TONE DEAF?

I keep hearing singers on American Idol who are singing flat. For those who do not know what that means, they are singing under or below the note they are trying to sing OR SHOULD BE TRYING TO SING!!!!! For some reason it is even more irritating to hear a singer sing sharp (above the pitch) and this is, fortunately, more rare. Back to the flat-ness. Why are they singing flat? Can they not hear themselves? Can they not hear, in the musical sense, the relationship between the accompaniment and their own voices? Are they staying under the pitch to avoid the passaggio, where the untrained voice will crack? Some trained, or should I say mis-trained voices crack. I have been cursed with a condition called "perfect pitch" and knowing that a person will sing flat, to avoid cracking, doesn't help the fingernails-on-the-chalkboard affect that this has on me. I can sympathize, but the feeling of sympathy does not ameliorate the frustration of knowing how they could be better with just one little PHYSICAL adjustment. That adjustment is NOT using more air, or "pushing" or flexing the abdominal muscles. Then there are those with, shall we say, under-developed musicianship. In teaching a few thousand singers, I have discovered that there are those who can match pitch with a voice but NOT with an instrument, such as a piano. Some of them can match pitch with a saxophone, however. This gets into the ability, or lack thereof, of being able to differentiate one pitch from another. Some people would say such a person is tone deaf. I've discovered, through experience, that it "Ain't Necessarily So". (That is a song, for the uninitiated) There is a condition called atonality. It ranges from absolute inability to match pitch at all to being able to get very close, but not on the pitch. Some people have called atonal singers "tone deaf". Although the term tone deaf is descriptive as to the singer's response to a pitch generated outside of him/herself, being atonal is not the same as being truly tone deaf. A study from Harvard gets into this. There have been several studies at other universities regarding atonality and tone deafness. One done at Stanford University suggested that the truly tone deaf are those who have had brain damage. This may be further substantiated by the conclusion of the Harvard study on the subject. http://esciencenews.com/articles/2009/08/18/neural.pathway.missing.tone.deaf.people In the meantime, American Idol is on my TV, I hear the intonation, the judges praise the singers (most of them) and I get exhausted from cringing and running out of the room to regurgitate. Neural pathway missing in tone-deaf people | e! Science News esciencenews.com Nerve fibers that link perception and motor regions of the brain are disconnected in tone-deaf people, according to new research in the August 19 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. Experts estimate that at least 10 percent of the population may be tone deaf – unable to sing in tune. The… Neural pathway missing in tone-deaf people | e! Science News esciencenews.com Nerve fibers that link perception and motor regions of the brain are disconnected in tone-deaf people, according to new research in the August 19 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. Experts estimate that at least 10 percent of the population may be tone deaf – unable to sing in tune. The…

WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON PROBLEMS OF SINGERS?

What are the ten most common problems of singers? There are ten, but when some subcategories are added, there are actually 21 PHYSICAL common problems of singers. In addition to those, there are mental, spiritual, and emotional problems to deal with. The easiest problem to handle will usually be the one of posture. If you haven't been to or if you haven't observed a ballet class, then you haven't been exposed to ballet posture. A teacher will tell the dance student to "pull up", meaning as if there is a string attached to the top of your head and that is being pulled up. What does this effectively do? This part makes your rib cage rise slightly. This is great for singing because with your ribcage slightly raised, your lungs have more space to inflate and expand. The secondary effect of ballet posture is that your abdominal muscles are slightly flexed. Too much flexing of the abs is as deleterious to a good tone as too little flexing. When we breathe, we do not fill up air into the abdomen. Your lungs terminate at approximately bottom of your ribs. If you had air in your abdomen, you would possibly be in extreme pain. You also need space for your inhale muscle to contract into. Your inhale muscle is the diaphragm and you CANNOT feel it. You can watch your abdomen bulge as it contracts downward and presses on the organs below it: the stomach, the intestines, the liver, and a few others. The significance of this is nil EXCEPT if you have eaten a large meal and have to sing with a full stomach. That can be a minor problem and can also be uncomfortable. Does good posture "fix" your singing problems? No. It is one of 21 factors, some of which are related to each other, which is why we can call these the 10 most common problems of singers. Look for problem number 2 coming soon :-) Bad posture can interfere with singing or with the ease of singing. It is a good idea to make good posture a habit, so that you can have your attention on the art, rather than on your own body.

AGE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT

If you are singing "correctly", you won't get hoarse and you will have no problems with endurance. Your voice doesn't have to "get old", either. I heard the proof of this last night. A guy born June 16, 1952 did a concert at The House of Blues last night. He sounded the same as he did when he was in his 20s, except he may have been even better. He had fame in the 70s and 80s and the looks and the voice to go with it. He doesn't move like I had expected. He moved like a person who was 30 or 40 years younger. There was no hint of his age in his voice. His vibrato was still the perfect speed and depth, no change since he was in his 20s. He got his first recording contract at the age of 16 with RCA. He was NOT in a competition TV show!!!!!!! He drove to RCA and walked out with a recording contract. He was born in Montreal, Canada. It turns out that his father was a big band singer. His father told him that "it wasn't that easy" to get a recording contract. He proved his father wrong by getting one. My father told me, very bluntly, that I was going to fail, regarding putting my band on the road in the 70s. I proved him wrong. This doesn't mean that fathers do not know, they just don't want their children to go through the pain and disappointment of failure. There is no disputing competency. Careers that last a lifetime are built upon competency. Professional is professional. For me, there was never any reason to not be professional. Even if I would sing for charity, it HAD to be professional. Nothing else made any sense to me. My standards continue to rise. I have two viewpoints on my singing. One is that I know that I can sing anywhere and anytime and that it will be unquestioningly professional. I can say that because I have worked hard enough and long enough and have enough professional experience to have attained that. My other viewpoint is that I am NEVER 100% satisfied, thrilled, happy, or ego maniacal and I know there is always room for improvement. There are things with which I do not and will not compromise. I do not perform without monitors. What is wrong with things being their best? Oh, the man in concert last night was Gino Vannelli.

Amateurs will remain amateur until they learn to practice like a pro. A friend of mine (John Boice), who played trombone in Buddy Rich's band then later in Ray Charles' band, came to a little jam session in a small theater in Las Vegas one night. He was polite and friendly when he walked in. He and I had known each other a few years and had listened to each others compositions and had even played with some Jamey Aebersold 33 LPs. When I was in the stage band at Marshall University, playing both lead and solo trombone, we played a song written by John Boice called "Something For Willie". John had a friend named Willie, for whom he had written the song. John also arranged for Buddy and others. Back to the session. John sat down his case and opened it as if it contained something very valuable. When he reached in to take the bell of the horn out, he looked as if he was a great surgeon and deftly removed and held the bell section of the horn. Then he got the slide, swiftly put it together with the other section and tightened the "nut" which held them together. It looked as if he had done this a million times but he made it look as if some very serious work was about to happen. He had a professional "attitude". This was his life. This was also his most joyous activity, but it was professional. I was also a pro, having worked for 10 years in various bands, but I learned a lesson just from watching. T. Harv Eker said, "The way you do anything is the way you do everything." I met him a few years ago at an Enlightened Millionaire weekend. Even though he wasn't speaking to musicians at the time, the idea is valid, to a great extent. John Boice warmed up before he played. He and I both studied with Dr. Donald S. Reinhardt of Philadelphia. I seriously got much more from private study than from all of college combined. I wasn't taught how to warm up or how to practice when I was in college. I did learn a lot about it from Dr. Reinhardt, John Boice, J.D. Folsom, Art Sayers, Debra Bonner, Seth Riggs, Ralph Pollock, Dr. Paul Balshaw, Dr. Paul Whear, Charles M. Oshel, George Slicer, Bob Massie, Robin Romanek, Bill Davidson, John Novello, Dick Groves, Bobby Tate and my sister Barbara, who is a phenomenal pianist and was, in my opinion, a child prodigy. I learned quite a bit from my father, who was professional at practically everything. "Practice with a purpose" - J.D. Folsom This sounds simple, but it is an expansive thought. Tony Robbins said "Repetition is the mother of skill." The problem is that mistakes can be repeated and reinforced, so this needs to be carefully applied. I learned from John Novello that there is something you do BEFORE you practice. To practice with a purpose, shouldn't there be some planning and other preparation? How about the most efficient use of your time? How do you do that? In professional rehearsals in the showrooms of Las Vegas, entire songs would not be rehearsed for the headliner. If a musician made a mistake in rehearsal, the conductor did not go over the song again. Why not? A real pro will not repeat the mistake. You will not hear it again. Period. True. I got a call from local #369 for a New Years gig on trombone one year. It was at the Riviera Hotel. I played lead trombone. The other trombonist was a member of Henry Mancini's band. The sax section and the trumpet section had played for Woody Herman. The drummer had been the drummer for Stan Kenton. There was no rehearsal. We showed up. We read the charts. Nobody made a mistake. Nobody. It is just a higher standard. Get it right and play it with conviction and feeling. Simple enough. Everyone has their own personal challenges with music. There also are different learning styles from person to person. Singers and other musicians are not all the same. Some people are more visual or thinking or feeling or tactile or whatever else. The practice methods need to fit the individual to get the greatest and fastest gain in improvement. There is plenty of advice around for how to practice, but the methods need to be effective for the person. Perhaps they need to be customized. Dr.Reinhardt had analyzed and categorized specific types and sub-types of embouchures, tongue, jaw, teeth, and made a science of using the natural anatomical make-up of an individual to best use what they were born with and to their best advantage. The same thing applies to singers and it applies to practicing. Some advice is applicable to any and all, such as practice problem areas rather than the piece in its entirety over and over. So-called "garage bands" tend to run through songs over and over, start to finish. it might be fun for them, but there are more efficient methods than that. There should be pre-practice, practice, and post-practice. These are going to be showing up this year in a book which has been 16 years in the making, but based on a few hundred years of my and others professional experience.

