Category: Chapters/Articles by Diana Yampolsky:

In this column, I would like to talk about the vocal parts and the proper assembly of them that contributes to the Total Vocal Performance. When a potential student comes to me for assessment and evaluation, I look at many of the components that could be crucial to his future success as a singing performer. First, I conduct an interview with the person and make an assessment of his or her interaction with me. If the responses are right on target and given at a reasonable speed, the person has a very good chance to become a future successful singer. It is, in a manner of speaking, like a low speed computer vs. a high powered Super Computer. If there is no proper ‘hardware’ on someone’s shoulders, there is no point in instilling a high quality ‘software program’ into them. After they have ‘passed’ the interview, I put them on the floor to see how they can connect their brain to the other parts of their body, as the Vocal Science technique is ultimately an integration and synergy between the mental, physical, emotional and vocal state of the human being. If any of the components are missing or not properly connected, the installation of the proper instructions might be virtually impossible. This is the wholesome mechanism that we are talking about and the parts cannot be useful unless they are working in conjunction with each other. It’s just like starting a car. You can’t kind of start a car – you either start it or not. Obviously, if one of the components is missing or disconnected, or even if just the fuel is missing, the car is not going to take you anywhere. In this instance, as in the singing mechanism, we need a driving force, ie. a global performance of all of the components.

Next, after the brain, I definitely assess the physical muscles that are responsible for the vocal performance. These ‘Vocal Parts’ are as follows. The vocal box, which could be small or big (bigger is obviously better) and flat or arched (arched is much preferred as the curved roof of the mouth will allow a greater body for the sound – just like a properly arched ballerina’s feet will allow her to achieve a greater ballet performance). The vocal chords, which can be short or long (ultimately, the longer the better, as that automatically implies a greater range). The vocal chords can also be thin or thick (average size is the best). If the vocal chords are thin the voice will be much higher, but may lack the lower tones and the body. If the vocal chords are on the thicker side, it will be much harder for the singer to achieve the higher range, yet the lower notes and the body of the sound will be perfectly intact. The anatomy of the face (facial cavities and facial muscles) – the wider the face is and the deeper the cavities are, the fuller sound will be that is produced. The length of the jaw should be proportional to the size of the head, otherwise it will be much harder to control the sound. The lips (thin or full) and the mouth opening also play a crucial role in the vocal performance. Fuller lips and a bigger mouth are the best combination for a much easier and more pleasantly produced sound. The abdominal muscles (lower abdomen and upper diaphragm ‘ the strength of the former and the width of the latter) also play a very important role, as well as the proportions of the physical body. Longer legs and a shorter upper body are much preferred as the sound flies on top and above the body and, in this instance, the altitude of the sound will be much greater and the sound will be much easier to throw to its aimed destination. Proper posture plays a very important role in the equation. At the beginning stages of the installation of the Vocal Science technique, the posture has to resemble that of a ballet dancer. Speaking of ballet, any dancer who is involved in serious ballet dancing begins his/her day at the bar, where, according to the great dancers, everything begins and ends. At the bar they check their posture, centre, etc. They also work on separate elements of which the future dance will consist of. Then they let go of the bar and their routines start usually at the corner of the ballet studio. If before they were repeating each element up to 32 times (ie. 32 bars of music), now in these 32 bars they fit in five, six or more elements combined together. And then and only then does the dance begin. All the elements are properly interconnected in sequence and now we can witness, for instance, a part of a future ‘Giselle’ or ‘Nutcracker’. The dance was born. Similarly for singing, as we have the proper body parts working with the proper elements of the future song, we will have the SONG. The singer could relax now. By the repetition of certain vocal exercises, achieving proper posture with the certain body exercises, this will put him into the proper mode on automatic pilot. At this point the singer only has to be concerned about his artistic presentation, as all the physical parts are now intact. The perfect ensemble between the mental, physical and vocal parts, as well as the combination of technical and artistic merit, will help to achieve the totality of the vocal performance.

Vocal Dyslexia – Anatomy and Psychology of Vocal Performance

Often people ask me how I come up with so much material on singing. I write on the subject for several music publications and have written two books on the subject that do not borrow or use any of the standard ideas of other writers and theorists. The truth is that I have no shortage of material, I simply teach a lot of students how to sing. Almost everything I have ever written on the topic of singing has come to me because of an experience with a student or group of students. In this chapter, I would like to talk about something that has afflicted quite a few of my students over the years: ‘Vocal Dyslexia’.

