Vocal Coach (see post #15)

[wow7354]

Does any one know who Shania's current vocal coach is?

[captainCorr]

I think she doesn't even have one....:uhh:

[Shania's4life!!]

She doesn't have one anymore...:uhh:

[wow7354]

How do you know?

[JustAPrettyFace]

How do you know that she does? They said that they thought she didn't, they didn't say they knew for sure. :p

[Kristian]

I don't think she has one, but maybe Mutt could work with that :p

[GorToma]

i dont think she has a special one - perhaps Mutt is helping her

[my queen]

I guess Mutt :p

[Roger]

Well, I don't mean this in a nasty way but Shania's voice has become a real concern. If time doesn't heal the huskiness in her voice, she will need help. I hope the damage is not irreparable.

[Anne-Marie]

I know what you mean Roger. Hope this rest will do her good.

[Shania's4life!!]

Her voice is fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine! :)
Seriously, i'm not all that concerned because I know that Shania knows what she is doing, she has been singing all her life and besides she has been giving herself a good vocal rest lately! ;)

[captainCorr]

I have a feeling it's one of the reasons she isn't (going to) promoting Don't....it's a ballad and we all know she has some difficulty singing ballads, especially if there's *something* with her voice.... (I repeat: maybe one of the reasons)

Though I fully support it if it will get her *old voice* back....:)

[ShaniaKoukla]

After that concert in London I'd have to agree with you Roger.

[Kristian]

She will be doing fine :D

[FinnFreak]

February 24, 2005

Voice coach helps singers find their groove


By Edna Gundersen - The Shreveport Times


Take note, "Idol" wannabes. If you can't carry a tune, your voice might need weight training.

That's the pitch from "Ultimate Voice Coach," a DVD/CD package endorsed by "American Idol" judges Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson. The $29.95 set, due April 5 in stores and at ultimatevoicecoach.com, shares techniques that voice coaches Gary Catona and Ron Anderson have developed to improve the pipes of Shakira, Bjork, Axl Rose, Shania Twain, Kylie Minogue, Ozzy Osbourne, LeAnn Rimes and Tony Bennett.

Wait. Frank Sinatra's favorite crooner needs singing lessons?

Not quite. Just as bodybuilders pump iron, vocalists flex vocal cords, says Catona, who considers singers athletes and singing a strenuous sport.

Bennett "is a real singer, from the old school. His voice gets thin because he's such a hard singer. You take that risk when you sing high notes night after night."

Catona, 52, was a high school wrestler when he joined the choir and later studied opera. His method of vocal training evolved after botched tutelage under 14 teachers who treated his voice as a fragile instrument and coaxed him to sing from the diaphragm. "I damaged my voice, almost permanently," says Catona, who devised a system of isolating and strengthening vocal muscles. "You develop muscles though exercise, not relaxation. One of my idols was Enrico Caruso, so I analyzed his voice. The guy wasn't singing from his diaphragm or relaxing his throat. He was the Arnold Schwarzenegger of singers. The voice isn't delicate."

Catona established his reputation by repairing speaking voices, including actor Jack Klugman's, ravaged by cancer, and Muhammad Ali's, affected by Parkinson's. He also restored the voice of jazz guitarist Larry Carlton, whose vocal cord was shattered by random gunfire.

Why is Catona sharing his lesson plans (including interactively on the Web site) with the hoi polloi? "Singing is the new American passion," he says, closing with a familiar refrain: "I'd like to teach the world to sing."


Singing praises of singing pros

Catona seldom is intimidated while coaching celebrities, though he was flustered when Andy Williams sang "Moon River" to him. Other memorable pupils:

Andrea Bocelli. "He reminds me of Mario Lanza, another opera singer who crossed over. Bocelli has a beautiful voice, but he lacked a certain strength. He wanted a richer and stronger voice."

Liza Minnelli. "Liza called because she had just had surgery and scraped her vocal cords. I got her voice back in a week and a half. Liza is a very athletic singer. She puts everything she has into it. She needs a lot of muscular support."

Usher. "Usher came to me when he was starting out. If you heard him doing vocal exercises, you'd swear he's an opera singer."

