Studio mindset: How to move out of analytical left brain

When you are singing in the studio, you desperately need to move out of logical, critical, analytical left-brain mode. Why?

Messages go deeper when understood emotionally instead of just analytically.
Left brain singing is not as compelling as right brain singing. Think about it which moves you more to hear a formulaic, even, predictable, logical voice with perfectly even rhythmic pattern or an unpredictable, slightly de-constructed voice with conversational rhythmic pattern?

You will tend to demand over-tuning and editing of your vocals, not realizing that less is very often more when it comes to mechanically perfecting vocals.
So how do you do it?

By trusting your vocal technique, setting yourself up properly so you can feel more than think as you sing.
By being able to trust the feedback you're getting from your production team. This lets you enter your creative child mode and get the critic out of the vocal booth.
Have you ever gotten stuck in your left brain in the vocal booth? What did you end up doing about it?

I want to wish everyone a very happy, joyful and loving holiday season.
It is my Christmas wish for you all that music-making...particularly singing, that you scream out loud for the groly of our Lord Jesus.

Never has there been a more perfect time for making a joyful noise, whether that sound is professional or a family jam session where no voice is judged less important than another.

My New Year's wish is that your gratitude list keeps expanding, God is always good.
Raise a glass of something to toast 2015.

No matter what direction the economy and music business goes, there will also be bright sides...Blessings.
Love you all.

Singing Soft Powerfully - Make Light Phrases.

Singing soft doesn't have to mean communicating weakly. Getting this right can make the difference between a soft passage that no one pays attention to and one that subtly but surely sucks the air out of the room and demands attention.

First verses, breakdown choruses, light bridges, tags are some common places that can be more effective with softer dynamics. Confusing soft singing with meek, ineffective sound is actually something I hear all too often and is too important to leave uncorrected. 

Here are some ways to get powerful emotional responses from soft singing: 
Don't drop your voice off the map.
Good and interesting vocal dynamics require variety in volume intensity. However, level your intensity a bit, definitely back off loud notes, but also don't sing so soft or 'covered' (hollow, hooty) that you can't be heard, especially on low notes.
Use tone variation communicate passion in all the notes and lyrics instead of huge volume swings.
Your voice won't scare or lose your live performance listener, and it will also record much better.
Keep your articulation clear.
Lowering vocal volume shouldn't lower your clarity. You can whisper and still draw the ear to you if you make sure to make the words are understandable.
Use the power of hushed intensity.

Keep energy in your breath compression power source! Your soft tone needs to be supported and controlled. 
Singing soft is a kindred art to ballet, it looks so easy, but it takes real power to support the apparent effortlessness.

Listen to playback
Put on the listener's hat. Do you hear yourself communicating or just keeping the message to yourself? 

Singers With Breathing or Rhythm Issues: Dance

First of all, you are the reason this blog goes on, and I am truly thankful for your readership and your participation.

I have a quick but powerful suggestion for you today: If you want-
• more breath support and control for singing
• help with feeling rhythm
Try dancing! Why?

• Dancing helps you get your hips into action even if it's just slightly swaying as in slow dance. When your hips are involved as you sing, your breath comes from lower and deeper, instead of higher in the chest. This widens your rib-cage, causes more flexibility in your back and frees your diaphragm to control itself.
• Dancing helps you with physical stamina, too, so that you are strong enough to sing with the balance of energy plus control... powerfully yet without vocal strain.
• Dancing helps you psychologically creates endorphin like most good physical exercise. Your mind is a big part of what sings, you know.
• And last but not least,dancing helps you acquire more of a sense of rhythm! Quite important in music, after all.
If you want to pursue these improvements, I suggest one or both of the following:
• Start taking dance lessons. Ballroom dancing, clogging, hip-hop, ballet, whatever you want.
• Get yourself on the dance floor more often! Have fun with your family, your friends, or just dance alone to the music or with a dance video.

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 Sikiliza nyimbo mpya kutoka JC-RECORDS kupitia viunganishi hapo juu.

What if I told you...........You DON'T need to own a studio, You DON'T need any production equipment.
Well take my bribe, are you talented underground/upcoming PRODUCER?

JC-RECORDS gives you a chance to showcase your talent and make a living out of it.

In the same spirit of helping young talent to step up, the platform is here and it will cost you nothing, nothing at all.

"Mkono wenye kusaidia ni bora kuliko Mdomo unaosali"

Are you FREELANCE-PRODUCER?
Dial or Text 0712-266-865 and instantly start to showcase your talent in music industry.

Running Out Of Breath Singing?.

Are you running out of breath when you sing or speak? Do you get to the ends of your phrases and have to barely squeeze them out? Is your inhale inadequate to allow control of tone and pitch all the way to the last word? It's highly unlikely that your lungs aren't big or healthy enough. More likely it's one of the following:

You either don't take a breath (or inadequately top off your tank when gasping a small high inhale) 

Use too much breath to accomplish your phrase or need to find or create a breath mark in the phrase.

What to do about it?
Remember you have to inhale, So give yourself permission and create the habit of inhaling adequately for what you will be singing or saying. Learn to take this breath low, fill the bottom of the glass of air first.