HOW IS YOUR MUSICIANSHIP?

How is your musicianship? Can you write down what you hear? Can you identify scales: major, natural minor, harmonic minor, melodic minor? Do you recognize modes? The ionian mode is a major scale. The aeolian mode is the natural minor scale. Here is an example of those two: the C major scale is an ionian mode. Starting on A and playing each white key in succession is the natural minor scale in A. C major has all white keys; A minor (natural minor) has all white keys. This is why we say that A minor is the relative minor of C major AND it is related for the above stated reason os sharing the same exact notes, but in a different order AND it is the Aeolian mode of C major (as an aside). Get to a piano and check this out, if you haven't already. What else can we deduce from this? If a major scale is 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8, the natural minor is 6-7-8-1-2-3-4-5-6 (relative minor), then this will work in all keys. What else? Are you a songwriter, looking for contrast in the chorus, following the verse? You might try shifting from major, if in a major key, to its relative minor going from the verse to the chorus OR if you are in a minor key, try the relative minor when you get to the chorus. There are also other modal relationships, which may be explored. Other devices, so to speak, are using common tones of chords as pivotal points to change keys. An example might be that if you are in the key of C major, you can go to an A flat chord, such as is in an Adele song. What else? You can use the V chord of the key a half step higher from your original key to make a smoother modulation, avoiding the possibility of parallel 5ths. The reason that it works so well is that the 1 of the original key is common to the 3 of the V chord, so we have the built in sense of familiarity as we ascend to our new key, a half step up from the original. I have used this in arranging and in writing and also can hear chords and even the voicings of them. Why? Playing, writing, transcribing, ear training, and arranging. Musicianship is extremely important for the highest levels of singing for many reasons. Singing is a hearing art. The less you can hear and identify, the less professional you will be. Guaranteed. You may not know the name of what you hear, BUT if you cannot identify, differentiate, and relate to the music you sing with, you will sound like many of the TV competition show singers who sound like they have an allergy to pitch and have trouble being in tune.

MUSIC BUSINESS IS BUSINESS

Many professional creative people, whom I have known in music, have ignored, or had an aversion to business. I have seen some fabulous talents, who should have "made it big" but did not. I've seen headliners in Las Vegas shows, world class level musicians, and fabulously talented amateur singers who never made it past the little last step to achieve greatness in the music business. Bob Proctor calls this difference "the razor's edge". Now, what does that mean? He meant that the difference between success and failure can be as thin as the sharp blade of a razor. It has always been a huge disappointment to me to see people who had so much to offer fall short of their potential. There are multi-factorial reasons for the failures I have witnessed: Some did not want it. Some lacked in imagination regarding their art. Some avoided getting help from others with vocal or musical technique. Some had little or no work ethic. Some had no sense of personal ethics. Some had no balance in life, to the extent that they lost focus or couldn't maintain focus. Some had problems with personal relationships. Some had problems with communication with others. Some had bad business sense. Some refused to learn what was needed to succeed. The good news is that all of these things are rectifiable. Where are you lacking? It is easy to compromise and lie to yourself and say that you don't have what it takes. It is harder to do a little introspective look and use the list above to discover your strengths and weaknesses. Then you have to decide, do I strengthen my strengths or work on my weaknesses. You also may need to find people who love doing the things which you are not good at, and delegate that work to them. I have had CPAs for over 20 years. I have access to many professional musicians, who play instruments that I do not. I am talking about world class musicians. Can I play drums, guitar, piano, bass, violin, trombone, trumpet, banjo, and various percussion instruments, including a vibraphone? Sure I can, but I know my strengths and weaknesses in those and would hire others to do most of those jobs. The three main reasons for failure among talented musicians are: 1) Ignorance of which they are unaware 2) Bad work ethic and 3) Little or no business acumen. You cannot be great at everything. You can be great at many things. Make a list and maybe you will give yourself a better chance. If you think you have nothing unique to offer the world, you are probably lying to yourself. If "friends" and family are telling you that you are wasting your time, while at the same time professionals are telling you about your virtues and potential, wake up to reality and make a decision. Are you worthy of success in the music business? Are you living to please others to the exclusion of yourself? It is your job as a creative person to create. It is your job to hone your "craft". It is your job to realize your potential. Let business people handle business and let managers manage. Let the musicians, writers, arrangers do their jobs. Focus on your art and if you are so fortunate as to find someone who truly believes in you, you have a shot at it. Or you have the option to pretend you are not good enough or unique enough or that the world doesn't need your voice. You can always go teach your language in a third world country instead of doing music. However, you will never escape knowing that something else could have been BUT you, yes you, let it slip away.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Fresh start. Clean slate. New Beginning. These are the things that we pretend are true as we commence our new year. Nothing really changes. It is a demarcation in an eternal now and that is all that it is but we do not look at it that way. Somehow we forgive ourselves for the shortcomings of the past year. We reflect back on the things which were not what we planned. We look at the things, which are in our minds, the failings and the transgressions against ourselves and others and we repent and forgive ourselves. Then we move on. We make decisions about how it should be and about how it is going to be. We call those things resolutions. We resolve to do this or that or to be different in some way. The truth is that the same ruts we have been in lie before us but we want to try to get out of those ruts, those patterns, once and for all. There is a way to do this. You first have to see the ruts and recognize them as being undesirable habits which are not getting you to your desired destination. We don't want to give them omnipotent power and they don't have that because we, ourselves, made those ruts. Therefore, despite their width, depth and breadth, we have the strength to get out of them. It takes some time to stay out of them and to not slip back in. Picture an old dirt road, muddy from the rain in the hills of West Virginia. Cars before us have passed, leaving deep grooves in the road. It is hard to turn the steering wheel and get out of those ruts. But not impossible. If you're good, you can ride the ridges and stay out of the ruts, but you have to constantly watch as you steer clear of them. Here's the thing. They don't fill themselves in from the next rain. Somebody has to do something about them with some heavy equipment and maybe even some gravel. So, how do we get out of our self-reated ruts? You might try this plan: Make a decision. "To decide means to cut off from all other possibilities." Notice how decision looks similar to incision, a cut. (credit to Tony Robbins) If we can literally cut ourselves off from all other possibilities in thought, word and deed and maintain that, that will be enough to get the job done. It may be an uphill battle, though and we may backslide. What do we do about that? First we have to know that we went off course, like a ship or plane does while traveling. We need some instruments to measure if we are on or off course. We need to instantly realize we veered off and, as quickly as possible, make adjustments to get back on course. We also have to have made the decision to persist, or we won't notice or won't care about little minor diversions. Figure out your guidance system and keep your eyes on your road and your hands on your steering wheel. Hey! You do this when you drive so just do it with your life. Habits may get in the way and it will take a month or more to change those habits. They may try to come back later but your guidance system can help with that. Addictions are another story. These are not necessarily drug addictions. Games, both electronic and games we play, consciously or unconsciously, may pull us off course. Addictions are deeper and harder ruts. They may take more effort, attention, or tools to overcome. There are two things you need to pull you through the obstacles you will encounter. One is a goal that means more to you than anything. You'll have to make it such that you maintain or create a balance in your life and not only you, but also everyone who means something to you will benefit from the attainment of that goal. It is like getting to the destination of a fabulous vacation. But this is not a vacation. It is your new life, the one you have been starving for forever, it seems. The other thing is your purpose. Why are you dedicating your life to your goal? Some of the ideas stated here are attributable to having read or heard the lectures of Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, the partners who are behind the Chicken Soup For The Soul books. This is from Mark (I have met him and shook his hand. He IS real!): Write down 100 reasons WHY you must achieve your goal. 100 Reasons. Those will be your fuel, your guidance system, and your power to keep you on your "straight and narrow". WHY? Whose life are you living? Who are you making wealthy? Anybody? Maybe it is your turn to be wealthy, healthy, wise, and happy. You want to make a resolution, to resolve to do something OR do you want to do it? Decide, write down your 100 reasons, get into motion, and don't beat yourself up if you stumble or fall. Don't blame others and don't make excuses. This is how you can really give yourself a chance at success. Will it happen? Will you persist long enough to get there or will you turn around at the first red light and go back home to those familiar comfortable ruts? The wheel is in your hand. The ball is in your court. Run the race. Play the game and if you are real smart, you will enjoy the process. It's not luck. Build your strength and your skill. Learn what you don't already know. There are potholes in the road sometimes but you can steer clear. Your new life is waiting for you. Go get it.