Seal. "He was given a very natural, beautiful voice, but he was singing around his limitations. And he was often hoarse. Now his voice is big and resonant with great range and endurance."

Babyface. "He was about to go on tour, and he was going hoarse after 10 or 15 minutes of singing. So we worked for about two weeks, and he got in shape. He didn't go hoarse once."

Lisa Marie Presley. "She worked very hard. She didn't want to cheat or take any shortcuts. She has a distinctive voice and a lot of passion. She's turning into a great talent."

Jennifer Lopez. Catona isn't eager to take credit for J. Lo's singing abilities. "I didn't work with her that much. Her life is too busy, and she's going in a thousand directions at once. It's hard to keep her focused. I wouldn't say she's a full-time student."


http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050224/LIVING/502240306/1004


John - :)

[GorToma]

thanks for posting :D:D

[FinnFreak]

Gary Catona - voice builder to the world

http://www.garycatona.com/index.html


John - :)

[FinnFreak]

...and here's a bit more from the site: http://ultimatevoicecoach.com

GARY CATONA: Gary Catona has worked with A-list clients that include some of the world's hottest singing stars. He is the voice coach for celebrities like Usher, Andrea Bocelli, Jennifer Lopez, Babyface, Seal, Liza Minnelli, Tony Bennett, Shakira, Boyz II Men, Sade, Brian Wilson, Kenny Loggins, Lisa Marie Presley and countless others. Gary's secret is his own internationally acclaimed Voice Building System based on a scientific exercise method that produces astoundingly fast results -just ask Paula and Randy.

RON ANDERSON: International classical luminary turned world-famous voice instructor, Ron Anderson is American's foremost teacher of the timeless and renowned vocal technique, Bel Canto (Beautiful Sound). Ron is the "go to" voice teacher for multiple-platinum recording artists, major record labels and top music producers. His client list includes: Axl Rose, Shania Twain, LeAnn Rimes, Kylie Minogue, Enrique Inglesias, Chris Cornell, Ozzy Osbourne, Mary J. Blige, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bjork, Lisa Loeb and hundreds more.


...having seen some of those 'American Idol' shows - I can understand why Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson would endorse this CD/DVD package... we see on TV only some snippets of those "performances" - they have to listen to them for hours and hours and hours..! :shocked:


John - ;)

[captainCorr]

:funny::funny:

Guess that explains something....:p Thanks John!:up:

[Roger]

This is fascinating, John. Thank you. It makes me realize how little I know about the physiology of the voice. The concept of strengthening vocal muscles fits with the overall concept of strength training. On the other hand, the sound our voice makes is caused by the vibration of the "chords". I would have thought that the part that does the vibrating is the part susceptible to damage and that would seem to be separate from the muscles that vary the length of the chords.

I would have been interesting to hear a comment about Shania's voice.

[Troll]

Thanks for the info John

[ka-ching]

Thanks a lot for that, it's very interesting :D

[Esther]

cool :) thanks for sharing!! :love:

[~Lisa~]

Thanks for the info John :D Interesting :D

[RJ]

John,

Thanks for the review article about the product. I found it interesting and enjoyable. I might buy it, or at least look at customer reviews of it on Amazon.com or relevant forums.

Initially, I thought the article and product sounded great. I wondered if it was the same article I read recently about a software program with a similar name. On closer look, the two are different. Advertising and marketing is amazing. It can make something sound just like "the cat's pajamas," without ever actually giving you much tangible before prompting you to reach for your wallet. I noticed the product in your article isn't expected out for another couple months.

The use of names of big stars, including Shania Twain implies quality in the product, and results in the direction of a superstar. But the fact that those stars have used one of the coaches who created this product, might only mean it would be good for those who already have phenomenal pipes, rather than for others with just good voices, or mainstream people. Even that's assuming the coaches' abilities were fully encapsulated into the software program, and the benefits are easily obtained by consumers who use it, neither of which is a foregone conclusion.

It could be a wonderful product. I hope so. But I'd add a word of caution into the mix, and suggest that persons's interested in buying the product, wait until other reviews are available from objective evaluators or fellow consumers.

Meanwhile, I'll share a review of a similar product for those of you interested in vocal development. I don't know enough about this type of product yet, to recommend either of these products. I'm just sharing the information, for your consideration and potential benefit.