Learn to focus tone like a rich, controlled laser beam instead of a leaky, breathy uncontrolled flashlight beam. It doesn't take much air to vibrate your vocal folds if you focus tone properly.

As I mentioned above it matters more WHERE you take your breath-LOW- than how much air you get in. Use imagery such as "don't leave a breath mark on an imaginary glass plane in front of your mouth".

Learn the art of "pulling" instead of "pushing" breath.
Plan your breaths for particularly long or wordy phrases. Make it make sense with the thought and breathe.

Know that you must master all three cornerstones (breath, open throat and communication) for your best voice. Inhale and control that breath properly and you will also help open your throat and avoid being distracted when you try to communicate.
What is your experience with running out of breath?

Songwriter Voice vs Performance Voice... Do You Know The Difference?

I love helping songwriters to deliver their songs through their voices authentically. To do that, you have to know the difference between your songwriter and your performer voices- which are NOT the same thing. Here's the short answer;

Songwriter voice is internal. Performance voice is external. 

What do I mean by that? The longer answer.

Songwriter voice is a communion internally with yourself. You do it while in the act of writing or rehearsing the song. Performing that communion is an action for the benefit of someone else! There is a great deal of difference between the two as far as your vocal technique goes...in the use of your body- in your "body language", which changes your breath and your throat configurations.

If the lyrics you're singing are most authentic when directed to yourself... you have to be a bit schizophrenic. Try the following exercise:

Stand or sit in one chair and have another chair across from you. Imagine you are in that opposing chair. Sing to the person sitting in that other chair, and make that person feel the appropriate emotion.

I could tell where your breath was coming from, where your hands are in space, if your eyes and face were engaged and how open your throat is. Your audience can, too... even though they won't make those specific assessments, they can tell if you're really "with them" or just keeping it to yourself.

Songwriter voice to get it "out there" even if just on a worktape you have to turn it into performance voice! Have you experienced these voices? Your comments always welcome.

Singers: Soft First Verses Need To Deliver Impact.

I just worked with a singer who has been asked by her producer to sing the first verse of a song softly but not breathy. I think that's good direction, and a way to build a song. But she was having trouble knowing how to do it effectively.

Here's what worked for her and can work for you when you want to sing with a smaller dynamic, first verse or breakdown 1/2 chorus are common places:

Sing everything with all of you! From your heels to your face your whole being has to be involved.

You need to support and communicate the lightest places in your song as passionately and purposefully as the highest, longest, loudest notes. This works for all genres of music.

Think about it, do you want the audience to be lightly involved with the first verse? Or do you want to engage them from the start making them understand something from your very first lyric? Here's a fact if you don't engage them at the beginning, you'll likely loose them for the rest of the song, too!

Like a great athlete or violin player, even the smallest moves are deliberate and purposeful. If you just sing from your shoulders because the passage is not hard or you're trying for a quieter dynamic, you will not communicate. Don't tense your body, but do involve it. And pronounce your smallest lyrics as clearly as your loudest.

10 Signs Of Bad Vocal Technique:

Whether or not you are studying voice, you are still using certain "vocal techniques" which you've learned either consciously or unconsciously from family, friends or music teachers.
Here are some signs that your vocal technique is in need of an overhaul. Your technique is bad if:

Your throat hurts to talk after you perform.
You worry about losing your voice from talking or singing performance.
Your voice feels strained after using it
You don't command much attention when you speak or sing.
You never seem to have enough breath.
You can't hit your pitch accurately even though you can hear that it's "off".
Your vocal tone is thin, uninteresting or hollow and hooty.
You can't do certain vocal licks you're trying to imitate.
You can't sing very low or high, your vocal range is limited so your song choices are, too.
Your manager, agent, label rep or significant other who you trust tells you confidentially they are hearing  a problem with your voice.

Well Behaved High Notes Are More Lovable.

No matter what style of music you sing, from quiet alternative to heavy metal, there is a basic "etiquette" that your high notes should follow to be accepted and loved. It's like the stuff we learned in kindergarten. You, as the owner and operator of your high notes, are responsible to ensure they behave:
No pushing: If you are a reader of this blog, you probably know how much I advise against this. Too much air pressure will sabotage the character of your high notes they'll be pitchy and icky sounding and may cause harm.

Share the load: High notes need to be supported with adequate breath so they will not leave the brunt of the phrase to the other notes. Chickening out is no way to develop the beauty or control of your highs.

Play nicely with others notes: that is if your high notes poke out of the rest of the phrase, all of a sudden loud and shrill due to incorrect set up and follow through, the jarring sound will be heard and felt with disdain (unfortunately too common in soprano sections of choirs and choruses.)

Know when to use your inside or outside voice: If there is a crescendo or decrescendo appropriate to the music or directed by your leader, learn to control your high notes enough so they appropriately obey.

Play a lot: You can't expect your high notes to behave if they never get to play. Do vocal range and control exercises to make them feel confident.

11 Things You Don't Think Your Voice Can Do (It Can!).

I have been enjoying my time in the studio, and I always looking forward to the next day when I call it a day. I get to hear miracles take place with people's voices. These breakthroughs happen because of the power of your voice, So I decided to do a blogpost on it.

