Auditions for new CBS show "Jingles"

Someone at CBS must have read my post on singing jingles:) Just got this emailed to me... another crazy reality show, but it could be an opportunity you might have some fun auditioning for it if you're into jingles. Here's the blurb they sent me:

CBS and Mark Burnett Productions have teamed up to find the greatest undiscovered marketing genius for a new show, "Jingles"! We are looking for teams of (preferably) 2-4 people to write and perform product jingles. A team could be anything from a brother/sister team to a singing comedy duo or a barbershop quartet!

Do you think you could use your quick mind, great sense of humor, and musical skills to wow Fortune 500 companies with your talent?

We are looking for fun, high energy performances mixed with a competitive spirit. Minimum age 13.

Please email Jonathan at jtanzman@markburnettprod.com for more information.
We will be casting in Nashville late May.

Auditions coming up for Footloose (Nashville production)

I just got this in from Lynda Hawkersmith... thanks for the heads up, Lynda!

Nashville Auditions for Circle Players' Production of Footloose

Vocal and cold reading auditions---Saturday, May 31, 10a.m. - 3p.m.

a.. E-mail directorSaraYO@hotmail.com to sign up for an audition time
b.. Prepare 16 bars of an up-tempo song in the appropriate show style
c.. Accompanist and CD player provided

Dance auditions and callbacks---Sunday, June 1, 2p.m. - 6p.m.

a.. All auditionees are required to attend the dance audition
b.. Please come dressed to move-no jeans, flip-flops, skirts.
c.. Callbacks will begin immediately following the dance audition

Audition location for both May 31 & June 1 Circle Players' rehearsal space in Madison - 801 N. Gallatin Pike in the back of the Madison Square Shopping Center

Approximately 20 roles are available for teenagers through adults.

Footloose will be directed by Sara Youngblood-Ochoa, choreographed by Jose
Ochoa and music directed by Thom Garrison

Production dates are July 25 - Aug 10, 2008
Looby Center Theatre
2301 Rosa L. Parks Blvd, Nashville

Does anybody have recommendations for headset mics?

Quick tech question from my client Jenni Schaefer...

Does anybody have recommendations for specific headset mics like, or ones to avoid?

Click "comment" to respond. - and thanks!

How to get work as a background singer

I got another question I thought you readers might be interested in from my website today.

The question:
"How does one go about getting started if they are interested in singing bgv's (background vocals)? Thanks!"

My answer: To sing background vocals you need-

1. vocal training to be able to perform the feats of what I call a "stunt singer". It takes more stamina and control to be a great background singer than to be a lead singer, because you will have to trace and blend with another voice perfectly, taking on the lead voice's tone, personality, rhythm, phrasing and accent, or adding whatever different texture of voice the producer wants to offset the lead singer's voice.
2. to be able to change your voice at the producer's request.
3. to be able to hear and create harmony parts.
4. experience singing background parts with live performers and/or backing vocals in a recording studio. No matter what kind of training you have, there's no substitute for actual experience. It's a catch-22; you need experience to get experience, so take whatever opportunity you can possibly find or afford to get in front of a stage or recording studio mic.
5. a demonstration (demo) recording of your voice. This can be a simple guitar or piano/vocal, a karaoke track with your voice recorded over it, or can be full instrumental tracks created just for you. Just make sure that your vocal performance is the most important thing you record. Don't spend money on tracks without budgeting enough time for great vocals. duh.
6. referrals from people you've sung with and sung for.
7. networking, networking, networking. This takes time and persistance; people skills are very necessary. Go to writers nights and to concerts, hang out with musicians and songwriters you know. If you know any session singers, you might ask them to sing with you and assess how well they think you do.
8. to realize that you may need to keep your day job. Background work is very competitive and usually has a great deal to do with being at the right place at the right time. Sometimes when someone else can't make a session, an untried singer will get a chance. However, it is important to be generous of spirit, to support and recommend other singers trying to get work as well. Undercutting your fellow session singer will come back to bite you. It usually takes years to break in to regular session work. Make sure you build the right reputation.

