Fans Rule! - the new music business model

If you're not into social networking and you want to sell music, you either need to get into it or get someone who IS into it to become a part of your marketing team. Instead of being depressed, I have to say I'm energized by the way music business's apple cart has been turned over and the bottlenecks are irreparably broken. Now listening and concert-attending FANS are driving the business, instead of the other way around. I say, "long live fan-archy!" hehehe...

There are awesome stories on the net of music marketing successes using this new model. Go here to read about some) .

Don't be fooled...It's HARD WORK doing business this way. To become successful... (and I am borrowing from the writings of Internet marketers such as Mari Smith and Brian Clark) ... you must:

1. Connect with your fans.
2. Interest your fans in staying around.
   
3. Motivate and excite the fans so much that they want to buy from you.
   

Think you'd have to make millions of fans to "make it"? ... Here are two links to a debate going on about the premise that it only takes 1000 "True Fans" to make a living in the music business:

http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2008/03/1000_true_fans.php

http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2008/04/the_case_agains.php

Social networking sites I recommend for you to put up your profile and become active:

1. Myspace.com
Recommended resource: Bob Baker's "My Space Music Marketing" (about $20)

2. Facebook.com
Recommended resource: Mari Smith's "Facebook Fortunes" (free)

3. Twitter.com
Recommended resource: "Why Twitter Isn't A Waste Of Time" (blogpost)

Anybody out there have other suggestions to share? Click "comment" below this post!

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!

What would I do as producer of your project?

I got a new request recently to explain what I do in my role as producer or vocal producer.

If you are a new artist and are contemplating recording a project, the following may help you know what to expect, or what questions to ask of the producer you are working with or considering.

As producer of your project:

• I would hold a face-to-face planning consultation with you
• I would explain the options you have and costs of different kinds of recorded projects (full tracks demo, limited pressing, master OR a smaller project like piano or guitar and vocal, etc.) Once we decided together what kind of project to do and how many songs...
• I would help you find and choose songs that fit you.
• I then suggest taking some voice lessons to get your voice ready and to work on the songs and keys.
• If we are doing full band, I would have a "pre-production" meeting with you, and sometimes with the band leader, going over musician choices and production ideas.
• I would book the band, the recording studio and engineer according to your budget and write the charts.
• Then I would produce the tracking session. You would do "scratch tracks", singing them as the musicians play, but not trying for final vocals.
• At this point, I recommend taking the rough tracks home and working with them for a while (a couple weeks to a couple months), and if possible, work on them at several more voice lessons. When you and I feel you are confident with them...
• I would book the vocal sessions with the studio and any needed background vocals.
• Then I would produce your lead vocals and background vocals.
• Then I would have it mixed, you and I would listen to the mix, do any tweaks and ok the final mix.
  

My production fee would be negotiated according to the type project. Of course, it it's just piano or guitar vocal or pre-existing track, I would charge much less because the time required would also be much less. Vocal lessons would be an extra fee you would need to include in your budget. You would also need to pay separately for any graphics and duplication you want.

As vocal producer of your project:

• I would usually work with your over-all project producer and engineer to get your best vocals. Most often I give a short vocal consultation (lesson) before we begin.
• Sometimes, according to the producer and engineer's wishes, I help "comp" the vocal tracks on the spot.

My vocal production fee is $80 an hour. Typical length of time is one to two hours per song.

I hope this helps you plan your project, whether or not I work on it. I always love working with other producers - on the team as vocal coach, vocal producer or consultant. There are many creative solutions that can help you get the best project for your budget. If you have any questions, please click the comment link and I'll be happy to reply.

Ways to mend a pesky vocal break - part 3

OK, this will be the last in this series of posts on vocal breaks. Truth be told, I could write a book on this subject, but you all gave me so many other great requests about which to write! So, I'm going to wrap this subject up by letting you in on one of the core secrets of my teaching.

Before I developed the concepts of the Power, Path & Performance, I had the worst and most un-mendable (or so I thought) vocal break I've ever heard in anyone. My brilliant Nashville vocal coach Gerald Arthur helped me get my voice back after it was damaged by an endotracheal tube (I spent some time hooked to a ventilator many years ago). I still had that pesky break, though with Gerald's help I learned to mask it well and continue on with my vocal career as a session singer, and then a recording artist. Thank you, Gerald, from my heart and soul!

Not too long after I began teaching voice I was given a book by a student who asked me to explain it to him. The author was vocal coach Jeffrey Allen of California. In his book Mr. Allen suggested holding a mental picture of a question-mark shaped path that the voice should take. That imagery opened up a whole world for me.