RJ

[RJ]

I read this article about a similar program recently. It did not use big names including Shania Twain to draw attention and imply quality. And it did not sell at a low price of $29.

Instead, it described in clear language, a range of examples of the techniques to improve and develop your voice. And it was written by a reliable columnist in one of the most trusted consumer magazines about computers. Even so, I detect an element of positive spin in his conclusions, so I suggest you sort for yourself, what info from the descriptions, is useful and real for you, if you’re a potential cusumer for this kind of product.

My interest is not to become a star. Wrinkles don’t reflect the light well enough to shine like that. But I used to sing reasonably well. Now my voice doesn’t cooperate as well as I'd like, partly due to being away from singing in public for decades, and partly because I work at home, alone for days or weeks at a time without even speaking at all. Even when I was still working in an office and speaking regularly, my voice was a bit thin and irregular. One thing I noticed, is that people who inspire confidence in their ideas and leadership, often have a pleasing and strong voice. Some individuals are blessed with this by heredity. But most of us can develop a pleasant speaking voice, with some practice and appropriate, high quality advice.

If you have good ideas, but an under developed voice, your success in life is likely to be less than it could, and less than you hoped.

Here’s the review:http://www.pcmag.com/print_article2/0,2533,a=145339,00.aspThe

PC Road to Stardom
ARTICLE DATE: 02.16.05
By Bill Machrone, 2005 Ziff Davis Media Inc.

Are you ready for your shot at fame and fortune on American Idol? Although some of the contestants have made it remarkably far on little vocal talent, being able to sing well generally helps. You might be surprised to learn that your PC can help you do just that.

Singing Coach Unlimited, a new software package from Carry-A-Tune Technologies, is both a tutorial and an open-ended coaching and practice program that harnesses the PC's considerable multimedia capabilities to teach you to sing better. I've been using Singing Coach Unlimited for the past week or two, and it's making a difference. I sing bass in our church choir; I'm the only bass, so the onus is on me to be accurate and produce a good tone. Although I've sung since high school and most people think I have a pleasant voice, I'm fairly self-critical and still, after all these years, sometimes cringe when I listen to recordings. I've thought of taking voice lessons to improve my tone and control, but have never gotten around to it. Or maybe I'm just chicken.

So I was very pleased to discover Singing Coach Unlimited at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. I've used tape- and CD-based singing programs before, and even some PC software. But SCU is dramatically more interactive than any of them. It listens to your singing and displays the actual pitch and duration on your computer screen. Better yet, it scores you on your accuracy. It also includes a comfortable headset with a built-in microphone so you can go right to work.

The main screen has a horizontal line for each pitch and displays a pitch target—a band of acceptable accuracy—around each note that you sing. It's sort of a spreadsheet view of the music, with notes on the vertical axis and time on the horizontal axis. When you sing, the software charts your pitch and the duration of each note with a white line on the screen. If you're within the pitch target you get a good score, but you lose points if you wander sharp or flat or make your transitions at the wrong time.

The software does a superb job of eliminating any information not related to pitch, so all you see on the screen are the actual notes, and none of the clutter caused by consonants, breathing, and such. It's sensitive enough to show vibrato clearly. In fact, strong vibrato can lower your score, since you can push the note outside the pitch target range at the extremes. It's much more difficult to suppress the vibrato and produce clean, accurate tones.

Before you get to the songs, though, a detailed tutorial takes you through the rudiments of breathing, head voice, chest voice, and producing good tone. It even samples your voice to determine whether you're a bass, baritone, tenor, alto, or soprano, and then alters the pitch of the exercises to suit your vocal range.The tone of the tutorial is light and breezy, aided by characters such as Mike, the microphone, Carrie, the wannabe singer (Carry-A-Tune, remember?), and a couple of ancillary characters. Overall, the script is well done. Carrie's initial efforts are endearingly off-key; you won't look bad by comparison. But she improves rapidly, and so will you. You'll see Dr. Clef's jokey little movie and lessons about posture, diaphragm breathing, and proper relaxation, and you'll get plenty of reminders to apply them.