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS

If you haven't made a goal (or goals) for this year, and you like to do the "New Years Resolutions" thing, today is your last day in 2012. I have a few suggestions. I'll be following these, too, so we can keep in touch and share our successes and our challenges along the way. Michelangelo had an interesting perspective, which is in this quote: “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.” ― Michelangelo Buonarroti How many of us have achieved our mark that we knew was beneath our talents and abilities? This quote will mean much more when you read about the life of Michelangelo and how he pursued his artistic creations. He was prolific. Another quote: “If you knew how much work went into it, you wouldn't call it genius. ” ― Michelangelo Buonarroti This one shows humility and the reality of what it takes to do the highest level of your abilities. People who are doing their art with a backup plan for life will do the backup plan, almost without exception. There are exceptions, though. Some people are able to do "both", are able to have "both" but make no mistake; they did not neglect the arduous road to great art. The singers who do not put in the time with musicianship, vocal technique, and artistic imagination have set their aims too low. It doesn't sound like genius because too little time and too little effort went into the preparation. There have been many variations on the idea of a person reaping what he/she sows. Michelangelo's was this: “AS YOU GIVE OUT SO SHALL YOU RECEIVE.” ― Michelangelo Buonarroti For those of us who have lost our edge by being overly critical, there is this advice: “Critique by creating.” ― Michelangelo Buonarroti How good can you get? If you hear the faults in others, that does not make you a genius. It makes you a critic. It does not make you an artist. If you look for the bad, you WILL find it. Congratulations! You have moved over to the dark side, if you mostly focus on the bad. If you want to be a true artist, use the things you do not like in others to motivate you to try harder and to be better, not to make others "wrong", but rather to move yourself to a higher and higher standard of artistic creation. There is a story of a young coed who met Albert Einstein for the first time. She asked him what he did. He answered, "I am a student of Physics." She replied, "Oh, I took that last semester." Einstein profoundly understood that he did not know it all to the extent that he recognized that learning is a lifelong endeavor and that no one can know everything. Without putting himself down, he called himself a student. I am also still constantly learning and studying music, singing, the medical side of the voice and still consult with physicians to learn more and to verify my own theories having to do with the safe utilization of the voice and the elimination of myths and other false premises. My last Michelangelo quote: “I am still learning.” ― Michelangelo Buonarroti With all the work completed at the time of that quote, he was so brilliant as to state that he was still learning. Keep his wisdom in mind as you make your New Years Resolutions and may it be the best year yet.

80/20 RULE

The reality of being a vocal coach is that it is like a so-called "80/20 rule". Have you heard about that? 80% of something gives you 20% of something else. I've heard that 20% of your efforts give you 80% of your income. I've heard that applied to a few things. We'll get back to that 80/20 rule in a second. There are vocal coaches who use the full names of their students in their advertising and in their books. They SHOULD be very proud to have had the honor and privilege of working with those people. A successful "track record" is wonderful; it can't be denied. I am not disputing it. I will say this, though. Some people think that all the students of a vocal coach are GREAT because of the vocal coach. The reality is that the majority of the students of the famous coaches were successful and famous BEFORE they studied with the famous vocal coach. They (99% or more) had singing careers dispute problems and issues with their voices. I found the best brass teacher whom I think was the best in the world. I traveled over 500 miles to get to this man. It was worth the drive. I had already been playing professionally. I had some playing issues not unlike issues singers have. I was a pro, but some things were not easy. I had excellent range and excellent endurance but had some problems with extending my range and with some of the finer points of playing. I knew this but the audiences never knew it. He and I spent a few Saturdays together through the years and on the last one he showed me exactly how he analyzed an embouchure. We shared a pizza that day. On the first lesson I ever had with him he told me that my progress was going to be the result of practicing what he had taught me. He said that 80% of the results would come from my doing the work and 20% would be from what he had taught me. There is that 80/20 rule again. The point here is that he did NOT take all the credit. He knew he was an expert. His books are used to this day (probably by people who do not fully understand then) but even though he was pedantic and even dogmatic, he gave credit to the musician. I had a younger student ask me about a famous vocal coach the other day. She asked where he was located. I will say that she was not making the progress that she should make but I will also say that she was practicing 15 minutes or less a day and inconsistently at that. Her progress has been slower than I would like, but she still has progressed. The famous vocal coach would tell her that she needs to practice 3 or 4 hours a day. I have heard him say that. For a high school kid, up to the eyeballs in honor classes, there are not 3 or 4 hours a day to spare on practicing. She has the talent to be a professional but not the time and certainly not the passion. It definitely is a combination of hard work and long hours BUT on practicing the right things the right way at the right times and also knowing HOW to practice, which will produce the fastest and the biggest results. The credit really goes to the singers who "take the ball and run with it", ignoring the other players in the field (obstacles) long enough to get to the goal. Here is an interesting video of a singer/trombonist in famous group called the Four Freshman. The singer/trombonist is the late Bob Flanigan. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETo_XFEGl24

HOW TO APPROACH A NEW SONG

HOW to approach a new song is always an issue. Do I stay as close as possible to the original singer? Do I change it a little, a lot, or in between? There are many things to consider, including the audience. I'm not talking about "selling out" or "doing karaoke". Remember the thing called musical maturity? You don't scat sing to a country song, you don't sing classical like it is country, and you also do not sing 50 riffs in every line of a song to show off your prowess in velocity, accuracy, and "creativity". I once saw a performance by two of the most famous female singers ever and it was more like a fight than a duet. It was a battle of riffs and lost musicality, emotion, and I was embarrassed for them. They seemed like enemies instead of friends. The most stupid thing is that there is no real competition among people who are great. There is plenty of room for them all. The point is, know how to use the spices, when you cook, and don't overwhelm the dish. You also have to find the balance between emotion and musicianship. There can be manic emotion, over the top and to the moon to the point that pitch goes off, the voice cracks, tears flow, blood spurts out of the eyes, veins pop...you get the idea. Too much feeling can interfere with control to the point that a song can look like a psychotic break to the audience. Volume can be used, meaning dynamic contrast, but are you singing or in a hog calling contest in West Virginia (where I grew up)? If your audience is conservative and expecting "pop music" and you give them anything else, do not expect much from them. If they are into R&B and you sing country, the may walk out. I played a gig once with my wife on a cruise and there were two audiences, depending on the song we were doing. The dance floor would literally empty and refill if we did popular on one song and R&B on the next. It was almost funny. You cannot please everyone. So what does that leave you? Regardless of everything else, you must have artistic integrity. You do your absolute best no matter what. In other words, you always do your absolute best no matter what. You have to have this standard because everything else will make you less of an artist. You will not love yourself if you: do less than your best, hold back, be too overly "careful", do not connect to the song or the audience. It is your job to connect to the song. What does the message say? Who could benefit from the message? Are you trying to make people feel better or feel worse? If it is worse, get out of the business. There is this thing which most songs have in some form or fashion-the concept of something having to do with love. Even the angry ones are expressing that love did not work. Everyone in their right mind wants it to "work". Artist integrity is about a quality and a responsibility. That is how to prepare a song. Dig down deep as you can into yourself and bring out true feelings and be honest with your audience. They know when you are lying to them. If you are paid for your performance, you would be lying and stealing from them at the same time. If this sounds intense, it is. Who wants to hear a wimpy singer? Show intense skill and emotion and have the sense to do it in a way which reaches and audience and will have the impact that greatness always has.

CRITICISM

One of the easiest things to do is to criticize singing. If you have perfect pitch, know style, form, dynamics, interpretation, emotion, and acting, you may well have a lot to say about a singer's performance. There is also a thing which I call "musical maturity". What is that? It is having the judgement to know to not show weakness, to not do something stylistically out of the "character" of the style, to not go for the note which will be flat or splat or break or to do something else which detracts from the art. My wife, one of my best students, knows I hear EVERYTHING and is sometimes a little nervous doing a new song in front of me the first time. Still, I am not harsh with criticism. When I hear things which are "off", I know why they are off. I also know what to do to improve them whether they are: transition issues, vowel distortion, breathing issues, melodic interval problems, lack of perception of harmonic structure, misunderstood lyrics, lack of connection to the song or to an audience, trying to "hide" and to sing at the same time, articulation issues regarding consonants, not practicing enough, not knowing HOW to practice, having illness (physical or mental), and much more, too numerous on a post on Facebook. Some people have no idea precisely what they are hearing and know far too little to analyze it. Most people DO have the ability to notice if something is bad or good, so be good for goodness sake! Be careful about criticism. Giving it and getting it can be harmful to your artistic health. NON-artists' criticism is sometimes very destructive. If something can be used to aid in improvement, use it. If not, DUMP IT!

INFLUENCES IN YOUR LIFE

Happy Birthday to one of the most complex, talented geniuses I've ever known. He did nearly everything at a professional level. Professional at golf, pocket billiards, baseball, engineering, architecture, piano, and the list could go on and on. I haven't met anyone else like him. Was he perfect? No one is. He was passionate about enjoying life, was intense at times, had been the gunnery officer on a naval destroyer, ranking second to only the captain of the ship. He supervised many projects, which he designed. The construction costs of those, we added up once and it was over half a billion dollars (60s, 70s, and 80s dollars). He left his mark on the world in buildings at universities, hospitals, schools, industrial projects (including a 60 million dollar steel mill), and was licensed in at least 7 states. He sat in with Duke Ellington's band, twice. First time was on drums at the age of 21 in NYC. The second time was on piano at the West Virginia Governor's Inauguration Ball. He would have been 87 today on 12-12-12. His favorite singer would have been 97 today, Frank Sinatra. My father taught me chords on piano, architecture, and engineering. He also taught me an appreciation of 40s music. I got to play lead trombone in big bands in Las Vegas with some people from those famous bands. Wouldn't have happened, had I not had the influence. He pushed me harder than I needed to be pushed, but I think he never full realized his own strength. He took his genius for granted. Many do. Who are your influences? You might look for successful ones. Acknowledge them by learning and doing. Appreciating them and thanking them won't change your life. Being grateful is a great thing. Demonstrate your knowledge and your skill. Doing something effective; well, that's another story!

