A Voice Apart

Technically speaking. Vocal Love or Vocal… Rape? Choose one.

2012-02-09T13:17:00.000-08:00

I remember watching one of my favourite movies-"Basic Instinct", with Michael Douglas and Sharron Stone in main roles.

There was one of the episodes where Michael Douglas's character was making love to his girlfriend, which in real sense, resulted in the actual rape, as he was already attracted to Sharron Stone's character and felt angry, because he intuitively felt that the outcome of it could be deadly for him in the end.

I have a similar feeling when I am listening to a singer reciting a great song with great emotion, while actually "raping/murdering" their vocal anatomy.

The audience, who does not know any better, are saying "Oh my god, He/she is such a great singer!" while having not the slightest idea of what that singer is experiencing and what it does to his/hers vocal chords and vocal box in general.

That's, in my opinion, qualifying as a "vocal rape", nevertheless.

As a consequence, the singer will get a nasty growth on one or both vocal chords, or will acquire dysphonia or even the spasmodic dysphonia, God forbid.

It will happen because everybody is oblivious to the singer's wellbeing including the singers themselves.

The industry discovers them young and healthy and evidently quite talented.

Then the wear and tear of their vocal anatomy begins, as everybody is ignorant and uneducated to what's happening to the human's vocal box and it's components while there is an enormous pressure of sound being applied.

They are pushing the artist to the absolute max, imposing on them hours of rehearsals, recordings and performances.

They are pushing alright, and the artist in turn pushing to reciprocate the demand.

The result-the "vocal rape" is committed, the damage is done and... EVERYBODY LOST: the Artist, the Management, the Record Company...

The Beatles once said, "Make Love, Not War".

I say, "Learn how to sing first, acquire the right vocal technique to prevent the vocal damage, and yes, Be Strong, but Gentle and not Strong, but Forceful-definition between Love Making and 'God forbid' Rape.

"The Voice"… The Judges, The Performers and… The Pitch!

2012-02-08T17:38:00.000-08:00

Everybody knows there is a rock style and there is an alternative rock style.

But not everybody knows that there is an alternative… to music?

How so you may ask?

The fact is that the music, like everything else in life, has its own standards. Many years ago, I wrote an article which was called “First, Third and a half and Fifth and a quarter, to our shame, became our music standards".

I was talking about the triad which usually consists of the first, third and fifth steps from whichever musical key you want to start counting.

I believe it is self-explanatory now and describes it perfectly. However, world renowned judges, primarily performers themselves, at times make strange decisions with respects to who is going to make it through the blind auditions and move on under their supervision, and who is not.

To my surprise, there were a couple of vocalists who were dead-on musically and pitch wise, but for some reason, did not get chosen. And there were definitely at least two or three performers who were quite out of pitch throughout their performances, and they not only got picked, but got fought for to be mentored!

Go figure?

Speaking of mentors/Judges, I found that they are fighting a bit excessively and almost, falsely between each other, and even more so pathetically for their team members.

They are almost begging the participants to join their team...?

I find it very diminishing and uncalled for. In fact, I feel embarrassed for the judges.

They should not be begging NOBODYS to give THEM (judges) a chance...!

I understand that they want to reach out to the masses and blend with the crowd, but I find that to be a little too excessive for my taste, and completely out of balance in my opinion.

But the show has very good potential, and I already like it more this season then the pervious.

The participants are sounder overall and the show is much more entertaining this time around. I am sure it will be perfected down the road, as everything comes with experience.

Let’s hope that they will find the true talent which we will be enjoying for many years to come.

I also hope that the "true talent", which they will discover, will be also "true to their cause", and will not perform just for the reason that they could help their families...

"Vocal Plagiarism" - What's That? Can We Finally Change the "Vocal Recipe" Which Became too Familiar to our Music Taste?

2012-01-28T11:36:00.000-08:00

Working with the producers for over three decades, and especially for the last several years, never ceases to amaze me.

First of all, being a vocal consultant, especially for my clients, and in-studio vocal producer, I'm unable to explain to them that they don't need to autotune or melodine every vocal line, because I am present in the studio for the very reason to pull out from the artist an authentic and the best performance.

Moreover, some of them are playing the role of a song writer or co-writer with the artist and myself.

By the end of the session, I'm beginning to hear a similar tune and/or style, which is already familiar to my ear.

Verbalizing my concern with various producers, I came to the conclusion that music and "vocal plagiarism" is very much so in fashion. Their belief is that if the certain sound and style is "hot" right now and selling like "hot cakes", why not write and produce something similar, and that also will perhaps be a hot sale...?

I see some trace of logic in it, but where is the originality, the uniqueness and versatility of the music, music style and vocal performance?

No wonder nowadays all the songs are sounding the same and all the artists are sounding very similar. Sometimes you cannot even make a distinction between the songs they're singing and the artists themselves.

In my opinion, it's as good as "treading the water in the toilet bowl and forever not flushing it".

I'm still anxiously awaiting to hear something new, fresh and original and not simulating the same heavy duty, thick and stuttering sound.

However, on a positive note, the artist Adele is definitely standing out from the crowd. She does have an original sound to her voice, as well as undeniable emotion to her performance.

Whichever producers were working on her albums, are absolutely brilliant. The albums are commercially sound, versatile, emotional and original. The only problem is - the cost to Adele's voice.

The outcome of this we already know. But if Adele possessed the right technical merits to her vocal performance, married to the evidently brilliant music and vocal productions, the whole equation would be priceless and very commendable, and to some degree, worth it to be copied.

Let's hope that Adele will have a speedy recovery and will return on stage in a short order to spice up the rest of the vocal performances, and finally bring us to some originality and differentiation between one "vocal recipe" from another.

Vocally Speaking... Vocal Implant/Human body rejection...?

2012-01-24T15:53:00.000-08:00

I have been working with beginners and professionals for over 37 years now. Strangely enough, I find that to work with the beginners is much easier than to work with people who had some vocal experience or a lot of it.

The beginners do not know any better or any worse for that matter, and it is easier to put them on the "right track", as they don't have any pre-conceived ideas.

They also don't have the bad habits instilled in them either by themselves or by incompetent instructors, whereas those people with so called "experience" consciously or primarily sub-consciously are rejecting 'so to speak' the new modality of a "new behaviour", I could compare it with patients who receive new organs via medical transplant. Sometimes, the human body rejects something foreign, in spite that it could be a live saviour for the patient.

I also have older clients, and with them, there is another problem. They are very conservative, and they are not accepting something new very easily, as well as they are not releasing their habits that easily either. I call it "teaching an old dog new tricks".

So, each category of clients is different in its nature, but ultimately, I have to solve their (in a manner of speaking) "vocal headaches" with whichever means which will work for their specific case.

In all cases, though, I need to remove "the virus" from their human computers and instill in their psyche my own "software"-"Vocal science". And then, I have to assure that they would press the "right button" to achieve and acquire the right "vocal print-out/outcome” first with my help, and then on their own.

In the final analysis, they and I will ultimately be praying for "no rejection at all" in the best understanding of that word.

"Hurricane Diana" Coming Through Britain and Across the Atlantic Still Calm, But Definitely Before the Perfect Storm...

2012-01-21T14:47:00.000-08:00

Last night, I finally (however delayed for the good reasons) returned from my recent UK trip.

What was different this time was that not only did I bring my own artist for recordings and what not, but also attempted to work with the local artists or artists to be, via two Vocal Interactive Workshops and some voice repair private sessions.

I've been doing all of this starting from Russia in 1975-76 and for the last 32 years, in Canada to date. Was I ever shocked when I embarked on what I thought was very familiar to me, with the British audience?

Within the first five minutes I understood that I appeared to them as a complete "hurricane" on a bright sunny day (to put it mildly). They were sitting still and almost shockingly staring at me, however, with surprise and fascination in their eyes.

I meanwhile, did not feel at ease at all. I felt like Maria from Sound of Music, but not coming out of the convent to meet a future husband, but rather coming in...? In my opinion, this workshop could pass for the Sound of Music II... London style!

I felt like Mother Teresa and seemed to be, just was missing the cross and a prayer.

I actually had a nagging desire to say a prayer, before, during and after the workshop.

Here in Canada, I've been pretty free with respect of my references, which at times have funny sexual and other colloquial content. I had to watch every word I was saying, as I didn't feel the opening for the British audience to receive me in the right context.

In Canada, I also worked a lot with churches and their performers, the Christian artists and female Barbershop choirs and quartets.

I was aware that they were not exactly the rock singers, but I also never felt as Whoopi Goldberg's character from the Sister's Act movie.

I guess we're talking about cultural differences, and to their credit I have to say that they were by far more academically sound than Canadians or Americans have ever been.

But their artistic demeanour was hardly present, even with a couple of professional singers in the group. They looked extremely modest and not open to anything outrageous at all.

It definitely was very foreign to me.

I felt like I was participating in "Nuns-R-Us" productions (lol).

I was extremely tired by restricting myself for four hours of my natural behaviour. In the morning after, I had a hysterical laughter reviewing my previous day of teaching.

On the second day, I had a much more open minded and souled audience. So, the content of my workshop was the same, but not as restricted, which was by far more pleasurable and enjoyable by me and, as it appeared to be, by the participants.

That leaves me hope that I could still find the artists across of the Atlantic Ocean, who would need my services and will appreciate my freedom of word and unique instructions.

I still intend to take Great Britain by storm!

It is still somewhat calm in the British neck of the woods, but evidently, they need a good "hurricane" to "wake up" and so to speak "smell the coffee" and thus, be more open for something unique, revolutionary and yes, outrageous!

Afterall, it will be for their own good, as they definitely need the... PERFECT STORM.

Vocally Speaking, Against all odds, There is a Change with… No Change?

2011-12-26T13:28:00.000-08:00

One of my friends used to like the expression; “There is no change without change”.

Usually, it’s very much so true, but in the case of working with a professional Artist/Singer, it’s not exactly right to the point.

Lately, it’s been no secret that quite a few well known singers have acquired a lot of vocal problems; bleeding vocal chords, polyps, nodules, dysphonia and other nasty vocal disorders.

Why is that and what is the cause you may ask?

“We love the voice, we love his or her songs, we love the emotions, we love the performance…”

So, what is the problem then?

The problem is that nobody knows or pays attention to the voice application and how exactly that voice is being used by the singer.

And yes, the industry usually picks up a good looking person, quite often with good song writing skills and with the potential of that person becoming the world wide recording Artist and performer.

And yes, when it comes to recording, the best producers and engineers will be producing their magic using, available to them, their magical high-tech technology.

Now what? And what’s in store for the Artist?

Now it’s time to go on tour, to promote the record…

And then… There is a “surprise”.

In a nutshell, and per say, nobody apparently knows how to sing properly and professionally, at least not in a safe and efficient way.

Moreover and evidently, the Artists' voices have already been used up in the earlier promotional performances and concerts.

So, the tours are cancelled and everybody is cutting their losses; the Artist, the management, the record company…?

In this time an age, it is a very well-known fact that the best revenues acquired by all parties involved, would be of those derived from the live venues. So, now the voices have to be fixed somehow and preferably, in a quick fashion, so the Artist would not get forgotten and the tour in the future would not be in jeopardy.

As a Non-Surgical Voice repair specialist, I could testify that it is not an easy task. However, by using my Innovative Vocal Science Technique and Application, it’s definitely doable.

The biggest trick when you work with a professional singer/performer is not to change her/his tone and sound in general, which is, by that time, is very familiar to listener’s ears.In other words, my mission is to produce the change with respect of voice application and placement, but not to change anything else about the artist.

The voice, however, will still sound much clearer, much crispier and overall, much healthier.

I guess those would be the positive changes, as a consequence of the voice now lifted off of the vocal cords and vocal box in general, and thus, structured and placed in the Singer’s facial muscles instead, thus relieving the vocal anatomy from the unnecessary pressure of the sound.

Much easier said than done, but the mission MUST be accomplished.

I need to produce THE CHANGE…with NO CHANGE.

The Question is: Am I Evidently Getting Older, or has the World Gone Crazy?

2011-12-21T13:28:00.000-08:00

In all honestly, I think the answer is - both.

Granted, I am an old school. My teaching experience is on its 38th year, so you can do simple math and conclude that I'm in my mid-50s.

No, I do not have a mid-life crisis, but what I do have is a regret that the best times of our lives are gone and never will be back.

Let's look at the music of 50s and 60s:

Elvis Presley, Tom Jones, Roy Orbison, Platters and many, many more.

Those were the true musicians, true singers and true performers.

Came the 70s and 80s and in those times, we had the best bands:

White Snake, Skid Row, The Doors, The Eagles, to name a few.

Great music, great performance-ship, exceptional singing...

And in the past decade...?

- No singing by definition
- Some bands, e.g. Simple Plan, can not play their records live, let alone sing it
- Vocal troubles and operations galore... Where do I begin?

The question is why?

The answer - it became "too easy".

The technology along with music producers could play for you, the autotune, melodine and harmonizer can sing for you, but for what cost?

The cost comes later, when the artist can not perform live, but trying real hard, and as a result, inevitably arrives to the operating table for the laser or knife operation.

Now what?

Everybody lost. The artist (not only money and joy, but also the health) and the music industry, which nowadays has nothing else to make money on, but the live shows, performances and venues.

Everybody's hopes are shattered, audience included and nobody knows if they will hear their favourite "artist" again, who they thought could actually sound at least remotely the same as they've heard on the record.

However, on second thought, it could be not such a bad thing, as at least it will save the audience the disappointment.

What's the solution then?

By listening to nowadays' music, I think some of the producers and quite well known ones, have found a solution. Their vocal lines are not containing more than two notes. On a better day and with a little better singer, they might discover a third one - by fluke...!

How sad is that?

And even more sad is that the young population is growing up with that music and thinking that's what the music should be - a couple of lines here and there, a couple of notes here and there and a couple of violent phrases here and there, supported by some insane background dancing.

Yes, definitely I'm getting older, but I'm very proud that all of my faculties are still very sound, except my ears, which are getting more sour by the minute, with every so called "new" song or rap song on the market.

I agree, to each their own, but this so called "music" is definitely a reflection of the state of being of our society, which, unfortunately, in my opinion, is not too sound, and also, in my opinion, it is promoting craziness and violence.

The society, and music along with it, with all of the advanced technology, is definitely degrading with the speed of light.

Where would we go from here?

If the world doesn't end, it will be very scary to find out.

So choose from two evils...

X Factor: Spot on Reality... Part V - Contestant's Choice...Close Observations, Constructive Criticism and Praise!

2011-12-11T09:00:00.000-08:00

X Factor just had an interesting couple of weeks.

First, the Michael Jackson tribute was offered to them, which I found was quite difficult for the contestants to keep up with. In my opinion, it was one of the least successful performances on the show. However, as usual, it was very entertaining.

This past week, it was contestant's choice, which I find very beneficial for the contestants themselves.

I do not believe that any singer could be thrown into any style of music. It's obviously good to be versatile, but every human being has their own emotional and physical make up and nevertheless, their own biological DNA. All of that dictates the disposition, the character, the behaviour and the vocal expression of that person (speaking or singing for that matter).

In my opinion, the voice is definitely an expression of who this artist as a person is, and also a quite precise identification of the state of their being. And if their inner selves suggest to them that they feel like a country style singer, for example, it would be extremely difficult for them to be thrown into the rap style or an alternative rock...

And of course, the opposite applies. If it is a strong male artist who thrives through the rock genre, it would be difficult to imagine him to sound like Michael Buble, which is sweet, romantic and so to speak "pop-ish".

So this week, I was absolutely in awe when Melanie Amaro was looking and sounding throughout her first song by Adele, exactly like her and resembling Adele almost to the T, and to some degree, even better! She even put her own little twist on the song "Someone Like You" and no doubts made it enhanced and her own.

Frankly, from the technical point of view, I would probably choose Melanie over Adele herself.

Chris Rene was stunningly good this week, and he actually offered a great vocal performance for the first time. My presumption would be that he probably could identify with the song and as I said before, once the performer could "wear" the song like a good slinky dress for a beautiful model, the "vocal fashion" would definitely prevail.

Rachel Crow, who definitely resembles Shirley Temple and is as cute as a button, vocally, however, began to deteriorate for the last several weeks. The little girl desperately wanted to win the $5 million record deal and thus was trying enormously hard. But sometimes less is more, and I think that was the case. Everything about her that was so attractive at the beginning - "singing for her own bathroom" comments and much better vocals and choices of songs, the sparkling personality, her true natural self, which did not require, in my opinion, much of outer interference - evidently became a little too much for the fans and she, unfortunately, got eliminated.

However, I'm not worried for her future, as no doubts that Simon Cowell sees great potential in this little girl and will sign her to his label in any case. So, she's got it made regardless.

Marcus Canty - I personally love this boy. Like one of the judges said, and I think it was Paula Abdul, "Marcus, your eyes do not lie". That is true. This is the most authentic, emotional and true performance I have witnessed for a while.

One of my favourite singers was Peebo Bryson and Marcus is perfect cross between Peebo Bryson, Brian McKnight and Usher. This boy should make it big and I hope he will not go unnoticed.

Josh Krajcik - He's a great guy and I definitely wish him the best. He has good musicianship and very good intentions. To tell you though, that I'm impressed to death with his vocals or even overall performance, I can't. At least not at the level of stardom.

But he has a lot of fans and you never know what will "come out in the wash" (voting).

As usual, I can not wait for the next week semi-finals.

At this moment my predictions are that Melanie Amaro would "take the cake".

I guess we shall see and equally will pray for each and every one of the remaining contestants.

Stay tuned for my next observations, constructive criticism and praise.

Dysphonia and it’s Causes for Speakers and Singers. Vocal Science™ Protocol/Case Study

2011-12-04T11:12:00.000-08:00

What is Dysphonia, you may ask?

Definition of Dysphonia:

Voice disorders characterized by hoarseness, weakness or even complete loss of voice are called dysphonia.

However, I have to assure you, my reader, that it is not as easy as it sounds.

The loss of voice is only a symptom (a print out of a so to speak disturbed software containing a virus). The cause of it is much more complex and needs to be addressed in full details.

Through my experience, the majority of the clients, especially non-singers, came with some emotional trauma in the past and in the recent past.Usually, it revolves around unsuccessful relationships and/or health issues other than the vocal anatomy.

Due to the above, the throat literally closes on those clients, but being with disagreement of the latter, they push even harder and now involve the muscles of the neck and shoulders as well, while concurrently causing symptoms. Alsmost 100 out of 100, their thyroid is involved as well. It begins to disfunction and in a lot of times, gets swollen and thus, it creates the pressure on the vocal cords.

In holistic teaching, which I studied extensively, as it is my second passion other than love for music, thyroid represents suppressed emotions and hurts.

Now, go figure, how is one involved could have a normal voice being caught up in the full drama of the events.

My last dysphonia client from Florida, U.S. just left two days ago, after embarking on the full blown five day 10 hour course and herbal treatment in the past week.

Before leaving, I conducted a full interview with her, while concurrently teaching her how to say it properly with now close to perfect support, structure, placement and thus, much better projection of the sound.

So here it is:

Diana: You were hesitant to come here, weren’t you?

Judy: Yes

Diana: Why did you choose Vocal ScienceTM method over others?

Judy: I had faith that something good will finally come my way
I was in despair and nevertheless in desperation
I was able to receive more specific information than anywhere else I went to or spoken to

Diana: You spoke to me numerous times, what was your perception while conversing with me?

Judy: I acquired more positive feelings during our conversations and positive feedback which gave me more confidence

Diana: Have you spoken to any other specialists?

Judy: Neurologists, ENTs (four of them), Speech therapists (two) and a thyroid specialist

Diana: What was the diagnosis?

Judy: Fibromyalgia, thyroid dysfunction and dysphonia.
(I was explained that my thyroid was swollen and pressing on the vocal chords which resulted in voice loss and fibromyalgia)

Diana: You arrived here five days ago and began a non-surgical voice repair ten hour course and herbal treatment. Was it worth it to pay almost $4000.00 for my services and other expenses to travel here from Florida?

Judy: Yes it was, absolutely!

Diana: How do you describe your experience and how would you describe the results accomplished?

Judy: Wonderful experience! Amazing results!

Diana: In what sense, please describe?

Judy: Upon arriving I could not speak properly and hardly at all.

Diana: What happened then?

Judy: And now I'm speaking much better and everybody is noticing it. I spoke to my mom and my daughter over the phone, and they were amazed.

Diana: I know, as your mom called me and thanked me for attending to you.

Diana: Please describe how did you arrive to such a positive and desirable outcome of your trip - to get better?

Judy: By doing special speech exercises, and by clearer understanding of what needs to be done, and not only with my voice, but also with my health overall.

Diana: Has anyone explained anything of a kind or anything that was relevant to the actual vocal damage?

Judy: No one. Nobody at all.

Diana: Do you have a clear picture now of how to proceed from here?

Judy:Yes very much so, thanks to you.

So interviewing Judy (real name) and spending the time with her, not only during the sessions, but at least in two restaurants located in our plaza, between the sessions, I understood even more so in depth what was causing her condition.

The woman went through a lot emotionally: her own relationships, loss of business due to recession, health and other challenges.

I also interviewed her about her everyday diet and discovered that upon arrival to Canada and checking into the apartment (which I organized for her) she bought ham, cheese, mayonnaise and Sprite...!

To Judy's credit she was extremely compliant with all of my instructions, health and diet included.

Needless to say that with the condition like this, the flora and PH of her vocal anatomy is tremendously disturbed. Therefore, the protocol is to avoid all creamy, cheesy and overall dairy products, not to mention the combination of them with the proteins. By the way, spicy foods are also not desirable (the comment for those who may be wondering).

The Sprite, or any other sparkling drinks containing carbonated gas, will also be a huge disturbance to the throat and vocal cords.

Judy hardly had any appetite at the beginning, until she started taking natural herbs and remedies, which I included into her Vocal Science(TM) Non-Surgical Voice Repair program protocol.

She followed "by the book" and on the third, fourth and fifth day of our journey, she regained a healthy appetite and mainly the understanding that in this condition, she has to attend to the live foods and not the junk or dairy for that matter.

She will have a long journey of cleansing her body from top to bottom to create a clean bottom, so that the mucous, which she is stuffed up literally up her throat, will clean out and like a dancer off the hardwood floor, the voice will be able to take off of clean and clear vocal cords and soar, by my design, to her facial and head cavities, which will begin to work in full conjunction and coordination with her abdominal muscles for the greater support of the sound.

Thus, the mission will be achieved and completed and I predict that Judy will arrive to the absolute recovery on every level.

But what about singers, you may ask?

The issues are quite related, however for more detailed information on that, please stay tuned and I will try to shed the light on that issue as well, and to the best of my knowledge and my experience.

When Your Voice is Going and Gone... What Choices as an Artist Would You Make?

2011-11-28T16:01:00.000-08:00

Your multiple choice test:

A) To hire a whole bunch of dancers/strippers and bring so to speak a live video on stage to distract the audience from your singing completely.

B) To bring a huge choir, which has been chosen by your team via vigorous auditions, and which sings extremely well to camouflage your vocal inadequacy.

C) To hire a vocal technician who would not only save your voice, but assure the safety, health and longevity of your voice for life.

Please take your pick.

If you answered C, you evidently do have an above average IQ. Congratulations!

If you, however, managed to pass a fake performance for the real one, congratulations also! You fooled the public and they unfortunately took it for the real thing!

However, the times are changing and the public is becoming smarter. Not that the level of their IQ is necessarily rising, it's just they're getting fed up with lip synching, bad singing (for which they pay top dollar) and the circus or strip show, which they actually can acquire if they're looking for something to satisfy their eyes. But if they're looking for something to satisfy their ears, they are in the wrong place.

They're simply dellusioned and "focused pocused". Houdini himself would be "extremely proud" of the so called "top" performers and singers, who are performing "magical tricks" on stage instead of singing and not any worse than himself.

How sad is that?

I remember that in 1998 and in 1999, I attended Celine Dion's solo concert. She came out on stage alone, without any dancers or Cirque du Soleil performers backing her up, like she does nowadays, and did not perform any magic tricks at the time. She simply stood there and sung "My Heart Will Go On" from the movie Titanic, "Tell Him" with Barbra Streisand's video appearance and "To Love You More" with the live virtuoso violinist standing right beside herself. And all of that was MORE than good enough. I can not forget both of those concerts, as it was a true authentic and emotional performance by the REAL DIVA - Celine Dion.

Today, listening to Rhianna, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and them alike, I half the time can not concentrate on what they're actually singing, as they are dancing, performing circus tricks and using stage props, which are superseding their voice performance. I honestly would not know if they were good or bad, as everything that is going on on stage is extremely distractive.

However, it makes you wonder how good their singing is in a real sense if they need to bring the whole "army" and their so to speak "weapons" on stage with them?

By the law of averages on that premise, you could assume that they definitely have something to hide...

However, if they or their management and/or record company chose the option C, i.e. would put some effort into research, finding a true Vocal Technician who would perfect their vocal technique to a T, so that they would not be dying 10,000 deaths on stage, like Adele, in fear that they might not even be able to complete their vocal performance with their real voice, as they simply have no direction or even an idea of how to power their voice in such a way that it would never be in jeopardy and would work in the fullest capacity possible. On that premise, they would also be able to empower their voice to perform upon their command and their design.

What price would those singers pay if they knew that it is possible?

As far as I'm concerned, I don't think you can put a price tag on something like that, when you do rely on your voice at all given times and when your voice is your livelihood.

Not striving to find that Vocal Technician, now their teams are paying the price. They're losing millions upon millions of Dollars, Pounds, Euros... as their artist can not perform live anymore and not even the Cirque du Soleil or the "army" of strippers could save them.