I began experimenting with what that path meant to me and how I could use it with my students. Long story short... this is what mends vocal breaks every day in my office:

Use your power- your compressed breath power located in your pelvic floor- to lift you into the balcony above and behind you. NOT STRAIGHT UP. You have to lift a little to the back, bending your upper spine to do so. DO NOT LIFT YOUR CHIN. This action should cause you to raise your eyebrows and look like you're about to say "I don't THINK so" very sarcastically.

Then... use the word (articulated with meaning) to PULL sound from the balcony to your audience. DO NOT MOVE YOUR HEAD FORWARD. Notice, you don't pull with your head, your neck or your jaw... you just pronounce the word and direct it to the listener.

In summary...Your voice should come from the pelvic floor, lift to the balcony above and behind you, then travel to the audience. This path is complicated, often frustrating when first trying to learn it, but it works. If you've been pushing your voice through your break, this will feel like learning to walk all over again. But every one of my students will tell you - it's well worth the effort. Why?

• It causes gives you access to great breath support and control.
• It enables vibration from your larynx to resonate in the open spaces of the nose, sinuses, pharynx, mouth, and possibly even trachea -resulting in rich tone colors and expanded range.
• It causes the vocal cords to freely change length and width, and allows the larynx to tilt freely according to the pitch.
• It makes your voice feel GREAT! You will have NO vocal strain.
• And...it erases the break. Every time, in everybody, if done correctly.

To this day, if I don't pull my voice in this path, I will find myself back with my old break. But I know how to erase the pesky thing! And I can do it any time I want! Yeah!!

Thanks to Jeffrey Allen for graciously allowing me to use his imagery in my method. You can find his book "Secrets Of Singing" at http://www.vocalsuccess.com . And of course, you can find my PPP cds at http://www.judyrodman.com/power-path-performance.htm .

Loosening a tight jaw: two specific tips

I wanted to add this information today for Nav's benefit - Two specific tips for loosening the jaw:

1. Let the jaw open like a monkey wrench, not like pliers. Put your knuckle between your molars on one side and try to sing like that until the jaw loosens.

2. Let the jaw move SLOWLY and SLIGHTLY to the side while singing "ee" and "oo" vowels to loosen the lockdown.

Ways to mend a pesky vocal break - part 2

This is a continuation of my post series on the subject of vocal breaks. I had a great question emailed (thanks, Nav!) to me today about the jaw's function in singing. Oddly enough, incorrect jaw actions are among the things that will cause and/or exacerbate a vocal break.

Vocal register breaks, as indicated in my previous post, are caused and made worse by whatever interferes with allowing changes in length, tension and mass of the vocal cords as the singer moves through different pitches. Top 5 causes I see...

1. Locking the jaw
2. Tightening the base of the tongue (which goes along with locking the jaw)
3. Freezing the spinal position
4. Tensing shoulders
5. Numb facial expression or eye movement
6. Choosing to sing or talk too high or too low, causing chronic tension and strain.

Why do we do these vocally dysfunctional things? Top 4 reasons I see:

1. To try to keep the voice FROM breaking (unaware that guarding and over-controlling to try and eliminate the problem inadvertently makes it worse)
2. To try and hit notes that are difficult (again, a bit of a catch-22)
3. Because of some erroneous vocal training that says to keep the jaw or any of the other body parts I just mentioned perfectly still, (Run, don't walk, from this kind of teaching)
4. Bad habit - talking too low (constantly "hitting gravel"), trying to sing in keys that are too high or low for the current capabilities of the voice, not realizing the locking up this is causing.

What can we do to change our habits?

1. First become aware of what you are actually doing. Watch yourself perform a song in front of a mirror. Do you see any of those actions I just listed?
2. Record yourself talking. Do you hear tension, monotone, gravel, lack of breath? Try talking with much more animation and "life" and record it again until your body, spine, face, tongue, jaw are loose and flexible.
3. Do corrective wall and mirror work. In front of a mirror, stand with your back against the wall... back of the head and heel against the wall. Now slowly try to loosen those areas I named on purpose - while you are watching. Notice the effects.
4. Out of the pressure of public performance, privately practice doing things a different way. At first it may get worse before it gets better - like it would be if we were learning to walk with a different stride. Relax, relax, relax and trust the process.
5. If you have my vocal training course, just listen over and over to the first two Cd's to let the insights sink in.

Comments are always welcome as you try my suggestions. Next post, I'll give amazingly effective tips to open the throat channel at the break point. Yes, this will be about the correct vocal "Path".