STUDENT TYPES

There are several types of students: ELEPHANT-gives you a twig to try to push it. ROPE - and you are supposed to PUSH it up a hill. NO ROOM - Do not enter the dojo with your cup full, there will be no room for anything new. SHIRLEY - This is like an actress who has been into EVERYTHING and this type gets advice from EVERYWHERE and most of it is either wrong or useless. CAKE BAKER - Learn the secret in one lesson and go after it! Do NOT try this with flying lessons! PARTICIPANT - this type tries a little, but not enough to ever be excellent. ALL IN - This one learns, applies, works, has self discipline, a powerful goal, awesome purposes, strong work ethic, and trusts in and has faith in the process. I've seen one of those get a recording contract and tour. Another one sang in the Broadway play touring group of The Producers. The odd thing is that the differences look huge, between those who do and those who won't, but it is amazing that a little more time and a little more effort than average can often lead to miraculous results.

A few years back, a couple of guys had other people sing for them while they lip synched (moved their mouths but were not actually singing). This became a huge scandal They dropped out of the music business even though a valiant effort was made to save them. The most famous vocal coach, Seth Riggs, worked with them and made public statements that they were, in fact, able to sing. This was too little, too late. Perhaps they could sing, but were they good? The whole mess was considered a fraud, a sham. TODAY Today, when you hear an album of a singer, they may have put a thousand hours into the vocals. The vocals have been altered electronically in many cases. Having done some recording engineering, I have experience with pitch correction and a nearly infinite number of possible tweaks, which can be done to enhance the sound of vocals. Many, if not all, of the same effects are available for live performance. What are we actually hearing in performances? If the singer sounded great on the original CD or download and then he/she sounds worse or terrible, is that less of a sham than Milli Vanilli? If it is less, not by much. YEARS AGO Years ago a singer had to have developed the art to a level of near perfection and without the aid of equipment beyond the singer. There are still some great singers around, but in the past, there was no assisting an amateur level singer into sounding as if the time was put in to be great.

Change your voice, change your life!   Ask any true artist if this is true.

Whether a singer, actor, speaker, a business person, a doctor, a lawyer, it doesn't matter.

It is part of a first impression.  It is THE impression in the long run.  Your voice is your expression of yourself, your being, your soul.  What you say or sing and how you sound are an extension of YOU!  

Does your voice need an adjustment, an overhaul, or exercise?

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LISTEN TO THE MUSIC!

I was asked, "Why is it that many of the general populus can't tell the difference between trained musicians and mediocure amateurs?"

 My Answer: I think that it depends on background, experience and exposure to higher level professionals over a long time. Part of it is as simple as "To what or to whom are you listening, as far as musicians or bands or singers. The standards are higher in L.A., New York, Nashville, and Las Vegas, to such an extent that it is typically assumed that anything short of perfection is unacceptable. Most non-musicians or non-singers have a deficit in recognizing excellence and may be somewhere in a range of being between being atonal and unexposed to excellence of musicianship.

I saw a book that may have belonged to Teresa P., which was a "music appreciation" book, named Musica Mente (in Italian). It was used at about the 10th grade level there (in Italy). The music theory portion went beyond the level of college freshman music theory in most American music schools. It is a stark contrast. On the other hand, in Hungary, for example, the level of commonplace musicianship far exceeds that of the U.S. It is interesting to note that Budapest has an enormous amount of music venues, far outnumbering most of other European countries. The short answer: most people are unaware of what they are hearing and cannot identify the various components, let alone have any vocabulary of the nomenclature regarding it. I call that being "musically illiterate". 

So... One of the first steps in being a great singer or musician is to listen to music. How hard is that?! Not too hard at all. However, you want to be familiar not only with music from the beginning of recorded time, but also with music from all styles and all cultures. This literally gives depth and breadth to a musician's "ear". Ideally, listening coupled with analysis and understanding will result in even better musicianship.

 There are classes in "music appreciation" in high school and in college. I took them both and found them fascinating. They do not go into the depth of "music literature" classes, but they are an excellent foundation for listening. Music History is another exciting subject to gain a solid chronological understanding of the development of music all the way up to today. There are courses in some colleges, which are actually on The History of Rock Music. When a person says, "I know what I like", and it is based solely on personal preference, that person may not know the difference between Bach and Haydn or Beethoven and Mozart.

I can recognize the differences between The Beatles and Three Dog Night. I also know that a three dog night is a night so cold that it takes three, not two, dogs to keep you warm and also to where that might refer. Some people might have trouble differentiating between the Beatles and Dave Clark Five or might wonder if Dave Clark was related to Dick Clark. How about Little Richard or Jerry Lee Lewis? What are the similarities and differences between them? What are some similarities between Frank Zappa and Yes? How about Kansas?

 Maroon 5, Adele, and Pink are on the charts this week. It might be a good idea to discover their influences and also to listen to their music, if you are unfamiliar with them. Then, what about jazz? Many styles and many artists are worth exploring. Country? Take a listen to "I Know You Won't" by Carrie Underwood. If you have an aversion to Country Music, set it aside far enough to analyze the chord structure of the song. Analyze the song structure. Does it have a chorus, a verse, and a bridge? When I heard it, I could play the chords on a piano after about two to five minutes of experimenting with it. I could write them out or play them onto a sequencer or into a recording device. Why? YEARS of listening result in understanding and recognizing precisely what I am hearing. It is not magic. Others can do this. Is it common? That is another topic of discussion.

 When I listen to music, I can focus on one instrument or all of them. I can write every note I hear. I can transcribe a solo or a band. The largest was a big band. It was tedious. It wasn't easy. It was time consuming. But doing that makes you listen and you hear more and you hear more accurately. I can analyze a singer and can tell you if there are issues, such as: pitch, tone, timbre, register transitions, breathing, and even emotional things-intentional or otherwise.

 There is a range from absolute ignorance to absolutely perfect duplication and execution of a song, including, but not limited to: style, musicality, dynamics, phrasing, musicianship, and artistic interpretation. Artistic interpretation can be enhanced or diminished by all the other categories of skill and understanding already mentioned. Just as there are levels of literacy in language, there are also levels of literacy in music. Everyone is in a different "place" with that. Barring a lack of intelligence or brain damage (this is NOT a joke!), anyone can improve musical literacy. "Listen To The Music" - The Doobie Brothers

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Why Study? Why Practice?

Learning and practicing in the arts are factors which are undeniably necessary, but although there is always room for improvement, it is not as overwhelming as it may appear. Is there an infinite amount of knowledge one must have to be a professional singer? Is it a never-ending quest for perfection or greatness? If that were true, there would not be any professional recording artists. A real artist will not remain on a plateau for long. Most recording artists, who still aspire to continual improvement, will study or practice things to improve all aspects of performance and business. The singers who really stand out are consummate performers: Usher, Harry Connick, Jr., Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Lady Gaga, just to name a few. Some are living, some are not, but they are/were multifaceted entertainers. They are not only singers, they have acted in motion pictures, Broadway, some have also been great, good, or adequate dancers. They have not stood on a stage wondering things like: what do I do with my hands, my arms, how do I move, how do I connect with the audience, can I connect with the audience, are they going to like me, are they going to not like me? The list could go on. Have Usher, Madonna, Frank Sinatra, and Michael Jackson worked on dancing? We can be impressed with the results of instruction and practice, as evidenced by performances. The ones with the best teachers and the discipline of mastering the craft never worried about embarrassing themselves. They worked to raise the skill level to that of a professional. Some people may say that this or that performer is a “natural”. True, the performer may be awesomely talented, but no one is born singing, dancing, acting, or performing. Then there is the “charisma factor”. What makes a person likeable, interesting, or fascinating? How can that be learned? It can be practiced and it can be learned, but if it isn't genuine, it will be met with rejection or revulsion. I have some theories regarding this and they seem to be proven by the results which the superstars have experienced.

Singing Star

The formula for being a singing star is... It has to be easy, right? The great ones make it seem like it is effortless. How to get from effort-full to effortless? Maybe have 2 or three voice lessons, 2 or 3 acting lessons and a couple of dance classes. That should do it! Oh! Throw in an acting class. Yes, I AM being sarcastic! If most people knew what most singing stars have gone through with classes or school, they wouldn't ever start. The great ones have years of practice, lessons, experience and more. What is the "more"? Talent and objectivity are two things. Most singers evaluate themselves as either being way better than they are or way worse than they are. Both viewpoints cause more problems than you can shake a pair of vocal cords at. Somebody invented the word "pitchy", supposedly meaning that the singer is out of tune, not on the note, either sharp or flat, or all of the aforementioned. Where does that lead one, to actually do something about it? It depends on what the real problem is. Is it intervals, not having an adequately developed melodic and/or harmonic "ear"? If a person is "pitchy", he/she doesn't know why or the singing wouldn't be so hard to listen two. Some people sing well and never had a lesson. Why is that? Strong natural ability and the ability to: hear, duplicate, assimilate, and emulate with a high degree of accuracy musically, stylistically, and emotionally. Those people are very very rare. Oftentimes they have additionally had instrumental training and experience, however.

How To Get Off The Crack

The chance of accidentally finding how to get your voice to stop cracking is about equal to throwing all the pieces of a watch up in the air and expecting them to come down in the precise place and in the precise order to have functioning watch.

I wish this weren't true. I really struggled and worked at getting my voice to not crack. I practiced and practiced but the crack did not go away. Why? I was practicing the wrong way. I did vocal exercises that did not help. In fact, some of them made me hoarse and they were actually great vocal exercises but I did not know how to do them properly. So, I was getting nowhere in a hurry. I even bought a book by one of the top vocal coaches in the USA, but until I was shown how to use the book, I just kept failing and flailing away getting more and more frustrated.