However, some of them are still not picking up a clue. They commanded their artists, like Adele with her bleeding vocal cords, and Keith Urban with the polyp on his vocal cord, to embark on the laser operation. Wonderful! Now what...?

Now, there could be complications like the scar tissue (Julie Andrews' case), or in the best scenario the operation will be a complete success. However, nothing really, per say, has changed. The vocal cords though are clear for now and will be for a short while.

But what brought those artists to those diagnoses in the first place?

The answer is:

The wrong application of their voices, lack of knowledge and, in a pure and simple sense, absolute ignorance on their part and their team's part.

I don't think any figure skating coach would ask their trainee to jump a triple axel without him or her knowing how to skate. I also don't think that the dancer without at least 10 years of vigorous training would be expected to do a Fouetté.

And yet, the singer, primarily without any training or instilled technique for that matter, is expected to do vocal escapades and, so to speak, "vocabatics" and also expected not to hurt him or herself in the process. Go figure... and... Good luck.

So, as a conclusion, there should be no surprise that every second so called singer is in danger of the nasty laser or knife operation with the threat of never being able to sing again or with the threat of the same conditions recurring again shortly after the nasty intervention into their vocal anatomy.

X Factor - Spot on Reality IV... Thanks to... Thanksgiving Holiday!

2011-11-26T12:44:00.000-08:00

BIG APPLAUSE yet again to Simon Cowell!

What a BRILLIANT idea the well known MUSIC MOGUL came up with!

He tied in the whole show with the American Thanksgiving holiday!

If that wasn't timely then what is?

Mainly, it clearly helped to open up every single participant's emotions and now we've seen them in a different "limelight"!

On a regular basis, naturally, they're pretty scared, very anxious and very stressed trying not to fall out of the frame of the show and thus, not to win the $5 million dollar recording contract.

For the first time in any shows of that kind (American Idol, Canadian Idol previously, The Voice and what have you), the winning conciliation prize was always an issue. All of the participants were claiming how poor they were, how much they wanted to help their families, and how much they wanted to realize their financial dream.

Honestly, and I wrote about it before, it always left a "bad taste" in my mouth. As I said previously, I'm not against them winning big recording contracts, thus become rich and famous, but it should not be the prime focus. The prime focus should be the love for music and arts, the love for stage and the performance. And yes, of course, whichever price for the above effort will be granted, it will follow and materialize (no pun intended).

For the first time watching the Thanksgiving episode, I had a real joy, as all of the finalists were truly performing and singing their hearts and souls out. Some of them brought me really to tears! The side of some of them, like Marcus Canty, Chris Rene and even LeRoy Bell, never has been seen before. LeRoy Bell was singing for his mother, who evidently had a special spot in his heart, like every mother should, i.e. be appreciated and loved by her child independently of both of their ages. Unfortunately, LeRoy Bell was the one who got eliminated this time. In fact, to his credit, he left the stage as a REAL MAN, strong and with gratitude and not overly emotional. He enjoyed the ride, so to speak, and was thankful that he had an opportunity to do so.

In fact, Marcus Canty also sung for his mom and I found that this particular performance was the most emotional and touching of all. We witnessed the true and beautiful love and closeness between mother and son. I was extremely surprised when I saw Marcus next to LeRoy Bell, threatened to be eliminated. Thank God this time he was saved. He definitely brought a very vulnerable side of him and gave all in this performance. And on that ground, now his talent was truly shining.

I have to say, I really liked the group mentored by Paula, Lakoda Rayne this time. The girls looked fantastic, they sung very well, they performed superbly and they were quite "spot on" in tune and in harmonies.

To my biggest surprise, they got eliminated...!? As a music professional, the only conclusion I could come to, is that the groups are not popular any longer, not like 10-15 years ago.

It is sad though, but today's generation obviously is not appreciating the group effort, like the generation before, when a lot of groups were "popping up" one after the other.

Drew, finally, also picked up the speed, singing for her best friend.

It was nice to hear Chris Rene more singing than rapping this time and it was nice to witness his gratitude to his mentor in the rehab, who evidently helped him to "arrive" on X Factor's stage.

Josh Krajcik really opened up as a musician and singer. It was a very "feely touchy" performance dedicated to his teenaged daughter. He too now was seen in a different light, which truly made him shine.

Melanie Amaro - For the love of God!

How wonderful and emotional this performance was! Her tears, her gratitude, her love for God and her belief in God and in her grandparents who raised her, and her parents who finally embraced her! And even the mixture of the accents due to some confusion of her lifetime!

That was a True Spot On Reality!!!... If I've ever seen one!!!

And now the kids:

A cute adoption story on Rachel Crow. However, her vocal performance unfortunately getting more strained by each episode. My fear is that if she continues like that, she might experience some serious vocal problems. She's clearly taken by $5 million dollar price and truly sings for "her own bathroom". I'm afraid, however, that the stress is taking the better of her. But I am hoping for the best. After all, she's cute as a button!

And lastly, Astro... He's clearly an Usher, Drake or 50 Cent for that matter wannabe. Nothing wrong with that, but I still think that he is not in the right competition. However, for variety, it is fun to watch.

To conclude my outlook on the Thanksgiving performances, I am immensely Thankful to Simon Cowell in particular and to the rest of the quite unique judges panel, for the fun and education they are procuring during the BEST EVER Spot On Reality Show - X Factor.

X Factor - Spot on Reality III - Participants Up Close and Personal

2011-11-26T11:29:00.000-08:00

One more time again, I'm anxiously awaiting for the next episode of X Factor, but I would like to comment on the one I've just recently seen and heard.

Now from the colourful stages, lighting, dancers, "spacesuits" and what not, we arrived to the actual singing (big credit to Simon Cowell), but unfortunately, not necessarily in the best understanding of that word.

Whatever happened to the singers from the moment they were auditioning to the last episode which I witnessed a week ago?

All of them, when they were auditioning, were sounding quite decent and quite promising. My guess would be that they were receiving some vocal coaching in the interim between the shows. I'm sure some of them had vocal coaches before and as every one of them (me, naturally, would be included) is preaching their own techniques, styles and methods, the participants quite likely could have gotten confused, especially under the pressure, stress and last minute advice.

The question is, do they even need to have vocal coaches on the show?

In my opinion, NOT AT ALL! As in my opinion, the X Factor structure of the show suggests that they're looking for a "diamond in the rough" so to speak. And if they are, why change it if it "ain't broken" and moreover until the show actually discovers a RAW talent?

After the fact, once discovered, I will very much so suggest that the appointed team would seek a vocal technician combined with a vocal stylist for the artist, first of all, to ensure the safety, health and longevity of that newly found artist's voice.

Unfortunately, it is not always the case, as the majority of well known talents like Adele, Duran Duran, Keith Urban, Shania Twain, to name a few, would not then need to cancel their tours due to their bleeding vocal cords, polyps, nodules, dysphonia and what not.

Back to the X Factor finalists now:

Stacy Francis definitely could sing quite well at the audition and not so badly at all. Throughout the episodes leading to this one, her singing became quite noticeably worse, and finally she started singing off key, off tone and off tune, with excessive vibrato and with very overly exaggerated emotions - almost screaming! I personally felt very sorry for her, but kind of could predict that she would be one of the first to be eliminated.

Drew, a 14-year-old contestant who also looked very promising from the beginning, is lately being very subdued and practically yodelling instead of singing, which is becoming quite boring and uncalled for. She definitely possesses some natural talent and cute looks. Let's hope she will still go places.

Rachel Crow, the youngest and the most talented contestant in my opinion, who I thought definitely would be the winner (and she just might be) has started to strain her voice quite noticeably lately. It must not be easy for her to compete mostly amongst adults and therefore, sometimes her dress attire and her poses suggest a "little diva", which might not necessarily be so bad, however, it makes her performances look much beyond her years.

I honestly do not find anything extra special about Josh Krajcik, outside of him being a nice guy and a maybe a little above regular, rock singer/musician.

I'm trying to remember what and how LeRoy Bell was singing. Obviously it wasn't too memorable, however, if it was a just a regular singing contest, he would definitely stand out. Needless to say, now he is eliminated, and I hope he will find a mentor and maybe even a management who will take him under their wing.

Chris Rene is now in a new rapping mode, since he is obviously not the greatest singer I ever heard. However, the judges and the audience like him, which is good, as he needs as many positive affirmations as he can get given his recent past.

Marcus Canty is definitely possessing some talent, but, yet again, I can not recall what he was singing. I just remember that it was somewhat decent.

Melanie Amaro (appears to be Simon's favourite), is lately sounding quite boring though, and also, excessively vibrato-ish. However, there are no doubts that this girl possesses a talent.

And lastly, Astro. It puzzles me in the first place why the rap genre was included in this competition. Him and Chris Rene are talking through music, waving their arms, touching different parts of their bodies (as rappers usually do) and not much else. Personally, the whole genre of rap does not sit right with me, as in my opinion it has nothing much to do with singing. So, if for nothing else, maybe somebody will take my advice and create a rappers competition? At least they will be in their own element and not out of place. I probably would not even mind to watch it.

I'd like to note that all of the above is my subjective opinion, which means that I'm not trying to prove anybody wrong or prove myself right. I'm just exercising the freedom of word and opinion from where I sit.

I'm also amused that first the judges and then the media made such a big deal of a barely 15 year-old child (Astro) being a little upset that he ended up in the bottom two and felt somewhat frustrated, which definitely reflected in his "singing for his life" last performance. He is still a child and not a professional artist (rapper). So please cut him some slack.

I was very happy for Paula, that she had at least saved one group in the previous episode and thus, had her triumph at the time.

In fact, the group is getting better and better every episode. I'm really curious to see how it will evolve.

I guess we shall see what comes next.

One more time again, I'd like to note that I thoroughly enjoy the show with all of its perfections and imperfections, turbulence and tribulations, and I am wishing good luck to the participants, judges and audience to find the True Star who does possess that desirable X Factor.

The Artist's Team - How Open Are They to a New Reality?

2011-11-13T15:30:00.000-08:00

Lately, a lot of performing and recording artists are experiencing difficulties (to put it mildly) with their voices. It is very sad, but it is the fact.

We're hearing a lot about bleeding vocal cords, laryngitis, polyps, nodes and nodules in Artists' throats. Some also have dysphonia and some, acid reflux, separately or along with the aforementioned diagnoses.

Now what...?

The artist is in distress, the management and record company are in loss of millions of dollars!

How to remedy the situation like that?

It should be not that difficult; find somebody who knows how to solve these types of problems, preferably non-surgically and non-invasively, i.e. somebody who knows how to change the voice application so that the vocal anatomy would not be irritated by the pressure of the sound and somebody who knows about natural herbs and remedies, which would greatly aid any human voice, and especially the singer's voice.

Find somebody, who, after the voice repair, will finally guide and coach the artist on how to do it properly and professionally, so that the nasty vocal problems will remain to be in the past for good.

As a side effect of learning how to sing properly, those artists will do a service to the public, and by not continuing to destroy their throats and thus cancelling their concerts and tours, they will also save the public's ears while singing with the proper pitch and projection.

In other words, find something that works and something which does not lead back to what did not work in the first place.

The so called Artist's Team is anxiously looking for a solution to put the artist back on stage as soon as possible and thus, not to lose more revenues, and quickly recover what has been already lost, i.e. the revenue from the concerts, tours and live performances overall.

So they make a radical decision...?

Which one, you may ask? Are they desperately looking for somebody who in a real sense could save their artist?

The answer is: THEY'RE NOT LOOKING!!!

How so, you may exclaim?

Because they're NOT OPEN to ANYTHING NEW and they're not finding anything better to do, than to use the same people who evidently, in the first place, "greatly contributed" to the problem, and needless to say, would not be able to solve it!

My representative was trying to get a fax number of the management of a well known artist, who is just about to face a polyp removal off of his vocal cord. He was trying to notify the artist's management that I, his client, could actually help this artist to solve his vocal problem NON-SURGICALLY. My representative got a reply that the artist's management is not open to receive any faxes or e-mails about anything new...?

In other words, the management companies like that are looking for a change without change. They want to cure the problem of the artist by using the same vocal coaches and consultants who clearly aided in that problem's occurrence in the first place.

How does it make sense?

IT OBVIOUSLY DOES NOT!!!

There is an old good saying, "If something doesn't work, try something else. It might work better".

But that obviously would be "too easy". Or in a real sense, evidently too hard, as it requires at least to read an e-mail or fax with an innovative proposal, which could save a lot of pain and aggravation for the artists and put back a lot of money to the management and record companies' pockets.

However, THEY'RE NOT LISTENING and thus, unfortunately for all the parties involved, their "HEARING IS IMPAIRED" and the problem still remains to be the same.

THE ARTIST CAN NOT DELIVER!

X Factor: Spot on Reality... Part II

2011-11-13T11:46:00.000-08:00

I have to say, I am religiously watching the progression of the X Factor television show every Wednesday and Thursday on Pacific time (meaning from 11 p.m. until 1 a.m. of the next day) and I have to say, it's becoming more intense by the minute, and in my opinion, any good show should possess exactly that quality.

I think about 95% of the time, it is spot on, i.e. participants are somewhat right and the judges are quite fair.

However, in my opinion, and occasionally in Simon Cowell's opinion, the show reminds me of a big cabaret: the dancing, the lights and the effects are completely camouflaging the singing and moreover, all of the above are competing with the actual vocal performance. It is just too overwhelming to watch, however, in my childhood I really liked the Russian circus and it certainly has an echo of something precious that I used to enjoy when I was 10 years old...

But then I remind myself that I'm not actually watching the Russian circus and then the question is: why do we need to see these excessive so to speak acrobatic numbers and get lost and blinded in the lighting?

ISN'T IT ABOUT THE VOICE AND THE VOCAL TALENT OVERALL...?

Also, some "costumes" (performers attire) are definitely too outrageous and some of them remind me of space suits, as one of the participants had a dress, which I'm sure would make aliens from outer space proud to embrace her onto their space ship at any given time. To me, it looked really distractive, not to mention ridiculous and it definitely took away from an otherwise beautiful young girl with the obvious talent.

But at least she's 14. But what happened with the 42 year old? Her red, shiny, space-costume-like dress was definitely not appropriate for her age and again, extremely distractive.

So I've come to the conclusion that there are the best choreographers working for the show, however the choreography can be a little excessive, as it was not meant to be a "So You Think You Can Dance" show (at least I thought so). But I can not say that they have very good fashion stylists being employed, as participants' attire, which I already mentioned about, looks the least to say bizarre.

There is a lot of talent on the show. There is also somewhat generally talented people, however with somewhat questionable singing abilities. How did they make it in the final 12? Beats me!

Obviously, they're fillers and never can be winners. But I'm surprised the judges could not find better quality fillers and had to settle for participants who had rather unusual stories behind their personas.

One is 59 years old and homeless. The other one is also well over 30 and does sound like Dracula (Simon Cowell's comment from the last episode, which I couldn't agree more with). There is one who just came back from rehab and as conciliation prize, decided to "change is his life" via dreams of winning a $5 million recording contract and hopefully not to put it back into the bad substances use.

I am pretty sure he will not win, as he can not sing to save his life, however, in all fairness he looks the part, which gives him a little bit of leeway.

So, the stories are intriguing and it is after all a "Spot On Reality" show. Not much criticism could be applied there.

The question is: What does it have to do with singing?

And in a lot of times, it sounds like singing is just an excuse to keep the show going.

It's hard to blame the participants though. All of them do have $5 million dollar signs in their eyes and because of that, they really are ready to jump out of their space ships into the open space, with or even without their space suits (lol).

And lastly, the judges competition...? I feel really sorry for Paula Abdul, as the groups which were chosen and which she was supposed to mentor, are truly terrible. So, they're getting voted out one after the other and Paula in tears, is letting them go one by one feeling like it is her fault that the people did not choose her acts.

I truly don't think it is entirely her fault. After all, all of the judges were involved in voting and it was their choices of people separately and collectively. The group choices were definitely not up to par, in my opinion. And now Paula is "enjoying" the consequences.

But even that brings the show the huge success. There is drama, tragedy and comedy all mixed into one pot. And somewhere there, as a "side order", is the singing, which is not necessarily even bad, but there is just not enough of it.

I still think that the show is a great success and I'm enjoying it thoroughly. The mix of things is a little excessive, but not that far off, and therefore, the show is quite entertaining.

On this note, I would like to wish Paula Abdul to save at least one group out of three (the girls) and for the rest of the judges, I wish them to start to concentrate firstly on the vocal talent and then on the rest of the components. This way, they will truly be able to find the X Factor in their show.

Vocal Science(TM) - Vocal Invention

2011-11-05T12:51:00.000-07:00

What does Vocal Science(TM) mean and why is it a "Vocal Invention", you may ask.

The answer is:

This technique allows the voice to work at the fullest capacity possible with positively no pain or strain on the vocal anatomy.

It works wonders for the healthy voice, but if the vocal cords or the vocal box in general are already damaged (or pre-damaged), this technique will help to restructure the voice into a different set of muscles (facial/sinus cavities), which will play the role of the natural amplifier or resonator, while simultaneously being put to work in full conjunction and coordination with the abdominal muscles and where the latter will provide the support for the sound to be lifted off of the vocal cords and off of the vocal box, thus in turn, the use of the throat, larynx and the vocal cords will be minimized and practically eliminated.

In the case of the voice repair, the natural herbs and remedies will be administered to greatly aid the healing of the vocal anatomy, which had been released from the pressure of the sound.

Question - How does it compare to the conventional vocal coaching?

The answer is - IT DOESN'T!!! Conventional vocal coaching suggests to do the exact opposite of the above - i.e., the useless exercises and scales are offered, which are drowning the voice lower into the anatomy and, thus, disturbing the anatomy and inevitably causing its damage.

Those exercises are not applicable to any singing and therefore, nobody was ever able to point out to how to apply them.

Question - Does the Vocal Science(TM) method suggest the artist to change their "natural", bad life long adapted habits?

Answer: NO, IT DOES NOT OUTRIGHT. However, the experience shows that while going through the process, the artist naturally stops not only the bad vocal habits, but also conquers bad habits like smoking, drinking and using drugs, which, no doubts, affects the flora of the throat. However, the Vocal Science(TM) technique is such that the vocal anatomy is engaged in the absolute minimum capacity.

So, even in an undesirable scenario, where the artist smokes, drinks, uses drugs or what have you, the Vocal Science(TM) technique will be applicable and highly usable in any way.

That said, it is not mandatory for the artist to change their familiar lifestyle and feel miserable while adapting the so called "New" conventional vocal technique.

THE VOCAL SCIENCE TECHNIQUE POSITIVELY WORKS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

The Vocal Talent Made in Heaven... So is Thunder and Lightning...

2011-10-15T18:11:00.000-07:00

"She is talented and has a great voice!" People are exclaiming.

Does it mean automatic success in the music industry at large? Sometimes it does. But sometimes, on the contrary, it means a lot of "thunder and lightning" during what appears to be a sudden discovery, recording, performance, fairly quick success... and all of a sudden - CRASH!!!

Loss of voice, loss of tour, loss of millions of dollars and shattered dreams!!!

Now what...?

Now is the time to realize that the good voice and the good talent is only a prerequisite, but the prerequisite is not enough to sustain a long and successful vocal career.

What seems to be lacking? You may exclaim!

The answer to this is:

- Simply the knowledge of the proper vocal technique, which would allow the health and length of one's vocal cords and vocal box.

- Simply the understanding that anything in life is relevant and related to the science of the matter.

One client of mine who just arrived from L.A. for his vocal training to become a recording artist, was experiencing vocal problems while just being an actor, not even a singer. I asked him whether he found me on the internet and I asked him what exactly he was searching for.

His reply was, "I had problems speaking while acting and just colloquially and I figured that there should be some kind of a science to the voice and vocal cords repair. I searched 'science for repair of vocal cords" and you came up."

Needless to say, the method which I created and have been advocating for nearly four decades is actually called Vocal Science(TM).

If you look back even six months to a year ago, you will witness that a lot of well known artists, from Adele now, to Duran Duran's singer recently, to Canadian Simple Plan's lead singer in the recent past and even Mick Jagger himself experienced voice loss and thus, distraction to their busy schedules of recording and performances. Should them and their managers possess more intelligence and the knowledge for that matter, they would research the "science" of a successful "vocal mechanism", which triggers the voice to work in the fullest capacity possible with positively no pain or strain on the vocal anatomy whatsoever.

That said, a lot of pain, a lot of bleeding vocal cords (like in the case of Adele now) and a lot of money, for Christ's sake, would be saved and a lot more listeners would be pleased to see their once loved music icons on stage again, vocalizing their very best and not looking so very scared and in distress while performing blindly without, so to speak, "instruments" to rely on.

I'm sure everybody remembers the case of JFK Jr. who, as we found out after his plane crashed, actually did not know how to read the instruments...? Therefore, during the bad weather, he had a "blind" flight and could not rely on the instruments, as he had no knowledge in that instance. So one more time again, the crash was inevitable and in his case it was truly the thunder and lightning, which ended his and his two passengers young lives.

We're Proud of Our Past and are Presently Working Hard to Assure Even Greater Success in the Foreseeable Future

2011-10-08T11:59:00.000-07:00

We're just about to arrive to our 28th anniversary of the originally called "The Royans School for the Musical Performing Arts" and today's named, more to the point, "The Royans Professional Vocal School".

Looking back and assessing our past, as an owner, president and master vocal coach of the company, I have to say that I'm proud of what we achieved over the last three decades. The fair amount of well known singers today in Toronto and some other cities and provinces of Canada, US and Europe, have come out of our school. At the time, we had a pretty bold statement "Beginner to Pro-Singer in 10 Hours, Guaranteed!", and at that time, in the precious past, my clients and I lived up to this statement minimum to say 150%.

The people then (in 80s and 90s) were much more "awake", much more alert, much more active - intellectually and physically - and had more desires. The immigration of those years was pretty active, especially from countries like Russia, Italy, Greece and other civilized societies, where the parents - immigrants were arriving to this land with the agenda to give their children and grandchildren the best and mainly, the best of education. They worked really hard in constructions, factories, plants and what have you and all the money made, they directed towards the betterment of their offspring.

They were picking up the phones, prior looking us up in the Yellow Pages directory and various print publications, which, needless to say, today unfortunately are non-existent. No, they did not have any access to internet yet, thus they did not waste their valuable time staring at the screen and acquiring a fair amount of radiation for that matter, not to mention they were not bombarded by a billion choices, but rather they were relying on their intuition, their common sense and the word of mouth.

Respectively, their kids were given more love, care and attention. A lot of them also had a love for music (in a real and authentic understanding of that word) and thus, wanted to achieve a goal to become somebody, or maybe even a pop or rock star. Their motives though, were by far more authentic and genuine then, they did not have one and only agenda to make "financial success" and "help their families"!!! Nothing wrong with that, but in my opinion, it should not be the main goal. It should be the true calling for love of music and a calling from within and of their hearts and souls.

I personally loved those times and enjoyed my business of making stars by far greater than today. I'M PROUD OF WHAT I'VE DONE!

Today, I continue to "carry the torch". However, "THE TORCH" has become extremely heavy to carry, "which is nearly breaking my back" (lol). The people today are bombarded with information and can not exist, live or think without their 24/7 access to the internet. They're confused in their numerous choices and therefore, doubting everything and everyone. Today it takes quadruple energy to achieve a quarter of the result.

The economy today also dictates that it is the market for the consumer. Don't you worry, they do know about it and they interrogate me and my staff to the fullest. Finally, and with the great difficulty, "the sale" was made. Now themselves or their children are in our studios...

As it appears to be, half of them have learning disabilities, no attention span of any sort, they hardly can read and definitely cannot write without spell-check. They refuse to speak on the phone, even to discuss their appointments. They have to text or e-mail with extremely incoherent language skills, which at times is impossible to make "heads or tails" of.

When we receive the young children, and often with talent, we assume that that's exactly what they want to do - THEY WANT TO SING! When we ask them that question, if singing is their passion and perhaps may become their future profession, we're getting the answer from one of our 10-year-old student's, "No, I want to be an engineer". Go figure! It must be parents who are trying to instill in their minds that the music is not a profession and you can not rely on it (I agree that there is some truth to it). However, the child with artistic tendencies should not be discouraged from his love, passion and talent, just because the parents might think that it might not be a lucrative profession for him down the road.

Also, four years ago, I was running a workshop where I had 11 strangers and at that time future winner of Canadian Idol 2007 - Brian Melo. He "saved the cake", as the rest of them were sitting there as complete zombies and telling me during the introductory interview, that all of them (young girls primarily) wanted to become opera singers. All of the previous years, when I asked young girls who they would want to become, the answer was premeditated - Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and before that, Celine Dion and Mariah Carey. Now these parents are afraid of "Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll", so they're putting in their youngsters minds, who don't know any better, that opera is the only genre they can embark upon, as in the parent's minds, this is the safest field for their children, since these children "unfortunately" happen to have some musical talent.

So, needless to say, I saw the seeds being planted some time ago. In my opinion, now they're in the full bloom.

So, by the law of averages, given the very good beginning, from approximately 1984 - 2004, and not very satisfying present, I'm hoping that the future will be that much more fulfilling, based on experience of the past and the present. I just wish that my staff and I would not have to work so hard in our present to:

ACHIEVE A BEAUTIFUL FUTURE!

HOWEVER...

WE DO BELIEVE!

Baby Boomers Age 60 and Over... What posses them to embark on the singing lessons?

2011-10-05T15:37:00.000-07:00

For almost over twenty eight years of running my own vocal school, I've taught a lot of people of all ages, all races and all walks of life.