Here are 13 of the many surprising things your voice could do:

1. You can learn to sing without vocal strain. This blows some people away to realize. 

2. You can learn to sing on pitch. Most of the time it's not even your ear that's the problem, but if it is, it's amazing what a little pitch practice can do.

3. You have more vocal range than you imagine. You can sing higher in chest voice, without strain, when you learn to use mixed or middle voice to do it. You can also sing lower than you think. You enable low notes just like you do high notes by stretching, not crunching.

4. Your voice is capable of richer, more interesting tone than you think is natural to you. You find your full resonance by learning to open your 'voice cave' so that the vibrations from your larynx can reach all your resonators.

5. You can learn new vocal licks, and learn to use them appropriately to reach the heart of your audience instead of sounding fake. There are tricks good vocal teachers know to help you.

6. Even if you have breathing issues, you can have enough breath to sing. It doesn't take much when you do it right.You can sing long notes without running out of breath. The answer is to balance breath support and control. 

7. Your voice can get better with age. As long as your physical health is good, you can find even more resonance and ability, not less, as you get older.

8. You can learn to sing in the studio with the magic you get in live performance. You can also learn to sing live as well as you record, if you are a veteran session singer. Performance coaches can do wonders!

9. You have all the voice you need to deliver a message in any style except classical, if you just know how to "play your instrument". (Don't you know a singer whose technique is lacking but whose voice moves you?) 

10. You can sing "ee" and "oo" vowels (and all other ones, too) on high pitches without getting tight. You learn to modify the vowels more openly and vertically and no more squeaky highs!

10. You can get a handle on numbness and stage anxiety when you learn the psychological and body language secrets of making your performance about your audience, not you.

11. You can learn to speak more effectively...without vocal fatigue or strain. The lack of strain in the speaking voice can be life-changing for public speakers and teachers, but benefits your singing voice as well.

12. You can mend frustrating vocal breaks. I used to have the worst "break" I'd ever heard of. I conquered it and now I know how to help others do the same.

13. You can afford to train your voice. Even JC-RECORDS can help you.

Singing High Notes: 3 Quick Fixes To Make Them Easy.

Straining and squeaking on high notes is a common malady for singers. Here are a couple of tips to rescue you from high note frustration. They not only can make your high notes doable... but also sound better:

1. Stand tall with flexible upper spine
Instead of crunched, shoulders up, neck tight, upper spine stiff.
This will help you control your breath instead of pound it against your cords. 

2. Move your head slightly back, chin level.
This will open your throat channel. 

3. Drop and move your jaw.
Try a slight chewing motion as you hit and hold the note.
This can cause a huge difference because it allows the soft palate to lift.

Singing At The Piano? 7 Tips For Keyboard and Voice Synergy.

Depending on how you do it, playing keys can either help or hurt your singing. Here are 7 piano/singer tips for you:

Prepare by playing and singing separately.
It's extremely important to practice your voice and your keyboard separately so you can put your undivided attention to the task. When practicing the keyboard part, just sing very lightly if at all, going over to head voice on high parts. When practicing singing, sing acapella or to a piano track you've recorded, or just play "diamonds" or simple chord changes so that you can focus your attention on your vocal technique. When you get them both right and easy, start putting them together. If there are complicated rhythms in the piano, even this can become muscle memory as you carefully put voice and fingers together and PRACTICE.

Get your posture right.
Sit or stand tall, retaining a flexible feeling in your spine. Slumping, for any reason, is "smooch de mort" (kiss of death) for the voice. It will negatively affect your inhale, breath support and control of breath. It will also tighten your throat. Standing or sitting, do not lean forward in such a way that you collapse your ribcage at all. 

Get your mic right.
Make sure the mic is positioned close enough to your mouth so you don't have to lean over to sing into it. Also make sure it's high enough to encourage that tall spine. This will greatly improve your breath and open throat technique.
Get your power coming from your seat or your feet.
You need to center your power in your pelvic floor so you are not tempted to tighten your shoulders, neck, jaw- all of which tighten your throat and your breath. And absolutely yes, if you sit correctly, you can sing sitting as well as you can standing. But you must sit on the edge of your seat, not back into it, so that it feels the same as standing. Squeeze your butt against the seat for power. If you're standing, power from your heel.

Secure your pedals
If your feet have to slide forward looking for a slipping pedal, you will find your performance focus thrown off, along with a possible sudden posture slippage. Ducktape can be a keyboard player's lifesaver.
Lightly use your fingers on the keys to tip your balance over your tailbone instead of into the keys.
Don't press hard enough to cause tension in hands, wrists or fingers. Just lightly "intend" your fingers to keep you flexibly tall and open and not slumping.

Be a singer who is playing piano not a piano player who is singing
This one is a mindset issue. You have to put your priority on communicating your voice, and your playing HAS to be secondary when you're doing it at the same time. For an interim instrumental bridge, go ahead and focus on the keys, but when it's time to sing back to your voice and the message you're delivering.

Singing While Seated: 5 Things You Need To Do.

If you want to sing with good breath support and control, and also keep your throat open, you need to do the following:

1. Don't slump in your chair.
Sit on the front edge of the seat with one foot more forward to balance you securely as you sit tall. When you "go" for something, press your rump into the seat, and your forward foot into the ground. This should allow your spine to stretch freely and flexibly.