Background singers tend to be hired for the following qualities:

1. They sound great with the lead singer.
2. They learn their parts fast.
3. They can do "head charts" (just come up with the parts in their heads), read the Nashville number system (if in Nashville), and they can read written music (traditional notes). You can get hired without being able to do all three, but you are considered a much more versitile singer if you can work whatever way the producer, artist or group leader wants.
4. They have positive, professional attitudes and work well with others.
5. They can be depended upon to show up on time, every time.
6. They are nice people. The music business is a small world, and it gets to be community where where you like to work with friends and good hearted people.

Some of my best friends in the world are background singers. Good luck... and let me know about any work you get so I can share it in my newsletter!

Friendly holiday reminders for singers

Friendly reminders for singers:

• Getting ready for a road trip? Don't forget to take and pack your immune system enhancers such as Vibe, NRGize, Airborne, echinacea, epsom salts or other alternative medical therapies you've found by experience to work.
• Getting ready for a holiday parties and family reunions? Getting ready for outside games or events? Don't forget to wear something which will protect your ears and your neck. Also... don't forget to bring water and stay well-hydrated.
• Getting ready for holiday feasts? Don't forget to limit mucous-enhancing foods like rich cream-based sauces, heavy casseroles, fatty meat portions, excessive deserts, alcoholic and caffeinated drinks. You CAN have some of these things, after all, even YOU can celebrate, but if you limit these heavy and toxic substances, you will be able to be in better voice. (Also better health). I say this as I wolf down a slice of my mother's traditional homemade pecan pie)
• Getting ready for a holiday performance? Don't forget to warm up your voice with your vocal exercises!

May your Christmas and holiday season be merry and bright, filled with peace, hope and love. If you are having a hard season, may friends spring up all around you to help you carry your burdens, and may you be surprised by the comforting presence of God.

Love and blessing from my house to yours,

Judy

Performance body language- anything but stiff!

Body language is important for vocal communication. If you've taken lessons from me or have read many of my post on All Things Vocal, you know how I stress this. Here's the thing: different styles of music, different personalities of vocalists, and different venue settings require different degrees of OUTSIDE body movement. The important thing is to stay flexible, no matter what.

Examples of the wide range of effective body language would be in performances of Mick Jagger and Jennifer Nettles vs the more subtle movement you see in performances by Allison Krauss and Andrea Bocelli. A Rolling Stones concert would find Mick Jagger all over the stage, with wild facial, hand and leg movements. Nettles definitely communicates with external expression. Allison Krauss and Andrea Bocelli seem to quietly float - ALMOST motionlessly- in place as they sing.

In the case of Jagger and Nettles, the external movement adds to the internal flexibility of breath and throat areas. There is control and purpose to their movements, however. A rock singer can kill the voice by squeezing in the wrong places (throat, ribcage) while trying to be TOO externally physical. Any time you see the head pushing forward and the ribcage caving in, you'll also hear the strain and possibly find concerts cancelled due to voice problems.

In the case of Krauss and Bocelli, oh how effortlessly they seem to ply their craft- but they are also subtly moving. Notice the slight facial movements- especially the freedom of the mouth and the movement in the eyebrows. They also are subtly purposeful in the slight use of arms- even if it's just the hand holding the mic that is helping them keep their ribcages open. Notice they also have controlled power, enabling the incredible smoothness of their sustains (notes held out).

I watched Bocelli on PBS the other night and renewed my awe of his subtle use of body language. I believe he is possibly the greatest pure vocalist of all time. At least for me.

Also on PBS, I also watched the incredible boys choir group "Libera" and was very happy to notice that someone has allowed them to move their faces and, though they stand in place, subtly sway their bodies. They are not stiff! Oh, how I wish choir directors all over the world would take notice and let their choral members get of their body braces and float in place! (One of my soapbox issues, for sure).