The older clan, sixty years of age and over, are definitely in a league of their own. Both older men and women of that class finally finding the time and desire to realize their dreams which apparently they carried inside themselves for nearly fifty years. As I've learned over the years that a lot of them, while growing up in very poor families, outlined the goal for themselves to become rich and successful, and a lot of them were putting on the line anything and sacrificing everything; love, lust, desires of their hearts, fulfillment of their souls... and much much more.

While dreaming towards financial success they, in a manner of speaking, lost the sense of reality and with that the sense of who they actually are and what they actually really wanted out of their lives.
Apparently, now working in a very respectful firms and making a very fair living, more than anything they want to sing, to perform and to act. Along with enrolling to my classes, they concurrently enrolling into the acting classes and auditioning for the community theatres.

They finally decided to LIVE!

Some of them by now are over seventy and to their credit they came to conclusion: BETTER LATER THAN NEVER!!!

Way to go guys!

However, it is not as easy as it sounds.

Their emotions and desires were extremely suppressed, and their spirit remained in a living coma over the number of years. Not to mention that it is not easy to teach so to speak "an old dog new tricks".

During the process of instruction and interactions they are extremeley emotional and quite impatient.

They want to turn the time back fifty years and grasp it fast and all at once.

They get upset and discouraged easily, until they understand that one thing you can not buy in this life - TIME!
But they are in fairness "getting better not older" and they do have more time on their hands than the younger population.

Therefore, it is extremely commendable that they do not want to end their life without the positive completion of it, via finally realizing their most intimate dreams- ARTISTIC DESIRES.

X Factor - Big Applause to Simon CowellHis Show is... Spot On Reality

2011-10-01T13:18:00.000-07:00

I have to say that I'm not a big fan of reality TV shows, with the exception of very few, one of which was Rock Star Supernova, which possessed real singers, real music and somewhat fair judges, and the last several seasons of American Idol. Everything else I've been watching concerning music was simply a failure and almost a funny parody onto the big shows, like I mentioned above. Evidently, they did not have enough budget or simply a class concerning the judges and the participants.

On a parallel track now with X Factor have been running: Cover Me Canada (Canadian Show), Sing Off (American Show) and right before that, America's Got Talent. Let's analyze each of them.

"Cover Me Canada" in my opinion possesses very mediocre and boring bands with some mediocre singers who are trying to pose for the best thing since sliced bread. In my opinion, practically all of them are quite pathetic to say least.

"Sing Off" consists of some groups with the enormous amount of people on stage trying to recite some church and gospel stuff with rather strange harmonies and performance skills.

And lastly, "America's Got Talent" in my opinion definitely could compete with Cirque Du Soleil. In fact there is more circus than any other acts and almost as much as in Cirque Du Soleil itself. Go figure! To me, it's a complete bizarre and singing seems to be completely out of place. I cannot wait for "Canada's Got Talent", however, I don't "hold my breath" for anything better than what the Americans have done. Mind you, I would be very opt for a nice surprise. After all, I've given 32 years of my life to the Canadian music and entertainment business. The "entertainment part" in a good and positive understanding of that word, however, remains to be quite in the dark until I, hopefully, acquire an anxiously awaited surprise.

And finally, A HUGE SURPRISE (in a good understanding of that word) - American X Factor, produced and judged by Simon Cowell. Way to go!!! Perfect judges panel, especially when Nicole Scherzinger took the place of Cheryl Cole. Cheryl appeared as a nice soul, but in my opinion, was not assertive enough and would not verbally add to the show.

Nicole, on the other hand, is everything the audience could wish for. She is beautiful, smart, sharp, humourous and an enormously good singer. The BEST "in my books" (trust me, to get that high recognition of singing "in my books" is not easy at all - nearly impossible).

Interestingly enough, Paula Abdul is now being announced as a choreographer and performer. Her singing career or abilities for that matter, never have been mentioned. Her new title sounds a bit odd, however, it is quite fair, in my opinion... After all, she looks as good as never before (probably taking example from Jennifer Lopez of American Idol who too was looking her absolute best and better than 10-15 years ago). Way to go girls! In any case, Paula's job is quite fulfilling. She has to entertain not only the audience, but also Simon Cowell himself. And she does it with absolute charm.

The last judge, L.A. Reid, definitely grew on me throughout the last four episodes of auditions. I never saw the side of him being very charming, yet very straight, sharp and knowledgeable person. The whole quartet of judges is definitely a winning combination.

The show itself is extremely entertaining, as I never laughed so hard in my life! The editing of very talented people versus complete weirdos and psychos who never had a check with reality in their entire existence, is absolutely brilliant! The whole show is a CLASS ACT on every level.

One more time again, my biggest applause to Simon Cowell. He himself is in a league of his own. The ten seasons of American Idol did him good and taught him a lot. He took the absolute best experience he acquired from that show and brought it to X Factor. Him and his present show, no doubts, ARE in a league of their own. I certainly cannot wait for more episodes. At the present time, it is a real treat for my heart, soul and my psyche...

"GO BIG OR NOT AT ALL". This is the credo which I live by. "GIVE THE BEST AND RECEIVE THE BEST". This is the second credo I live by. By the looks of things, Simon Cowell is on the "same boat" with me and I'M HONOURED!

There is no doubts that he will discover quite a few talents, which is always a positive outcome of any reality TV shows like that.

But needless to say, the HIGHER CLASS of the show will possess the HIGHER CLASS of the TALENT.

Vocal DNA - What's That?

2011-09-24T15:13:00.000-07:00

One of my clients singing the cover tunes asked me if he ever will be able to find his own voice, whether singing cover tunes or originals. My reply was, evidently so. The way I instruct singers consists of a very deep connection between me and them during the process. And since I literally engage into their "guts" I pull out the voice out of them, which reflects the state of their being and the voice, which identifies who they actually are. Like fingerprints and overall DNA, each person owns it individually. Therefore, the newly found voice comes out with unique and very personalized tone from each and every individual I engage to and with.

I do not work with them on an anatomical level. I work with them on the level of "being". I connect my energy to their energy and to the universal energy and the wonders come out of their mouth and their body language as well. Sometimes, looking at the clearly straight men, I notice that the newly found tone and mannerism is completely different to what they came originally with.

Quite a few times in my practice, I've discovered deeply closeted Gays. I had a precedent when one of the clients with whom it happened in a real sense after my course, started hating me and asked me to remove all of his previously very loving and with a lot of gratitude positive testimonials from my website. Go figure! I probably discovered something about him which even he did not know about himself or never admitted even to himself. Therefore, his behaviour was understandable to me and I gladly did so, however feeling a little guilty, as I drastically changed somebody's life and practically without his consent, but still, no doubts, for the better, as the person is supposed to be true to themselves, gay or straight.

In my practice, I had perfectly good purely English people who never knew any other language but English and who during my exercises in speaking and singing, started possessing a very pronounced Chinese accent! When I inquired about it, one of them told me that if I came to his home, I would see a lot of Chinese influence in his home decorations. I asked him why and he had no answer on that.

Given all that, it seems to be truly, "you are what you eat" and evidently, "you are what you sing". Therefore, there is no need to worry. If the singer to be will discover his own true identity, i.e. his own true voice and tone, then to summarize all of that, needless to say, he will discover his own Vocal DNA.

Part I: Voice Repair - Who Needs It and Why?

2011-09-17T14:00:00.000-07:00

The Right and Healthy Modality of the Vocal Behaviour for Non-Singers.

Being in the music/voice business for close to four decades, I've met a lot of people with good voices, bad voices and also, so to speak, broken voices. Some of them were singers, some of them had nothing to do with singing. Those who had nothing to do with singing, however, had a lot to do with a lot of speaking and sometimes forcing their voices and purely screaming, which was also quite often associating with their professions. We're talking about fitness instructors, martial arts instructors, teachers, lawyers, crown attorneys, public and motivational speakers to name a few.

Due to their occupational in a manner of speaking hazard, they're forcing their voices to serve others and one day, someday, their once precious voice seizes on them "unexpectedly and out of the blue", as they all think. Does it happen out of the blue in a real sense? Not really.

Some of them admit that they lost their voices before several times, but always to at least a reasonable degree, gained it back. Then it came the time that they pushed it the very last time and now their voice has been drawn so low that it's almost unrecoverable. At least it's not recoverable by their own efforts. That's where they begin to seek for professional help.

What kind of help you would think they're searching for? You would never guess. They're trying to perfect themselves, i.e. now they're doing yoga, staying upside down on their heads, eating raw fruits, exercising like mad, employing all alternative natural and homeopathic remedies and looking and feeling like a million bucks, except the voice is still not working. How so, you may ask?

This is my answer:

Let's imagine that the Mercedes I drive does not take me places anymore and stalls upon every time I'm turning the key on. Should I wash it, make it shine and work on its body to look good and prestige? Or should I rather look in its mechanics and define what exactly is not intact? Most probable issue would be with the mechanics defaulting in that wonderful, shiny Mercedes. And until I put all internal parts in that Mercedes intact, it will remain to be shining and beautiful, but will never bring me places.

Similarly, instead of or along with perfecting their physical bodies and all other organs associated with it, however not related to singing mechanics, these people should look a little closer to the cause of their voice loss and identify it accordingly.

The fact is that these people have been brutally misusing their voices throughout a prolonged period of time, not realizing that their vocal cords are not "made from steel", so to speak. Some of them finally clue in after feeling great and looking good, that there is perhaps something else they need to be doing to actually fix their voices. And now finally comes the time when we need to restructure their wounded voices to a different set of muscles (their facial muscles) and put them to work in conjunction and coordination with their abdominal muscles to minimize and practically eliminate the use of their throat, larynx and vocal cords. Once the pressure of the sound is removed from the vocal box, the whole vocal anatomy has to be treated with natural herbs and remedies and sometimes even homeopathic remedies, if needed. The voice health finally will be addressed and the whole modality of the proper "vocal behaviour" will be changed and employed.

On a Personal Note from Diana Yampolsky - I CAN NOT, Seems to Be, Win This Competition, At Least Not Yet!

2011-08-20T14:26:00.000-07:00

What do you mean by that, you may ask?

If you read at least half of written by me articles and/or blogs, you will understand that I'm not your conventional person, vocal coach or whatever other label you, my reader, or music industry people may put on me.

I've been in the music business since age 6 and yes, I'm going on my 55th year of existence. Yes, I've taught an estimated over 18,000 people, I realized a lot of people's dreams and in my younger years, I served sometimes up to 70 hours a week of teaching alone. The word "teaching" in my case cannot be translated in the conventional sense of meaning, because I don't "teach", I navigate and I engage deeply into the person at the same time to establish a connection between our beings (almost like an umbilical cord between the mother and the baby). Then and only then, I can transmit what I call the Vocal Science(TM) technique and method. I don't do useless scales, funny trills, and strange sounds, which remind of meowing and howling of cats and wolves to say the least. I take a scientific approach to voice mechanics and employ the laws of physics and geometry, as well as implement the integration and synergy between the mental, physical, emotional and vocal state. The body is the instrument and the person to whom that body belongs, is the player. My aim is to coach the potential artist on how to access all of the body parts to acquire the best sounding instrument they could possess. I need to educate these potentially, in the future, successful artists about the music part of it, and in a not very invasive fashion, as the majority of them are musically ignorant to say the least, and some of them have no clue where Middle C is located on the keyboard. However, a lot of them consider themselves songwriters, having no idea even of a music notation! So, I need to use the different language with them, for example, instead of saying that the music consists of certain intervals, i.e. major 2nd, major 3rd, triad, and etc., I have to convey to them that the music consists of certain combinations of sounds, duration and pitch, which in a nutshell, is the same thing, colloquially speaking. And yes, the song consists of all of those things, and like ballet dancers have to learn the positions of their arms and feet, the future singer needs to know and be able to analyze what his desired song consists of, to be able to access it by design and, in other words, intelligently.

If everything of the above sounds quite ordinary to you, then I might assume that my name is actually not Diana...? I'm saying that because I never heard of anybody's approach being similar to mine or working as outrageously successfully as mine.

And yes, for many years I was acknowledged of my uniqueness and my revolutionary approach to voice mechanics and to the artist as a whole. But times changed now and so have generations. The new generation is technologically polluted and very much so, technologically, and otherwise, confused. They don't know where they're coming or going, they don't know what's true or what's false. They experienced a lot of frauds, online and otherwise, and they do not believe in anything or to anybody. After almost 28 years of successful business, I've been questioned whether or not it's a scam of what I'm offering to them...?

It is extremely disheartening to hear this from the regular public, but even more so disheartening and unbelievable to realize that the music industry professionals are simply being afraid of me, i.e. instead of embracing something unique and different, which in a nutshell could produce them much more success and much more financial benefits, they simply ignore me and deny the need of somebody like me for their artists. What's even more strange is that I'm the only person who is offering non-surgical voice repair, and a lot of artists nowadays are losing their voices one by one and on an every day basis. The so called music industry professionals prefer to lose artists' performances, tours and what have you, but most of the times not to employ my services. Go figure!

My guess is that they're afraid that I might be able to show to the artists how, so to speak, "discover" a "third note" in their performances (since majority of them are singing only on two lowest possible notes) and God forbid, teach them how to sing in tune and in a real musical time, i.e. in rhythm and meter.

One of the so called prominent producers once exclaimed, "But Diana, it's too perfect!!! It has to be fresh and young" i.e. the translation of it was: off tone, off tune, off key and off time!!! However, are we surprised? Just turn on the radio and you will hear exactly that. There is no where music, in its conventional understanding, to be found. Not to mention that all of the songs are sounding the same and quite a bit plagiarized, in my opinion. That is definitely not the music I know, studied and practiced for many, many years, not to mention taught in the good old times.

So, in this instance, I would like to ask you:

"Can I win this competition?"

As of now, my answer is a big NO, UNFORTUNATELY!!!?

On a personal note, I am still hoping, deep inside, that there is at least one person that exists in this world who would be able to read not just the written words, but between the lines and feel my frustration and appreciate my bluntness, which can only be achieved when the person is very established within herself and totally believing in the skills and benefits, which she could introduce to the general public and needless to say, to the music industry at large.

What "Canada's Got Talent" is looking for! Vocally Speaking, How Does it Fit in the Show?

2011-08-20T13:33:00.000-07:00

For a fact we know that "America's Got Talent" wants something different, unique, exciting and dangerous. So the question is, how in a real sense does the vocal performance by anyone would fit in the show structure.

My guess would be that a vocal performer for that matter has to weigh, minimum to say, 500 pounds (i.e. being morbidly obese), have leprosy disease, and preferably showing it on their face, and along with that, sing a well known cover tune with the angelic voice! It is unique alright, my reader may exclaim, but how is it dangerous? My answer would be, it fits the criteria of the show perfectly! Let me elaborate:

The performers in general are quite pleasant to look at. They usually have beautiful faces and their bodies are quite fit. They, as a rule, do not possess the contagious diseases, such as leprosy might be and usually, not looking as big as a house, so that the stage, for real, would have a danger to collapse, just like recently two stages did: one in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and the other in Indianapolis, Indiana.

So, if you possess all of those qualities, go ahead and win the competition, provided that you will survive in the process of the "unique and dangerous". Needless to say, I'm sure it's going to be extremely "exciting" for all of the parties involved.

P.S.
On a personal note, I have to advise you that it is also quite dangerous to enrol yourself in any competitions like this, as the agreement you would have to sign (usually close to 20 pages and with the fine print) stipulates that all of you, including all of your organs and parts of your body, belong to the people who organize those competitions and for quite a lengthy while after the competition. So God forbid you would need any organs transplant, you may not be allowed to do so (lol).

Pick Two Notes You Can Reach in the Lowest Possible Range and Quite Possibly it Will Become a Hit...

2011-08-15T14:11:00.000-07:00

But... Hurry up! Somebody like Katy Perry might accidentally discover the third note (ha?).

Also, somebody who stutters naturally may also get ahead of you, as stuttering, while singing, seems to be very much so in fashion nowadays. Firstly, you can never differentiate one singer from another. Only by the amount of stuttering and by the amount of notes they have discovered right before the performance. Some of them are sounding like they're sitting on the toilet and having difficulties to relieve themselves.

My question is, has the real music gone down to the toilet? Evidently and unfortunately, it might be the case.

The positive side of it, though, may be beneficial for people like me... The dieters, i.e. those who are forever coping and fighting with their weight fluctuations. On one hand, while listening to the stuttered and constipated so called music, you can definitely lose your appetite, even if originally you were very hungry and did not eat for a couple of days, trying to lose weight. On the other hand, if you did not lose your appetite, you will definitely bring up everything which you've just eaten right before the "stuttering hit" came on the radio. So it's all good for people with weight problems. It's also good for the deaf, since they cannot hear at all or the particulars anyways, they might visualize that there is something actually going on in the music business now and at least hope that those who hear are having the pleasure of listening.

For the rest of the population, it also could be good, as it's giving anybody with a speech impediment and tone deafness a hope that one day, some day, they will become famous while reciting the two or maybe even three notes hit with stuttering in between. All of that on the lowest and most monotone range takes approximately three and a half to four minutes, which is enough to pass for the song.

How pathetic is that?

Jokes aside, will we ever be able to return back to a normal (stressed normal) pleasurable for the ear and respectively, heart and the soul, music? We're positively missing those days where the artists like Elvis and bands like the Beatles and Platters were recording off the floor and we were hearing the exact melody line, the perfect music arrangements and pleasant singing to fulfill our beings.

How much more stuttering and "electronic defecation" can this world tolerate? This is a three dollar question. However, the real question is, is it worth a penny?

References:

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMqayQ-U74s&ob=av2e
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bESGLojNYSo&ob=av3n
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFWX0hWCbng

I've Been Often Asked About What I Do for a Living. My Recent Answer is "Vocally Speaking, I'm Teaching Hippopotamuses How to Fly".

2011-08-06T14:05:00.000-07:00

What do you mean by that, my reader may be wondering? I mean quite a lot of things, stating that claim. Let me share with you my experience.

I am Russian and in the Russian language, we have a proverb that the "One born crawling will never fly". By the law of averages, this is a legitimate statement. Can we visualize a hippopotamus, camel or elephant for that matter, flying? Highly unlikely! But in the human kind, it's happening all the time. People who have no musical or vocal talents and who do not even possess any kind of a reasonable look, which could identify them with a performing artist, are wanting it by far more than people who actually do have all the components. That brings us to another question. Do we always want what we don't have? By the looks of things, the answer is yes.

Moreover, those who do have what it takes, for some reason, even if they want to utilize their talents, think that they have enough to get discovered and be offered, minimum to say, million dollar record deals. Lately, they almost become offended if they're offered help with respect of polishing their skills and making their skills to be more likely acquired by the music industry at large. They also think that whatever they don't have they can obtain online or sometimes they're willing to receive a home study course. They figure that voice, just like a guitar or piano, where both of which could be somewhat learned via home study or even online in a general sense, could be perfected as well. The voice though, requires the tedious instruction on how to take that "diamond" and turn it from the "diamond in the rough" into the polished and shiny "diamond in a frame".

Those, however, who could not dream in a million years about any fame or glamour, as they simply weren't born to do so, are willing to put any effort, supported by any money to achieve not always achievable goals. To God's and my credit though, if I could say so myself, with the gift from Him, the Creator of Vocal Science, I was able to realize those people's dreams. I discovered and uncovered their originally non-existent talents and voices and made them shine as if they were always present. I'm very proud and very grateful to God that against all odds, I'm perfectly able to enhance people's dreams and while working next to God, give them and their future audiences the gift of singing.

Vocal Coma So to SpeakA Near-Death Vocal Experience...?

2011-08-06T13:42:00.000-07:00

I've been teaching vocals forever and close to four decades now. But never have I experienced such difficulty to deliver my Vocal Science method to people who claim that, minimum to say, they want to learn how to sing properly. Simply speaking, in my opinion, they are hardly possessing any vital signs, at least during the first 5 - 6 hours of instruction. My guess is that the people who are in an actual medical coma have more vital signs than my so called up and coming artists. How sad is that?

Figuratively speaking, it brings me near the "heart attack" to wake them up and instill some substance, first into their brains and then, if I'm lucky, activate their motor skills, which the majority of them are not possessing at all. In other words, to walk and chew the gum at the same time would be a great challenge for my "troubled" students.

The Vocal Science method requires the integration and synergy between mental, physical, emotional and finally, vocal state. To get to that vocal state I need to invent a "vocal-fibrilator" and not only for the client, but for myself as well (would be funny if it wasn't so sad). I, evidently, am not getting any younger and due to that factor, it's becoming harder and harder and almost nearly impossible...?

My vocal session with the student used to consist of minimum to say, five parts. The first part would contain the speech exercises, which establish the foundation for the "vocal house" so to speak, to be built in the later stages. The first exercise is to count to five with the proper placement and projection. For some people, it takes about an hour...? How so, you may ask? It requires also the movement of their feet and arms, and to coordinate all of that together, for the majority of the population, IS NOT POSSIBLE, or at least NO LONGER POSSIBLE. THAT'S TOO MUCH TO ASK, they say. They're accustomed all day to sit at the computer or play electronic games on their phones. "You mean you want me to walk and talk at the same time, let alone sing?!" they exclaim. They're so confused and scared and perhaps even more scared than if I were to ask them to climb Mount Everest or to swim across Lake Ontario as one of the teenagers is doing as we speak and all for the good cause. Way to go! Maybe, after she does, I should inquire if she wants to learn how to sing now, as maybe, (stress maybe) she actually will be able to coordinate some movements with her voice and not only apply her motor skills in relation with the water. It's good to know that somebody still actually's got it.

In a real sense, how pathetic is that? Just even five or ten years ago, nothing like this was a problem or even a concern. In fact, I was able to do speech exercises, singing exercises, reading of the song in proper syllables and singing of the song while concurrently video taping the performance in only 75 minutes increments. And at that time, with absolute certainty I could say, "Beginner to Pro Singer in 10 Hours, Guaranteed!" Very outrageous claim, but I have numerous of artists who I produced then in 10 hours, i.e. Raine of Our Lady Peace (Sony), Alex Norman of Ill Scarlet (Sony), Brian Melo - Canadian Idol of 2007, Lukas Rossi - winner of Rock Star Supernova television show, Brian Pisani - One second Too Late (Sony), and Trish Campbell (EMI), just to name a few.

Now, my presumption is that to produce somebody of their calibre, I would need minimum 30 - 50 hours, if I'm lucky! And now I'm running my sessions in 2 hour increments and still not accomplishing all of the components I used to accomplish in 75 minutes. What does it tell you?: The world's gone crazy and getting crazier by the second. The world's evidently gone deaf, as they're worshiping the ground of the artists who cannot "carry a tune in a bucket" and some of them cannot sing to "save their lives". The people, in a manner of speaking, are physically disabled and cannot perform even simple tasks, which require coordination. Therefore, when instead of singing they're watching a live video on stage with non-identifiable gender dancers, they're completely amused, as these people could dance and even "lip sync" at the same time. Britney Spears once exclaimed, "Oops. My microphone was accidentally on." That should have come to us as an absolute warning, as it took place some time ago, when some normalcy and some human vital signs were still present. She definitely was a pioneer in planting the seed and now the flowers of her labour are in a full bloom!

In 1994 the Brampton Guardian newspaper wrote an article about me, which was called "Voice Coach Teaches A Mind Over Vocal Cords Philosophy". That was then and today the minds are somewhat present (due to the 24 hour invasion of the internet), the bodies are present very remotely and the interconnection between the latter and the former, hardly exists or fluctuates like electrical short circuits with strong activation from my part. So go figure!

Is there a solution? I'm not quite sure about it. As the more technology being introduced, the less brain and body cells are being present and being active. Where are we all going? Hopefully, not to the end of the world, but, however, it is quite probable and might not necessarily be a bad thing.

Intellectual Mind and Physical Body? What Role Would They Both Play in the Vocal Development and Studies?

2011-07-23T17:46:00.000-07:00

I've been teaching, consulting and recording vocalists for close to four decades. I've also been conducting group vocal interactive workshops and seminars for the longest time. It is extremely interesting to watch and experience the changes with each generation.

What was happening before is the history. What is happening today is the reality. And today's reality is very confusing and at times, disheartening.

On one hand, the people are much more advanced now than they've ever been. In what sense you may ask? Definitely technologically. Also quite definitely, intellectually, as the technology gives them access to much wider venues than they could ever dream of before. Yet, physically, it's another story.

The Vocal Science(TM) method, which I advocate for quite a few years, requires an integration and synergy between metal, physical, emotional and vocal state. Unless all of those components are working in compliance with each other, the mechanism required for the voice to work in its fullest capacity possible, cannot be launched. In the majority of cases, the physical component is just not present.

How could it be so, you, the reader, might be wondering? The fact of the matter is that the people are not physical anymore. They spend too much time at their innovative electronic gadgets and not enough time embarking on any physical activities. Purely and simply, they cannot "walk and chew the gum at the same time" and thus, I should say, they cannot "carry a tune in a bucket". The balance and coordination are just not present. Therefore, the physicality of the sound cannot be enforced or can be, but with great difficulty. In other words, the people's physical body is at least five levels below their intellectual capacities.

It is sad, but it is the reality today. Every day it is harder and harder to make people physically apply the vocal techniques they're taught. Their untuned physical bodies are simply not allowing them to prosper.

Where are we all going with the advanced technology, I don't profess to know. But my wild guess is that we're not going to the new heights with our health and overall prosperity and definitely not vocally.

Diana Yampolsky is the Master Vocal Coach, Studio Vocal Producer, and Non-Surgical Voice Repair Specialist at The Royans Professional Vocal School in Toronto, Canada. She is also the creator of the Vocal Science (TM) method and Talent Scout & Director for the 4 A.M. Talent Development and Artist Management Group Inc.