There is a way to get your voice to not crack. The question is not if it works. The variable is how long it takes because every singer is different from each other. We have differing levels of ability, intelligence, and we learn things at varying rates. IQs prove that. You probably already know that IQs have been being measured for quite some time.

Habits are a huge problem for voices which crack. The crack is actually a habit. Another factor is mindset or mental attitude. WHAT? It's all in my head?! Not entirely, thank goodness! But the change, like any other, starts there. It will take physical control to start eradicating the crack and it will be in conjunction with using the mind to gain muscle coordination to not crack. I have actually noticed that good athletes progress faster than non-athletes in this.

How To Prepare For A Singing Competition

1. Get a vocal coach who knows the voice, musicianship, style, acting, and dance. OR
2. Get a vocal coach who knows the voice, musicianship, style, and acting. Study dance at a professional studio. OR
3.Get a vocal coach who knows the voice, musicianship, and style. Go to acting classes and dance classes.
4. Give yourself 6 to 12 months to prepare.

Taking one voice lesson is about as smart as taking one flying lesson and then piloting a plane. Good luck! Someone said that when preparation meets opportunity, that is what luck really is.

BAD MUSICIANSHIP = BAD SINGING It doesn't matter if you know the terminology nearly as much as it matters: if you can hear melody and harmony accurately, if you can hear rhythm accurately, if you can understand and assimilate music accurately.

Most singers do not want to become a national joke. Study and preparation can help avoid bad consequences.

TV Singing Competition - The Fallout

This will be short, but not so sweet. There are casualties from the barbaric TV singing competition shows. The legal teams of such shows have done a fantastic job of protecting the TV producers, judges, and all affiliated workers from the competitors and their families. It is easily justified because "artists and singers are soooooooo crazy! They might retaliate!"

WAIT A MINUTE!
To those who have "uneducated musical ears": There are singers who never arrive at the actual show and are not selected to participate. These people are sometimes spiritually, emotionally, and artistically crushed (sometimes destroyed) in the process. (Thank goodness the lawyers protected the show!!!!!) We could say that the fragile singers should have been stronger. The singers should have paid attention to the documents and contracts they signed and should have got a clue then. We could say all kinds of things because after all, it is just music; it is just singing. When a nasty rat of a producer says, "There is nothing unique about you," He is showing that his intelligence is lacking, his manners are absent, he is not aware enough to notice differences. Hell! He probably has trouble getting his shoes on, not knowing his right foot from his left. The same producer says, "You sound like you are a Christina Aguilera wannabe." Another potential career goes down the toilet. Who's fault is it? Why do you think those contracts were so skillfully prepared? People get hurt. The world is getting colder. People are growing apart. Political correctness is an agenda to simply "divide and conquer." But it justifies keeping distant and NOT caring. Why do French people kiss 3 times when they greet one another? Because in America, that would get you sued.

Compassion is no longer in fashion.
People's value systems are clashin'.
They take hopes and dreams and they're dashin'.
People are just numbers, so it's fine to smash them.

Yeah, the last was a "near rhyme".

You want to see some honest pain? Look at the face of Jennifer Lopez at times. There are critics and there are artists. Mingle criticism with art and you will always get conflict-some inner and some outer. Conflict=plot=interest=audience=commercials=sales=who gives a crap if people are hurt or destroyed because WE ARE MAKING MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll be right back after this word from my sponsor...

TV Singing Competitions

TV Singing Competitions - Looks like these things are springing up like weeds in a garden! How many are there now? One thing is consistent. Singers who sound bad, fair, or fairly good are suffering from the same disease: Allergy to Pitch. Sure, there are some who have no clue about rhythm or style, but the consistent thing, the common thread running through the bad ones is usually BAD musicianship. The producers of the shows think this is hilarious stuff! What could be more funny than people attempting to create an artistic performance making complete fools of themselves? The same people who think that is funny probably also laugh when people fall and hurt themselves.

WHY? Why do these shows keep happening? It could be the "Rocky Syndrome". Unknown person rises beyond him/herself, finding fame and fortune. Only thing is, how many people actually DO get hurt along the way? As long as people will pay and watch, the sponsors are happy. Makes you wonder how much it cost to watch people get eaten by lions, or to watch people fight to the death. What an extreme analogy! How dare I! Why should I care? It is entertainment. Is it art? Have our standards of art and manners dropped? Take a quick guess. BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ Time's up.

One day there may be a singing competition where the audience votes by opening trap doors under the singers. Seems like there was a commercial like that. Hmmmmmmm Foretelling the future?

What IS musicianship? I wrote about it some time ago and will be releasing more information about musicianship soon. If you cannot define it, how could you possibly have a profound understanding of it?

Not to banter about semantics, but most people have absolutely NO idea what the word "Algebra" means. How many of us took that in school? If you were confused about Algebra, maybe it would have helped to have understood what the heck you were studying. Anyone can memorize and maybe get a good grade OR cheat in class. Where will that get someone? Turn on the TV singing competition shows. OR NOT. Some people like a ballet while others prefer an old fashioned circus. They do not look alike. They do not smell alike!

Several singing competition winners were allergic to singing in tune. Think not? Longevity will usually accompany skill, artistry, and great musicianship. That's it. Sermon on musicianship. Time to study. Time to pray things get better.

Opposites...

Good.
Bad.

Abundance.
Scarcity.

Heavy.
Light.

Weight.
Weightlessness.

Tall.
Short.

Loss.
Gain.

Fat.
Thin.

Beautiful.
Ugly.

Dichotomies (or opposites) form “either/or” thinking and “either/or” value systems and habits. There are many shades of grey between black and white. There may be infinite shades of grey, but we may not be so perceptive as to be able to recognize and to differentiate between them all. Yet, they do exist. Sure, it’s simple to keep it simple but is it the way to arrive at a person’s “best”, to think in such narrow terms?

Everything is not equal. Everything is not opposite, either. The most brilliant minds know this as an obvious truth. The most brilliant singers, artists, mathematicians, engineers, and scientists also are the most aware of the multitudinous grey areas. It is the subtle difference between the “good” and the “great” that the “good” do not notice.

Happy.
Sad.
These are feelings, or emotions. Are there only two?

Angry.
Content.
Are they opposite? Are angry and calm opposites? If put on a thermometer of “anger”, is anger at boiling and calm at freezing? There are degrees and decimals of degrees between water freezing and water boiling on our ‘water’ thermometers. Both Celsius and Fahrenheit are “water state based” temperature measurement systems.

If you are stuck, consciously or subconsciously, in the style of right versus wrong thinking, you are severely limiting your success at everything. Your awareness is barely functioning. You are seeing one, when there are a thousand (or more). Your value systems will also be set up based on opposites and without degrees. The effect of this thinking (or the cause of it) is an illness called “being a perfectionist”.

A perfectionist usually sees things as perfect or wrong. Perfect or imperfect do not enter into the equation. “Imperfect” implies that something may be good or right but a portion is not. A perfectionist does not see or hear or feel things this way. Since in reality there are degrees or increments of things, it is almost beyond the comprehension of a true perfectionist that anything can exist between right and wrong.

In nature, there are degrees of things. There are incremental stages of development. These things have been observed and recorded and verified. In some religions, there is only right and wrong, good and bad, sin and non-sin. When these value systems are in the makeup of a person’s thinking on a subconscious level, very imperfect consequences can result. One consequence is that of being a malcontent-nothing is ever good or right. Another consequence is being hyper critical of self or others. Being a hyper critical person will have an insidious effect, in that the hyper critical person has an immense amount of trouble achieving any goal which requires incremental change. Incremental change is essential to learning and to advancing in art, in science, and in life.

If a person is a perfectionist, he/she will be mostly blind to incremental progress and will therefore discount it as if nothing has improved. God help the perfectionist, if the perfectionist will not help him/herself.

One Lesson

There are people who, in the past, have shown up for singing lessons, took one lesson, never to return. The good news is that this is rare. The bad news is that those same people would not go to an airstrip for flying lessons, attend one class and then expect to fly a plane without getting killed. Singing looks easy and so does flying, when the person “in charge” is very, very good at it. It is silly to think that a highly developed skill is gained through just a little bit of knowledge. You wouldn’t go to a doctor, who spent one day in medical school, to get your broken bone treated.

Anything you have learned in school was learned by consistent attendance, and repetition of studying and (hopefully) applying what you studied. The process is: you get information, you do something intelligent with it, and you repeat this until you have a profound understanding and the ability to utilize your newfound knowledge and skill. Or! You study and memorize, make your “A” and know little or nothing about the subject a month or a year later. What was the purpose of putting in the time, if you gain nothing in the long run?

So, above, we have three scenarios: 1) A person expects to learn a vast subject in a day. 2) A person consistently learns and applies and gets good at something. 3) A person treats life like “school” and goes for the grade but never is fully involved with the subject. The results of each approach should be obvious but evidently are either not obvious or are not important to the student. One of the three approaches results in success. The other two are a waste of everyone’s time.

Practice is where the magic lives. Practice is the time and place where you do the things to cause improvement to take place. If you have the proper tools to get the job done, you exponentially increase your chances of success. Conversely, if you have the wrong tools, you will make no progress, or worse still, you will get worse. I had a student a few years ago who went to a major university in Massachusetts and in a month lost an entire octave of her singing range. Her teacher, (who had a doctorate degree in voice) through tears, told her that she did not know how to fix her and that she was so sorry for having messed her up. At this point she started studying with me over the phone and in a month had all of her range back. You can truly get worse by practicing incorrectly or by practicing the wrong things.