2. Make sure your upper back stays stretched and flexible.
Don't let the curve of your spine slump, and don't freeze in place, either.

3.. Be sure your head is balanced over your tailbone, chin down and floating.
It's "smooch de morte" (kiss of death) if you let your face drift forward while singing. If you do move forward, do it from your hips, not your shoulders. 

4. Use your eyes.
"Talk" with your face just as expressively as you would standing.

5. Use your hands.
"Talk" with your hands. If you are holding a mic, make sure you do that correctly. (Another post soon about that.)

Keep on reading our articles/posts, tell others to visit here at Jc-records blog, so that we can learn together.

The Vocal Booth: 7 Tips To Make The Recording Space Singer-Friendly.

What does a singer need in the vocal booth? More than just eye-friendly recording studio design. The voice is a picky, sensitive thing. If you want to record it, here are 7 things it wants:

• Lighting:

It wants mood lighting, OK? Twilight dimmed to pitch black - experiment to find the lighting that makes it the least shy. Sometimes a singer is not bothered, but if there are windows to the daylight, the voice may like you to cover them with something.

• Smell:

What the nose doesn't like, the voice won't either. It can affect breath, throat and focus. Save the incense candles for the smokers who sing. They are usually more used to the effect! One must be careful with perfume or room deodorizers, too. The plainer and cleaner the smell in the booth, the better.

• Orientation of mic to control room:

The voice doesn't like to be stared at. You can fake it out by not aiming your singer (yourself if you're the singer) eyeball to eyeball with the producer, engineer or anyone else. If at all possible, position the mic so that the singer is facing a corner or side of the room not the control room window.

• Temperature:

Try and get the temperature in the booth comfortable for the individual singer. It amazes me how many engineers don't understand the importance of this. Ever tried singing when you're shivering? It messes with your control big time. Ever tried singing while burning up? It saps your energy like a vampire, and the voice will sound tired, uncontrolled, numb. If the studio vents are not optimally placed, the people in the control room may need to suffer a bit to get it right for the vocal booth. Yep. The singer comes first.

• Furniture:

While not a deal breaker, it's nice to have a few simple pieces of furniture. Some kind of waist high table or ledge for water is nice so the singer won't have to bend over and then re-position at the mic. It can be helpful to have a tall stool for the singer who is fatigued. (And of course the vocalist will sit tall and flexibly from the front end of the stool, not hunched back into it.) 

• Music stand :

The last thing you want is for a singer to have to hold lyrics. This will, I promise you, affect optimum breathing. It's always best if a singer has memorized lyrics, but if it's a situation where the lyrics are needed, have a stand (or duck tape for securing the lyrics to the wall)

• Headphone box:

It's great if the "more me" cue box is on a stand instead of at the feet, so micro-adjustments can be quickly made from time to time. If, as I recommend, the singer is wearing headphones with one side half-off the ear, the headphone box should be set on "mono" instead of "stereo".

Vocal Health: The Most Important Nutrient For Your Voice.

As singers, we can buy throat sprays, suck on lozenges, drink special teas that are supposed to coat the throat. We can drink peppermint to calm jittery stomachs, or have a beer because we think it will relax our throats. We take vitamin and mineral suppliments and avoid dairy to keep from coating our throats. But do you know the most important (and most neglected) nutrient we need for our voices?

WATER:

I know, you've heard this before. However, we all need a reminder to not just KNOW something, but to DO it. So here's your water pep talk:

Water is what over 2/3rds of our body consists of. I could be thought of a sack of water with some extra stuff in it! Water affects some things not readily apparent, like headaches and tendencies to overeat. Sometimes we think we are hungry when we are actually thirsty, but the body gets the signals mixed up. Paradoxically, water is a natural diuretic; if you don't drink enough you will retain excess fluid and become edemic. Water, like most everything, has a dark side. You have to take in enough so you don't retain too much.

According to Free Drinking Water website, 

"The human brain is made up of 95% water, blood is 82% and lungs 90%. A mere 2% drop in our body's water supply can trigger signs of dehydration: fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on smaller print, such as a computer screen. (Are you having trouble reading this? Drink up!) Mild dehydration is also one of the most common causes of daytime fatigue. An estimated seventy-five percent of Americans have mild, chronic dehydration."
(Read more facts about the importance of water to the body by clicking on their website link above.)

The human voice is very dependent upon water. Dehydrated vocal cords (folds) are not as flexible and able to thin as hydrated ones. These folds are so small and their operation so exact (or not), a little dehydration can result in a large dent in your vocal ability in any given performance. And the very use of the vocal cords causes them to lose moisture to the air.

As an extreme example of the vocal cord-water connection, a friend had a very bad case of laryngitis and a very important gig. He literally could not talk but had to lead a background vocal group in two days of sessions. He discovered that if he drank huge glasses of water with a little pineapple juice added, he could sing, even in my head voice. He ended up drinking about 18 mega glasses of water a day, and really didn't pee more than usual. The moisture was being used and evaporated from his vocal cords into the air.

So how much is enough?
He recommend following advice he was given by medical professionals: Take your body weight and half it. That's the number of ounces you should drink a day. So if a person weighs 120 lb, they would drink 60 oz of water, which comes out to 7.5 8-oz glasses a day. If you are particularly active or out in the heat, use common sense and drink a little more.