If you find yourself struggling with vocal performance or are in need of voice repair, you can reach Diana by email or phone, Toll Free in North America, at 1-888-229-TUNE (8863)

Vocal Coaching with “Benefits” - What’s That?How even celebrities could benefit from the latter

2011-07-16T15:06:00.001-07:00

What are the benefits you may ask? I will try to specify it for you and just will name a few.

Let’s suppose that you know a lot about computers, but do you know how to fix it if something goes wrong? Let’s say you’re a good driver, but if you break down in the middle of the trip, will you be able to fix your car and continue your road adventure? The majority of people will not be able to do that and they will rely on professional help.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, as nobody could be good and knowledgeable at everything. However, some people do not admit it and try to rectify all the problems themselves and quite often fail to do so and do rather more damage than good. If to refer to the music business, I can forever elaborate about my experience (vocal consultant expert in studio) working with music producers who were claiming and posing for the great wizards in vocals. I can assure you, being working in studio productions for over 35 years that in 99 and a half per cent of the time, it wasn’t the case. Moreover, in some cases, the vocal performance was completely destroyed and was already by that time, beyond repair. In more severe cases (needless to say, without my presence in the studio) the voice was almost completely destroyed as well, by numerous and hours long repetitions of the same high range notes, while the artist was trying desperately to hit them by fluke without any proper guidance. Nevertheless, the latter was suggested and enforced by the producers involved.

So, the benefit number one of the vocal coaching is to be able to assist a trained artist not just in your studio, but in the recording studio with both - technically and stylistically.

The benefit number two is to be able to instill confidence into the artist to the degree when the artist can reciprocate at least 95% of the recorded performance live on stage. The knowledge which the artist is supposed to get during the voice training and recording should shine out during the live performance as well and stand on its own leg, using the background dancers and choirs supplementally and not instead of the main act.

And lastly, while doing all of that, do not forget about the main component - health and safety of the voice. It’s very easy in the heat of the moment to push harder - to sing louder - and then before you know, the vocal cord snaps. In my book, “Vocal Science - Flight to the Universe” it’s called “Vocal Impotence - In Need of Vocal Viagra?”. Indeed, the vocal cord may lose its elasticity and strength, thus ability to perform in its full capacity. Just like a guitar string which was strummed too hard and too many times and then, as a result, hung right off the deck. The difference is that you can put a new string on the aforementioned guitar, but can you put a new vocal cord in your vocal box? UNFORTUNATELY NOT!!!

So please save and protect the existing vocal cords and remember that your vocal anatomy can take only so much, as it’s evidently not made of steel.

If, unfortunately, it already happened, there may be help on its way:

Non-Surgical Voice Repair!

God forbid you need it, but if you do?

With the proper technique which does not require the excessive use of the vocal anatomy and with natural herbs and remedies, which will greatly aid your voice and your vocal cords, per say, it’s actually achievable in the majority of cases.

Please remember that any invasive laser surgery or scalpel surgery may not rectify the problem and moreover could leave a scar tissue. The perfect example would be Julie Andrews who never could regain her singing voice due to unsuccessful surgery, which left her with the scar tissue.

So practice safe singing or you might be left voiceless! God forbid...

The Technical Elements of Vocal Style

2011-06-23T15:11:00.000-07:00

In this article I would like to talk about an interesting observation that I have made over my 26 years as a vocal coach; not too many people realize that there are several aspects that have to be addressed with regards to singing in general. First of all, when we talk about singing we are talking about two separate, but very much related elements: physical sound and emotional style. Physical sound is what is achieved by proper utilization of the technical aspects of singing, i.e. breathing (support), structure, placement and projection. Emotional style is essentially how the singer relates to the song and anticipates and complements the style of music, i.e. rock, alternative, country, R&B, dance etc. A common view is that while the technical aspects of singing can be learned through instruction and repetition, style is only developed naturally over time. There is definitely some truth to this statement; some people just naturally have it within them. As a Vocal Coach/Consultant, I strongly believe in the advantages of instruction in the technical aspects of singing. However, I also believe that it is a mistake to completely separate style from technique and I believe that style CAN BE TAUGHT in the same way that a student can be educated in how to stay in tune, project their voice, etc.

As an analogy, you can find quite a few parallels between singing and figure skating. If you are familiar with figure skating you will know that the participants are always judged by two criteria: Technical Merit and Artistic Merit. Again, in this instance it appears these components are separate due to the fact that they are judged separately and, as with singing, appear to be opposites. Upon closer examination though you will realize that the two are very much intertwined. After all, a figure skater that is falling on their rear end is most definitely not going to get high technical marks, therefore, the marks for artistic impression will not matter. Similarly, a figure skater that can land all their jumps perfectly but skates to the music in a robotic fashion is not going to win any medals either.

As with figure skating, the technical component of singing is the platform on which the artistic expression stands. As mentioned earlier, the main technical components of singing are support, structure, placement and projection. Abdominal support is responsible for the height of the sound. Upper diaphragm support is responsible for the width (body) of the sound. Structure - is the structure of the syllables and they are stackable one on top of each other on the central line of the body. Placement is the domain of the four main vocal chambers, which are the same as your sinus cavities. An "aimed" projection is the natural outcome of the previous three. (I talk in more detail about these technical components of singing in my book, Vocal Science - Flight to the Universe). Learning how to use these components properly will also prevent the occurrence of voice disorders and voice problems.

Once you've achieved mastery of these four components you have achieved technical control of the physical sound. The next step is to dress it up so that it is original, emotional, exciting and affecting. This is akin to a figure skater whose costume and movements reflect the music that is accompanying the performance. With regards to singing, the physical sound produced must correspond with the style of music and the musical instruments used in its production. Recently, I saw a popular pop singer deliver what was clearly an R&B song with a classical sounding voice. It didn't sound very good because the sound of the voice was so alien to the style of music being played by the band. She actually had a strong sounding voice and, thus, would have received high marks for technical merit if there had been official judges, but also definitely a failing grade for her artistic interpretation. In this instance, the TOTAL PERFORMANCE was not achieved.

I strongly believe that style can be taught. In fact, many people approach me to coach them specifically because they want to sing a particular style of music. One of my recently signed clients, a dance/R&B singer, had a recording session booked and asked me to come along for assistance. When I arrived at the studio, the session was already underway and I quickly realized that the song they were recording was not one that we had previously worked on. Moreover, this song was very demanding because it required a combination of three distinct styles: pop, dance and R&B. The song required that the singer sometimes had to change between styles as frequently as every second line. The producers were high calibre and definitely knew what they wanted, but were having trouble transferring their instructions on how to do it to the singer. She also knew what they wanted but did not exactly know how to achieve it. This is where I stepped in and was able to provide assistance. By quickly instructing my student how she could attain the requested stylistic elements, the song was successfully recorded in much less time than even the producers anticipated.

The majority of students that come to my school for instruction have a definite idea about the style of singer they want to be, but they don't always know how to achieve it. From the very beginning of instruction, I always teach them the obvious, such as how to stay in key and project their voice, but also work with them on the stylistic elements of the songs they are singing. This is often done by breaking the songs down to individual lines and practising the ways in which each syllable should be sung depending on the style of music. For example, if you are singing an alternative rock song you should be attempting it in a voice that is a little more raspy and somewhat nasal and less smooth sounding and with less or no vibrato. Please note that the rasp should be achieved without straining your vocal chords and is done by correctly coordinating the use of your facial and abdominal muscles. Quite a few of my students sought coaching from me solely because they wanted to achieve this raspy type of voice without damaging their voice permanently. This is one example of how the artistic style should be based on the foundation of flawless vocal technique.
Some tips on how to approach various other styles of music are as follows:

R & B: sing with a very wide smile. This will open up your resonator (natural amplifier within your facial muscles) and place your syllables as tightly as possible using your cheekbone muscles. This will prevent any vibrato in the voice.

Pop: the pop style is essentially the same as R & B but with a much lighter application. More laid back and in a sort of "boyish" or "girlish" style.

Classical: is definitely a more vertical application - not rounded like in R & B or Pop. The use of proper vibrato is an essential component of this style.

Country: is a mix of classical, pop and R & B. You could often hear a slight crying feel and a minor nasal application. Quite a few country singers use a light, breathy sound, which is also often used in pop singing.

Gospel: uses a classical application, but lately gospel is being associated with the R & B style. I guess it is really a combination of the two.

Hard Rock: uses a heavy-duty application of the classical style. Often using lots of vibrato will help to distinguish the singer from the loud guitars and drums and enable him to "cut through".

In all of the above cases, the singer needs to have a strong technical foundation to their singing. Style is achieved by varying and applying the technical elements in different ways. You can find out more about how to become a better and more professional singer, by reading some of the other articles available through my website, www.vocalscience.com.

Psychology of Performance - Pavlovian Conditioning

2011-06-17T16:35:00.000-07:00

Psychology of Performance - Pavlovian Conditioning: In this column, I would like to talk about something human psychology-related. When I speak at Music Conferences, I often make the statement that vocal coaching is not really about working on the voice, it is about working on the mind. I like to think that one reason that I have been successful over the years is that while I did receive a very comprehensive musical education, I have also tried to learn things from other scientific and artistic disciplines and use them to enhance my capabilities as a Vocal Coach/Consultant. One field that has bearing on pretty much every human endeavour, including singing, is Behavioral Psychology. In 1891, the Russian scientist Ivan Pavlov conducted a series of experiments using dogs to prove that behaviours are conditioned over time via repetition. In essence, he programmed the dog's brains so that they would react in the exact manner in which he wanted them to. For example, if he wanted the dog to learn the command to sit, he had to say it with a very firm voice and put the dog into a sitting position - always rewarding the dog with a treat. Eventually, the dog learned the command and with the command "sit" would do it himself while salivating, obviously at first expecting the treat. Pavlov proved that their saliva was produced in anticipation of the reward. Furthermore, the dog does not know any language. The Russian master would command "Sit" in the Russian language, the Japanese in Japanese, etc. The dog recognizes the sound and responds accordingly. Now let's suppose that the dog got into an obedience school in which the masters weren't sure of what command to give and what response they wanted to receive. With the command 'sit', they were making the dog 'lie'. With the command 'lie' they were making the dog run and so on. The dog would get completely confused and not know what to do anymore. Furthermore, let's say the dog then enrolled in a different obedience school and the new master started giving him the correct commands. The new master would be perplexed - he couldn't understand why the dog was lying when he was commanding the dog to sit and why the dog was running when it was commanded to lie.

Obviously, the signals were mixed up. With vocal coaching, I meet the similar situation every hour of every day. Many singers have mixed signals and "run" when they should "lie". To recondition the mind and the response of the body is not an easy task, but it can be done; however, in a lot of cases with a great degree of difficulty. Therefore, I am use a structured set of speech and singing exercises to condition the mind and body to work in synchronicity and synergy. In many ways, what I am doing is similar to another scientific methodology - neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), which is basically a methodology that has been designed to help people change and reprogram people's behaviours by "installing" a certain set of instructions into their brains. Similarly, I have found that while all people are given a voice, nobody per se has given instructions on how to use it, at least not in a scientific way. The "manual" and "programs" that I give singers consist of special speech and singing exercises that train people in a way that is really not all that different from the way that Pavlov trained his dogs. After I have supervised the repetition of these exercises over a consistent but relatively short period of time, the way that singers use their voices are the result of a programmed instinct that will give them optimum results with a minimum amount of effort.

In many instances, the hardest part of improving an individual's performance is not "programming" the new behaviours, it is actually getting the singer to truly admit and, more importantly, understand that they have a voice problem. I call this the "Vocaholics Anonymous" syndrome because in many ways it is similar to the behaviour of an alcoholic with respect to alcohol. Alcoholics abuse their bodies through the excessive consumption of alcohol in a manner similar to the way that many singers abuse their vocal chords (and ultimately the ears of their audiences). In both cases, they usually feel pretty sore the next day. Similarly, both are often told by friends and family that they have a problem but they usually do not listen and cannot admit to themselves that they have a problem. The first step for any recovering alcoholic is for them to admit to themself that they have a problem. For a "vocaholic' the steps are pretty much the same. The singer first has to admit to himself that his current vocal technique (or lack thereof) is a problem and can lead to a voice problem or voice disorder. The 2nd step is to commit to doing something about it. The 3rd step is to get expert help and the 4th is to be able to establish the proper habit so that they won't fall back into their bad habits. As with alcoholism, the goal of any vocal coach should be to cure their students of their bad habits to the point that there is no chance they will ever fall back into their old habits.

In conclusion, singing, like almost any other discipline, is based on conditioning. If your voice is conditioned the right way, you will sound better than you ever imagined possible. Like a dog, you need a competent master and a great obedience school. For more insights into how you can correctly condition your voice and mind, look for my future CM columns, visit my website at www.vocalscience.com , and look out for my upcoming 2nd book, Vocal Science II - Flight from the Virtual Music to Reality.

The Voice Part II - As the Show is Progressing are there any "voices" left...?

2011-06-11T12:57:00.000-07:00

The Voice. What is the purpose of the show? Are the judges looking for the next Susan Boyle or Paul Potts for that matter? And if they are, it is not such a bad thing, provided that the contestants remain to keep the quality of the voices that they originally came with. Due to my trade, watching every singing contest/competition under the sun, it seems to be that they have the same pattern where the judges pick, in most contests, the top of the top, cream of the crop singers to start with and then, for some very strange and mysterious reason, the contestants begin to deteriorate by each consecutive episode. The reason is unknown...?

My guess would be that either the contestants are trying too hard to win (nevertheless, "to help their families") and/or the so called coaches (i.e. actual singers and producers and not exactly coaches), are not really helping them to achieve the "absolute heights" with their voices. This remains to be a riddle, but since these auditions were blind in this particular case, and weren't based on looks, then what's left, you may ask, if not the absolute awesome voices.

Just like Susan Boyle, whose career seems to be is not on the rise now as it used to be before a "hiccup" on The View, my guess would be that she's most likely experiencing a lot of difficulties to pick up the pieces (do to her voice problems), as beyond the voice, nothing much would be going on for her. She's not exactly projecting any sexual appeal or able to dance and prance on stage like Britney Spears. Similarly, my question is, what will be left of the, let's say, Top Three or the Winner, outside of the "LIVE" video portrayed on stage (which is very much so in fashion these days)?

Frankly, I don't profess to know...

I Really Want to Sing...? But... I have three “locks” on my soul, five “whales” on my face and a “chastity belt”...?

2011-06-10T14:24:00.000-07:00

What's that you may ask? That is my definition of so called wannabe singers who are claiming that they want to be singers and performers, but not willing to open up their heart and open up their soul.

The singing performance is next intimate to sex and the singer/performer should be willing to stand, so to speak, naked, in front of the absolute strangers, i.e. the audience. Meanwhile, the people who have desire to sing and perform in a lot of cases are completely "locked in", which also affects the sound of the voice, which comes out very tight, constricted and strained. The voice is a reflection of the state of being and an identification of the actual personality. In a lot of cases, when I free up the voice, I will get my up and coming singer/performer to "spread their wings" and finally start flying. I would say I succeed 98% of the time, but in some cases, the "blueprint" is so embedded in the person via upbringing, lifestyle, religion and false obedience of either parents or religion.

To open up a person like that, you need the "forceps", just like in a difficult pregnancy to pull out the baby via forceps. Unfortunately, sometimes though, the baby comes out deformed and therefore, in the remaining unsuccessful two per cent, where even I could not succeed, the so called singer/performer remains to be deformed also.

Strangely enough, neither the parents (primarily, we're talking about female teenagers in this case) nor the up and coming artist are realizing that it's not about the voice only. It's about the whole being. Not taking any of it for consideration, the parents become delusional and they tend to think that in spite of all of those factors described by me above, their very complex daughter is miraculously going to open up and produce a class act performance and nevertheless, conquer the world...?

I certainly wish all of them good luck, but also wish them to get a check with reality, at least from time to time, to realize exactly who they are and who their children are and try it for size, and see if there is a perfect fit.

Where is Live Show Auto-Tune When You Need it? Has the whole world gone deaf?

2011-05-21T16:57:00.000-07:00

Rhianna video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbpJQhowiyo

Is she the "only girl in the world" who cannot sing live in tune?

EVIDENTLY NOT!!!

Yesterday, I happened to catch a kids show called "Next Star". It is formatted the same way as the Canadian Idol used to be, or for that matter, American Idol is. There are judges and there are young kids voting for other supposedly vocally sound young kids who are taking the stage. Pretty innocent concept, but not only kids for the kids show and adults for the adult show cannot differentiate good notes from bad notes, in tune or off tune singing, but judges are definitely getting more deaf than ever. Maybe that happened because for all of these years, they've been listening to bad singing and partially (hopefully not yet completely) lost their hearing. Or maybe they gave up on the idea that somebody actually can sing in tune and remotely resemble what once was called music and singing in particular.

This is a big riddle and still remains to be unsolved...

On that kid's show yesterday, during the last 6 "BEST" finalists, they were praising out of their wits a couple of semi-tone deaf girls (to put it mildly) and been calling them Divas! I understand you have to have a nice and positive attitude towards children, but how did they end up in the finale? Does that mean that the rest of them were completely and utterly tone deaf and with no hope? It makes me wonder and it makes me sad. For a fact, I know that Canada possesses a lot of talent. There are a lot of wonderfully talented kids as well as adults who for whichever reason never get discovered. Why? I don't know. This mystery remains to be unsolved. But I seriously believe that society conditions us to worse and worse singing and moreover, that hardly bearable singing is passed and accepted FOR THE STANDARD...?

One of my colleagues listening to Rhianna's live performance of "Only Girl in The World" said "Why doesn't she just lip sync? It would be less embarrassing." I replied, "Don't worry. They're working on live show auto-tunes now, so soon, they will stop destroying our ears, but they, no doubts, will destroy our hearts and souls."

How disheartening is that?

Vocally SpeakingInternal Auto-TuneWhat does that mean?

2011-05-20T18:19:00.000-07:00

Nowadays, almost every artist and especially 'so called' artist in the recording studio using auto-tune and, or a more modern version of it, Melodine. What's that, the not so musically experienced reader may ask? That is the computer software which is designed to correct pitch for semi tone-deaf "artists". Many years ago, I received a call from one of the recording studios pleading for help. The person who called me was almost screaming over and over "Please help, our bands are breaking auto-tune"!

How so, I exclaimed! Is it even possible? Apparently, IT WAS!

Next, When I went to a prominent recording studio with my client, I asked a well known engineer/producer if it is actually possible to "break" an auto-tune? He said "absolutely"! He explained that it meant that the singer of the band was so far off in pitch, that even auto-tune was unable to correct it. Those days, the melodine software was not available yet. (It probably would be able to tolerate more). Either way, wouldn't it be easier if the singer would've had a talent in the first place and also would've been taught how to access his "internal auto-tune" through vocal training?

Once the artist is able to access his voice more so by design and not just by "playing it by ear", the pitch and improved and distinct tone in the vocal performance should not be a problem. When the alignment between subconscious and conscious mind is achieved, as well as connection between the "picture" instilled in the mind and the physical body, which plays the role of "the so to speak instrument" is also achieved, the voice in its entirety and purity will be sent to it's aimed destination in its perfect pitch and desired projection.

This is "in a nutshell" a description of how the "Vocal Science™" method works. In other words, "work smart, sing in tune and comply with standerds of professional singing"...

WHICH EVER THEY ARE!

“The Voice”What does it entail? "All Talents, All Voices, All Looks, All Walks of LifeThe purpose...?

2011-05-19T18:26:00.000-07:00

“The voice” is a new television show which at a glance has a very commendable purpose. The Judges are trying to find the true vocal talent independently of age, looks, and even performance skills. WOW! I first exclaimed! “My prayers were answered” I thought. The whole thing is about the voice and the voice only!

I have to admit that so far out of all the vocal competitions we have seen, the contestants chosen during the “blind auditions” are the strongest ever!

The beauty of this show is that all the contestants are definitely vocally sound, but in my opinion, it is a little hard at times to accept their appearance.

Some of them are middle-aged and appear to be quite “un-groomed.” And some of them are even somewhat scruffy looking. But that is not the end of the world. The peculiar thing is that not one of them during their interviews and off stage appearances said that they are participating in the show for the love of music and singing in particular! In fact, practically all of them were saying that their dream to become a celebrity artist is to help their families…

Go figure!

What about their heart and soul? What about their passion?

They’ve been given a chance of a lifetime to express themselves fully and without any prejudice and have presumably mercantile agendas. In other words, they are treating this competition in the same fashion as buying some lottery tickets in hopes to win and improve their financial situation…!

Should that be a true motive? Or should these chosen people be happy that their very hidden talents are actually getting discovered and uncovered against all odds and might even be given a chance to explode worldwide?

THIS IS YOUR RIDDLE…

American Idol Part II - Stop Fireworks and African Dance Safari PLEASE START SINGING!!!

2011-04-04T16:15:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my previous blog, at the beginning of this season of American Idol, I thought it would be stronger then ever. At least the auditions did suggest that finally the judges chose the top American singers to compete amongst each other. As the show progressed to the top 12, not only their singing abilities started to subside, but more and more showmanship started to thrive. They did everything, but not to much singing. We’ve seen fireworks and have witnessed the African Dance, but singing…? What that had to do with it? Evidently, Not Too Much! The judges were extremely fascinated by the African Dance, but didn’t not pay much attention that the voice of the female contestant which was quite limited and definitely very pitchy. Then the rock and roll contestant came along and O’ Boy! We had the whole “Cirque Du Soleil” on stage. I’m trying to recall what he was singing, but for the life of me I cannot remember. One more time again the judges were fascinated and especially with the show, but SINGING…What was that about?

I honestly can say that only one female contestant presented her singing (less the circus) up to standards. However, judges through out her last several appearances were commenting that she’s been singing only ballads and so to speak, not jumping around enough…?

They could not clue in that in her case she actually didn’t have to jump around, as she ACTUALLY WAS SINGING, and looked and presented herself as a real Diva, where to my surprise, the very judges acknowledged her as one. They even compared her with Celine Dion and on that note I have to say that throughout all 80’s and 90’s I was absolutely flabbergasted by her Diva performances and for me it reached the absolute culmination in 1997 and 1998 when she performed at the ACC the songs like “My Heart Will Go On”, from the movie “Titanic” and other beautiful ballads like “Tell Him” in duet with Barbra Streisand.

No doubts, Ceine Dion acted, looked, and sung like an absolute Diva.

Then she took a break to deliver her first child and then, shortly after, she has gotten an engagement in Las Vegas. When I looked at the preview, I said right away “What happened to her? Did she change her profession and now she became a circus artist? She was jumping and tumbling around like a circus artist clearly taking away from her Diva image which I once loved very much.” In January 2006 I happened to be in Las Vegas and took upon a lot of shows, but Celine Dion’s show wasn’t one of them. I also referred to it as “Cirque Du Soleil” performance, not even knowing that the producer of that show was actually the producer of “Cirque Du Soleil” GO FIGURE!

Call me old fashioned, but when I’m going to see the concert (and the last one was Lady Gaga‘s) I’m hoping that I will have something valuable for my ears, rather than only for my eyes. If you’re interested about my opinion, with respect to that concert, please read my previous blog:

http://vocalscience.blogspot.com/2010/07/todays-entertainment-biz-lady-gaga.html

That performance by Lady Gaga was even beyond “Cirque Du Soleil” if it is at all possible!

On this note I just have learned that CTV will be airing a new show called “The Voice” where the celebrity judges will be picking out their contestants BLINDLY without seeing them or their performances.

“In the first two weeks, singers compete in the blind auditions where the coaches can only hear “the voice”, and not see the competitors. When they like someone, the coaches hit their “I Want You Button” to select singers for their team, turning around in their chairs to see them for the first time. After selecting competitors based solely on their vocals, the judges battle to keep their singers in the competition, enlisting the help of their personal songwriters, producers, and high-powered friends to help their teams evolve.”

Isn’t that a REVOLUTION!!!

Finally!!! Ordinary people and celebrates are in agreement with that when it is about a SINGER it first of all has to be about the VOICE and everything else is secondary.

However, don’t get me wrong; I don’t deny the performance, good looks and sex appeal. Needless to say though, all of the above should not be used INSTEAD OF SINGING, but rather moderately along with IT!

Thank God, IT SOUNDS LIKE…

MY PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED!!!

American Idol - What's "Singing" Got to Do, Got to Do With It? Dancing and Prancing Performance Prevailing Over Singing Quality Performance?

2011-03-19T13:41:00.000-07:00

I've been watching American Idol quite precisely for at least the last decade and this time watching the auditions, I said, "Finally, the singing quality is becoming quite strong and definitely more listenable than ever before."

Little did I know. After that last 12 "best" were chosen, the quality of singing all of a sudden subsided substantially. How so, nyou may ask? I do't know for sure, but judging by previous experience of watching my own client on the "Rockstar Supernova" television show of 2006 and my other client on "Canadian Idol" of 2007, I could certainly say that somebody was so called "helping" them to "achieve their dream"by trying to teach them in the last minute (whether it was a vocal coach or producer) some new "vocal tricks". Both times watching my own clients on the above designated shows, I nearly fell off the chair while listening to their "new and improved" version of their chosen songs.

Going back to the day, the Canadian Idol management of 2007 introduced themselves to me and said if I had any questions or very talented students, to send them their way, to feel free to do so.

Brian Melo wasn't one of them, however, I did address three others to them who did not make it through Canadian Idol, but became quite well known performers down the road. One of them made it quite big and her name is Trish Campbell, who is now signed with Capitol, EMI Records.

Nevertheless, using the name I was given for the reference, I called and asked to explain how come all of the participants, including my own client, all of sudden started to sing off key and in a very strange manner. After me inquiring to what happened to the participants and my client in particular (as I've never heard him singing so badly), they explained to me that they just hired a vocal coach to help the participants to address all of their vocal needs before the grand all performance. I'm not sure what services were performed in that regard, but I was almost sure that my own client would be voted out of the show with the speed of a bullet. However, all the rest of them were even worse and were becoming worse and completely unlistenable by the minute. To the credit of my client, he quite quickly picked up the pieces, as he had a very good foundation which I instilled in him during our vocal course, and needless to say, won the competition.

