Singer's Read This One

[nomiyah]

I met Steven Memel at his class at Road Rally 07. I posted in my Rally notes how impressed I was at his class. Sunday, Steven gave a vocal workshop at West Coast Songwriters. I learned so much I wanted to post some notes. If you're a singer, I recommend taking a class from Steven, if you have the opportunity. I think he'll be at the next Road Rally (I hope so).PRACTICEYou will not rise to the occasion; you will default to the level of your training.Amateurs practice until they get it right. Professionals practice until they can’t get it wrong.EMOTIONThe audience is not feeling what you are feeling; you are not transparent.You are always communicating. Make movements focused and clear.Singing louder makes you communicate confidence. Soft-spoken people may feel like they’re yelling when they sing louder. They aren’t yelling but they have that visceral response. Train and you eventually adjust to the higher volume.Unconscious physical patterns desensitize us to the song. We sing by rote. Make sure physicality doesn’t keep you from being present.Onstage, you’re the star. Be permission-grantor, not permission-asker.You don’t control the audience; you can’t influence them to like you. But you can tell them your truth.Take risks. Jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings as you fall.TECHNIQUEVoice is the result of physical function. Example, flight of golf ball is result of swing. Practice the physical function and the result you want is inevitable. Concentrate on the mechanics of making sound, don’t concentrate on the sound itself.Voice is made by air pressure against closed vocal cords.

[hummingbird]

I agree, Steven's class at the Rally was fantastic, and his honest enthusiasm and knowledge was evident. I won't miss it.

[tedsingingfox]

So, is this Steven the same Steven of the "Memmel (sp?) method" I've heard so much about?Even without attending the class, these notes (and the points he was making that they're based on) are SO frickin' smart. Very cool.Thanks, Nomi. This makes me think I need to make a point of getting into that class this year.

[nomiyah]

I probably shouldn't be telling people or his packed class will be even more packed. But I can't help it, I'm a Memelite now!!!!

[linziellen]

Hi Nomi,Thanks for posting, I found this very interesting. In fact I think it's one to print and pin up. Linzi

[nomiyah]

Jun 4, 2008, 1:33am, linziellen wrote:Hi Nomi,Thanks for posting, I found this very interesting. In fact I think it's one to print and pin up. Linzi These are just a few notes I scribbled. There's so much more he has to offer. But I'm glad a little of his technique leaks through the notes.

[squids]

Hey Nomi!Very glad to hear you participated in this. I was thrilled to read your excerpts from it, it's good to hear others are out there espousing the same things I am involved in. Great post!

[anne]

This was an incredible class and I will be there again. With kleenex in hand...Yes, Ted. There is crying involved. If you think you cry easily wait until you see what happens in Steve's classes!Nomi - thanks for sharing the notes you took. I've been talking about his class all year long and practicing everything I could remember.

[nomiyah]

I've never heard a vocal coach get results so quickly with such a range of singers. The most astonishing was a man who said he accidentally had his vocal cords cut during surgery. They fixed it with micro-surgery but he could never sing the same way. Then he sang part of a song and he had a really good voice, just a little weak. He said he used to have an outstanding voice and there was no comparison now. Steven said there are limitations when there is an injury and you have to be careful. But people overcompensate and start doing things physically to restrict their voice. Steven gave a couple of suggestions and the singer sang part of the song again and it was twice as strong as before. Steven said if he practices he can get much of his voice back but he has to unlearn the physical things he is doing to compensate for the injury.

[squids]

Honestly, I think one of the bigger problems with singing is our instinctive desire to protect our voices. I mean, when you think about it, our voices are one of our primary weapons. We use it to scare off intruders, to shout warnings, to communicate necessary and sometimes vital information. We have a built-in preservation mechanism that demands respect and won't be ignored. Hence: Voice problems.