My advice: Consider your personality, the venue you're in, the expectations for your music genre. Then choose to communicate with a body language flexibility which is comfortable to you that will both connect with your audience AND free your voice!

PS... if you want to get a great Christmas present for someone (or yourself!) I recommend Andrea Bocelli's cd "Sogno". Effortless resonance personified.

Performance is not a vocal exercise

OK, I'm going back to my novice training in golf (bless my poor husband) to bring out yet another golf/vocal parallel: There is an important difference between vocal exercises and performance. A singer must make this distinction clear to turn a performance into a heart-moving event.

Vocal exercises, like other athletic skills training, do two things:

1. They nurture the vocal musculature, strengthening it, warming the instrument with increased blood flow and enabling greater flexibility.
2. They create muscle memory.

With the flexible and strong instrument at your disposal, and with muscle memory causing an automatic connection to take place between your mind/body/vocal apparatus, you're then and only then ready for a great vocal performance.

Points to ponder:

• Don't think about technique like you do when you are trying to learn a vocal exercise correctly. The time for that is BEFORE you perform.
• Do your vocal training exercises regularly so it's just what you do naturally when you perform.
• Learn how to connect with the audience through the song. That should trigger all the right reflexes, if you've trained your muscle memory correctly.
• Don't worry about being perfect!! I've found that if you just commit to communication (after you've trained your instincts), you can do things in performance even better than in a mechanical vocal exercise.

Consider this: When you are doing vocal exercises, you have to be focused on yourself and on how you're working your voice. This is not, I repeat NOT communication. When you are performing, the truly effective performance moment happens when you are delivering a message. If you scatter your mental focus with too much thought, you'll miss the ball (sorry- golf again- ask me how I know >: )

Bottom line... you have to do both: Exercise and Perform. Just keep them separate in your mind. Voice teacher Jeffrey Allen says the Italians used to suggest taking your technique onstage with you in your little finger". Meaning... that's how much awareness they gave to training when actually performing. It's a paradox that you must also practice performing... make it a regular habit to sing to someone (even a cat or dog will do).

Trust your trained voice and it will reward you with performance magic!

Overpowering Vocals

Overpowering vocals is bad vocal technique because it communicates a kind of power that is counterproductive on several levels, including:

• Yelling is not persuasive communication that invites listening. So if you want me to listen to you, don't yell at me.
• Screaming your melody to the top of your lungs may make me monentarily go "Wow, the singer is certainly trying to be great", but it won't make me go buy your album.
• Over-blowing your vocal cords hurts them. If you value your instrument, you must take care of it unless you intend it to only work badly for a short season.

Watching the Country Music Awards Show last night (just like every other genre of music award show where energy and emotions are high), I saw overpowering in several performances. If you've never done these kinds of shows, they tend to be events where it's hard to hear well. You have a lot of ambient sound swirling round and it's easy to get disoriented, disconnected to your voice. Then, oh my gosh, you have to make such an impact so you give it all you've got.

Mistake.

Giving it all you've got translates to pushing 100% of the breath pressure you have available through your vocal cords- and 100% is TOO MUCH PRESSURE! Doing this always results in a lack of control. Lack of control makes you pitchy, makes your vibrato flutter irregularly or unnaturally, makes you unable to execute vocal embellishments (licks or ad libs) well. It also causes your tone to be too thin or harsh, because it tightens your throat.

You need to do what great sparring partners do... learn to pull your punches. Control what you are giving out and it will be much more effective (not to mention, it won't hurt them or you!). Back off the forward breath pressure until your power seems to be balanced at your tailbone. Then you can actually give more communicative life to your performance.

Here's the magic equation for best vocal performance:
Back off the pressure and add passion.

Country artists who habitually balance pressure and passion just right include Reba (the queen of balanced vocals), LeAnn Rimes, Faith, Trisha, Jennifer Nettles, Clay Walker, Brad Paisley, Randy Travis, Garth Brooks and sometimes Keith Urban (he began pushing too hard at the end of his performance). Notice again... these all give quite empassioned performances. Martina and Gary of Rascal Flatts can also be great and balanced but were, I thought, pushing just a little too hard last night.