Prior to that, in 2006 my other client well known today, Lukas Rossi, was picked on every level and commented on his possessed "unknown vocal technique". Almost every episode there was a scroll "Lukas owns some kind of unknown vocal technique. Let's find out what it is." He, like Brian Melo, almost succumbed to Jason Newstead's of Metallica comments and instructions; "Lukas, drop your jaw down. Show me your gift." Needless to say, Jason Newstead never sang a note in his life, however was a very well known bass player (frankly, given that fact, I could not relate to the relevance of his comments). Meanwhile, the same vocal coach, who was next year hired for American Idol, suggested the same thing. Lukas resisted at the beginning, but then he was advised that if he didn't comply with the rules, he would lose the place in the competition. So he too started dropping his jaw down and screaming from the bottom of his throat. Luckily, not for long, and thus he was still able to preserve his real gift - the musical talent married with the Vocal Science technique.

And now, whoever is working with the American Idol's best 12, definitely had some input into their vocal performances. Granted, the performance aspect (dancing, prancing and what have you) was done down pat. Whoever is responsible for choreography and stage presence is doing an amazing job. Whoever is responsible for their vocal performances is having an opposite effect on the quality and presence of vocals. All of a sudden, more than half of the best 12 are singing off key, off tone and off tune. Some of them picked up a strange vibrato on their voices and sound quite operatic while attempting the pop tunes. It is extremely sad, as they're supposed to be the 12 best in all of North America and I thought that they would be...? But somebody definitely had something to do with it, that they started sounding rather funny and definitely not up to standards.

In other words, we're witnessing a glorified karaoke in the worst understanding of that word. Very sad indeed. Is there a solution? I guess it remains to be seen and heard...

Child Stars via YouTube - A New Trend to Discovering New Talent?

2011-02-23T15:51:00.000-08:00

A long time ago Citytv launched "Speaker's Corner". Anybody could stop by and verbally express their opinion about anything. Some people were actually singing, while hoping to get noticed and make it big in the music business. And YES...BINGO! The band "Barenaked Ladies" were noticed, picked up by music industry professionals and then the band made a very significant mark, becoming icons in the music industry to date. Sounds like a fairy tale, huh? But that happened and it's real. However, at that time it was quite sensational.

Today, we all own computers and we all can easily and quickly access YouTube. In a manner of speaking, it is a "Speaker's Corner", but in the convenience of our own home or at our desk at work. With that to be available, the well known manager, Scooter Braun was surfing the internet and YouTube in particular, when he discovered a young boy who is now the well known artist, Justin Bieber. The "Biebermania" took off and along this premise two young girls (Maria Lourdes Aragon of Winnepeg and Heather Russell of Toronto, Canada) were recently discovered. Maria was discovered by Lady Gaga, who was fascinated by the little girl performing her song "Born This Way" and Heather, outright got a record deal with none other than the former American Idol judge, Simon Cowell. This modern technology already helped a great deal to launch the now huge teenage artist, Justin Bieber, and those two girls are definitely along their way to stardom as well.

In my opinion, it's absolutely amazing, as the music business for the last at least 20 years became nothing but a factory of artificially manufactured stars. Those so-called "stars" were mainly picked by their looks, ages, right connections, and the money put behind their careers. We all know that a lot of so-called "singing" could be fabricated in the high tech studios. And if the budget is adequate enough, the production will sound quite profound. Now we have the looks and good sounding studio recorded tracks and then what? Then, the majority of times we have an artist who cannot perform live or nevertheless resemble anything remotely close to what has been recorded. In their concerts, however, they have very knowledgeable sound engineers behind the stage, which are there on stand-by to pick up the sound which was originally recorded to substitute for the sound which is hardly coming out of the so-called manufactured "performer's" mouth. Then no wonder well known sources such as the Toronto Sun, start publishing articles about those fabricated performers, in this instance Taylor Swift, calling them outright and outloud "tone deaf":

"Thanks primarily to her stunningly tone-deaf Grammy performance, Swift ended up being the big story on Grammy night — but not in the way she had wished. Critical opinion of her three-song mini-set — which included a mercifully brief duet with Stevie Nicks on Fleetwood Mac’s Rhiannon — ranged from the somewhat diplomatic “painfully out of tune” to the slightly more pointed “off-key caterwauling.”-Darryl Sterdan

Justin Bieber, however, and the two new young female rising stars are truly and naturally talented. They were chosen for the right reasons and thus, hopefully down the road, they will not destroy our ears and turn us away from the concert arenas. However, being a vocal educator for over 3 decades, in my opinion the talent has to be supported with the proper knowledge, especially when it's concerning the human voice.

Stay tuned for the Part 2 for a blog: "Vocally Yours: What's Greater? Playing It By Ear Or Doing It By Design?"

If you find yourself struggling with vocal performance or are in need of voice repair, you can reach Diana by email or phone, Toll Free in North America, at 1-888-229-TUNE (8863). Local and International Inquirers please call: 416-229-0976.

www.vocalscience.com

www.repairyourvoice.com

@vocalscience

Voice Loss or Voice Limitations: How often does that happen? And the question is... why?

2011-02-16T13:59:00.000-08:00

Being a Non-Surgical Voice Repair Specialist for over 35 years now, I have seen a lot of cases where the full or partial loss of voice took place. There were different people, just the ordinary want-to-be singers or speakers and some were definitely active professionals. There were different causes and different diagnoses, but what was in common was the misuse and overuse of the vocal anatomy in general. Mainly, that was happening due to the wrongful application of one's voice; speaking or singing. The conventional vocal coaching suggests to people who want to learn how to use their voices “correctly” to drop their jaws down, to bend their knees, and feel really grounded and use their vocal and other parts of their anatomy as much as possible. What do they accomplish by doing all of this? The limitation of the vocal range; used, abused and strained vocal cords; and the sound which is evidently crashing down and dying at the performer's feet. Not very pretty, huh?!

Moreover, I have met some skinny people who looked like they were 5-7 months pregnant, by sticking their stomach out, supposedly for the right breathing, they were simultaneously making their abdominal muscles weaker than they normally should be and thus acquired disproportionately looking big stomachs which made them look, minimum to say, pregnant. My term of comparison is that they looked like “pregnant ballerinas” to say the least.

Meanwhile, not on a music note (no pun intended), the whole fitness world is reciting about stronger and better looking abdominal muscles and definitely nice and flat tummies, which are very much in fashion at all times. Where, then, do the vocal coaches get an idea that they have to work against human anatomy and against any logic, drowning the voices down deep in the anatomy instead of helping their performers to release the pressure of the sound off of the anatomy and make it fly above and on top of the body, just like spirit (which in a matter of speaking, the voice is) will always fly away from the physical body and not along with it. Moreover, the voice is a unique instrument which every individual possesses. Once that voice is trapped inside of their anatomy, the whole so-called “performance” becomes very anatomic and not spiritual at all, not to mention that all human beings have the same anatomy, especially if they're the same gender, and the only difference then is the presence of gender specific organs. All the rest of the organs are absolutely the same for both genders. The voice flown off of the physical anatomy should be as unique as the finger prints of each and every individual. I know that any performers who I have produced over the years have had very unique tones and their voices could be recognized very easily, even if you don't know the song they might be singing.

“How would you achieve that?”, you may ask. I have an answer for you, as I have found the mechanism which will allow your voice to work at its fullest capacity possible, yet with no pain or strain on your vocal anatomy. By utilizing this mechanism, you will be able to restructure your voice from the vocal box to the set of your facial muscles which will represent a natural resonator, or amplifier in this case, and then put those facial muscles to work in full conjunction and coordination with your abdominal muscles for the greater support of the sound and, thus, then minimize and practically eliminate the use of your throat, larynx and vocal cords.

However, if the voice was already damaged, to do just that might not be enough. Therefore, simultaneously with the proper instruction, I would administer natural herbs and remedies which will greatly aid to one's voice. Needless to say, those remedies will be obsolete unless the voice is released from the vocal box and the singer operates through the different channels and in the new found way.

This is also applicable for singers like Justin Bieber who, evidently, are going through puberty now and whose voices are drastically changing to become lower and manlier. In this instance, I could with absolute certainty say that using my revolutionary approach to voice mechanics, the puberty would not matter and male singers like Justin would be able to continue to enjoy their performances and go through puberty rather smoothly and without dramatic changes. In my opinion, Justin needs to learn the above addressed application of his voice and since his anatomy seems to be somewhat strained, which is natural for any singer when they're experiencing difficulties to push stronger, his vocal box has also to be carefully nurtured and thus simultaneously to be healed while he will be trying to reach the new heights.

www.vocalscience.com

www.repairyourvoice.com

@vocalscience

The Music Producers (Part 1): Who are they... Jack-offs of all musical trades?

2011-02-10T12:45:00.000-08:00

I've been in the music business, here in Canada, for over 30 years. I ran my professional vocal school, which is now a division of 4 A.M. Talent Development & Artist Management Group Inc., as well as, our own independent label, Royans Universe Records for over 27 years.

Over all this time, I've been vocally training people (estimated over 18,000 students) and also recording a lot of demos (first tapes and then CDs). From time to time I was attempting to do the full productions with some of my prominent and talented clients, where I had to engage the services of a Music Producer, while myself, I was trying to play the role of Vocal Producer. "Vocal Producer?!!!" You may exclaim, "What's that?".

For years, I was trying to answer this question to the best of my abilities and especially to convince and persuade those music producers who I have been (or potentially would be) working with. Some of them had no concept of it, outright; others had difficulties understanding my role; and some of them pretended that they understood, but only for the sake of gaining my well paying clients for themselves. However, when I was attempting a session abroad recently with some so-called "music producers" who were immediately getting into competition with me and screaming that they know all about the vocals, as well as everything else and then were trying to eliminate me out of my session, in spite of all the terms that were negotiated and pre-paid much in advance by my client for services to be provided by both the music producer and myself.

Needless to say, by my experience, not too many music producers know much about vocal production. To the credit of some of them, at best they know what they want to hear, but most of the time they don't have the slightest idea of how to arrive to the point of their own satisfaction and a resemblance of some "professional standards" through natural performance (i.e., without the excessive use of any studio gadgets). It is presumed that in general, the producer is the "Jack of all trades" -vocals included.

Let's, for a minute, imagine that somebody just had a car accident and was admitted to the emergency room, where it was detected that the patient had a neurological trauma, gynecological trauma, and orthopedic challenges. What would be your guess as to who would operate on this patient? Would it be a) a general practitioner or b) three different specialists who are specializing in each of their particular fields? My wild guess would be that it probably would be a neurologist working on the head trauma, a gynecologist working on the female organs trauma, and lastly, it would be a doctor of orthopedics fixing the limbs. Logical, isn't it? However, this type of logic evidently does not apply to the music producers as such. They think and "play" the specialists of every aspect of the studio performance, when in reality they are just "general practitioners" who know hardly enough, in detail that is, to get by and produce (at best) a mediocre performance, especially vocally.

A lot of them, to cover their inadequacy, are trying to use the technology in excess (jacking off with autotune and melodyne), as well as putting lots of "sauce and cheese" (a colloquial studio expression for when someone is trying to cover up a singer's imperfections with lots of effects, double tracking, excessive reverb, loud backing vocals and what have you). To take it even further, some of them are denying the vocal performance as a class. They're trying to convey the message that the hit song and the perfect instrumental production, with the faked autotuned and melodyned (full of sauce and cheese) vocal tracks), will do a perfect job, for today's evidently "deaf" (and not very alert, to put it mildly) society.

I have noticed that people are getting more "deaf" by the minute, as apparently off key, out of tune, out of tone and (mainly) off time, is a "fresh and young vibe", according to one so-called "prominent" producer that I recently worked with. How so, I was trying to intervene, at least remotely in the session with my poor client who was completely confused and did not know anymore what was right and what was wrong. Every time I was trying to advise my client on how to make her performance at least remotely resemble something what was once called "pitch" in music, the producer was screaming into the intercom "brilliant!" and "wicked!", confusing my client to the tee. The client definitely knew better. She has recorded at least 4 demo songs with me and now was thoroughly messed up and did not know who to listen to or believe, as the producer was posing for the "Be All & End All" Jack of all trades (and, apparently, a big specialist in vocals ... go figure!!!)

When I inquired as to why he was misleading the client, his response was that he didn't want to frustrate my client and tried to keep everything positive, however, to my standards completely and utterly sung wrong, out of pitch, time, and character.

At the end of the project, he advised my client that everything he recorded with "my help" (what little he let me do) was unacceptable since the tracks I was actually able to intervene in were actually sounding quite in tune and somewhat in time. That remote resemblance of what music standards once were was a little bit too overwhelming for the "prominent" know-it-all producer...

Unfortunately, this experience isn't exclusive to today's music industry, as it began long ago in my home land. For years I have been desperately trying to prove the need of a Vocal Producer/Mentor in the studio for the greater and up-to-standards vocal production. When this particular producer was approached by my manager with the proposition of working with my clients as Music Producer, with my participation as Vocal Producer in the studio, he agreed on every level that my services were needed and expressed excitement after thoroughly examining my website and articles, which I have been writing for a number of years for many reputable publications. I thought, "Bingo! I have finally found an open minded producer who is welcoming my services for the sake of a quality vocal production that is deserving of obtaining a major record deal for my client". Little did I know ....

What are your experiences in working with music producers? Please feel free to leave your comments below (if you have any) and stay tuned for Part 2 ... if you will...

Non Surgical Voice Repair II: Might Herbal Remedies Be Instrumental in Susan Boyle's Case?

2010-12-08T15:00:00.000-08:00

In the first article, “Non-surgical Voice Repair. What’s that? Does it apply to Susan Boyle as well now...?”, I described the Sony artist’s performance on The View as being an unfortunate precedent. In that article, I was talking about her (in my opinion) beautiful, however improperly used voice and about my revolutionary Vocal Science technique, which could (no doubt) remedy that problem. Sometimes a performer may severely damage his/her vocal cords, larynx and even the whole vocal box while using the incorrect technique. In this particular instance then, the performer’s “instrument” is at stake.

In North America we have an expression, “He/she has a nice voice” (or good/great voice and what have you). That’s wonderful, but it’s only a description of the instrument. What about knowing how to “play” it? Imagine if Liberace, who had a famous great pink grand piano, suddenly would start playing it with his elbows? Funny, hah! But the singers with good voices, including Susan Boyle, are doing exactly that in a manner of speaking. And while doing that, they’re damaging their beautiful “instruments” and, needless to say, the expression “she has a good voice” becomes obsolete.

The question now is how to fix the “instrument” and as a side effect, how to “fix” the player?

For many years now, I’ve been using natural herbs and remedies which greatly aid the human voice. They lubricate the throat (you would not drive your car without lube and oil), they strengthen the vocal cords and they clean the vocal anatomy from excessive mucus and other pollutants. So, in this instance, the “instrument” will be taken care of. If the performer will stop “hammering” their newly tuned up instrument, he/she will be able to achieve what I call the “Total Performance”. At the same time, he/she will do a service to the public by not cracking his/her voice or stopping the performance all together, but rather the opposite: serenade the audience with a beautiful, coherent and intelligent sound.

Wouldn’t any performer give their “right arm”, so to speak, to have a beautiful instrument and to know how to extract the most from it? After all, an artist like Susan Boyle cannot hide her vocal problems by dancing and prancing around as Britney Spears does. So many artists today have, nevertheless, 40 million dollar stages built for them with fireworks and pyrotechnics going off while they perform (Bono is a perfect example) HIT ORIGINAL songs and in sexy clothes and attire. Susan Boyle has a beautiful voice, but she performs covers in simple clothes on simple stages... and that is her charm: with an angelic voice she doesn’t need the other distractions. That means, however, that without her voice, she will (unfortunately) not be worth much, will she...?

In short, if the damage to her voice is not properly attended to, it could be (God forbid)permanent and in this unfortunate instance she will have nothing left and neither will any of the other parties involved (management and labels included).

Let’s hope that this will never happen, as it would make a lot of her fans also very sad.

If you find yourself struggling with vocal performance or are in need of voice repair, you can reach Diana by email or phone, Toll Free in North America, at 1-888-229-TUNE (8863). Local and International Inquirers please call: 416-229-0976.

www.vocalscience.com

www.repairyourvoice.com

@vocalscience

Non-surgical Voice Repair. What’s that? Does it apply to Susan Boyle as well now...?

2010-12-04T15:30:00.000-08:00

Almost everybody knows now what happened to Susan Boyle on the television show “The View”. The question is why, and could it have been prevented? Being a vocal mentor and world renowned non-surgical voice repair specialist for over 35 years, I could say with absolute certainty that YES! It DEFINITELY could have been prevented if Susan, as well as many other renowned vocal performers, actually knew what they were doing with their voices and were using their voices upon design and not just by praying and keeping their fingers crossed while on stage (playing it by ear). You can clearly see the fear on Susan’s face about a minute before the disaster happened. She obviously knew intuitively that she would not finish that show, as she felt the restriction in her vocal box and knew there was no more space left to go anywhere except even deeper down into her throat where her vocal cords split and what I call “vocal impotence” had occurred.

Horrible!!! And every singer’s nightmare!!! But it could have been prevented. How, you may ask? The answer is not that complicated. If Susan and her alike (Celine Dion in her own times) knew how to use her facial muscles in conjunction with her abdominal muscles and utilize the sound upwards rather than downwards through the aforementioned cavities, she would have the perfect “flight” instead of the perfect “crash nose down” with her voice.

The technique which I developed is called the Vocal Science(TM) Method. The core principle of this technique is “work smart and not hard”. “With the minimum effort, achieve the maximum result”. Never experience any pain or strain on your vocal anatomy while using you voice “upon design”. This method ensures the length and health of one’s vocal anatomy for life!

In a nutshell, it is a method of visualization. It is also an integration and synergy between singers’ mental, physical, emotional and vocal state. Once the vocal performer understands it intellectually, the kinesthetics then will take place. In other words, the performer has to know mentally what he/she is actually doing. They have to feel it kinesthetically and retain both of the feels. It it easy? Not at all. But just like for everything genius, the concept is quite attainable;

- Use your body as an instrument instead of abusing it.

- Use your body as a support and platform for the sound to take off and take the flight to the facial and head cavities and the aimed delivery of the sound will be assured.

Mainly, the performer will be at ease and joy instead of the pain and fear and thus, will be able to convey his/her positive and joyful emotions, not to mention the pleasant tone, correct pitch, right phrasing, emphasis and inflections of the words and thus a perfect and clear delivery.

If I ask any practicing performer what price tag they could put on that, the answer inevitably would be, “it’s priceless”. One of them said to me, “I would give my ‘right arm’ to know what I’m actually doing on stage and not to die 1,000 deaths before the performance ends”. I think this is quite self-explanatory and definitely should be addressed and not only to the performers, but to their management companies and record executives, as if the performer loses his/her voice, everybody involved would also lose. What is Susan Boyle worth without her voice? How much money Sony Records and Susan’s management could make, if she cannot any longer sing and perform? And how much joy is the audience going to miss out on? How could you measure it...and can you?

Stay tuned for part two…

Diana Yampolsky is the Master Vocal Coach, Studio Vocal Producer, and Non-Surgical Voice Repair Specialist at The Royans Professional Vocal School in Toronto, Canada. She is also the creator of the Vocal Science (TM) method and Talent Scout & Director for the 4 A.M. Talent Development and Artist Management Group Inc.

If you find yourself struggling with vocal performance or are in need of voice repair, you can reach Diana by email or phone, Toll Free in North America, at 1-888-229-TUNE (8863). Local and International Inquirers please call: 416-229-0976.

www.vocalscience.com
www.repairyourvoice.com
@vocalscience

What good is an encore performance if your voice dies before you get there?

2010-11-23T12:41:00.000-08:00

After all these years of bigger and bigger live music shows, everyone that’s
been to a concert, large or small, expects any great show to have an encore.
So after singing, playing and entertaining the crowd for two or two and a
half hours on average, the crowd expects the artist or band to come out and
sing with the same excellence, energy and conviction another song or two to
close the show.

The problem is that the majority of singers are not singing it by design.
And primarily they deliver their performance by what I call, ‘playing it by
ear.’ That means that they do not have an adequate vocal technique or at
least the knowledge about it, which would allow them to save and protect
their voices, and make it last for hours on end.

Ultimately, they’re using the wrong set of muscles while singing and thus
using and abusing their vocal apparatus sometimes to the bitter end. It’s a
known fact that even Celine Dion once lost her voice during her concert.
Luckily she found a very knowledgeable Doctor of ENT (Ear Nose and Throat)
who, not only fixed the acquired damaged cause by improper technique, but
also no doubt showed her how to re-structure her voice in a different set of
muscles, and thus save and protect her voice up until the present day. I’m
not sure what means he used, but on the final analysis she was able to
acquire something similar to what I am teaching to every client of mine by
applying what I call the “Vocal Science Technique”. The core of this
technique is to re-structure your voice in a set of the facial muscles and
then put them to work in full conjunction and coordination with the
abdominal muscles, which will allow the performer to work smart and not
hard, and with minimum efforts achieve the maximum result. The facial
muscles in this equation will also play the role of the natural resonator or
amplifier and thus the voice will sound well placed, structured and
projected while simultaneously being supported by the physical body. As a
result, the tone, the conviction of the sound and the body of the sound will
dramatically improve. Furthermore, the enunciation and pronunciation of the
words as well as overall clarity of the sound will be achieved.

If the vocalist is well aware of all these components, his or her voice will
never be in jeopardy. And therefore the songs in the encore will sound just
as good as the ones at the beginning of the first set.

Afterall, couldn’t you agree that this type of show would be desirable on
both ends, for the performer and for the audience…?

Vocally Speaking - How to Realize a “Teenage Dream” to succeed in the Music Industry at Large

2010-11-21T13:47:00.000-08:00

I started teaching since 1976 in Russia and at that time was teaching primarily kids grade 1 through grade 8. They too liked the pop music, which was hardly available for the easy listening with the exception of a couple of local stars and some Beatles hits, which were occasionally played on the radio.

Nowadays, here in Canada and in Europe especially, pop singing is very popular amongst constantly rising young artists and of course the teenagers who are on a regular basis listening to them through their radios, iPods and phones, and who would want to emulate something similar in their dreams and who would also want to experience the glamour which they see and read about in fashion magazines and watching on YouTube. For some of them the dream will remain to be a dream, but for others it could become a reality.

At the present time, I myself have been scouting a teenage talent, primarily amongst young girls age 14 - 22. Some of them have more potential and more vocal talent, some less, but not only the vocal talent will take place in realizing their teenage dream. There are far more components which are required to make it big in the music industry at large. Luckily from where I sit, I don’t need to find the potential artist who writes her own very unique and original material, however that would be preferable. I do have contacts in North America and more so in the UK, where the prominent songwriters and producers will take care of that aspect and will co-write with the potential artist catering to their personality, portrayed future image, desires of their hearts and their intelligence. However, the confidence, the self-worth and self-esteem, not to mention the appropriate suitable looks will be definitely required from the future artist to put on the table of the equation. Some teenagers come to me and they have some components of the above description, but are lacking the others. Some of them have excessive weight, however very cute faces, but due to the former, have no required confidence or self-esteem. I previously said that the writing of the songs is not the issue. I can also, with absolute confidence, say that if they have at least 5% - 10% of vocal talent, I can complete the rest. I apply my Vocal Science(TM) method and revolutionary technique, which I’ve been promoting for the last 30 years in Canada and it works like magic and in a very short order.

So what’s left? What’s left is the persona of the future artist. As I said before, with my guidance, if they have a weight issue (I have a weight issue myself for almost my whole life, but also vigorously conquering it at the present time and could be a good example for my clients) they would need to take a serious care of it, as the prototype of a teenage girl is definitely a sexy looking and groomed body with the current fashionable clothes attached to it. The weight issues (again I know it first hand) could cause a lot of personal insecurity and low self-esteem. Besides myself, I have a team of people who could take care of all of this. It becomes that much easier for a teenager, because they’re focused and aimed towards their global performance goal. By learning how to sing professionally, they see that their confidence is rising as well (as knowledge is producing confidence). Then after they obtain sufficient amount of instruction they will be introduced to the most prominent recording studio in Toronto - “Phase One” - to obtain a recording of their demo CDs to be introduced as a sample to appropriate people in the music industry. All of that is the beginning of a Teenage Dream being realized in a real sense.

Let’s outline the benefits of this process while remembering that the music business is very speculative and nobody can guarantee 100% of making it big. However, the benefits themselves could be greater than even the actual final goal.

- The excess weight is lost

- The sexy image is obtained

- The self-confidence and self-esteem is not an issue any longer

- The focus and goal orientation helps achieving the greater studies and marks at school

- The real recording studio experience with the real producers and engineers - every musically oriented teenager’s dream

And most likely, if they’re under my care and I find all of their achievements to be sufficiently accomplished, the winning ticket to success is absolutely inevitable at least in some capacity.

So if you have a teenager on your hands who has dreams to be successful and it happens to be in the entertainment business, don’t hesitate to visit our website www.vocalscience.com and read more on how to achieve a great success in wherever you or your kids will put the desire.

Diana Yampolsky is the Master Vocal Coach, Studio Vocal Producer, and Non-Surgical Voice Repair Specialist at The Royans Professional Vocal School in Toronto, Canada. She is also the creator of the Vocal Science (TM) method and Talent Scout & Director for the 4 A.M. Talent Development and Artist Management Group Inc.