To Be At The Top Of Your Game...

To be at "the top of your game" as a professional singer or musician takes more time than most people would ever guess. You do hit some plateaus along the way. They can feel like stagnation, like you are stuck. Like everything else, how you look at things is vital. When you hit a plateau, it is very likely than you will never get worse than you are on that day. You have reached a level that can be maintained without nearly as much effort as the effort it took to get to that level.


Spending a total of 3 hours a day is common, yet you have to build up to that, if you are not at that level of practicing. Between 3 and 6 hours a day is not uncommon among people who are professional or are heading in that direction. If that sounds outrageous, you can learn to bake a cake in an hour or so and make an edible cake. However, learning to bake a cake is not like learning to be a great singer or musician, because "knowing" and "doing" are not the same thing. You can know how to do something but you have to work on it for many many hours over a period of months and years to achieve greatness in the arts. It is true that in the culinary arts that hours are involved and many great chefs have spent more time in the kitchen than you would in several lifetimes. Practice (or the "doing" of it) is usually done alone and the audience doesn't ever see it, nor would they find it as interesting as the performance.

I have heard that some of the great singers spent 20 hours in the studio on just one song. Multiply that by 12 or 14 for a CD. How much time was spent in individual practice outside of the studio? How much was spent prior to ever arriving at that stage? Most professionals focus on the results of their practice rather than thinking how awful it was to use up all that time. Hell, they could have been watching TV instead, right?

The pleasure derived from being a professional singer is almost infinitely more rewarding than watching even the best that television has to offer, but no one knows this better than a professional singer. The same goes for writing and arranging music; it is hard to put into words the amount of fulfillment and gratification one gets from making music. Is the price paid worth the effort made? Ask anyone who has "made it".

Do you want the reward without paying the dues, so to speak? If so, don't expect anymore back than what you have given. That's the reality of it.

But wait, there's more. Great performers have also spent time in dance class, acting class, and/or working with a mentor or mentors, who can help with these things. To see what happens with those people who did not pay their dues, go out and see your local band who looks like one or all of them is a mannequin, or worse yet, spastic moving things trying to create charisma or stage presence but in actuality are hiding from the audience, disconnected, as if the crowd does not deserve any better. If you insult your audience, don't expect anything better than what you are giving them.

If this sounds harsh, there is nothing more harsh than the sting of failure. Plenty of "has-beens" or "never-weres" can attest to this as they blame everything and everyone, other than the fact of never having put in the time to learn and practice like the real professionals do.

The Pursuit Of Excellence

Whatever happened to the pursuit of excellence? Is excellence someone else's "job"? Many of us have become excellent fans of sports, music, art, dance, but what happened to our own goals?

What if you found out that to be a great singer or a great dancer, that it took as many hours in the day as a great olympic gymnast or skater puts in? Where would all the TV and YouTube time come from? Can you imagine working on every facet of your art and spending six to eight hours a day? Can you imagine 3 hours and 40 minutes on exercise alone, just to be the best as a dancer? Imagine it. It happens.

You get out of things what you put into them. If you want mediocrity as your result, then be mediocre with your practice. Sacrifice a big 15 to 20 minutes a day and, if you're lucky, you can maintain a healthy level of mediocrity. When you practice every other day, which is an "inconsistent approach", you will get inconsistent results. Sometimes things will work and sometimes they will not work.

It is fantasy and self-deception to expect greatness if you do less work than those who have achieved the results you love watching on TV, in concert, in sports, and other areas of life. Make a choice, if you have a passion, and decide to learn the fine art of practice and preparation. The sacrifice will be great but so will the reward.

Excuses

What happens when you find an excuse as big as your goal?

A Case For Private Study

Years ago, people learned things from other people who were masters of their crafts. If you wanted to be a blacksmith, you would find a blacksmith who was willing to teach you to do his work. In exchange for your education, you would also be his helper in the shop and do whatever he needed. At some point, you would be as good or better than the man who trained you.

Before colleges were established, people learned from others as apprentices, even in fine arts and in music. George Frederic Handel studied with various individuals, such as Zachau, the Halle Cathedral organist. He befriended other musicians and composers and studied with them. Handel also had his own music students.

Pablo Picasso, who created over 20,000 works of art, also studied with individuals. In 1897 he studied art for a short time in Madrid, then in Barcelona in 1899, where he became good friends with a group of modernist writers, poets, and artists who met at a café for several years (1880–1901.) Spending time with others of an artistic ilk apparently does have a positive influence.

Ludwig Von Beethoven studied composition with pianist and composer Christian Neefe. He later studied extensively with Joseph Haydn. He studied counterpoint with Albrecthsberger and Schenk. He learned violin from Franz Ries. Singer and teacher Johann van Beethoven, his father, taught Ludwig piano. In 1787, Beethoven's teacher Christian Neefe recommended that he take lessons from Mozart in Vienna, who was greatly impressed by Beethoven's ability and talent, and Mozarts rival, Antonio Salieri.

When Bach was 9, his parents had both died. He had to live with his older brother, J.C. Bach. It is no wonder that Johann Bach was a musician, coming from a musical family. His father was a trumpet player and a violinist. His brother, J.C. taught Johann organ, as well as the maintenance and design of organs. Bach studied privately with Dietrich Buxtehude, walking 400 kilometers (248.5 miles) to get to his teacher. Bach was renowned for his improvisational skill, which ability served him well as a composer. “I was obliged to work hard. Whoever is equally industrious will succeed just as well.” – Johann Sebastian Bach.”

Composers of yesteryear studied the works of other composers extensively. These days many amateur “writers” of music spend little or no time studying others’ works, in effort to be unique. They miss the boat. In being insular, they cut themselves off from the wealth of knowledge and skill of music theory, chord studies, part writing, composition and the result is either low-level mediocrity or hollow empty music, lacking in the various components, which were ignored. Then they blame their failings on everything except the true cause. They did not care enough to learn enough to know the difference between great music and bad music.

It is not the genre or the style which makes music good or bad. It is the lack of understanding of genre and style and the absence of profound knowledge of music that leads musicians and writers of music to failure.

Vocal Cord Surgery

Many times I have said that vocal cord surgery could be very risky, because scar tissue does not vibrate the same way as healthy normal tissue. This is also the case with the lips of brass players. My brass teacher said to never have used on you an electric needle, to close a cut on the lips, as it would cause scarring and scar tissue does not vibrate the same way as healthy tissue. Listen and watch the video all the way through. Here is the evidence from "voice doctor":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUmnqUT20I4

Online Singing Lessons

How good are online singing lessons?

The value and effectiveness of online singing lessons has everything to do with what is being taught. The reason for this is that there is very little standardization in the arts, in general. So, you might be getting a lesson that is fifty or a hundred years behind the times. All singing lessons are not the same. Shopping for singing lessons is like shopping for new and used cars. The differences are vast. You sometimes do not know what you are paying for until you run into the disappointment of having made a bad decision.

Some people say that the most important thing about singing is breathing. Some say that you “sing from your diaphragm”. Not only do they say that, they are adamant about this being the only correct way to sing, as if they are religious zealots. They sometimes get angry when you question this. They let you know that “everybody knows that.” This is simply untrue. You do not and cannot sing from your diaphragm. Physicians have known this for a long time. For over a hundred years, physicians have known the function of the diaphragm. I’ve asked several doctors about this and they all agree that the diaphragm is your “inhale muscle”, not your “exhale muscle.” Ask your own doctor next time you get a chance to visit with him or her. How much is a useless lie worth to you?

Here is a free online singing lesson: “Sing from your diaphragm!” Since this is an impossible thing to do, it is useless advice.

Did you know that your diaphragm does not have propreoceptive nerves in it? This means you cannot feel it, let alone manipulate it in magical ways to make it work upside down.

You could get a lesson on singing classical music. What if you want to do R&B, pop, jazz, or country music? Some classical teachers would say that what you are doing isn’t even music. Some would say there is only one way to sing and that is opera. Some classical singing teachers would tell you that R&B, pop, jazz, and country music is all junk and isn’t even music. There is even a term, which I have heard from some jazz musicians use, calling classical music “legit”, short for legitimate music. What is the rest? Illegitimate? Is that not at least a distasteful term? If you do want to sing classical music, what if your teacher only teaches country?

You could get a lesson on how to place your tone in the “masque” or how to place it forward. You might be able to get your sound all up in your nose but you will find it difficult to place your tone somewhere, unless you have had mechanical placement valves installed by your ENT, along with the remote control mechanism. Who wants wires coming out of their heads unnecessarily? What travels at 750 miles per hour? Sound. How long does it take sound to emerge from your vocal folds (vocal cords), until it exits your mouth? Assuming that is less than a 12 inch distance, try doing the math on that one. Also take a look at some anatomy charts and books and see if you can find placement valves.

Let’s say that you have a specific problem that you want help with. Your voice cracks or you might say that you have a break in your voice. If your online teacher doesn’t know a passaggio from a potato, then you might instead buy yourself some French fries instead of an online singing lesson. Your money might be better spent.