Do other drinks count?
Nutritionist advised that if you drink 75% water and no more than 25% unsweetened natural juice, it counts as water. If it makes you drink more water, I say add that orange, pineapple, apple, tomato or other 100% juice.

Herbal teas count. Coffee and caffeine in general are less healthy, but there is a lot of controversy about their addition to necessary water intake. The dehydration effect seems to be a diuretic effect. Possibly you pee out more than you take in? Caffeine has other detrimental effects, though, from jittery nerves (affecting pitch and vocal control), stomach problems (affecting breath support and control), and sometimes affecting other health problems present. It's best to at least limit caffeine. Be wise and notice how caffeine affects you before drinking it when you need to sing.

Freshly juiced vegetable juice counts. It also ensures mineral additions to your water, and balances overly-acid ph levels in our bodies. I try to juice every morning.

Sugary drinks, artificially sweetened or flavored chemical-laden drinks and alcoholic drinks most definitely do NOT count. These are poisons to be diluted by you guessed it... drinking more water.

Especially great additions to water:
ceyenne pepper and lemon juice
ceyenne, lemon and honey
throat coat tea

Bottled, tap or what?
I highly recommend getting a good water filter for your tap.
Plastic leaches into our bodies easily, and of course pollutes the environment. Only drink from plastic if there is no alternative available, such as in the airport where you are not allowed to carry your own.

What temperature should water be?
Most experts I've talked to say it's best at room temperature. They also concur that in the end, if it's hot or iced, the most important thing is that you get it down the guzzle! Sometimes iced water causes throats to tighten a bit in some people, but again, notice how it affects YOU.

How can you make yourself drink enough?
I like to decide how much I'm going to drink and measure it out. That helps me when I get sidetracked to actually get enough in. Some people set a timer to periodically go off and remind them. This post will hopefully give you the will to go to the trouble to find out what will work for you.

Taming Tongue Tension:
This is a very common problem. Tongue tension equals soft palate tension, equals throat tension.

Tongue tension happens when you use the wrong end of the tongue too much. The tongue is said by some to be the strongest muscle in the body for it's size. It is literally connected by the hyoid bone to the top of your larynx. Tensing the root of your tongue raises the larynx uncomfortably. NOT GOOD. You need to be able to keep the mighty base (or root) of the tongue relaxed while you use the tip and front sides of the tongue to articulate.

Some things I suggest that have helped singers loosen tongue tension:

1. Wake up the face and do tongue tanglers, trying for clarity and not allowing the voice to "fall into the gravel" at the ends of phrases. Act like you are speaking to deaf people, make your lyric show in your face. This gets it out of the back of the throat and stiff jaw.

2. Speak or sing with the jaw moving in sort of a slight chewing motion. Tongue tension and jaw stiffness go together.

3. Put your knuckle inbetween your molars (not the front of your mouth) and sing. It will sound weird, like trying to speak with the dentist's hand in your mouth, but your jaw and tongue will experience having to relax.

4. Sing only on the vowels for a while, again allowing the back of the mouth and throat to fall open. This is harder than you think, you have to concentrate on NOT forming consonants. Then allow yourself to slightly let the consonants sneak back in, but keeping the back of the tongue feeling the same and letting the jaw relax flexibly.

5. Put two fingers under your chin. You are feeling the base of your tongue. Speak or sing, telling yourself not to tense there (bunch the muscle up).

6. DO NOT OVER-WORK the tongue in specific vocal exercises. Sometimes I find that exercises designed to stretch out and loosen the tongue can have the opposite effect. If you do these, be sure and note how they actually affect your tongue root's ability to relax.

By the way some people can do tongue trills and some people can do lip trills and some people can do both. Just like rolling the tongue, forming French or German syllables, for some people it is easy and some hard, because there is a learning curve that makes it easier in childhood, and I believe, subtle muscle coordination differences in people. It doesn't matter if you can do these things or not. The main thing is to get your articulation out of the back of your throat, and there is more than one way to accomplish this goal.

Singers: Bored With Your Song? How To Make It Fresh:

Songs you sing over and over again can get boring. One of the best wishes I can give an artist is: I hope that song is such a hit you get sick of singing it, haha! Actually, this can be a problem.

Here are some thoughts I'll share with you as well:

Caution before we begin: no matter what you do, you must take care to use good technique when you sing. Don't tighten your throat or relax your breath support/control and strain your voice, no matter what.
Rehearsal is NOT necessarily performance. You can rehearse a song, just trying out some different phrasing, style and licks and making sure you know it. You can do this all day long.
This is different than rehearsing PERFORMANCE. When you do this, you have to "go on stage" and physically, emotionally & communicatively act as if you are. Don't do this more than a couple of times per song in a day. Give it a break.

In the studio: Go for it the first time, or sing the song a time or two until you feel warmed up to it and the engineer is ready with levels. Then go for it.
Don't expect to do take after take, however, and stay fresh. After about 3 or 4 good vocal tracks, I like to just start punching the bad lines. If it takes too long, come back another day instead of singing the life out of the thing.