If you find yourself struggling with vocal performance or are in need of voice repair, you can reach Diana by email or phone, Toll Free in North America, at 1-888-229-TUNE (8863)

What is the secret to being a standout artist now and in the foreseeable future?

2010-11-16T14:47:00.000-08:00

Everybody knows that writing and recording a good original song is an important key to one's success in the music industry. Not everybody knows or realizes, though, that you need to be able to sing that song in the exact fashion as it has been written; preferably in tune and with proper phrasing, inflection, emphasis, pronunciation and clarity. You also have to be able to use your voice correctly in order to survive more than one song performance and prevent long term damage. If you are capable of all of that, your listeners will respect you because the magic of your music consistently translates in live performances and isn't just artificially created in the studio. Also, the record labels will be more interested in you because you can bring your "A" game any place, any time. Furthermore, already respected and well-known artists will be more interested in featuring you on their records, which brings you exposure to their fanbases.

Consumers these days are very smart. They are not running out to the record stores in a hurry to buy a new artist’s CD. Depending on the genre, there is increasing interest in real talent and they want access to a given artist's music on YouTube where they can to be assured a performer is authentic and not fabricated in the studio. That connection is what will lead them to buy a ticket to see an artist live... and if they like the concert, maybe buy the CD.

To summarize, what would it take to become a successful artist now and in the future?

- Musical talent and the ability write a hit song
- Vocal talent and training in order to perform up to professional standards
- Social Media presence
               A well designed and integrated website. Bandzoogle is a great resource
               Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. See Ariel Hyatt's book for guidance
               Viral marketing campaigns ... if you're clever and timely enough. Here are the principles

Once you have these considerations in full swing, your odds of standing out and succeeding in today’s music business are immeasurably better.

Diana Yampolsky is the Master Vocal Coach, Studio Vocal Producer, and Non-Surgical Voice Repair Specialist at The Royans Professional Vocal School in Toronto, Canada. She is also the creator of the Vocal Science (TM) method and Talent Scout & Director for the 4 A.M. Talent Development and Artist Management Group Inc.

If you find yourself struggling with vocal performance or are in need of voice repair, you can reach Diana by email or phone, Toll Free in North America, at 1-888-229-TUNE (8863)

Media human spirit pollution and conditioning: How does it affect the music business in general and vocal performer in particular?

2010-11-09T15:23:00.000-08:00

We all go to sleep and wake up with the news on the radio, TV or Internet. Usually, none of the news stories are positive. They typically speak about crimes committed on a daily basis, horrible accidents that are happening all the time, and the getting-worse-by-the-minute financial situation in the country and around the world globally.

Also, they are reciting about new technology, which is being upgraded literally all the time and not necessarily for the betterment of humanity. Therefore, evidently, the world is becoming more dangerous, more financially unstable, more electronically oriented and much less personal. Speaking of personal, the media and marketing campaigns are promoting complete selfishness and ‘Me, Myself and I’ attitudes. Just listen to them; “My phone, my personal TV, iPhone, iTunes,”, in other words Me, Me, Me, Me… and Myself.

With this philosophy, how is the human being supposed to care for another human being when it’s all self-oriented? How’s the performer able to reach out to the audience and offer a part of him or herself when they don’t know how? Their performances purely by default, become narcissistic. Ultimately, the vocal performance is a story telling through music, and usually that story should be addressed to the listeners...shouldn't it?

Unfortunately this selfish, unstable and getting poorer by the minute world has nothing positive to offer and that has been reflected in music productions and the music industry as a whole. In fact, the music industry, at least in Canada, is now practically non-existent. The recording studios, with their million dollar consoles and other invaluable gear, are also practically extinct, as any ‘Joe Blow’ without any expertise on the matter is trying to replicate so-called recording out of his basement apartment.

And sometimes, believe it or not, this basement music somehow succeeds at getting widespread radio play...?

The other day I was walking around Niagara Falls, Canada and heard my student’s band on the radio and I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of his band's music and his vocal performance. His singing was definitely good quality and up to par. Right after his song finished, another so-called 'singer' came into play and I almost choked on a little healthy snack I had in my mouth. It was beyond horrible…! How anybody who has remote hearing abilities and self respect could put somebody like that on the radio is beyond me. Mind you, I’m currently on a diet and it definitely played a positive role in my dieting as I nearly threw up and lost my appetite for the rest of the day. It could be not a bad thing for those trying to lose weight, lol.

With the help of the media and electronics our lives are becoming lifeless, music-less, and everything else ‘less’ for that matter. We are too selfish, too self-centered and too self absorbed…

So go figure... The world obviously has been prompted to some, in a manner of speaking, 'Pavlovian conditioning'...

Diana Yampolsky is the Master Vocal Coach, Studio Vocal Producer, and Non-Surgical Voice Repair Specialist at The Royans Professional Vocal School in Toronto, Canada. She is also the creator of the Vocal Science (TM) method and Talent Scout & Director for the 4 A.M. Talent Development and Artist Management Group Inc.

If you find yourself struggling with vocal performance or are in need of voice repair, you can reach Diana by email or phone, Toll Free in North America, at 1-888-229-TUNE (8863)

Vocal Style: Channelling Your Emotions Into Your Vocal Performance

2010-11-06T08:56:00.000-07:00

We all know the importance of proper vocal technique and its role in the safety and protection of a singer's voice. But how important is it to attach a singer's style and emotion to that technique? And where should those feelings come from? The answer, obviously, is: They have to come from within.

I have a favourite saying, "Be it, Feel it, Love it, Live it". What I mean by that is that a performer has to identify not just with the style of the music, but also with the lyrics and message he or she wants to convey. This is easier for singers who write their own songs, but many mainstream top-40 artists do not, especially in Pop. Recently, I recorded a young artist who was covering Miley Cyrus's "Can't be Tamed" for a demo and that song requires a lot of staccato punch. The title of the song itself suggests strength, rebellion, power, self-esteem and self-worth. If that song is sung with softness instead of intensity, or without strong enough inflection, the message would be lost on an emotional level and infringe on the style of the accompanying music. It took a lot of mentoring and vocal consulting in the studio to help the artist identify herself with the intensity of the song and channel that energy into her performance, as in reality the artist is a very soft and gentle person ... not that intense at all. This reflects the notion that, in a manner of speaking, real performing artists have to walk into a different role with every song. Much like an actor learns their characters and acts their roles on stage and in film, the singer/performer is ultimately a story teller through music.

Let's take Lady Gaga for example. I went to one of her concerts this summer and watched her very intently. I tried to see who she was through her performance and came to the conclusion that she is none of the things she portrays on stage, but she is a great actress who plays her role with absolute excellence. Obviously she and her team created the image she bears and the spectacular show that looked, to me, almost like a Halloween play with monsters and angels; full of liberty, sex, dance and what have you. It was very cleverly set out, covering absolutely every aspect of entertainment and catering to an audience of wide ranging ages and interests. To pull off a performance like Gaga's, the performer does not necessarily have to be the character he or she is singing about, but they definitely have to channel the song's character, being, and emotions through their own intrinsic paths of artistic expression and overall performance.

The Importance of Peripheral "Thinking" for Singers: A Case Study in Revolutionary Vocal Performance

2010-11-04T11:51:00.000-07:00

You are obviously familiar with the term "peripheral vision". Every driver knows that if they don't exercise their peripheral vision they might get into trouble, as when you're driving you have to watch front, back, left and right. It is that level of attention that will help you avoid an accident because you can catch an unexpected object racing at you with just the corner of your eye. Personally, I was encountered with that situation not too long ago and if it were not for my active use of peripheral vision, I would not be writing this blog now.

Along a similar vein, while running a number of vocal workshops and seminars over the last three decades, I have learned that when consulting large groups, you have to be able to see all of your clients at once so as not to lose their attention. In the context of sports, hockey players cannot play their game well and, worse, will undoubtedly suffer an injury if they are not actively engaging their peripheral vision. I could refer you to the movie "The Cutting Edge" where that happened with a top hockey player who chose to become a figure skater in order to keep skating after his injury. Without peripheral vision there is no way to react in time to a high speed puck moving rapidly towards you. In music, the piano player has to always be looking at least one bar ahead with the corner of their right eye, otherwise the next consecutive score will come to them as a surprise. And finally, a singer has to anticipate what is coming next in a song, thinking of how to prepare and place their voice in the proper facial cavities so that they achieve the desired sonic outcome. That requires not only peripheral vision, but also peripheral thinking.

A performer should think ahead and quickly respond to changes in note height, especially notes that challenge their natural or developed range (high or low). If the singer is only concerned with what is happening in the present moment, they are very likely to falter in their application of trained technique, ultimately resulting in false notes and/or vocal cracks and inconsistency. So, the use of peripheral thinking, like peripheral vision, is a skill in itself which needs to be developed along with vocal technique, performance and style.

This was especially true for one particular case under my care, where a young and promising female singer was good in pieces, but experienced difficulties connecting it all together. She was failing to think forward and, thus, was not preparing appropriately for the upcoming vocal challenges in the song. Depending on the natural abilities of the singer, perfecting this type of coordination could take a considerable amount of time and training... as it did with this singer whose determination has paid off and is now working with high end songwriters and producers; well on her way to obtaining a record deal like many of my other clients. As such, my experience in working with this singer and overcoming her challenges is what inspired me to start sharing the concept of "peripheral thinking" and later to write this blog.

The lesson is: "Stay in the moment, but anticipate what could/will happen next and act accordingly"
That will help you keep your vocal pieces together.

Diana Yampolsky is the Master Vocal Coach, Studio Vocal Producer, and Non-Surgical Voice Repair Specialist at The Royans Professional Vocal School in Toronto, Canada. She is also the creator of the Vocal Science (TM) method and Talent Scout & Director for the 4 A.M. Talent Development and Artist Management Group Inc.

If you find yourself struggling with vocal technique or are in need of voice repair, you can reach Diana by email or phone, Toll Free in North America, at 1-888-229-TUNE (8863)

Vocal Box Repair: Is There Such a Thing? And is it even possible?

2010-11-03T11:51:00.000-07:00

Apparently there is! And yes, it is possible… however, difficult.

For comparison, let’s look at classical ballet dancers: Everybody knows that ballerinas have to have a certain arch in their feet, especially females. It is detrimental to their careers if their feet are flat and not properly arched, because it would be difficult to do pirouettes; circling 32 revolutions with one leg while keeping the whole weight of the body on the other leg when the flat foot cannot hold the weight.

Similarly for singers, the upper palette (located in the vocal box) also has an arch and curve. The deeper that arch is, the more the body of the voice will be projected. The palette arch isn’t enough on its own though, as the sound also needs to be supported simultaneously by the lower abdomen and upper diaphragm, or else the whole lift of the voice becomes obsolete. Singers can avoid cracks in their voice and letting their sound “fall down” by lifting their voice into the facial cavities, where the facial muscles will also have to be supported by the arch of the upper palette. There is a lot of coordination involved, like ballet, but it is not impossible.

Can a damaged vocal box be fixed? Yes, to varying degrees, based on the individual case. At the very least, it can be improved so that the sound will be much more steady, secure and at much less risk of falling and producing a crack. It is, however, very tedious and intense work.

Your pathway to recovery begins by retreating to the basics of speech. It requires attentive repetition of syllables and phrases, then vocalizing different combinations of sounds to train your control of duration and pitch. The purpose and use of different combinations of sound in musical performance and public speaking can be very different and can require more or less rigorous ways of applying the same technique. In the end, all of the work will lend itself to a better quality, frame, and body of sound, and will be instrumental in achieving greater voice projection, tone, inflection, diction and overall clarity.

All of this, of course, requires a trained specialist who understands the mechanics of voice repair, is able to hear where the problems lie, and knows how to help you engineer the solution for your sound.

If you are in need of voice repair, but do not want to resort to surgery, or are interested in preventing vocal box damage, you can learn more about our programs at www.repairyourvoice.com and www.vocalscience.com

There is also an online community for people who are dealing with, fixing, or have overcome vocal problems. That community is called VoiceMatters.Net

Vocal cancer II: Is there a cure?

2010-10-26T14:08:00.000-07:00

“…and can we stop the spread…?”

Like any cancer, in my opinion, vocal cancer is also a serious disease. However, there are always stages. And if the real cancer is diagnosed and detected early, it usually falls in at stage 1, which means it is quite curable and if not completely, at the very least could prolong the patient’s life significantly. Unfortunately the vocal cancer, I would classify as stage 4, which in most cases is terminal and no cure could be offered unless something really alternative, out of this world and crazily outrageous comes along. Strangely enough, it actually has already come, like a lot of alternative treatments for the real cancer, which have been suggested by the alternative herbal and naturopathic medicines. The problem is that the people are so brainwashed and so believing in what they’ve “known” for years, ie. conventional medicine, which in a lot of cases is killing while supposedly “healing”. That said, no doubt, it’s very hard to change the herd mentality.

Therefore, for over thirty years I’ve been offering to the public in general and music industry in particular a new alternative way of how to teach a performer to sing in tune with proper phrasing, inflection, emphasis, etc. and how to apply the authenticity to all those technical aspects of proper vocals in a very easy, short-timed and efficient manner. Did anybody listen? No, not too many people and definitely not the music industry. They in particular got really frightened by my new and innovative approach to the vocal mechanics and the performer on the whole. Deep inside they knew that primarily their artists cannot sing to save their lives, but they were covering it all up by studio magic technology, by somewhat reasonably good songs and for the bigger artists with $40 or so million dollar built stages. In other words, they were investing in everything else but authentic singing and performance.

If this is not the cancer than what is? The music industry actually put it all on “life support and morphine” to ease the pain, but evidently to prolong the agony while offering no cure and just temporarily getting by. Moreover the metastasis of the cancer went even further where they ended up “shooting themselves in the foot”. To make the matter worse, the internet came upon the world. Instead of treating it like an opportunity to enhance the music industry, they treated it all wrong by resisting the very embrace of it. To their credit, however, eventually they got the hang of it, allowing for MP3 sales online and what have you, but it was a little too late as the “cancer” of illegal downloads and other piracies killed the music industry down to the roots.

Therefore, the question is still remaining: Will the public in general smarten up and embrace the fact that there is something else which exists on this earth outside of their conventional beliefs, and not only with respect to music, vocals and what not, but in other instances? Will the music industry eventually clue in to the fact that if they want to prosper, their performers have to be more “sound” with respect to their vocals and performances and not only the songs and outrageously built stages. It’s self evident that the people are fed up with the fake artists who cannot play their own records on stage, let alone sing them. And lastly, when are they going to embrace the new ways of the music evolution, using the internet and other now available means more efficiently?

In essence, it all could be good, there is a cure to the vocal and music cancer available, provided that the fear of embracing new things will find it’s cure first.

Vocally Speaking: Vocal Cancer; How Far Has it Already Metastacized?

2010-08-05T17:08:00.000-07:00

Being teaching and producing vocals in Canada for over thirty years, it never ceases to amaze me how many people have gone for conventional vocal training, practicing, the least to say, nonsensical and leading nowhere exercises - and think that one day they are going to wake up with a wonderful voice and be able to sign a million dollar record deal. A lot of them were complaining that they were feeling quite strange making sounds, some of which reminding them of cats meowing and wolves howling. I'm sure if the latter would hear those people, they would be extremely jealous, as those singers were sounding "better" than the original mammals. A lot of these people after years and years are still trying to make some sense of it, while concurrently ruining their voices, as they were told that if their throats hurt to the point that they are losing any presence of their voices, that is good, because their muscles are working and they must be doing something right. Nevertheless, some of them ended up needing laser surgery and, luckily, some of them I could help non-surgically. If we could imagine for a second that those exercises actually meant anything positive for someone's voice, why did nobody ever explain how to apply them to the actual given song? The answer is very simple - these strange sounds and exercises are not applicable. I'm sure some readers have been through "Myam's", "Neigh, neigh, neighs", "Goo, goo, gooks", "Zay, Yay, Yay, Yays..." and "Prrrrrrrrr" (lip trills). For years I have been doing a lot of seminars and vocal interactive workshops - not only locally, but all around the world - my opening line has always been, "I did not come here to prove anybody wrong or to prove myself right, I came here to show you something different. And now you can accept it or reject it". I often find skeptical people who have been taught exactly what I have described above and they tried to contradict what I have to say. On that note, I usually offer them a $1000 reward if they can show me how they can apply their "Goo, goo, ga ga's" to a real song. Nobody has been able to do it so far. And I am talking worldwide and not just locally in Toronto. So the vocal cancer has evidently spread, ie. metasticized, and, as far as I am concerned, is gradually killing people's dreams and health, as conventional vocal coaching is very dangerous for people's anatomy (and not only vocal), physiology as well as their mental state. With respect to anatomy, not only vocal boxes are getting hurt, but also the lower abdominal muscles, lower back and posture as a whole. Some skinny young girls were coming with their stomachs sticking out and I had to inquire as to if they were perhaps five months pregnant. One answered, "No, I'm not even sexually active". Then "what" I exclaimed? The answer was that the girl from age 7 to her current age of 18 was pushing her stomach out following the instructions of the conventional vocal coaching and naturally wore out her abdominal wall. So now on the skinny body there was a big stomach. I asked her if she felt a pain in her lower back while predominantly knowing the answer, which ultimately was yes. As by the suggestion of her former vocal coach, she was to push everything down to the floor and look like a question mark and then of course, she sounded and looked like a "pregnant ballerina" would. A lot of people were walking at me with their pelvis bones sticking forward - meaning their upper body was inclined backwards - and when I told them to lean forward towards me (as the sound is supposed to be lifted up and above the body), they were sticking their stomach and pelvis out even more. Needless to say, for over 30 years of practice in Canada, I have seen it all in the full ugliness and almost near fatality, at least vocally speaking. The question is, "Is there a cure and can we stop the spread?"

Vocally Speaking - American Idol's Requirements: Make This Song (Cover Tune No Doubts...) Your Own! Or Guess What?

2010-07-22T14:31:00.000-07:00

Really... Guess what? Who ever told the contestants how to make the well known tune their own? And what, in any case, did the judges mean by that? I guess it's still somewhat a riddle to the participants and to the audience, for that matter.

Watching American Idol for the last 9 seasons (not to mention Canadian Idol for at least 7 seasons) I couldn't help but notice that those young kids and even more mature adults, are stuggling to turn and twist the well known cover tune into something which is hardly recognizable, as the melody has often been changed, the vocal licks were inserted all over the place (most of the time not corresponding with the style) and that made it just unlistenable and simply left a bad taste in the listener's mouth. My husband and I are big fans of 50s and 60s music and therefore we're very familiar with the songs of that era. Occasionally, while both of us were watching pre-final stages performances (where these types of songs were required to be covered) of the carefully selected participants, we sometimes could not recognize the song until the chorus or even until the very end.

Being for many years a vocal producer in the studio, I have to admit that many times I had to figure out how to convey the originality on a well known cover tune. Lately, I'm recording a lot of them, as I'm scouting the talents for a very well known and prominent UK management. From female artists, they're not requiring the original tunes, they're requiring to hear their voices, performance, interpretation and originality on the cover tunes. However, we cannot record copying the original artist to the T, as for example, there is already one Beyonce and already one Lady Gaga in existence, why would they need the second double bodies? The answer is they won't, they would need a strong singer like them, with the similar vocal and performance quality and yes, originality and interpretation on any given tune (original or not). So, my aim as a vocal producer is to pull out from my performer the same or better quality of voice as of the original artist's performance, but with their own twist and take on the tune. That's what I call "to make the song your own".

I wish judges and mentors of those vocal competitions like American Idol would make it more clear to their contestants and moreover, would mentor them and advise them how to arrive there. Evidently, they do not, at least not just yet. On that note, if they did, I am pretty sure we would have more sound and more original artists on our Earth's roster.

Music Industry Resurrection: Given the present situation ... is it even in the stars?

2010-07-17T12:38:00.000-07:00

Being involved in the music industry for over 30 years in Canada, I have a lot of observations watching it from inside and out.

When I first came in March of 1980, there were a lot of things happening, musically speaking and otherwise, as music is always a reflection of what's happening in that present time. There were great artists rising up, like Celine Dion, Madonna, Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler and many more. Specializing in vocals, I started my career with the garage bands and pop star wannabes. Those years the immigration from European countries like Russia, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Poland and others was at a very high rate. A lot of people were coming with children and teenagers and being brought up the European way, were willing to work hard to give their youngsters music education and helping them to succeed in the music industry. The children of those times were also very receptive, seeing that the music industry was happening and true to their cause new stars were rising up, minimum to say, on a monthly basis, they too had ambitions, desires, passion and willingness and lovingness to persevere. The music industry in those days was also quite true to their cause, as they were looking for true talents, finding them and taking them for development, i.e. investing their funds into grooming them into a real happening big time artist.

Then came the 90s. The technology started to kick in and a minor recession took place as well and things started to change. Now we started seeing younger and much less talented artists being somewhat fabricated by the music industry, however, not in a full bloom yet. We also started seeing a lot of groups popping out, quite out of the blue. Granted, since the technology was progressing rather rapidly, the in-studio "in-vitro fertilization" was taking a great part in producing somewhat listenable records, with the difference already then, not too many artists could resemble it live.

And now came Y2K. Everybody was scared that the world's end was near. There were a lot of predictions about the computers not being reset properly and therefore, the whole world was supposed to evidently go to pieces. Luckily, that didn't happen and those who were hiding away from their dreams and trying to suppress them came out on the surface in a full bloom. People were bringing me tons of cash, which were hidden away in pillow cases in case the world was actually to end. When they found that it didn't (at least not just yet) they decided to try to enhance their musical abilities and see if they could succeed in this genre.

Came 2001, September 11th, a tragedy in New York. Given to what was happening before, I was 100/100 sure that my world would end this time, as people would be scared and would not come for any vocal lessons, recordings or whatever else my practice consists of. To my and my accountant's biggest surprise, my business skyrocketed four times over. It felt like we were "going out of style" and people were afraid that something drastic might happen to them and this time, they decided to persevere full tilt and realize their dreams before they might be "crushed" by the next terror attacks. It was great, and I was producing a lot of talent, but then came 2004, where I felt that the generation of people who I was accustomed to changed drastically. The new people were coming, but they were much less physical (the computers were taking a huge turn in our lives), much more lazy, much less motivated with much less passion.

Thank God for American and Canadian Idol televisions shows that were thriving at the time, as they were rejuvenating the spirits a little bit and then brought healthy competitiveness between future artists to be. And then, 2 years later, after my client Brian Melo won the competition in 2007, Canadian Idol was canceled. There was a lot of disappointment amongst the young population whose dreams were to become the next Canadian Idol and/or somehow to succeed in the music industry. They then turned to the computer games instead and the music industry turned also to their computers, but this time really in depth. The in studio in-vitro fertilization turned into a "genie in a bottle". Those so called artists who could afford the top producers were "helped" immensely to realize their so called talents. The music was sounding more and more digitized, autotuned and melodined. The concert tickets were not selling as much, as not too many of the artists of those times could resemble anything remotely on stage which would remind of what was "recorded" prior on their record. Some of them were booted out, as they could not even play their record, let alone sing. Meanwhile, the consumer was getting "smarter" by the minute. They stopped going to concerts and started downloading everything on their computers. And then and only then, if they liked what they heard online, they would consider to spend the money and come out to the club or a bigger venue. Needless to say, the electronics began to run our world. The conclusion is that 1% of today's known artists could sing to the point that you don't have to cover your ears (also to protect them from the enormous decibels shooting at you). All the rest of them, sometimes even in the recorded version, were sounding absolutely horrendous.

The question is, where are we going to end up in this world and in the music industry in particular? The young generation is getting used to off key, off tone and off tune singing and a "circus" performance. Would they know the difference if and when the "real deal" will take place? My hope and wish for the world and for the music industry for that matter, is that they would return to their true value, true standards and be true to their cause. Am I confident that it's going to happen? Unfortunately, not quite. I can only hope and pray that finally people will get fed up with all fake endeavors happening in our world on every level and needless to say, in the music industry, as the music industry is is a reflection of what is happening in the world. In my last blog about the Lady Gaga craze, it was really clearly underlined that the world has gone crazy and unfortunately, getting crazier and without any borders or boundaries and now already by the second. How scary is that?

So the question is, will our music in general and music industry for that matter in particular eventually reflect a better or more sane world or is it not even in the stars?

Reference:
Please refer to the movie of the 90s "Mr. Holland's Opus"

Today's Entertainment Biz... Lady Gaga Craze!!!Everything in the Same Pot: Fruits, Vegetables, Herring and Jam?

2010-07-13T16:52:00.000-07:00

As it appears to be, the latest craze in the entertainment business is "everybody's favourite" Lady Gaga's act...? Is it really though? It no doubts is for the young generation. Sometimes even too young. On July 12th I was cordially invited by one of my artist's mom to attend the newest Lady Gaga tour "The Monster Ball".

Let's first talk about the audience. Needless to say, there were a lot of under legal age kids, who I'm not sure should have necessarily had to hear it with their ears and see it with their eyes. The material of the show was quite explicit and definitely not for all ages. It was a lot of liberation presented by Lady Gaga on every level. You could not understand who was male and who was female in that show and who was seducing whom. She was reciting in between of her "escapades" how liberated she was, how free she was (I presume in her sexual preferences and what have you) and did invite the audience to feel free and also liberated and not to mention to feel free in their sexual choices to boot. Don't get me wrong, I'm also for freedom, but not without boundaries and borders. I'm definitely not underage, much more so overage for this type of show. In fact, the mother of my artist who was sitting right beside me, said with absolute certainty and passion that it is the first and last show of this kind that she would see on her life. Granted, we were pretty old for that and definitely from a different generation, but I'm actually in the music business, for at least the last 47 years of my life, therefore I thought I could stomach it all. Moreover, I was asking myself, was I actually in a singing concert or was I watching Cirque De Soleil in not exactly clear and best interpretation? Yes, there was some singing and it wasn't very bad at all to Lady Gaga's credit, who is no doubts extremely talented musically, vocally and performance wise, but for my taste, I would prefer her to stay straight, sing, dance and play piano (and not with her high heeled boots) and certainly not to perform any circus routines. If I want to go to the circus, then I will attend Cirque Du Soleil or even a Russian circus, which is also considered to be one of the best in the world.

