My new babies

FINALLY! After waiting several months, I am picking up my 2 new kittens from the breeders tonight! One is a male the other is a female! This is the picture of them. Any name suggestions?

Singers, support your local high notes! See if you can learn to do it in 81 seconds and report back. Do any of you understand the concept of "support" and how it works? Please answer simply yes or no!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIbOXw23sow&feature=g-upl

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"I’ve worked with a lot of vocal coaches, but what Renee has to say
really makes sense to me." ~ Linda Ronstadt

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Learn to Sing with Your Ears

The mastering of vocal technique is what I strive for as a vocal coach. However, I have been known to exhort my voice clients to forget about technique and simply, "Sing with your ears." Unbeknownst to me until recently, I fear this has been largely mistranslated by my students to  mean something about a pianist playing without sheet music in front of them. That's called "Playing by ear!" Not the same thing! No wonder they seemed confused.

To me "Sing with your ears" means there comes a time when you need to let go of your controlling left brain and simply surrender to the flow of the music and lyrics. This phrase has a lot in common with another of my favorites, "Shut up and sing!"

I don't intend that you should abandon the vocal techniques you have worked so long and hard to master. But technique should be only part of your study. You must continually challenge yourself to let go of your concentration on techniques and just sing what the song means to you.

After all, isn't that what a singer's job should be? We're there to move the audience to feel emoti0ns, both new and old. Perfect technique will never accomplish that. If you are singing a dance song, your song should make people's feet want to dance. If you sing a sad love song it must strike a chord with those who have loved and lost. When you are singing a spiritual song, it should inspire those who listen to an even greater faith.

Pure technique does none of this. In fact, although vocal technique does wonders for the sound, in and of itself, it does nothing useful for the soul.

There is an additional meaning behind my instruction to "Sing with your ears." And that has to do with how your vocal relates to the underlying track, accompanying you. The band, orchestra, piano or guitar sets up its own internal rhythm and sub-rhythms. Then along comes the singer's voice, the most audible instrument in the mix, but there is a great tendency for the singer to march on to the sound of its own drummer -- ignoring its relationship to the underlying rhythm in the track.

This shows not only poor social skills, but actually makes the singer's job harder. Instead of ignoring the band, why not let its rhythm and rhythmic pushes cradle your singing? Singing with your ears lets you surrender to the group rhythmic push and pulls, and the give and take with the instruments. You invite unity with the music instead of adversity.

How to accomplish this? Try closing your eyes and concentrating on just the music as you sing. Feel its inner rhythms and its melodic play with the vocal line. Then, still with closed eyes, gradually insert your vocal line into the mix, making certain that you fit into the grooves instead of fighting them. This is why we practice -- so we can let go of our obsession with technique. That's making music!

Nashville vocal coach Renee Grant-Williams reveals the trade secrets that have already helped hundreds of aspiring singers become celebrities: Tim McGraw, Martina McBride, Dixie Chicks, Miley Cyrus, Huey Lewis, Kenny Chesney, Faith Hill, Jason Aldean, Christina Aguilera...

Like me on Facebook at or follow me on Twitter @MyVoiceCoach. My blog can be found at MyVoiceCoachBlog.com.

Go to CyberVoiceStudio.com and sign up to receive my free weekly Video Voice Lessons.

For more information go to MyVoiceCoach.com or call 615.244.3280 to schedule a private voice session in person, by telephone or by Skype.
 

The Business Side of the Music Business Get Thee to an Attorney

The winds of change are racing through the label-driven recording industry. Although new avenues of distribution have emerged through social media marketing, I can’t think of a single singer who would turn down a offer from an established record label. I doubt that the record labels are going to fold up their tents and slip out of town kicking and screaming anytime soon. So it's still important to study the traditional paradigm.

You, as an aspiring singer need to find one person in a position of power who really, really, really believes in your talent. It must be someone who has powerful contacts and is respected by the music business community. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a manager. A lot of record deals are handled by entertainment attorneys, as well as producers, managers and agents. You need to find that one person who believes in you and is totally committed to furthering your career. Since you will absolutely need to have an attorney on board eventually to protect your interests let's start there.

If you are just starting your career, you may say, well what do I need a lawyer for? I don’t have any clout; I don’t have any hit records; I don’t have a hit song; why do I need a lawyer? In fact, it’s probably the time in your career that you will need a lawyer most. A good music business attorney can be a one-stop shopping center for information. They aren't managers, but they know the business. They aren't producers, but they know what it takes to get things produced.

How do you choose your lawyer? Make certain they have expertise in the music industry and have had successful relationships with the major labels. I highly recommend interviewing several before making a decision. If you do, as a courtesy, tell them you are meeting with others also. It helps if they understand you and love your music. Now you have a fan who can get your team's ball rolling and keep you out of trouble by protecting you from yourself.

A good music business lawyer is going to be aware of the kinds of rights you have and what you have to bargain with, as well as what the relative value of those rights are. By relative value I don’t mean simply money. A good music business attorney will protect your career, your time, your talent, as well as your freedom of choice. The reality is, you are going to have to give up some of those things every time you sign a contract that requires you to bargain away part of your time, talent and, ultimately, your future.

You will need their counsel if you are asked to sign a long term production contact or long term management contract where time is an important element on both sides of the ledger. The good lawyer is not always just out to get you the biggest bang for the buck. They will try to put you in a position where you can maximize your talent, maximize your time, and maximize your future opportunities.

And don't discount the power a respected music attorney can wield when it comes to getting the attention of the record executives. Label executives will return an attorney's phone call a lot sooner than yours or mine!

Another thing to consider is to start looking for an attorney before you need one. Many nationally-televised talent shows allow their contestants only a few days to reach an agreement to compete on their shows. Given such a small window you do not want to spend precious time searching for and trying to obtain a productive meeting with a good attorney. 

Nashville vocal coach Renee Grant-Williams reveals the trade secrets that have already helped hundreds of aspiring singers become celebrities: Tim McGraw, Martina McBride, Dixie Chicks, Miley Cyrus, Huey Lewis, Kenny Chesney, Faith Hill, Jason Aldean, Christina Aguilera...

Like me on Facebook at or follow me on Twitter @MyVoiceCoach. My blog can be found at MyVoiceCoachBlog.com.

Go to CyberVoiceStudio.com and sign up to receive my free weekly Video Voice Lessons.

For more information go to MyVoiceCoach.com or call 615.244.3280 to schedule a private voice session in person, by telephone or by Skype.

Gracie with Real Life 101 interviews me about what it takes to
become a voice coach. Caroline Cole performs. Run time 5:40

  
4th of July AnthemAnnemarie Picerno Wins!

Are you proud to be an American?  Annemarie Picerno shows her Red, White and Blue colors by writing a song about this great land of ours.
Annemarie’s song, “We Love the USA” has won our contest. She will receive a one hour session with Renee and a six month membership to Renee Grant-Williams’ Membership website.

Click HERE to listen to Annemarie’s song

“We Love the USA”
Words and Music by Annemarie Picerno