My best friend Brian Bullard: "A MUSICAL DREAM" Anyone Can Whistle

This is my very best long-time friend in the whole world. Brian Bullard. For more than 30 years we've made it a point to get together at least  once a year. We've traveled  all over the States and Europe together (even Malta and Crete!)..Check out the YouTube video of him singing "Anyone Can Whistle" by Sondheim. That's what I mean  when I say "SING THE  WORDS! He lives and teaches in Milan Italy now. I miss him every day.  Renee

A note from my friend Lee Kernaghan, (Australian Man of the Year)

This note is from my good friend and student Lee Kernaghan and I wanted to share it with you.

 Dearest Renee,

How good it is to hear from you. I am currently flying over the outback on my way to start a tour in South Australia. You know I think about you so often, come to think of it just about every time I sing!!…You have helped me so much and I have only just scraped the surface of all you have to offer. All is going well out here and I hope you will be making another visit in the not too distant future…the seafood is as good as ever in fact I had some cold prawns with lemon juice at a party in Sydney recently and I think they were the best I’ve ever had.

You are probably hearing from young up and coming Australian artists every now and then. I try and send the ones with potential your way whenever possible. I recently took on a mentorship role for Toyota Starmaker. It is the biggest country music star search in Australia. I won it many years ago so to did another one of your students Keith Urban. The 2014 winner is Jared Porter and if it’s ok with you I will give him your contact details so he can set up a lesson when he travels to Nashville in June. There is another young country boy Damian Agius who I think could benefit greatly from your tuition. He’s only 19 but with the right songs  and a few more years under his belt I think he can do very well.

Well my plane is on descent into Adelaide. Sending my best and lots of love from me and Robby.

Lee x

What Style of Music is Right for You?

One of my Twitter friends asked me, “How do you know which style of music suits your voice?” The answer is not as easy as one might think and it’s not all about the voice. I certainly could not answer in the 140 limited Twitter characters. So, I thought I’d write this short blog article to answer the question.

You need to think about what kind of music you like to listen to. If you want to be a professional singer you need to sing music you like, because if you do become successful, you’ll be singing it for a very long time.

You need to make sure you can actually sing the kind of music you like. If you like hard rock, but you can’t seem to get that gravely screaming thing to work, hard rock may not be right for you. If you want to be a pop singer, be sure you can hit and hold the high notes with ease. Do you have an accent? A deep southern drawl may work well for singing country music but could be a disaster on the Broadway stage.

What kind of stage performance might your chosen genre require? Could you imagine Haley Williams of Paramore standing at the microphone and simply swaying as she belts it out? Or George Strait making moves like Miley Cyrus? Do you have what it takes to get out there and really involve yourself with an audience or are you somewhat more reserved? It’s really more about knowing who you are.

When you figure out who you are then you’ll know the kind of music that is right for you. Almost everything I’ve listed can be changed. If you want to sing pop music you might want to work with a vocal coach to learn how to hit long high notes. If you don’t move well on stage but want to rock out, get a performance coach or take dance lessons. And, as far as distinctive clothing it only requires a trip to the shopping mall.

But, keep in mind whomever you choose to emulate make sure you choose to be true to yourself.

One last thing, as you grow older, who you are may change and there is no reason why you can’t reinvent yourself time and time again. Madonna does it!

Happy hunting
Renee

Renee mentoring on Nickelodeon's new "Road to Nashville" Web TV Series

Nashville based production company, Seek First Productions, has partnered with Awesomeness TV Network to produce the groundbreaking new music based docu-reality webseries, "Road to Nashville.” Filmed on location within music city itself, RTN follows the story of five talented young musicians with big personalities and bigger dreams. They will encounter big stars, stages, crowds, and drama, as they pursue their careers within the rewarding, but unforgiving, music industry. Renowned vocal coach Renee Grant-Williams, whose work is probably best displayed in artists such as Miley Cyrus, Christina Aguilera, Jason Aldean, and Tim McGraw, will be featured as a recurring mentor for each of the show's primary characters.

The first episode is scheduled to air October 18th on Awesomeness TV's online network.

Vocal Master Class Goes Out With A Bang!

Last Saturday (May 3) I presented my 12th and final Vocal Master Class and I have to say it went out with a Bang! I think the overall talent level this year was amazing and attendees came from as far away as California, Florida Virginia and England. We had everything from country singers, to pop, R&B and rap.

The panel discuss was two-fold. Bernard Porter founder of PCG Nashville and I discussed “Shameless Self Promotions.” Then we were joined by. Mark Lambert, (producer, manager, musician) and Krystal & Allison Steel, (2Steel Girls, The Voice, Team Blake Sheldon), discussed harmonies, duos.

I’m sad to see the Master Class end, but I have some other exciting things hiding in the wings that I can’t wait to share with you. Many thanks to all those who have made the Master Class a success.