Your voice can be used as a musical instrument. It is a living mechanism with several functions. There are muscles, ligaments, cartilages and living tissue, which can be used, exercised, coordinated and controlled to make some amazing music. It is a great idea if a voice teacher truly understands the function of the larynx. The tongue, lips, the jaw, and teeth are also used for articulation. There are two main types of vowels and several subtypes. There is a safe and effective to warm up your voice before you use it and this can save you trouble and can enhance your performance and your endurance. There are other things you can do which might harm your voice. You do not want to discover these things by accident.

You can find information about singing on my website (www.vocalesy.com). It continues to grow and change as I continue to learn more about the voice from teachers and doctors. It was once thought that if you mix art with science that you will destroy the art. If you ignore the wonderful discoveries in the medical field, you may have a very short singing career.

S U C C E S S

How many times have you heard that lack of success stems from either fear of failure or fear of success?

This never made sense to me but I figured out why. It was stated in a generalized fashion. People feel fear and then go ahead and do things anyway. It might be a good idea to be more specific about the fear.

The fear of failure may actually be the fear of what others say or what is imagined that others may think. The fear may be something which never comes to pass, but instead is a nebulous anxious mess of negative ponderings. It might be a good idea to write everything you can think of regarding your own specific situation.

The fear of success is also non-specific. The fear of losing friends, should you pass them up in personal achievements, in a financial sense, or in some other way could be enough to shut down your efforts. There may be a deeper seated fear here. How about the fear of things which you do not like about yourself getting stronger. I have heard that an abundance of money can make us more of what we already are. Wealth can magnify our ability to do things or to do them more quickly, so it is a good idea to strengthen the great qualities in advance of your 2010 windfall.

What? You're not expecting a windfall? There is a good place to start. Expect it and then step out of your own road and start moving!

WORRYING

"Worrying is the art of augmenting your problems, while diminishing yourself." - Chuck Stewart

MAKE UP YOUR MIND!

Make up your mind. It can only be one way or the other. The choice is yours. This is a decision that you cannot wait to make, if you want any hope for success. This does mean any hope. What is it that you have to choose? You can’t have it both ways. You might have some clever ideas floating around to justify or explain away how you can get by with this but they are never going to work. This is like a “house divided against itself”. It cannot and it will not stand. Mutually exclusive, diametrically opposed, dichotomous intentions, irreconcilable differences, So, if you think you can be an artist and a critic at the same time, you can’t. The more you criticize others, the less of an artist you will become.

Criticism of others will turn on you for many reasons. You may start to believe that others think the same way as you. You may think that people in your audience are waiting for your every mis-step, your every flaw, and hoping to notice every note sung out of tune, every little time that you disconnect from your audience and stand there introverted about your own inadequacy as a singer. If you are so unprofessional as to voice your criticism to others, the ramifications are many: 1) Professionals are offended by criticism of others and the best ones keep their opinions to themselves and focus on their own “craft” being the best it can be. 2) A person who criticizes others is directing attention away from him/herself and probably for a reason known or one undiscovered. 3) You win the label of being critical and most people do not desire to be submitting themselves to such hateful and harsh scrutiny and they will avoid you at all costs. 4) You will appear as if you are difficult or even impossible to work with in a productive manner. 5) You kill yourself off and stand in your own way to any progress or will certainly thwart all hopes of rapid progress because you cannot do anything good enough or right enough to your own critical (as opposed to artistic) standards.

Criticism is not a “skill” or an indication of brilliance or of having superior knowledge or superior talent. Yes, we all do have opinions and we all have some concept of standards or artistry. If we put more attention on working toward being the best we can be, we won’t have time to look around at the things that are so wrong and so horrible about others. Anyone can criticize. But everyone cannot sing as a professional. Yet, professional isn’t even the real standard as much as being able to sing with a high level of aesthetics, of sincere feeling, of knowing that singing is for the audience and it is a gift that is given without expecting something in return.

Being critical causes artistic blindness and artistic deafness. If you find yourself uncomfortable or reacting to the people who praise other artists and you are filled with resentment or jealousy or worse, you might want to take some time and look at “the man in the mirror”. Focus on your art. What is so good about you or so right about you that you can speak badly of others? There is a reason that “the golden rule” has been called “golden”.

Being critical is a symptom of love, right? It is hard to use the words critical and love in the same sentence. Would you expect that a critical person would also be a great artist? Would you expect a critical person to be grateful? Critical people are negative. Negativity and artistry do not mix well. There are many many more career failures of people who are critical of others than there are critical people who are successes. Happiness does follow success but it also precedes success. Look for the good and you will find that there is more good than you ever noticed. But, if you want to be miserable, be very, very critical and you will soon find out where that road leads. Make up your mind. It can only be one way or the other. The choice is yours.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS

You are disarming a bomb. There are two wires and you have to choose which one to cut. The bomb is ticking. It is so old, it isn’t even digital and the incessant ticking is annoying you, as a bead of sweat drips off your nose and onto the convoluted mess of wires. You have figured out that the two wires you have separated from the mess are the two possibilities. Still, you have to make a decision before the time runs out. You have a blue wire and a green wire. If you cut one, the ticking stops and everything is all right. If you cut the wrong one, the ticking also stops but the bomb explodes, vaporizing your head and sending your soul to who knows where. It is a tough decision, to say the least. It is actually the decision of your life. Your training did not prepare you to make this decision. Wait a minute! Green is usually a ground wire, but this bomb may have been built by a madman. Maybe he used a green wire to throw me, you think.

Have you ever been in this situation? This is the old “fork in the road but no road sign” problem. Which way do you go? Sometimes you don’t have enough information to make a good decision. Sometimes you don’t have the right tools, such as a compass, in the fork in the road problem. In most situations, you can gather information and make an informed decision. If you want to make an intelligent decision, you should not only gather information, but also check out the track record and the statistics of success that lie along that direction you will take.

When you make a firm decision, you cut off all other possibilities. A “cut” made in surgery is called an incision and the word incision is related to decision. So, you had better be certain, informed, and intelligent with your decision or you will suffer the consequences. With the right decision, you will reap the reward.

In the 70s, I had three touring bands. In one of these was a trumpet player. A nice guy but he was barely adequate, bordering on inadequate. He was a decent amateur more than he was a pro. Yet, every day he practiced diligently and consistently. He wasn’t on a plateau. A plateau may be temporary. He was hitting a ceiling and never did break through. Why? Whatever he was practicing was either the wrong thing to practice or he was practicing it the wrong way. My lead trumpet player offered to help him but he refused his help. I had to let him go and replace him with someone who could handle the demands of the position. My standards were very high and I could not compromise them because doing so would weaken the band musically and would demoralize those of us who were at the standard that we knew would lead to success.

As a singer, for many years, I practiced the wrong things and the results were: I had a limited range, I strained, I sometimes lost my voice, I had to “sing below my break”, and I couldn’t get rid of the break in my voice. During the eighteen years I lived in Las Vegas, I had friends who were singers. While I was singing in a show, one of my singer friends introduced me to a singing teacher and she taught me the right things, the right way and I handled my issues. The success of handling this and the freedom I gained were a million times better than the frustration that I had all the years prior. My musicianship was more than sufficient to keep me working professionally but I wanted to do more and my head was up against a ceiling until I learned to demolish the old habits which held me back for too many years.

JEWEL

I went with Sheree to see Jewel in concert in Melbourne, Florida last night. The warmup act was an awesome lady dressed in a bumblebee outfit (Halloween) named Meiko. I don't even know if I spelled her name correctly, but she was excellent.

Jewel was onstage with three guitars, an electric and two acoustics. Having binoculars, I saw that she likes Taylor guitars. Understand that it was just her onstage and that she had three guitars, all with very different sounds. Her guitar playing is that of a consummate professional musician now. I couldn't say that about her first CD, where there was some uneven sounding rhythm and time on a song. Now her playing is beyond reproach. Mind you I was in Las Vegas for 18 years and played with and heard some of the best musicians who have ever lived and she is at that high level of professionalism and artistry.

Although her playing was impeccable, her singing was truly phenomenal. There is no one I can compare her to. She is truly unique and before I get into that, I have to say this: If you have not heard Jewel in person, she is light years beyond the CDs of her I have heard. There are sounds in her voice that I don't believe are recordable. Her tone is multi-dimensional. Let me clarify that. It is as if she is maybe 10 or more people at once. The overtones coming through the most pure tones are ultra-rich. She not only can do controlled fry tones, but also can do a thing where I could hear two pitches coming out at once and it was not "throat singing". For the distinction, you might want to check that term out on the internet.

As if her pyrotechnics were not enough, Jewel gets an enormous amount of unbridled uninhibited emotion out of herself. Somehow she can do this without caving in on herself. If you have ever sung and truly felt the emotion, you know that it is possible to become totally overwhelmed and overcome to where you simply cannot go on. She has made it past that point and with an intensity that seems to transcend time and space. I was drawn in and felt her emotion, almost as if it were my own.

Her musicality in singing her songs was far beyond her CDs. The essence was very much there but the new twists and turns were such that you could tell that her improvisational prowess is more developed than any jazz singer I have ever heard. Remember I was in Las Vegas for 18 years and did hear the best of the best. This is something that has to be experienced because mere words pale by comparison to the actuality of her artistic genius.

If you haven't heard Jewel live, you have only heard 1% of what is there.

Between songs she told fascinating stories about her life: Growing up in Alaska, her mother left the family, singing in bars with her father, worked her way across the U.S. and down into Mexico, singing for money the whole way and the whole way back. At one time she was homeless, living out of her car and then no longer had the car. This lady has more than paid her dues.