Did you catch the CMA's last night? Do you agree with my assessments? What did I miss?

Rolling With The Flow On The Road

I performed for a Red Hat Society multi-club party this weekend in Florence, Alabama. I was in a skit, I gave a short voice lesson in Power, Path and Performance, then I sang a 45 minute set. Getting to the gig reminded me how important it is to have a certain all important mindset when dealing with "unexpected adventures" on the road:

Roll With The Flow!

It started out just fine Friday afternoon- I had given my last voice lessons, returned all my phone calls and answered emails, packed the car with my keyboard, music, performance clothes, etc, and all the other stuff I've grown accustomed to taking with me. I had double-checked to make sure I had all my cords, pedals and other gear (oh how I miss having a good road manager!).

I took a deep breath, grabbed a CD of "Runaway Home" song demos in case I had a chance to do some homework (I'm writing the music out so theater groups joining the Runaway Home Alliance who don't know the Nashville number system can learn the songs), and took out southbound on I-65.

I was making good time getting to the final skit rehearsal (a hilarious take-off on "Anything Goes" by the host chapter) and sound check scheduled for 7pm that night; the gig was Saturday afternoon. About half way there my thoughts began to drift along from new song lyrics, vocal warm-ups, script lines, to-do lists, future plans and such. I nonchalantly glanced at my gas gage; it read "full", so I paid no further attention. That is, until my car began to lurch and lunge in the tell-tale "out of gas" dance! I was so completely out of gas I had allowed the gage to get stuck somehow, and it went from reporting "FULL" to completely "EMPTY".

I coasted as far as I could to try and tell exactly where I was, but when I stopped I still couldn't see an exit in either direction. All I knew for sure was that I was somewhere between Nashville and Florence. A sweet family of strangers stopped and gave me a ride to the next exit's gas station and drove me back to my car; I filled itwith a gallon of gas but it still wouldn't start.

I finally made the decision to place a cellphone call to AAA, which always takes at least an hour to get to me (which is why I didn't call them in the first place). The tow truck couldn't start it with more gas, so I called my brother Billy Robbins, who is a master mechanic in Brentwood, Tn for advice. From the back of his Harley (he and his wife were riding in the "Trail of Tears" motorcycle event), he suggested that I have the truck tow me to a gas station, fill my tank half full and tap on my fuel tank with a hammer (don't ask me why!). It finally worked!!

I drove off, a happy camper until I discovered that I'd left my purse in the tow truck. I contacted AAA who helped me met up with the guy again, get my purse and tipped him well! Meanwhile, my sweet sister Beki Ferguson came to meet me and make sure my adventures were over.

About 10:00pm, we finally got to the venue in Florence where my mother was waiting, and I was able to set up my gear. We all had a great, relieved laugh over the whole series of events, and I called my brother to tell him the tow truck guy thought he was a genius! (We all know he is.)

Moral of this story: I have discovered that sometimes the stranger the road problems, the better the gig. My voice was in great shape due to all the time I had to warm up while waiting for rescue. (Oh yeah, and I sang full voice every day for a week before the gig... I had learned THAT lesson!)

If I had let the frustrations consume me, I know it would have negatively affected my performance. Instead, my mother was honored, my niece Gretta, a talented performer in her own right, worked the spotlight and got to see me practice what I preach to her, the sound guys (who didn't know me) were very surprised and complimentary, and Florence mayor Bobby Irons' wife Sara, herself a Red-hatter, told me I could quote her as saying she'd never been to a better concert.

The banquet hall full of scarlet and purple gave me two standing O's - one in the middle of a brand new song "I Believe", which I co-wrote with Alicia and Jessica Yantz, and again at the end of the concert.

All I can say is, Thank you God! I can say from experience - no matter what- it will all work out if we just trust the journey, treat everyone with kindness and respect and Roll With The Flow!

Have you had any "road adventure" lessons lately? Confess!!