected to us, this voice box here.

 We are not, we don’t have a set of keys in front of us that create sound. We don’t have, you know, groupings and patterns on a guitar and chords that create the sound, or strings, I should say. We have  vocal chords that are directly connected to the very first thought we have before we make a sound. So, creating that space in your mind, where you can free  your voice, and not have  the negative judgments  that hold your voice back,  that’s the way to find the unique  sound that belongs to you.

I want you to think of any of your favorite singers.  And  you’ll realize  as soon as they start to sing, you know who they are.

They’re unique, their sound is unique  the way they  pronounce a vowel. Adele will, the way she  pronounces her ooze and oz at the end of her phrases, that makes her unique. you know, if she were to listen to the opinions, oh, you’re not saying that properly, or, you know, she would not have that unique sound that we all know her for. Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Carol King, Carol King’s not.

She’s an incredible songwriter, who, who sang her her songs, but she’s not known to be the best singer, although you know who she is, just from the sound of her, her voice, and her timber, and her tones.  So, that takes courage to do that. And that takes working on, where  your mindset is when you start to become a singer.

So, let’s just take a quick look at things  that can hold back  that authentic part in your, in your mind. like I said, too many opinions. you know, what do you think of your voice? That’s the most important opinion, how you feel about your voice. Take a second to ask yourself that question. My voice is what? My voice is,  you know, raspy and rich. It, you know, it, the vibrato is like this.

It’s like that. Find the affirmations that you need that are positive. Find, pick out the great things that you love about your voice, and start teaching yourself to  use those as opposed to  they said that I need to be more like this, or they said that I need to be more like that. Or they said that. you know, there’s a lot of, they saids growing up. I, I remember hearing, you know, growing up on the stages and stuff.

I remember hearing  these opinions and, and asking, you know, what my fault though, for asking too many people? Find the one or two people. I have a vocal coach that I am forever loyal to and love. she is the one and only person that I go to  to get help, for, you know,  I call her my vocal scientist, that she’s the one that helps me  technically get to the places that I need.

And I try to remove all the other opinions that people may have. so those things, opinions, not trusting the instincts that you have. you know, early on in, in my career,  I remember li listening to  tons of different genres in music. I loved to do that. It’s different for everyone. But I li I would sit and listen to records from all over the world, different languages. I just love melody and voices. and,  and because we are vocal learners, you know,  we’re going, whatever we listen to, we will somehow, subconsciously use those melodies and tones.

And in the  start of my career, I  would close that off. I wouldn’t, because they were so different. I thought that they wouldn’t really fit in or be acce, you know, accepted. And so, my instincts, my instincts now are to dip into those  different sounds that I’ve collected over the years, and just let it be free and let them come out in the melodies that I make, and the sounds that I make with my voice.

 Because those are the things that will make you unique. And when people, when you’re sitting in a room with,  with people who have never heard that before, they, that will be the thing that you were known for. That will be  your sound.  So, trust that, trust your inti, trust your instincts. And don’t, don’t block them out.

It’s okay to be different. It’s okay if you love to go up a little in a, in a, in a, in a melody and, and not do it like everyone else. you may have another thing that will  totally shut you down in your mind before you sing, is,  you know, past experiences,  times that it hasn’t gone right. Things that have gone wrong on stage, in recording studios, not being able to record it, losing your voice. So, I mean, the list goes on and on, and on.

 Those past experiences are the learns. Those are the parts and the places that are so necessary  to  learn from your mistakes and know how to make them better. Without them, you will never be the best that you can be as a vocalist. You have to have those mistakes. You have to, to have those downfalls, and you have to learn from them.  That is,  you know, that’s the journey. That’s part of the work.

 And  we need to find ways to turn those into, positive, learning  experiences that just make you a better singer. I promise you, I  have gone  through that, and I have made my, I’ve had my big downfalls and had my bad days. And most of the time,  you’re the hardest on yourself. Most people won’t see it the way you do.  I’ve gotten lyrics on stage.

I’ve, you know, look it up online. You will see the best of the best. Make these mistakes. It’s everywhere now, and we’re all allowed to watch, and I’ll be fine with it. So, it’s great. Make your mistakes. Have the courage to do that, because that’s how you’re gonna be a better singer, for sure. okay, love this one. Following trends,  you know, that’s how we learn. We do, we, we learn as a, a young singer, I sounded like eventually sounded like Celine Dion.

I just sang to her music over and over again. I wanted to be just like her. I wanted to, well, I shouldn’t say I wanted to be just like her, but, I was so moved by her voice, her and Whitney and Mariah mostly Celine Dion and Whitney Houston, those big ballad singers. I wanted to hit every note. I wanted to catch all of that stuff. And so I would just imitate and imitate and imitate and, and do that. And I used to, you know, and that’s okay. That’s, that’s great when you’re, when you’re, when you’re learning and when you’re starting up.

Doesn’t matter when you’re starting out, but you’re gonna have those, you’re gonna sub subconsciously have, have those melodies in your head anyway. But when you start to just  ignore the things that make you unique and ignore, the little differences that you may think  are not gonna work because they don’t sound like what’s happening today. that is a big mistake.

Use those things that make you different and infuse them into what’s happening today …

 

Advice for vocalists. Learn how to become a great singer, Powerful confident vocals, Vocal performing, Pop star vocal coaches, How to find a professional singing mentor / coach / trainer, Expert tips for singers, Vocal health and mindset, Develop performance skills, Grow confidence as a singer, Training for the stage, Write and perform with major label artists

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