She brought up on stage and to the young audience's undivided attention absolutely everything in her performance: From religion to explicit sex, from devils to angels, from monsters to fairies, from blood on her chest to the fire from her "lower body" and finally magically removed panties, which she was shaking in front of the audience and suggesting she was going to throw it onto somebody's face. Exciting? Extremely!!! Crazy? Evidently!!!

She had one good point there. She was raving for the freedom and free choices. She was exclaiming and calling on the young audience to give up their insecurities and fears. The problem was, in my opinion, that all of it was still coming down to sex and sexual preferences. Yes, I'm very liberal on that topic too, but definitely not to this extent. I don't like to take things out of proportion and on this note, I would have to admit that I'm probably the "old school". Our generation (the old school) had some morals and some class. 20-30 years ago, we thought that Madonna was over the top. In comparison, Madonna was definitely an "angel" and did not belong anywhere near the "Monster Ball", as, if she was, she would be booted out of the stage and thrown out of the music business with the point of no return. But those were the old sweet days. Today the question is, how far are we willing to go and if there is room to go any further. Maybe the predicted end of the world is not such a bad thing. At least the humanity will be able to start everything from scratch and extract the fire from the stones and not from their panties.

Vocally speaking: Why does it appear that people in a medical coma, at times, possess more "vital signs" than today's so-called performers?

2010-07-12T14:37:00.000-07:00

Practicing vocal coaching/consulting/producing and whatever else connected to the music business for over 30 years in Toronto, I can testify that people have changed dramatically over last 3 generations. In my opinion, with technology progressing, the mental, physical and emotional state of human beings is dramatically regressing. Obviously there are quite a few factors related to why this is happening. One of them is that people are using technology instead of their brains, not along with the brains. It looks like their brain cells are dying one by one and they are unable to think straight, let alone make some viable decisions or, god forbid, try to put 2 plus 2 together without the computer or calculator. How scary is that?

Taking into account this phenomenon, they are evidently not as physical as well. They spend the majority of their day staring at the computer screen and trying to figure out their whole life via internet. Sometime ago, I asked one of my young male students if he had a girlfriend. He said, "Yeah, I have eight". "Eight?!" I exclaimed, "How so?". He said: "Virtual ones". I was shocked out of my wits. I said to myself, "We are raising the potential "invalids"". This young population is afraid of the real world. They're hiding behind the computer screen and not subjecting themselves to the real life or the real world for that matter.

This boy was 17 at the time. How is he going to deal with real relationships with his real girlfriends or with a real marriage down the road? Let's suppose that this young fellow would also like to become an artist. Everyboy knows that the best artists are those that are writing their own material and performing it. What would this boy (young man) have to write about? He never experienced real feelings, real pain, real passion and perhaps not even real sex! He's been living in an artificial world. In this instance then, what can he offer to society musically and otherwise? This question still remains unanswered.

My program is very intense and contains very tedious syllable-on-syllable instruction and, as Toronto Star newspaper once said, "It's not for the faint of heart". The young population today is simply not fit for that. We already established that they have nothing to offer emotionally, but they also, as it appears to be, have nothing to offer physically. Some of them come into my class literally in a "living coma". They hardly have vital signs. Probably even fewer than the people in the real coma.

Obviously the recession did not help either. Some of them are working to death and, often enough, more than one job. Quite often where there used to be ten people working on a project, now hardly two are embarking on the same deal. To their credit, some of them have mental desires to become an artist, but they cannot support it with their physical, mental and emotional state of being. Therefore, when I try to instill a vocal "chip" in them it's sometimes virtually impossible to do so, given the above description of their present demeanors. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule and recently I produced a lead singer, from a soon-to-be-known rock band, who is one of them. This singer and his brothers still possess zest for life, passion and desires -which should be the "norm" for everyone's mid-twenties age. I have to say, it was very refreshing to work with them and record four fun oriented songs that are full of life, desires and love. Unfortunately, these days, this is an exception to the rule. For the last approximately two years my office employees and I have not been able to believe the deterioration and degradation of those young people whose hearts and souls, at least in theory, desire to become well known artists while, unfortunately, the ingredients for that were not present.

I'm certainly hoping for the best and also desire that those days full of vibrant, bright, intelligent and talented people will return in the not very distant future.

Weird vs. Different – Do you have to be a weirdo to make it?

2010-06-09T18:39:00.001-07:00

How “different” or perhaps weird do you have to be to make it in the music business? And why do you have to be “different” or furthermore weird to attract the attention of the general public? I don’t know if I have the answer, but I do have a few ideas and thoughts. In my opinion, people in general are bored and they are constantly looking for something that is not as mundane as their regular lives. And there is nothing necessarily bad about that, as long as it is not being taken out of proportion. Yes, we all want to watch and hear something new and unique. And that’s fine. However, especially lately those new and unique ideas are being turned into very weird and ugly acts. The music videos are becoming more and more explicit and are reminding of XXX porn more so than any music. The content of the videos outside of the porn is reminding of some type of Halloween in the absolutely worst interpretation of that word. That is one side of it. Now let’s touch on a couple of other sides. I have a question – if Susan Boyle happened to be a young, beautiful girl singing the same way that she is singing now, would anybody pay attention to her or, moreover, sign her to a record deal? I highly doubt it, because ultimately she is nothing special. She sang with an okay voice a cover tune from a musical and everybody made a big deal out of it. Why you would ask? Because it is weird due to her age and the way she looks and that she even attempted to go on stage and participate in a competition. It is weird, all right, but people like shocking stories and they applauded this one not realizing that somebody young, beautiful and truly talented is still waiting for their chance to succeed in the music industry. And now let’s explore yet another side of this equation. The new and thriving singer KeSha. When I first listened to her “singing” and her, the least to say, atrocious lyrics, I couldn’t believe that Sony Music actually signed somebody like that. In her lyrics, she is reciting about not working, but partying, dancing, sleeping around randomly, being on drugs, etc. I have read the remarks and comments from what people are saying about her songs. And at first, being still quite naïve, I took their side with the passion criticizing this so-called artist and wondered who could sign someone like that, especially given that she is not even looking beautiful? And then I understood what was going on – especially when my associate from the music industry remarked, “That in her case she does not need to look good or sound good.” That puzzled me for a second and then I truly realized what he was saying. Like with Susan Boyle, a reverse psychology is being used. She is not young, not exactly pretty looking, and her singing is nothing special in a real sense. And yet they marketed her as if she is the best thing since sliced bread and made people excited to buy her records because she is an unusual sensation. Worse yet, they are doing a similar thing with KeSha and deriving their profits from the negative publicity. Any publicity is good and, unfortunately, the negative one is sometimes more effective than the positive one. Remember, people are looking for something different or perhaps … weird? How sad is that? Is there any normalcy left in our world?

Today's Music Industry Ingredients: Drops Outs, Runaways, Drug Addicts?

2010-05-27T18:34:00.000-07:00

If you look at the history of the music industry for the last three decades, we can notice that a lot of famous people are not with us today. A lot of them "went away" much before their time. Some of them died from drug overdoses, some of them died of AIDs, others shot themselves or committed suicide one way or another. Why is that happening you might ask? These artists seemed to have had it all - fame, success, wealth and everything else under the sun. But could they handle it? Evidentally not. The question is why. Yes, a lot of talent has been discovered by fluke and accidentally. Some of the talent was searched for and by different means: numerous contests, Canadian and American Idol competitions, Britain's Got Talent and what have you. And if you watch these aforementioned shows, you would see that it's not exactly about vocal talent. At least it wasn't always the case in recent years. It seems to be that the judges were almost looking for somebody who was, so to speak, "different". One of my students was auditioning during the first season of Canadian Idol in 2002 and was told that she was very talented, very beautiful and well trained vocally, but she was not even put through to the Television judges as she was asked to tell them something bad or strange about herself so that they could use it on the show. She returned back to me in tears and said, "Diana, I was raised in church, I did not do drugs, I didn't drop out of school and I didn't get pregnant as a teenager, and that was a problem." It's almost like "good girls didn't sell". Meanwhile, look at those artists who the music industry professionals thought were different or - more accurately - weird. A lot them came from broken homes, welfare, and drug rehab clinics to begin with. In other words, the "little treasures" were discovered out of the "garbage bin". Get excited now! They started there and they ended very soon after in the same place. What were the chances that they wouldn't? The majority of them were runaways and dropouts without a high school education or even a middle school education. Oh, but they had talent you may exclaim! Perhaps they did, but so what? They didn't have any other humane qualities and attributes, so the tragic end was ensured and inevitable from the very beginning. Meanwhile, there are other people that are also talented who could do very well in the music industry. Oh, but they are not different or weird enough. Therefore, they are never going to be given a chance! Go figure! Meanwhile, these "normal" artists could offer us some longevity of their careers and a good example of well brought up, well educated artists with class. But I guess it would be too mundane, too ordinary and not "exciting" enough for the music industry professionals and, unfortunately also, for the majority of the crowd who supposedly would be listening to the creations of these so called artists. Thus, they condition and create the "fans" who are entertained by something extraordinary weird, violent, obscene and perverse. If that's the case, why are we surprised that our teens are getting into sexual relationships and drugs from the age of 11. We are also surprised why the same kids are promoting violence and bullying at school. The answer is partially because they are listening to nonsense music sometimes with decibels which the average human ear cannot take. The kids are tempted to copy what they see and hear from the media. The question is - where do we have to go from here?

Vocally Speaking - If you needed brain surgery would you want an orthopedic surgeon to perform it?

2010-02-16T19:38:00.000-08:00

Let's suppose that a patient needs brain surgery and then finds out that the actual surgery will be performed by a Doctor of Orthopedics. "How could that be?," you might exclaim!!! It's true - it is highly unlikely that it will happen in real life. However, in the recording studio there is person who is usually called the Producer assigned to be a jack of all trades and, so to speak, "brain surgery is included". What I mean by brain surgery is the actual narrow field of vocals. Primarily the producers are instrumentalists and quite often they are very good ones. But very rarely are they vocalists, least of all vocal mentors. Quite often the clients come and reveal that the producer was excellent in everything else until it came to vocals. Some of the producers apparently did not even care about the vocal performance and some of them were trying to give some irrelevant and sometimes even quite deadly instructions. One of my clients was advised to push his voice out of his throat as hard as he could and another was suggested to sing a Rock'n Roll song very airy. Go figure! But since the term Vocal Producer is quite unknown and foreign, the "brain surgery" will be performed, but the "patient" might die in the process and/or kill his voice for good, not to mention never accomplishing what he came for and paid a lot of money for. This is one side of the coin, but what is the other? While auditioning future talents I came across some singers whose production was somewhat decent, but their own vocal performance wasn't acceptable. Once I dared to suggest that they might need some adequate vocal training they got somewhat upset and replied,"They will be looking for another more prominent producer." In other words, I suggested that they first have to "undergo brain surgery performed by the neurologist" in order for them to survive and move forward. Their reply was along the lines of - No, I will be looking for a "better orthopedic surgeon for my brain surgery. Given the above, many would wonder if THEY MIGHT TRULY NEED BRAIN SURGERY?!!!

Vocally Speaking – Performing “Naked” Less a $40 Million Stage…?

2010-02-09T18:35:00.001-08:00

Over the years my clients and I have bought a lot of CD’s, especially in the past, and respectively attended a lot of live performances. Speaking of 40-50 years ago when artists literally recorded right off the floor, as technology was not as advanced as it is now, the live performances had a very close resemblance to what people heard on the records. As the technology was progressing and, at the same time, people’s talents for whichever reason were regressing, the gap between what was recorded using that modern technology (autotune, melodine and what have you) and the attendees at concerts were hearing was getting progressively bigger. In some cases you could hardly recognize some songs in the live interpretations of them. Some of the big artists were very lucky and had very big budgets which allowed them to dissect the song literally into syllables and then piece it together at the molecular level. However, when push came to shove and the album had to be performed live, some of them were lip synching while others were building $40 million stages using pyrotechnics and other special effects to hide their inadequacies. Sometimes attending the performances like this you could easily mistake them for the Cirque de Soleil, as there was everything going on but singing. Some of them you could mistake for exotic dancers. One of my associates once said, “If I want to see an exotic dancer, I will go to a strip club. But if I want to hear good singing, that should be more so for my ears than for my eyes.” In other words, we need to teach the world to sing!!! I have been watching some benefit concerts, which were actually not too beneficial to the actual artists, as we could see them in a “naked” state without the entourage, flashing lights, special effects and high tech sophisticated stages. Being somewhat overweight myself and definitely knowing how to dress to hide at least 10-20 pounds, I could only imagine how stressful and embarrassing it would be if I had to expose myself au natural in front of complete strangers. In a manner of speaking, the artists in this context were forced to do exactly that and all their imperfections and shortcomings in their vocal performances were very well noticed by the naked eye. Sometimes I wonder first of all how these very talented people – however, with no knowledge of professional vocal technique – made it as far as they did. I also wonder if the whole world has gone deaf. When they hear the big artist’s name they cheer anyways. My fear is that singing between the notes – ie. off key, off tone and off tune – will become our standards and nobody will know the difference between tone deaf singing and the real singing. How sad is that???

Vocal Prosperity and Parental Management - When the Push Comes to Shove Part II – Then What…?

2010-02-09T17:37:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in my previous blog, Vocal Prosperity and Parental Management - When the Push Comes to Shove - Hats Off!?, I taught quite a few children as well as adults, especially in previous years. Once case specifically stuck in my mind. In 2000, I got a phone call from a parent who had an eight year old child who was actually already, according to the father, a child sensation in the singing and performing world. He even had a manager and was just about to break through to the music industry at large. After I agreed to the evaluation and assessment appointment (Introductory Session), I could see that the little boy looked like a young Michael Jackson and actually even sounded somewhat like him, with the exception that he was already experiencing some vocal problems. He was naturally talented but definitely “played it by ear”. I decided to take the case upon myself and our journey began. The father was not only a guardian but also played the role of the manager and later even a producer. It was quite fascinating to see how the father was progressing. It was also fascinating to see that the boy was growing and gradually becoming a teenager, with all the consequences attached to that transformation. Once I first spotted it (they were coming and going to their lessons for several years in between their recording sessions in LA and elsewhere), I asked the father when the development would finally stop (as the boy was quite ready to sing professionally) and they would finally obtain the record deal? The answer was always, “He’s not ready yet” or “They want to exploit my son.” Meanwhile, he had multiple offers on the table from various record companies that were ready to sign this child – soon to be a teenager – sensation. That puzzled me a little. Why wouldn’t he choose at least one offer out of least dozens and finally get on with it. I guess I was asking way too many questions and between the ages of 11 and nearly 14, they disappeared for almost three years from my view. I was almost certain that they ended up somewhere in the States and a new sensation Michael Jackson alike was just about to break through at any given time. I hadn’t heard a thing until I got the next call from the Father/Manager of my student. He said that they were ready to come back, as the boy was experiencing vocal range problems, as now he was nearly 14 years old. I said, “Of course, bring him over and let’s evaluate it.” When the door opened up in my studio I saw an over 6 feet tall fellow which was nothing that reminded me of the little boy I once taught. He said Hi to me with a bass voice and I understood that everything from this point on would be really different. First of all I learned from the Father/Manager that he never took any offers from the Record Companies and decided to produce his son himself “indie style”. He was traveling with him all over North America and recording different songs which started to sound, instead of better, actually worse, as the boy’s voice had deepened completely and never could reach his fascinating high notes, which he had been able to reach in the past. Moreover, I have learned that they had been studying with different vocal coaches here and there who no doubt mixed up my student to the bone. He got confused and then depressed, as he understood that something had drastically changed, but he did not know how to deal with it. The worst part was that he, in his mind, was still a child sensation, ie. did not go to school, used tutors, slept until 4pm as he was going to bed at 5am. In other words he was living the lifestyle of a star, but unfortunately never became one. To watch all of this was extremely disheartening, but in my opinion the problem was not with my student, but with his guardian/manager, who also very much so enjoyed the process of traveling and recording with his son. And before he knew it, they both had “missed the boat” and their “train was definitely gone”. Sad but true. I saw and met the parents who had the best interest at heart for their children, but at the same time they were a little bit too selfish and too self absorbed and some of them nearly ruined not only their children’s careers, but also their children’s lives.

Vocal Prosperity and Parental Management - When the Push Comes to Shove - Hats Off!?

2010-02-07T11:27:00.001-08:00

Over the years, besides adults I have taught a lot of children. Some of them were learning how to sing for fun, but the majority of them were addressed by me to the junior instructors, who were also trained and guided by me. Those children who were coming with very determined parents who sounded very serious are usually enrolled in my course provided that the child was showing a great interest and had at least a remote talent to be able to succeed down the road in the music business. However, it was not always a straightforward endeavour. My memory still possesses a case where the whole family walked into my studio in Toronto and the child (approximately 12 years of age) and both the mother and father were wearing cowboy hats. I found it was a little unusual and unique. I saw people wearing these types of hats in Calgary, Texas and Nashville, but definitely not in Toronto. In my brief interview with them, the father revealed that his daughter had been taking lessons all over the place and he was quite disappointed because she was not achieving any results. He, meanwhile, seemed to be quite serious in playing his role as his daughter's manager. Obviously they were talking about the country music, which explained the cowboy hats in Toronto. So he sounded as if he had it all under control and that the only problem was his daughter's proper vocal development. I said, "Great" and I started the Introductory Session for my Vocal Science method. I could see that the mother of the child was impressed immensely - meanwhile, the father (the manager) first looked puzzled, then extremely amazed and then literally scared, especially by the time I was completing the session with very obvious, even videotaped before and after instruction results. That puzzled me a little. Why would he be looking so scared I was wondering? I finally completed the session and the mother of the child jumped up off of the couch and with absolute amusement offered me her Gold credit card. She said that she had been sitting in on a lot of her daughter's vocal lessons, but she had never seen anything like this. The father (still in the hat) also jumped up off of the couch, trying desperately to prevent his wife from paying for the course. Both his wife and the daughter were really surprised at his reaction. His words were, "Let's go home and talk about it." His head was down and he was avoiding the eye contact with me. They finally left and did not register for the course. They left me extremely puzzled as everybody liked it and admitted throughout the session that it was different than anywhere else. I asked myself for some time why did that happen. And one day after a couple of similar precedents, I found an answer. The father of that child clearly understood that I meant business, that his daughter would finally learn how to sing, which would mean that it would soon be time for him to take the hat off and become a real manager. Was he ready for it? Evidently not. He obviously liked the process and it was easier to play the role of the manager and feel good about it. When the push came to shove, there was not a real deal present. He called me over a decade's period of time asking for a lesson or two and revealing that his daughter was still studying and trying some recording. Obviously he liked the process of "getting there" and the child never became a child star as it was intended, as by now she would be a full grown woman and no doubt still singing nowhere. Go figure!!!

Vocally Speaking - Pushing the Carriage Before the Horse?

2010-01-31T10:48:00.001-08:00

Over 35 years of teaching and especially over the 26 years over running my professional vocal school, it never ceases to amaze me why people would embark on spending money to equip their rehearsal spaces with expensive PA systems, microphones, keyboards and what have you much before they know how to sing or sometimes even play. Moreover, the so called singers are going to expensive recording studios and paying for their vocal recordings which take hours upon hours as they the crafty engineers are trying to autotune it or melodyne it to death. I just received a client who was definitely at the end of her rope and already literally losing her high range and basically killing her vocal anatomy with every note that she was trying to embark on. Interestingly enough, she was referred to me by a reputable recording studio. Her sensible engineer probably felt that if she continues any longer she will run of her steam completely and he will run out of the technology means trying to save the project. In fact, the prospective student was very alert and smart and, prior to coming in to my studio, she was talking to my assistant in the reception area and revealed in that converation that she was fully aware that she did not quite know what she was doing in the studio and that something was definitely very wrong with her throat and her voice. Meanwhile, as the money was spent in that studio, she could not afford to start her voice repair course momentarily and postponed it for two months forward. Go figure!!! No doubt she will continue recording, drowning her voice deeper and deeper into her vocal box and will come back with an even more severe vocal problem two months down the road. How does it makes sense? The answer: BEATS ME!!!

American Idol Deja Vu - Amazing Discoveries - People Who Cannot Sing Cannot Wait To Be Discovered?

2010-01-17T18:10:00.001-08:00

Outside of the training school which I have owned for almost three decades, I also own an indie label, Royans Universe Records, and attached to it a Management Company, 4 a.m. Talent Development and Artist Management Group Inc. More and more I am going into the development and management of various artists and naturally my crew and I are constantly holding auditions in the hopes of discovering someone unique and unprecedented and then graduate him/her to the music industry at large. And, yes, people are very responsive to this endeavour and every one of them, just like on the American Idol show, think that they are the "NEXT BIG THING". Due to popular demand we requested to listen to their music online and naturally to look at some of their pictures. And now we have discovered three categories of people that are approaching us. One category which is actually quite legit are those that look decent and possess some talent and, moreover, are willing thrive upon it and acquire some training if required. The second category is made of people that obviously require training, grooming and the real in depth artist development. Usually this category has no listening with respect to the topic of any further development, as they think that they have it all already. And they are surprised that nobody is running after them to offer them a million dollar recording contract! GO FIGURE! The third category is made up of tone deaf people with horrible music, some admitting that they have never had previous training in music or vocals, and not only are they genuinely surprised that they might need some training, but they are getting extremely upset that nobody is offering them a recording contract right there and then when they are presenting their precious selves. One of them with the completely unlistenable music and singing that was not resembling even one live note known to humanity, actually, to our surprise, did not get very upset when we, however, very intelligentlly rejected her proposal, but instead she offered to become a vocal instructor for our professional vocal school with a worldwide reputation, while at the same time admitting that she herself had a lot of vocal problems and had been facing a voice-related surgery in the past. To her "credit", she was trying to present it as a "positive thing" to be able to teach others...? The question is - is there a limit to human ignorance? It makes me wonder as once the makers of American Idol put out a show looking for the worst singer in the United States without announcing to the participants what the real purpose of the competion was. I happened to catch that show on TV a few times and at first not knowing what was going on, I nearly lost consciousness until I clued in that there was a reverse agenda. However, at the time, NONE OF THE PARTICIPANTS DID!!!!!. And at the end the makers of that show FOUND THE WORST SINGER EVER, who until the end believed that he was next legitimate American Idol. The conclusion here is that people have no check with reality, as they are so self absorbed and so self centred that they literally cannot hear or see what is happening in the real world.

Vocally Speaking - Can You Afford To Be Shy About Your Problem? Or Should You Deal With It Head On?

2010-01-10T14:46:00.000-08:00

In my previous blog entry "Vocal Insurance" - Do You Need An Agent?, I discussed a perplexing issue that I have encountered over the years, namely people that were plagued with vocal problems but who were at the same time hesitant to call me on the phone so that I could hear their voices in order to deduce if I could help them or not. I finally posed a question about this on a discussion board and received an explanation from one person afflicted with a voice problem. He mentioned that he was very uncomfortable dealing with phones because of the current propensity of companies to use voice activated menus or having to deal with receptionists and operators in a manner that is very fatiguing for someone with a weak voice. All of what he was saying is 100% true and understandable. For the people with voice disorders it would be understandably difficult to deal with government agencies, voice activated menus and etc. As far as I'm concerned, not having a voice problem, the latter is just simply annoying for anyone, not to mention impersonal and very time and effort consuming endeavor. But please agree that it is different when you're actually looking for help to conquer your voice problem or any other problem for that matter. How otherwise do you expect to fix it if you're not facing it or approaching the matter straight on? From the point of view of a voice specialist, if I know that somebody with a voice disorder is going to be calling me, I'm not expecting a very "pleasant and angelic" voice on the other end. I'm kind of prepared that it will be none of those things and, depending of the severity of the opponent's sound of their voice, I would make a decision if it's in my jurisdiction to help that person. There is no need to be shy to call a professional who specializes in that very matter. If, for example, the over weight person walks in a weight loss clinic, the staff there is kind of expecting to see an over sized person. So nobody naturally would act suprised or condemn them for the very sheer fact that they're in fact over weight. That would be kind of funny to think that way. Similarly, if the female requires let's say a geinicological care, she probably wouldn't say that she would be shy to present her problem to a specialist. In that instance it would be kind of dumb, to put it mildly. Yes, I understand that with the respect of a voice disorder, it also takes a lot of effort and energy and because of that it actually might set off the problem back to some degree. But that is the choice that one should make. "Would I rather feel more comfortable, less tired, but angry and alone or I would put my best effort forward and try to do something about it."
Hard? Yes. Can you do it and will you be willing to do it or will you rather try to learn to live with your problem? It's a question for you to answer.

"Vocal Insurance" - Do You Need An Agent?

2009-12-22T19:38:00.001-08:00

Recently I wrote an article for Hit Quarters Online Magazine called "Vocal Insurance" - Do You Need An Agent? What I meant by it and what it was all about was how to protect and save your voice and thus "insure" the health and longevity of your vocal career. It was also addressed to music industry professionals by inviting them to take better care of their artists by simply referring them to top vocal specialists and professionals to ensure that they would be complying with the standards of professional singing and thus not jeoprodizing the health and safety of their vocal anatomy and health in general. To my complete surprise I got several calls from people asking if I was an agent who would LITERALLY INSURE their actual voice. On that note, I became speechless and almost lost my own voice. These people were naive enough to take it literally and, moreover, the thought never occurred in their minds that "if there is anything wrong with my voice, I should find help and fix it." On the contrary, they thought "there is something wrong with my voice - let me quickly find an agent to insure my voice before I lose it, and at least I will be able to acquire some money before it is too late". Go figure!!!!! I'm still speechless...