After you've completed the tutorial, you can go into song mode and play any of the included standards, such as "Amazing Grace," "Danny Boy," and "The Star-Spangled Banner." You can vary the tempo, pitch, and accompaniment levels to suit your preference, and SCU will score you on your accuracy. You can choose to view the song in music staff mode, and SCU will draw your pitch onto the staff as a colored line. You can also download songs from www.carryatune.com , which currently has roughly 200 songs in a variety of categories.

You can also compose your own songs and enter them into SCU, or download MIDI songs from other sources, and it will play them back and score you. I did this with the bass line of a difficult piece, and it really helped me nail it. One annoyance: While it was easy to paint the notes and their durations into the spreadsheet view with the mouse, the music staff view would display them only in the treble clef. I sing from the bass clef, so sight-singing from the screen wasn't in the cards.

For $99, Singing Coach Unlimited is a slick piece of technology and a challenging workout for your voice. Who knows, it just might help you become the next American Idol—or at least sing the way you've always wanted to.

Bill Machrone, PC Magazine, www.pcmag.com/machrone

[RJ]

Oh Phooey!

I just remembered that I already bought a computer software program package for vocal development. That was a year ago or more. And I haven't even had time to remove the shrink-wrap, yet. I have so many irons in the fire and projects pending I can't remember them all sometimes.

This program is called "Teach Yourself To Sing," by Alfred Publishing. It was about $25 on the shelf when I got it. It is for a beginner. I haven't tried it yet.

It was on the shelves at Elderly Instruments here in town. That's a unique, high-quality store and Internet, business started by one of my college roommates, and built into a multi million dollar organization. Stan Werbin had a great voice. I remember him in AXE House in Ann Arbor, crooning to one of his girlfriends upstairs in the attic which had been partly rennovated into a loft. Later he moved here to Lansing, and initially asked me to be their book keeper, since I was taking some accounting classes at the time. It wasn't my main area of interest, so I declined. It would have been a great career opportunity for someone. Would have even been a better set up for me temporarily, than graduating in the middle of the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973, then being unemployed for a year, then going to work in the middle of the desert at minimum wage for a couple years.

I HAVE had time to try another package by Alfred Publishing, called "Essentials of Music Theory V2.0" That is very good. I made a lot of progress in a short period of time with that. Unfortunately, I got side tracked by other chores, maintenance and demands. So it too, has been growing dust for half a year, along with other great stuff much still in shrink wrap, til I can get back to it.

[aFinn]

Thinking of starting up a musical career Bob?

In our series of changing subject: Finnish tv has been using Shania's When You Kiss Me at the end of their Nordic Ski Champs broadcasts :p

[RJ]

Thinking of starting up a musical career Bob?


Well, there's a chance that I might discover some new ability, and invent some unique tools that facilitate the writing of music. Wouldn't it be great if it were easy for beginners and children to easily learn and create music as a way to express themselves and communicate? But I only expect to explore these concepts more as a hobby, initially.

Mostly I'm just curious to find out "how it works," by exploring the elements and aspects of writing music.

The vocal coach part of it relates to using my speaking voice. Sometimes I have good ideas, but they don't get heard because of the noise in my voice. It's similar to trying to improve my writing. There's some noise in my written words too. Not sure the cause. I don't think it's only stupidity. What if there were some other form of communication that I was better at?


In our series of changing subject: Finnish tv has been using Shania's When You Kiss Me at the end of their Nordic Ski Champs broadcasts :p
Really? What's the connection between the song and the ski events?

[Shaniabomber99]

Thanks Jussie

Carley

[FinnFreak]

Really? What's the connection between the song and the ski events?
...probably the director is a Shania fan... :]



Thanks Jussie

Carley
You're welcome, Carley..!


John - :)

[Troll]

Thinking of starting up a musical career Bob?

In our series of changing subject: Finnish tv has been using Shania's When You Kiss Me at the end of their Nordic Ski Champs broadcasts :p

:cool: :great: :bounce:

[aFinn]

Really? What's the connection between the song and the ski events?Like Jussi said, it seems like there is a Shania fan among the crew there as there is no direct connection that I can see :p

[Kristian]

Thanks so much for all the info guys :)