On stage: James Taylor once talked about this issue, he said when he and the band rehearsed it, they would all cut up and have a good time making light of the old standard. But each time he sings it to a live audience, he said it still feels like the first time.

How? Because he lets the audience be a part of the equasion. He sings TO them, and their reaction feeds the freshness of his delivery. I'm paraphrasing him, but you get the point.

Remember: Don't just sing. Communicate like it's the first time you ever said that to anyone. Know who you are as the deliverer of the song, know who you're talking to and why you're having the conversation.

Passion rules. Keep the fire in your heart for your music, and it won't let you down.

MUSICAL DIRECTOR:

This service is for live performances, including musical theater productions. This person is not only in charge directing not only vocal but also instrumental performances.

BACKGROUND VOCALIST or "BGV":
Also known as "BACKING VOCALIST", this person sings a vocal arrangement behind the lead singer. It is a specialty field in professional singing which requires absolute excellence in blending, intonation, subtle tonal color changes and the ability to exactly mimic the recording or live singer's articulation, style and tone. Sometimes an artist does his or her own background vocals if they are good enough at hearing "parts" to do it, but even then it is best to decide if that same voice is what is needed or if a different voice would add necessary texture to the resulting sound.

VOCAL ARRANGER:
This service is most often associated with background vocals. Unless the project is very complicated, a vocal arranger can usually quickly create the arrangement at the recording session, and is in fact usually the VOCAL CONTRACTOR who suggests and calls the background singer(s) after consulting with the producer.

VOCAL PRODUCER:
This is a member of the production team, who may or may not also produce the instrumental tracks. The vocal producer's job is to get the very best recorded vocal of which a person is capable. This involves not only helping the vocalist sing with good technique but also deliver the song in the most authentic and emotionally compelling way possible, so as to cause an emotional response in the listener.

Most of the time, the vocal producer will produce several vocal tracks of the singer and then with the engineer, will "comp", or choose the best of, the tracks for the master lead vocal.

VOCAL CONSULTANT:
This is an in-studio vocal coach who is present to coach the recording artist with any problem areas he or she is having with what the producer is asking. In this case, the vocal consultant is not the active producer at the talkback switch - just standing by ready to help when problems occur.

Jc-records tuko katika maandalizi ya hit songs, project ambayo inasimamiwa na producer Aby dady.

Like a commander-in-chief, this is the over-all point person you choose to get your project recorded. You will negotiate a flat fee, an hourly fee and/or for "percentage points" of the sale of your project.

Among the duties this person assumes are -
Consulting with you about what you want in a final product, as well as helping you understand the process and the costs involved in the kind of project you choose.
Assessing who you are as an artist, what your current vocal and songwriting ability is and whether or not you need to increase your abilities with a vocal coach and/or do some co-writing before recording to give you the results you need for your goals.
Choosing or helping you choose the best songs for your project and obtaining any necessary licenses for those final songs.
Doing pre-production such as: discovering best keys, tempos, instruments and background vocals (bgv's)
Choosing and booking dates for the studio, engineers, musicians & bgvs.
Producing the instrumental tracking and the vocals for the songs, or enlisting the services of a vocal producer or consultant.

Breath for the long notes:
Long notes can be challenging to hold, and to hold in tune and with resonance instead of just being eeked out.

Try to imagine that you have an "inhalation sensation" when you sing. Here's a couple of ways to practice it:
Imagine and try to sense that you are inhaling instead of exhaling as you hold a note. Of course you are exhaling, but hold back that air pressure so much that it feels like you're inhaling. While "inhaling" the note, try raising your eyebrows and relaxing your jaw and it should feel like no breath is going forward, but great resonance floats your tone out.
Put the palm of your hand very close to your mouth. Now try holding a note, but letting as little breath as possible get on your hand.
Imagine a mirror right at your mouth. Hold a note, but don't leave a breath mark on the mirror. (You don't need a real mirror for this, just imagine it.)
With your breath efficiently compressed, your eyes active and your jaw relaxed, you should get volume from the rich resonation of sound from your open throat. No pressured tone will sound as beautiful.

Ok, folks, chime in about holding notes out. How do these suggestions work for you? What else have you noticed about having enough breath for the vocal chore to be done?

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Jc-records inaendelea na matayarisho ya kipindi kipya cha Luninga kinachoitwa "Bonge La Show".
Katika picha matayarisho ya segment ya "Battle Field", kipengele kitakachohusika na ushindani wa Madj, Mcees, Breakdancers, Waimbaji n.k. Kulia ni Mcee Logic akijiandaa na mitindo huru kwa ajili ya kipengele cha Battle Field.

Picha nyingine ni mwanadada Pazypendo akiandaa habari kwa ajili ya kipengele cha "Darasa Huru" akiwa na Dj Mo wa maisha club, ama the maker na Kelvin.

Whatever the genre, the emotional color of the tone of voice chosen should matches what the heck the lyric is saying. Can you imagine singing "I Can't Make You Love Me" with a big smile on your face and in your voice? Those lyrics contain ANGST - and if the tone of your voice doesn't contain some kind of quiet but powerful angst, the listener would feel betrayed by vocal fraud. Yes, I'll go that far.

That doesn't necessarily mean you need to sound angry. There are many, many emotional colors between "happy" and "angry".