Vocally Speaking Part II - Is There Change Without Change? Will the "Magic Pill" Be Enough to Solve All of Your Vocal Problems?

2009-12-22T19:13:00.000-08:00

We get numerous phone calls and emails about people's vocal disorders and vocal problems. They are approaching my institution - which is called the Royans Professional Vocal School Specializing in Voice, Speech and Non-Surgical Voice Repair. When those people called in the past, my first assumption always was that they truly needed help and would do anything to conquer their vocal problems. And, yes, some did. But the majority, interestingly enough, with quite severe vocal disorders, were literally looking for a "magic" pill. They thought that by taking any pills internally they would fix their severely broken vocal boxes, which were in the first place caused by the wrong application of their voice for singing or speaking. Let's imagine for a second that there would be such a pill in existence and it actually would fix that severe disorder, anatomically speaking. The problem is that these people are unable to understand that there is no change without change and that unless they learn how to speak or sing properly without the exessive use of their throat, larynx and vocal chords, no change will take place and they will keep running into the same problem again and again. So the moral of the story is, if it is broken, fix it - but make sure you are not continuing to employ the same means which made it broken in the first place.

Vocally Speaking - Would you like to conquer your vocal problems or would you rather learn how to live with them?

2009-12-20T14:16:00.000-08:00

It never ceases to amaze me when a lot of people are inquiring about serious voice problems and then, in the end, end up doing nothing to fix it. They talk a lot about it, they join support groups to share their sufferings, inadequacies, insecurities, practically disabilities which rob them of the enjoyment of the regular human life. The loss of the ability to use their voice in what is considered to be a normal sense often results in the loss of their jobs and the loss of their relationships. They are all complaining about via numerous emails and discussion board postings, yet when I suggest to them to pick up the phone and let me hear their voice so I can pinpoint whether or not I can help them, there are less than 1% of people will do that even though it might lead them towards finding a non-invasive cure. You would think, "What would prevent them from picking up the phone and calling a toll-free number?" I have thought about it long and hard and finally I came to the conclusion that THEY DON'T WANT TO BE HELPED! If they did, they would be actively looking for conventional help or alternative help to boot. Instead of that, they are feeling sorry for themselves and want others to feel sorry for them, while finding excuses why they cannot obtain any help. Some people with voice disorders are absolutely terrified of using the phone. Being sensitive, I can understand that on any everyday basis that might be a task. But when they are emailing a highly reputable voice specialist and asking for help and when they are advised to place a call, they never do. Some of them even said that they would be excited and delighted to do so and then never called either. So the conclusion is - they want to be helped in theory, but not with practical means. It's a pity, but so be it. They probably rely on God, but God only helps those that help themselves.

Vocally Speaking – Is There Change Without Change? If There Is, Can You Handle It?

2009-12-08T20:37:00.001-08:00

A certain percentage of people are coming to us for speech development sessions, often followed by the vocal lessons. Usually that category of people is comprised of shy individuals who are very soft spoken without any projection of their voice or the message they are trying to convey. Some of them have damaged voices. Often they mumble and there is no clarity in their pronunciation, kind of like they have marbles in their mouths. Some of them are actually inquiring about singing lessons without having any idea that if they hardly could speak, how in the world would they have their singing voice delivered?! In the first place, the voice is the spirit and, if the voice is shut down, the spirit of that individual is also hidden and not present. The voice is a reflection of the state of one’s being, an identification of who this person is. Quite often the people conducting themselves that way are dying to be more loud, more expressive, more emotional and more passionate, but do not know how to call it out of themselves. That is where my skill comes into play. By using a set of certain speech exercises and specific scripts which are aimed towards the person’s self esteem and self worth and that require a loud and exclaiming voice, which naturally “force” one’s emotion and, thus, the projection of that emotion via voice and sound. Before you know it, while in a course with me and playing with their improvs, these people are turning into somebody who even they are not familiar with. Yes, it is scary, but also very exciting. Often their loved ones are a little shocked and confused, as my clients become very talkative, quite loud and very expressive. The wife of one of my clients from the past was ready to file for divorce, as she was claiming that her husband became a stranger and a very “aggressive” one. What happened was that my client undertook a very substantial voice repair and was kind of whispering before he came to me and, thus, being quite withdrawn for the past 10 years. All of a sudden he became vocal and started reaching out. Moreover, he was suggesting to go to a Karaoke Club on a Saturday night to try his new voice and embark on some singing as well, which was a complete shock to his wife. I had to give him some advice to slow down a little, as I did not want the family to break up. So the question is – is there change without change? Evidently not. In other words, watch out what you are wishing for, because you just might get it, as well as some other changes along with it. The conclusion of it is that these kinds of changes are definitely not for the faint of heart.

Vocal Coaching or Online Marketing?Let's Find Out What's Greater!

2009-11-29T12:35:00.000-08:00

I have been teaching vocals and producing vocal tracks and performances in Toronto for close to 30 years. And I have seen a lot of changes over the last three decades with respect to the music industry and people in general. The music industry has changed a lot recently with the advent of the Internet and this has had both positive and negative aspects. Granted, there are fewer record deals being provided by the major labels. On the other hand, artists have the facility to market their music directly via the Internet. However, people are blowing the use of the Internet out of proportion on every level possible. Not only do they market their music and singing on the Internet, but also they think that they could learn how to sing and play via the Internet. They, overall, became lazy and even to learn or achieve something they are not willing to leave their houses. Knowing that, the so called music professionals, and vocal coaches in particular, quickly realized that the market is there and, thus, created a quick fix via online lessons, CD's, DVD's and what have you, which evidently by the law of any averages will never work instead of the actual interactive communication between the student and the teacher. Moreover, those so called professionals have occupied all their time not only to create a bogus product but to optimize the traffic to their website where their product is heavily advertised. They are not concerned with the results that people will achieve from the actual so called instruction, but are more focussed on search engine optimization and online marketing. Since for all of these years I have been doing the opposite, ie. creating a product that works and delivering it on a day to day basis, I recently realized that I don't have the same response to my services that I used to - and that is with more name artists produced, more credentials and more experience. How logical is that I was asking myself and my staff. And then the ugly truth revealed itself. I was apparently in the "wrong" business in vocal coaching as opposed to an online marketing business. It has been a little disheartening to realize that unless you spend at least 40 hours per week on optimizing for Google, you cannot actually conduct your business in the manner that you were accustomed to for many years. Quite a few students of mine were exclaiming, "How come I never see your name on the Internet as much as Mr. X? Thank God I was referred to you, otherwise I would never have known about you." And that's why as long as people are occupying all their time with marketing online instead of being concerned about real results, the artists, music industry and audiences will continue to suffer and produce less and less quality music and more and more questionable businesses will thrive financially.

Vocal Instruction Gimmicks: Vocal Lessons Online, Via Phone, CD and DVD – What Are They Worth?

2009-11-22T12:54:00.000-08:00

I am bombarded on an every day basis with people requesting online vocal lessons, instruction via telephone, CD/DVD based courses or even asked to send them a “magic pill”! They truly believe that the above list of items will solve all of their vocal problems. Just like the emails touting Weight Loss pills and inheritances from millionaires in Nigeria fill our Email Inboxes, if it sounds too far fetched to be true, then it most likely is. Though my claim to fame is accelerated vocal development and sometimes people are curious as to how results can be achieved in such a short period of time, the truth is that I offer a genuine and scientifically researched methodology that works. But, needless to say, it does require face-to-face interaction. The problem with online, phone and CD/DVD lessons is that they are not interactive, so nobody can control whether or not the person is doing the correct thing or provide any feedback. Moreover, when I instruct an artist I have to watch for his body position, his head position and his mouth shape position to say the least, not to mention that at the same time I am providing them with nothing less than very tedious syllable upon syllable instruction. Often our energies are engaged between each other, almost like we are connected by the umbilical chord. You cannot achieve this interactive and internal/external communication unless you are in each other’s presence. Granted, you probably could learn how to play guitar in a very rudimentary fashion via a CD or DVD because tangibly you have a set of strings to touch and you can just copy what you see. Nobody can touch the inside of your throat, let alone yourself. Therefore, I created a method which allows via a certain manipulation of the certain body parts to call out the sound in its entirety out of the physical body. I would never be able to commodify it in a general sense, as each person is unique and different and, therefore, the approach to each person has to be unique and different as well, however, still within the parameters of the Vocal Science technique. So the question is, “Is it worth it to do anything else?”

From the Vocal Point of View –Working on the Instrument or Working on the Player? The Answer is…?

2009-10-25T13:05:00.000-07:00

It’s a well known fact that it takes two – the instrument and the player. It certainly took a pink grand piano and Liberace very efficiently taking the maximum capacity out of it by simply knowing how to properly access it and, thus, provide us with what we call a Total Performance. Let’s imagine for a second that the piano would have broken strings, was untuned and the pedals would not work – nobody, not even Liberace, would be able to extract the proper sound out of it, technique or no technique. Let’s now also imagine that the piano would be perfect and the player would be using his elbow to play on it. I don’t think the proper sound would be provided by this technique of playing! Similarly, to have a good voice is not good enough. You need to know how to “manipulate” this voice in a smart and efficient way, so that the instrument still will sound tuned and remain to be healthy and the “player” will sound pleasant and adequate, complying with the standards of professional singing. Interestingly enough, if the vocalist applies his voice in the proper manner it instantaneously improves the “instrument”, ie. the tone becomes fuller, naturally more supported as the abdominal muscles are now involved in the proper support of the sound, while the vocalist is lifting that sound off of the vocal box and restructuring his whole voice into his facial cavities and putting them to work in full conjunction and coordination with those abdominal muscles. There are a lot of vocal methods which are suggesting to be working on some vowels, sometimes strange sounds and needless scales. Some of them sound absolutely ridiculous, but if, even for a second, you could imagine that those sounds and scales actually could improve the voice, nobody ever suggests how to apply those evidentally useless exercises to the actual singing. So the answer is – work on the “instrument”, assure that your throat, larynx and vocal box in general are in good condition and, thus, it does not possess excessive mucous or extremely dry, but to assure it even more, make sure that you release your throat from excessive sound pressure, thus giving it a rest while other more proper body muscles are doing the hard but mostly smart work.

The Music Industry and the Artists: Vocally Speaking... in Suspended Animation?

2009-09-27T11:30:00.000-07:00

It’s no secret that the music industry is currently struggling to find out how to generate revenue in the Internet age. Many have suggested focusing on providing music for video games, films, commercials, etc. Artists such as U2 and Britney Spears have made their concerts into event spectacles that cost a lot of money to produce, which actually end up being must see happenings – and not so much for the musical performance as for the lights, stage setup and the overall concert experience. But these types of “theatre” and “circus” are not options for the new and emerging artists, who cannot afford to invest millions in a stage setup. And even if they could they would never be able to recover the investment as they do not have a big, well established international name yet. Besides which, those big name “Circus” artists are getting older and eventually the industry will need a new generation of real artists. Therefore, the question is: would it not be cheaper to coach them to sing properly and perform authentically without any circus props?

In many ways the music industry is currently in a type of suspended animation, due to the sheer fact that they keep producing and reproducing the same so to speak “templates”, ie. Britney Spears like artists and in the recent past “popping out” boy bands and girl groups that were completely alike and indistinguishable. People, meanwhile, quite evidently are getting fed up with listening and watching the same thing over and over. For some reason the music professionals are acting like telephone solicitors who are on a consistent basis are trying to pull out another donation from the people that have donated already several times. And these people are beginning to hang up the phone with obvious anger and are feeling harassed and, thus, are naturally resistant to give anything else. You would wonder why they would not call somebody else who has not donated yet? This is still a riddle.

In terms of music production, a type of suspended animation is also present. Recordings are so overproduced that there is very little room left for the voice. And the vocals are often so processed that they sound very cold and flat and devoid of any warmth or humanity, kind of like the heartbeat has been slowed down and the entire body has been frozen. Is there a hope that the music industry and the artists will come out of their living comas and regain their vital signs and their new fresh disposition would infuse music with something resembling life?

Vocally Speaking – Passing Off the Beautiful Hair Wig as the Real Deal

2009-09-15T19:31:00.000-07:00

Please, my dear reader, try to imagine a beautiful, sexy woman with long blond hair. Wow! You would say! And then imagine your disappointment when you find out that underneath of a beautiful blond wig is a partially or completely bald head. And that would have actually been fine if you had known about it in the first place rather than being shocked by the sudden discovery. Similarly, the concert ticket buyer is very often shocked when hearing that their favourite lead singer or solo artist does not even remotely resemble what they have heard on the record. The entourage, the show, the lighting and the musicians are exciting and glamourous - but the voice of the artist often sounds like they were run down by a truck and they have been using their “wigged” head as a brake. Then all of a sudden the “wig” falls off and the naked truth is revealed. The singer is “bald” and has been “heavily camouflaged” and apparently at best “toupeed”. Now almost everybody has lost when the truth has been revealed. The artist, the management, the audience and …who else you might ask? Let’s see. It is a documented fact that there are only a handful of major record companies and apparently their record labels are a very small part of a multinational corporation that also sells films, video games, publishing, clothing, detergent, light bulbs, etc. To those gigantic companies, as it appears to be, a loss on a music project can sometimes even be advantageous. How so? Apparently through creative accounting a loss of investment can actually result in tax advantages for another blockbuster CD release or even – go figure - a non-related division within the larger corporation that has been far more financially successful! With that in mind, needless to say, the manager, producer and the artist have to ensure that their production (in the studio and live on stage) has to be super successful in order to reach the TOP and not lose the deal. Therefore, the parties at the bottom of this structure must be especially vigilant that they are offering and promoting the real deal rather than the fake act.

How to Cure Today’s Ill Music Industry - Mystery Diagnosis or…. Vocal Misconceptions?

2009-09-15T19:28:00.000-07:00

For the last several years there has been a big concern among music industry professionals that the music industry is broken. Bigwigs and music industry gurus are exclaiming, “How can we fix it?” Last year I attended Music Expo Europe in London, England. The very first thing that was shown to delegates was a documentary film about the problems which the music industry at large is experiencing today. After the film the delegates were asked for their input for a future documentary film on how to fix the music industry. And the delegates, most of whom were also music industry professionals, were suggesting taking the music elsewhere – to the movies, videogames, Internet and what have you. Not one delegate, until I stood up and spoke on camera, speculated as to why it got broken in the first place. I said, “Please pay attention to the artists. Teach them how to sing properly - and in tune preferably, thus, complying with the standards of professional singing – and teach them how to express themselves authentically on stage and, thus, enable them to give a sincere performance on stage.” And maybe then, I suggested, the records will not be dropped or put on “hiatus” before they see the Record Store shelves. And maybe then people would not ask for their money back after attending a concert in which they were completely disappointed that they had heard an entirely different thing on stage than what they had heard on the record, obviously cleverly fabricated (auto tuned and melodyned) in a high tech recording studio. Milli Vanilli or Ashley Simpson, you ask? Them and quite a few others along with them... The truth of the matter is that, yes, the artists are being picked from the cream of the crop of good looking people and, yes, also from the cream of the crop of somewhat talented people. And then they have been surrounded by the best musicians and producers who have presumed that the singing voice is a minor detail. The songs are good they exclaim! And, oh yeah, “she looks so beautiful and sexy!” Not even once did it occur in anybody’s mind that the artist does not know how to use his or her God given voice and, thus, is in jeopardy to wear it out to the “bone” and even lose it completely. And when that happens – God forbid – everybody is in awe and exclaims, “What should we do now?” There is a lot of money that has been invested into the whole production and entourage and the question becomes, “How can we save the project?” That is the question indeed. The answer is that they would not even have had to raise this question if they had treated the artist’s voice as an instrument that needs care, attention and nurturing in order to always be ready to reciprocate the high standards of today’s audiences and not to die in the process. You can read more in my next blog, “Vocally Speaking – Passing Off the Beautiful Hair Wig as the Real Deal”.

Vocally Speaking – Working on the Stove When the Fridge is Broken

2009-09-13T19:32:00.000-07:00

As you read the above title you probably asked yourself, “Why would anybody work on the stove when the fridge is broken?” Most would answer that it is absurd and that nobody does it. Well, I have news for you. Music Industry professionals are doing it every day on an every artist basis. Why is that you may ask? Because the truth comes out in the wash. The fact is that the majority of artists cannot sing without syllable by syllable comping, auto tuning and melodyning. After the so-called “authentic” performance has been fertilized in the studio it is time for the artist to go on stage and perform live. And then that performance flops. The audience begins to talk and walk away, while in some cases booing the artist off the stage. Then the so-called professionals from the Record Label often make the “wise” decision to implement a change in strategy. For example, the beautiful artist with long brown hair portraying the image of a pop diva is obviously not working, so let’s get her hair cut real short and make her blond. This way she will look like a standard jazz singer and they can hire jazz musicians and a jazz producer to organize her next musical project. They are hoping that nobody will be able to recognize her as they will have given her a new image and sound. They will even use the same comp, melodyne and auto tune. And the result would be that nothing has actually changed. The artist still cannot sing live and is even doing it worse than before, as they are not even themselves anymore with the music industry professionals having changed them to a completely different genre. Now they don’t know how to power their voice and are extremely confused. Some even turn to drugs as their dreams are now shattered once and for all. This sad result is as obvious as the reality that you shouldn’t work on the stove when the fridge is broken. The stove may or may not actually work better, but the fridge will definitely still be broken.

Voice Repair - If It's Broken, Obtain the "Tools" to Fix It

2009-08-15T19:51:00.000-07:00

Hardly finish your tour? Does your throat hurt after performances? Voice sounding hoarse? Those are the symptoms of an overused and abused vocal anatomy. The worst part is if you continue doing it without changing your manner of speaking and singing, it will lead to the need for a serious voice repair and not necessarily a non-surgical one. By that time, if you attempt to attain the non-surgical voice repair, it might be too late. Then you are facing a laser or a scalpel operation, which could result in scar tissue, which by itself could be more detrimental than the original damage. This could be your worst nightmare. The reason I am writing this blog is to prevent you from that possibility. The prevention is definitely far better than dealing with serious vocal damage. What does prevention entail, you may ask? Learning the proper skills for speaking and singing before you embark on any performance or that nasty tour which might leave you voiceless. I often get the phone calls and emails from the people who seem to have gotten it all - the songs, the band, the management and even the record deal and, by now, they have no voice to sing with. They are crying and pleading for help and flying to me from all over the world, thus, by that time paying double the money for the trip, hotel and, yes, of course, for the non-surgical voice repair course - provided, of course, that their voice is still saveable and curable without surgery. That I determine by speaking to them over the phone before their arrival. "It is not as easy as it sounds," said the Toronto Star in their article about the Vocal ScienceTM method and it is true, but it is quite achievable and obviously doable. Through speech development and then special vocal exercises, the singer learns how to lift the pressure off of his or her voice and off of the vocal box. At the same time, the voice gets restructured into the set of one’s facial muscles, which will play the role of a natural amplifier/resonator. But that’s not all – those facial muscles must begin to work in full conjunction and coordination with the abdominal muscles, thus, minimizing and practically eliminating the use of the throat, larynx and vocal chords. Meanwhile, simultaneously, the vocal box has to be nurtured in order to be able to heal. Over the years I have been using very powerful natural herbs, as well as naturopathic remedies. Once the mission is accomplished, the difficulties with the voice will never occur again and that is guaranteed, provided that the singer will retain the intellectual understanding and kinesthetic feeling of what was instilled during the smart, not hard vocal sessions.

Voice Acupuncture

2009-08-14T19:52:00.000-07:00

Everybody knows that acupuncture is a asian medical practice that originated in China and is now very popular and practiced all around the world. This art falls into the holistic philosophy of overall health and well being. In acupuncture, fine needles are inserted at specific points to stimulate, disperse, and regulate the flow of chi, or vital energy, and restore a healthy energy balance. Similarly, the Vocal ScienceTM method finds the certain spots and channels in one’s body to activate the human voice and make it work at the fullest capacity possible. For singers this method knocks down the years of practice of increasing the volume and projection on their voices and mainly corrects the pitch and vastly increases the range. By pointing out to the singer exactly how to attack and place the sound, his whole performance becomes predominantly designed and, thus, aimed to its final destination upon design. For speakers, this method assures a proper volume, enunciation, inflection, emphasis and definite projection without any pain or strain on their vocal anatomy. In both instances, the physical body is also very involved in the equation. The certain points in the lower abdominal and upper diaphragm muscles, as well as the upper back muscles, are playing a significant role in the support of the sound and make sure that it has been delivered to those designated facial cavities and then, naturally over all, projected. In other words, the whole philosophy boils down to so to speak “re-channelling” the sound upon the use of the precise points of the human body and voice as an outcome away from the so called “natural” use, ie. screaming from the bottom of the throat and the top of the lungs, which in turn leads to an overall need for voice repair.

Vocal Rehab

2009-08-10T19:54:00.000-07:00

Lately the majority of my clients (singing and speaking) are coming to me with some kind of vocal disorder. The singers are arriving with ruined voices, as they previously were experimenting with voices with their friends, bands and even recording sessions without having any idea, directions, let alone training on how to use their voices correctly. Amongst the speakers there are lawyers, teachers, voiceover artists, TV & radio personalities, fitness instructors and customer service representatives who are excessively using their voices on an everyday basis. Interestingly enough, they all expect a speedy recovery in a flash, kind of like stroke patient who is learning to speak and walk again would be expecting to run a marathon the next day. It is quite unrealistic, but the good news is that there is definitely a pretty rapid way to recovery – however, obviously not an instant one. When a person with a stroke or another serious health issue is on the road to recovery, the process takes some time – they usually start to walk with a walker while at the same time undergoing physical therapy. And then letting go of the walker, they start to gradually walk unaided. And then, if they are lucky, they return to running and other physical activities further down the road.

The vocal recovery is similar to that, because when the vocal damage is done (singing or speaking) the voice is drawn very low in the body and practically trapped within it. It takes numerous body and voice exercises, ie. actual “voice rehab”, to “unstuck” the voice from within and bring it up to the surface. And then and only then can we actually start the real vocal development. Once it is on the surface, the tone is improved, the volume is greater, the raspyness is gone and the voice is ready to begin the actual training. The voice as an “instrument” is tuned. The next thing is to teach the player how to take the maximum capacity out of it.

Voice GPS

2009-08-01T20:02:00.000-07:00

In most cases, students are now coming to me on the verge of requiring a voice repair because they literally have no idea where they are going with their voices. They are driving between the lines and are in danger of killing everyone else and themselves. They don’t realize that the gas pedal is on the right and they are ending up in Buffalo rather than on Bathurst Street. Interestingly enough, sometimes their cars are not that bad, but they have no idea how to drive them. Similarly, the singer who might even have a very good “instrument” (ie. voice) might not have any idea how to power it and thus can’t project properly, rather than screaming from their lungs and throats, killing their vocal anatomies while doing it. They obviously need to acquire a “Vocal GPS” and learn how to drive their voice to it’s aimed destination in one piece and via any possible shortcut.

Acid Reflux

2009-07-15T20:03:00.000-07:00

Every second person that comes to me for a Voice Repair course is stating that he or she was diagnosed with Acid Reflux. And about 99% of the time the diagnosis is incorrect. It seems that it is now a general catch all label used by doctors for patients they cannot help or don’t know how to help. They are usually prescribing a drug (Nexium, Zantac, etc.) which almost never produces any results and the person still complains even more about a dry and itchy throat, hoarseness and an inability to sing or speak clearly. In reality the problem is still the same – all of these people are using their voices incorrectly (speaking and/or singing) and all of their symptoms are caused specifically by this premise. However, once their voice has been lifted off their vocal boxes and separated from the anatomies and made freely flown above and on top of their physical bodies, their voice is no longer affected by anything that is going on with their physical body, even if they actually have a real ailment.

Occupational Hazards: Dealing with Everyday Bad Voice Habits

2009-07-14T20:03:00.000-07:00

I work with people from a wide variety of professions and walks of life, but I do find myself working with specific groups of people more often than others: Lawyers, Teachers, Admin Assistants, Salespeople, Public Speakers, Professional Voiceover Artists, Radio & TV Personalities and Singers. Due to their chosen professions, they often ruin their voices because they have no knowledge of any sort with respect to use their voices properly or how to preserve their voices. The majority of time these people are speaking a lot and never lifting their voices off of their vocal boxes and giving them a rest. On the contrary, they are pulling and pushing their vocal chords, squeezing and twisting their larynx and, moreover, engaging the muscles in their necks and chest cavities while using their voices – even sometimes developing muscle tension and fibromyalgia on top of their vocal problems. In my amazing discovery of over 34 years of practice, I have created a methodology by which you can actually save and protect your vocal chords and practically your entire vocal box by lifting the voice off of the vocal chords into the facial muscles, which function as a natural amplifier/resonator, and putting them to use in full conjunction and coordination with the abdominal muscles, thus, minimizing and practically eliminating the use the larynx, vocal chords, etc. But since people are not aware of what could happen to them if they continue to use and abuse their voices, the damage will come as a surprise and they will become hoarse and raspy and won’t even know why. Often, these people will need to clear their throats at any given time, thus, causing more irritation and dryness inside of their vocal box. All of that can lead to nodules, nodes and polyps, as well as even spasmodic dysphonia. Our device works smart, not hard and with the minimum effort accomplish the maximum result while using your voice by design.