She ended her concert with two encores and the last including yodeling, which was the absolute best I have ever heard. She first did this at a "normal" speed and was impressive with her accuracy and speed, then she sped it up at a ridiculous speed and ended with yodeling that was at light speed. Obviously, not literally, but you would swear that what she did is humanly impossible.

I have never been so much in the present moment and totally fascinated as I was in this two hour performance that is hard to describe other than as a religious experience. That was the feeling I had, not worshipping her by any means, just lifted up and elevated to places I hadn't known before (and for a full two solid hours of Jewel).

Gotta Have A Break!

"If you want to make it in the recording business, you have to have a break."

"You have to de discovered by someone or you will never make it."

"The odds are so high that you won't make it, you might as well not even try."

"Keep your day job."

Have you heard these things? I have. I've also heard that success happens when preparation meets opportunity. Many people are not prepared for success. They are not ready. If there was ever a holistic thing, that thing would be about a singer who has "made it." A singer has to have preparedness as an artist, a technician, a business person, and also have the emotional maturity and control beyond almost everyone else to be able to not only persevere long enough to get some place, but also to sustain and grow and go from there.

It takes work and dedication consistently to arrive at the point of opportunity in a prepared state. It is more "mental" than you might imagine. Confidence doesn't come from rotely going through exercises or singing songs nonchalantly. There has to be mental preparation prior to practice, during practice, and after practice. It takes a big goal and it takes sufficient faith that it is possible and attainable.

Can you imagine the preparation and the work Michelangelo did to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel? I have been there and stood there and looked up at it, marveling at the work. To see it in person is to appreciate it to its fullest. Seeing it in person also makes this quote from Michelangelo hit with more impact: "The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it."

When it comes to the business side of music, the first thing to know is that it is business. Business has its own set of rules. Many singers may not have had experience in business or finance. This is evidenced by some of the horror stories of personal bankruptcies of singers who (oddly enough) have highly successful CDs. How can this happen? Easily, unfortunately. It is very easy to misunderstand contracts, if you haven't read any before. Attorneys outside of the entertainment field often do not understand the ins and outs of the music business.

It takes a team and great leadership to launch a career in music but it first takes a singer who is mentally prepared and musically prepared. Oddly enough without such preparation, the opportunities seem to either run away or never even show up.

Multifactorial Approch

Singing is made up of several sets of skills.

The primary essential skill is that of musicianship. The strength of this or the weakness of it will always show up (often unbeknownst to the singer) and will be obvious to those educated in music. Education simply means, in this sense, that the singer hears music and his/herself knows what was heard, indentifies it, relates to it, understands it, could re-sing it or even write it down AND this has occurred from having somehow learned these skills. Inadequate musicianship always results in an inadequate singer. This is nor a fatal flaw, however. This is something which can be improved and doesn't necessarily have to take a long time.

There are several skills making up musicianship, some of which were mentioned above. Most music majors in college have a major instrument and a minor instrument. Most singing majors major in voice and minor in piano. Knowing piano is very useful in learning chords, harmony, and music theory. Voice majors take music theory. I teach music theory (I prefer the term harmonic technique because it is more precise and clear). Rather than a broad and general approach to the subject, I teach it from the perspective of a singer. This relationship from voice to musicianship builds more quickly due to the application of whatever musicianship initially exists being built to the expansion of knowledge and skill, as it directly relates to singing.

On Being A GREAT Singer

When you have sung professionally for nearly forty years, have been a vocal coach for 35 years, you have been exposed to a veritable myriad of problems, all of which have begged or screamed for solutions.

Being a student of the voice, music, arranging, composing, songwriting, etc. has been and will be continuously studying the science and the art of the aforementioned. There have been debates through the years as to whether it is possible or even prudent to “mix art with science”. In actuality, one may well discover that the two are inseparable, in that one cannot exist without the other.

Acoustics, being the science of sound, has played an integral part in the development of better wind instruments. They are better in sound quality and in playability. Just ask a true professional musician about the difference between the trumpets of the 40s and the ones of today, such as the trumpets of Chris Botti, Wynton Marsalis, or Arturo Sandoval.

Acoustics as regards voice is alive and well on many levels. The interior of the singer’s pharo-maxo-naso-laryngeal cavities varies from one singer to another and all result in contributing to the unique sound of each singer. Inside are several variables including a unique shape and size in which will be the absorption, reflection, resonance, diffusion, and reverberation of sound. All of these affect the tone quality, timbre, sound level, projection, and the overtones of the sound that is emitted.

We could say that we can ignore all of this because we are “just singing” and that is true to an extent. Definitely we need to ignore specific things as we perform because the distraction will detract from our performance in various ways. When the problem arises of a singer attempting to sound or sing a certain way which is contrary to the natural “equipment” of the singer, a solution or solutions may be addressed and explored. Science may hold some keys to the solutions.

For years anatomy, medicine, and physics were largely ignored by singing teachers and vocal coaches. People’s tongues, teeth, lips and the interior resonating chambers are as individual as a fingerprint. How do you think you can identify the uniqueness of a speaking voice or a singing voice? These factors all play a part. Singers will tend to work for or against the natural equipment they are born with. As a vocal coach who has studied the variables listed above, I can assist in finding the natural road of least resistance to a person’s own unique sound. This is one area where it is not nice to try to fool mother nature. And this is not to say that things cannot be manipulated, such as doing character voices, but there is a right way and a wrong way to do this. The wrong way may lead to vocal injury.

Singing is a hearing art. The audience hears the art but the singer hears so much more. After years of singing, many things transcend mere thought and occur on an intuitive level. To arrive at this level, we may learn several things at a profound level along the way.

Singing is musical. The best singers I have heard know music. They may or may not know the nomenclature or the terminology of music, but they still know music. It is purported that the great drummer Buddy Rich did not read music. This hasn’t been verified but I recommend seeking out some clips on You Tube and listen to his playing. Musicianship can be achieved at a very high level without getting past musical illiteracy. I am not sure if Frank Sinatra could read or write music. If not, that didn’t get in the way of his long career.

Musicianship is a vast subject, when broken down into all the component parts, and therefore is a subject unto itself. It will be noticeable in the results of hearing all the components of music which include: rhythm, time, pitch, dynamics, tone, timbre, style, form, structure and much more. If we could all at once “download” this and the rest of what makes a great singer, I think your head would explode because there is much more to this than what meets the superficial ear and eye. Musicianship is huge. There is no getting around the importance of it as a singer.

Acting may lead to being able to more easily perform as a singer but if the singer doesn’t move past acting, the performance will look like the singer is a “fake”, or even worse, a liar. The emotions have to be freed up and express-able with appropriate levels of intensity. Great singers perform to their audiences and are not a “parody of a singer”. Still there is the factor of “communication”. A great singer will make each person in the audience feel as if he or she is in the conversation, not just observing it. I personally felt this from a distance of perhaps 200 feet. The singer was, in fact, Frank Sinatra. People do not go to concerts to simply listen to a singer. They can do that on an I-pod or with a radio. Something else happens at a live performance and although lip synching may sound about the same, an almost magical phenomenon happens at a concert and it has everything to do with the live performance. You cannot scientifically measure it but you can definitely feel it, unless there is something wrong with you at some level.

The state of mind of the singer can make or break the greatness of the singer. I saw two famous singers one New Year Eve in Las Vegas practically fall flat. You would think that their integrity as professional artists and singers would have been sufficient to not affect the performance but they obviously failed to do their best that evening. It was disappointing, annoying, sad and sometimes even funny to watch them make fools of themselves (in comparison to their usual levels of performance). The disappointment was that the audience paid and the performers were paid to perform. They did perform but they brought the effects of their argument to the stage with them. I felt cheated. I felt that they betrayed the audience. I had seen them many times before but not one time after that ridiculous and immature debacle of a show.

The overall physical health of a singer will affect the greatness of a singer. You can think of examples of this yourself. Tiredness, illness, or injury will all affect singing. I am of the belief that there are levels of health which are above what is considered normal or healthy. There are optimal levels of health which, since we use our bodies to sing, will make subtle or even great differences in our ability to “do our best”.

Talent and intelligence will affect the greatness of a singer because ability and intellect are the areas from which we draw for singing at a star quality professional echelon. We cannot pretend that these factors have nothing to do with greatness. We also cannot necessarily create these things of intelligence and talent if they do not appear to be present. We can work harder at developing other strengths and improving weaknesses, though. If a person has a passion and an ability for singing, many things can be overcome but there may need to be compromises made as to how and where singing is done.

Work which is done in a diligent and educated manner will produce improvement as long as all other factors of greatness are present in the singer. Work done in a slipshod manner will produce no or little improvement. Work done in the presence of misinformation or false information regarding and of the factors of greatness will produce no results or even bad results. Singers can, have, and will injure their voices or if not that, never ever reach their full potential.

Greatness doesn’t take forever but at the same time it doesn’t happen overnight. It doesn’t happen without preparation, correct knowledge, talent, ability, and the application of true, tried and tested techniques. It takes courage to be great and courage to persevere and near perfect discipline to consistently work toward a goal with high integrity to achieve greatness.

TAKE 100%

"Take 100% responsibility for your life." - Jack Canfield

This is enormous. It's not a joke. It's not a superficial cursory assessment. It may take a few days or weeks to get this into perspective, to back up far enough away to get objective. It may not even be possible to do but it puts you in the driver's seat with your hands on the wheel and your foot on the accelerator.

The first thing to let go of is "blame".

If that seems too hard, then start with this: "When you complain, your power goes down the drain." - Yours Truly (Chuck Stewart)