One of the biggest mistakes I hear amateur singers make is that of singing a lyric without the right emotion in the voice - and many times smiling all the way through the song like it's a popularity contest is the mistake.

I have also known professional jingle singers who've made a fortune singing commercials but cannot get arrested as artists. This is because they have made a career out of selling product in 30 or 60 second bursts of song. If you're selling a product, you usually do it with a friendly smile. You also do it with lots of energy... which gets tiring for the listener when 60 seconds turns into a 3 1/2 minute song. The lyric, unless it's punk rock, usually needs varying emotional dynamics to sound like an authentic message to a human being.

Next time you listen to a playback of your voice, ask yourself if the emotional color you're using matches the lyric and the music. And unless the song is something like "I'm A Happy Girl", it might be best to loose that fake smile.

Studio ya JC-RECORDS ikishirikiana na Ama the maker (the Makers entertainment), the best Dj in town  Dj Amo, Kelvin "the Cam monster" na Diva Pazzy wako katika maandalizi ya kipindi kipya cha luninga kinachoitwa "BONGE LA SHOW". Kipindi kitakuwa na maudhui tofauti na ya kipekee sana, kaa mkao wa kusubiri kwa shauku.

There is a frustrating disconnect with many people who are great in live performance but can't seem to get that same great vocal in the recording studio. Here are some tips to help you bring your live sound into your recorded sound:

• Create the ambiance you need to "do the scene" as you deliver the song. Ambiance creating suggestions:

1. Make sure the music stand is back far enough under the mic so you can stand in such a way that you don't need to lean forward.

2. Don't read lyric sheets, or if you do, park the music stand way off to the side.

3. Ask the engineer if it's possible not to point you facing directly into the control room.

4. Ask for your vocal booth lighting, and if possible also the control room lighting, to be turned down so you can focus your mind on the story.

5. Some people are helped by "props" , Light a candle, put a picture near, plug in a lava lamp or whatever it takes to get you into the scene.

• Play with your imaginary friend(s). Sing to someone to whom the song is directed. Try to make that person feel something from your communication of the message... just like live.

• Don't sing to anyone in the control room. They are there to judge your performance and edit you. Listen to them, then go right back to sing-talking to the object of your message (lyric).

• Use body language! You won't believe how using eyes, hands, legs, expressive body language can cause the song to take on amazing life. Ditch your inhibition (and possibly your pride) and physically get into your delivery.

• Use "Studio Hands" - This is a technique I use- put your fingertips together and push them into each other to help you with breath control.

• Use a dummy mic! Try holding a dummy mic or similarly weighted object in your hand. Put the dummy mic up to your mouth and sing into it like you would live, but position yourself close enough to the live mic to make sure it picks up your voice.

I recently received a question about pitch problems while recording vocals that I'd like to share here.

When an artist is really good in live performance, there is quite often a curious thing that happens when that artist goes into the studio. The person ceases to move, ceases to "communicate" with the body, the hands and the face. The weight of the mic is missing, so the singer subcounciously leans forward with the head, causing the chest to cave in a bit. This causes breathing problems, affecting both breath support and breath control. This may very well be the source of your pitch problems. 

To fix this, try moving your feet farther in towards the mic, causing you to subconsciously have your head farther back (or you'll hit the mic with your mouth) and your chest will open, stretching the ribcage and diaphragm out, enabling you to get both better inhale and better control of that breath when you sing.

Also, try using your hands, like in live performance. Don't grab the "cans" with your hands, because this tends to put subtle weight on your ribcage, closing it. Another thing I frequently have people do is put fingertips together in front (I call this "studio hands"). When you "go" for a note, you'll press your fingertips into each other, causing your chest to open and your head to go back. Be sure you're not lifting your chin, keep it level and floating and just let your neck be flexible and your spine will take your head back.

Another thing you need to watch is that you need to be very present with the pitch in some kind of acoustic instrument in the track. Don't "listen" for pitch from the bass, because overtones can throw you off. Try taking some of the instruments (especially swimmy instruments or busy instruments) out of your headphone mix.

Also, watch how much reverb you are using in the mix. Too much or not enough, and you won't do as well. Just enough to make you feel "live", but not enough to get lost.

Lastly, I recommend having one headphone half-off one ear. That grounds you in the vocal booth, and gives you more of an accurate sense of the pitch you're using. Not everyone does better this way, but most do (I certainly do).

This song is inspired by a true love story.  Follow the link below;

https://www.hulkshare.com/studiojc-records/magulya-ft-amanda-and-jayden-christ-song-title-family-love-studio

https://soundcloud.com/jc-records-studio/magulya-ft-amanda-and-jayden-christ-song-title-family-love

Intro: (amanda)

Love is patient, Love is kind.

Verse 1: (magulya)

More than a decade,

Twelve years of love ( Back vocal: Jayden-christ  backing “mommy and dady”),

We thank the almighty Lord,

And all of the above,

Still I remember the first time when I met her,

Guh I got the long hair,

Feed cap and timz on it,

Chinchilla, water bottle,

And big jeans on it,

Nah 20 inch rims, nah whips,

I got nothing hommie,

I got only my pretty dog kim,

Kitaa we walk on it,

Along the way I met a girl, super-brown flower,

Thick legs, with her beaming smile in my darkest hours,

She was such a blessing,

Rain on me like shower,

She was the one,

And still number one,

Am not cow-wizzy but girl…. She got a gwan’.

Hook: (magulya)

She is only that I got,

My love, my life, my queen,

My beautiful angel, childhood sweetheart,

My cupcake on top of that my wife,

Mother of my son Jayden-christ.

Chorus: (amanda and magulya)

Beautiful woman

Mother of my child

Strength at home

The love of my life

Verse 2: (magulya)

Twelve years later,

We still getting better ( Back vocal: Jayden-christ  backing “mommy and dady”),

It is like a fairy tale love story,

That needs no cheddar,

Still feeling the same way,

That I felt on our first date,

Still feeling the same way,

That I felt on our wedding date,

Bado napenda anavyo smile,

Anavyo bounce and ride on it,

Napenda anavyo twerk-twerk….,

The way she wine on it,

Swallow is in the menu,

I love the way she blow on it,

So namcheck-check….,

Yeye ni mama wa mtoto wangu,

So nampet-pet…..,

Yeye ni ua la nyumba yangu,

Siwezi fake-fake….,

Yeye ni part ya maisha yangu,

She was the one,

And still number one,

Am not cow-wizzy but girl… She got a gwan’.

Outro: (jayden-christ)

Mommy and dady….

Introducing to you the very first family song. Magulya (husband), Amanda (wife) and Jayden-christ (our son).

This song is inspired by a true love story.

 https://www.hulkshare.com/studiojc-records/magulya-ft-amanda-and-jayden-christ-song-title-family-love-studio

https://soundcloud.com/jc-records-studio/magulya-ft-amanda-and-jayden-christ-song-title-family-love

How does one go about getting started if they are interested in singing bgv's (background vocals)?

To sing background vocals you need;

Vocal training to be able to perform the feats of what I call a "stunt singer". It takes more stamina and control to be a great background singer than to be a lead singer, because you will have to trace and blend with another voice perfectly, taking on the lead voice's tone, personality, rhythm, phrasing and accent, or adding whatever different texture of voice the producer wants to offset the lead singer's voice.
to be able to change your voice at the producer's request.

To be able to hear and create harmony parts.
experience singing background parts with live performers and/or backing vocals in a recording studio. No matter what kind of training you have, there's no substitute for actual experience. You need experience to get experience, so take whatever opportunity you can possibly find or afford to get in front of a stage or recording studio mic.

A demonstration (demo) recording of your voice. This can be a simple guitar or piano/vocal, a karaoke track with your voice recorded over it, or can be full instrumental tracks created just for you. Just make sure that your vocal performance is the most important thing you record. Don't spend money on tracks without budgeting enough time for great vocals.

Referrals from people you've sung with and sung for.
networking, networking, networking. This takes time and persistance, people skills are very necessary.
Go to writers nights and to concerts, hang out with musicians and songwriters you know. If you know any session singers, you might ask them to sing with you and assess how well they think you do.

To realize that you may need to keep your day job. Background work is very competitive and usually has a great deal to do with being at the right place at the right time. Sometimes when someone else can't make a session, an untried singer will get a chance. However, it is important to be generous of spirit, to support and recommend other singers trying to get work as well. Undercutting your fellow session singer will come back to bite you. It usually takes years to break in to regular session work. Make sure you build the right reputation.

Lyric tips for songwriters.

In my humble opinion, no matter what the musical genre, a well-written song should have the following characteristics:
The Lyric:

Should be written with intellegence and cleverness, avoiding trite phrases and cliches.

Should try to say something unique about the subject. Drawing from true personal experience helps find the most unique perspective.

Even if written third person, should be written from the vantage point of a participant instead of a spectator to the story. Writing from a personal vantage point makes is much stronger and more real than writing what you think someone else knows or wants to hear.

Should be consistant in its language (if it's earthy, say it with "down-to-earth" language all the way through the song... if poetic, keep that voice going... if easily understandable with clear images, or if more obscure and symbolic as in many great pop songs, be sure it sounds like the same person talking in the whole song.

Needs to say that which will make the listener connect with the singer on an emotional level, even if that level is just a happy or freed feeling.

Should make the listener identify and actually like the singer (duh); the listener frequently will take on the singer's persona while listening.

Should make the listener feel loved. Yes. Loved. ie... what would every woman want her man to say to her (and it could be "I'm sorry, I was wrong"!) What would every man want his woman to say to him? (and yes, it also could be "I'm sorry, I was wrong")

Should bring the listener wisdom, anger at things done wrong, fun, story, drama, and/or empathy with hard places that actually point to solutions (I lost you and I learned how to be a better person, I lost you and learned how to love myself, I lost you and you're gonna miss me, I lost you and I will miss you but I can love again, I lost you but I love you enough to let you go and I'll be fine... etc.)

Should not be "preachy". Instead... just tell the story and let your audience draw conclusions. They don't trust you when you condescend or preach, like you are smarter/better/wiser than them.

Should not lead to hopelessness, unresolved hatred or violence towards others.

Should if at all possible have an unexpected twist or two.

Should have some kind of structured pattern of lines.