Dyslexia is defined as a disturbance of the ability to read. Essentially, when a dyslexic person tries to read, the words are all jumbled and mixed up. Vocal Dyslexics have a similar problem – they have a misalignment with regards to the conscious and subconscious minds and the voice as an outcome. Basically, Vocal Dyslexia is the result of a ‘short circuit’ in the connection between the speech center in the brain and the voice. In many ways, it’s similar to a mild form of epilepsy and attention deficit disorder. In fact, I have taught quite a few people with ADD and it has resulted in not only improving their singing abilities, but also their school studies and work performance. By doing special repetitive exercises, I establish a precedent (picture) in the brain and train the brain to give the signal to the voice without any gaps, ie. the thought and response work on a parallel track simultaneously and in synchronicity. In effect, this puts the person in balance and ensures that they will think and act in unison. This also cures both chronic procrastinators and overly manic personalities alike.

Indeed, I meet a lot of different people and different personality types due to my profession. I’d like to share with you some observations that I have made over the years. People with light inner energy benefit from my method the most. They are usually very easygoing, very easily take directions, absorb the information well, and, most importantly, are able to ‘fly to the universe’ without any obstructions. They take off very easily (lift the sound off their physical body), enjoy the flight and land safely. Usually, these people are already very balanced and make good singers down the road. Another category is the people who have heavy-duty inner energy (the physical weight has no relevance to the issue); to get these people to release their voices from their physical bodies is nearly impossible. During these lessons, I feel like I am trying to lift two three-hundred-pound dumbells. Of course, they can become singers similarly to figure skaters who flawlessly skate their programs but look like “hippos on ice”! I prefer to watch a figure skater who might make a mistake or two, but is nonetheless ‘flying above the ice’.

Several years ago at the Juno Awards, I saw the Canadian artist Amanda Marshall perform. Yes, I was able to pinpoint some technical flaws in her singing – after all, I can’t help it, due to my occupational hazard of being a Vocal Specialist – but what I was amazed by was her stage presence. She was literally flying above the stage or at least it seemed to me that she did. I could see that other people in the audience were also ‘flown and blown away’ with her performance. Her performance was the perfect definition of a ‘flight to the universe’. Essentially, I use a ‘Pavlovian’ approach to voice training. You’re probably familiar with the story of “Pavlov’s Dog.” In the early 1900s, Dr. Pavlov, a Russian Chemist and Physiologist, was studying the digestive process in dogs and the interaction between salivation and the action of the stomach. He realized that they were closely linked by reflexes in the autonomic nervous system. Without salivation, the stomach didn’t get the message to start digesting. Pavlov wanted to see if external stimuli could affect this process, so he rang a bell at the same time he gave the dogs food. After a while, the dogs – which before only salivated when they saw and ate their food – would begin to salivate when the bell rang, even if no food was present. He called this a “conditioned reflex,” an action that has to be learned. Pavlov called this learning process “conditioning.” I approach vocal instruction in a similar manner – the exercises I have developed are meant to ensure that my students develop conditioned vocal reflexes so that they will eventually work on ‘automatic pilot’ upon command.

It is for this reason, that I describe my Vocal Science method as a scientific approach to vocal mechanics; I work mainly on the brain to better the voice. To conclude, the important components that I believe will make an exceptional singer are; good physical vocal abilities, a proportional body, balanced personality, well-rounded intelligence, light inner energy and the capability to receive and then process the proper instruction. When these components are firmly in place, a beautiful performance is guaranteed!

In this article, I would like to talk about the modern recording studio and its inherent advantages and disadvantages. One of the most frustrating things for me as a music lover is when I see a performer who cannot come even remotely close to reproducing live what we have heard on CD. Unfortunately, this has become the norm rather than the exception and much of the reason for it is the modern recording studio. At the advent of popular music, artists such as Elvis and the Beatles had only very rudimentary recording equipment at their disposal and their albums were essentially live performances recorded in a studio. The band played together and the singers often shared a single microphone. Most people would not even think of recording this way today, but this method of recording produced the very real benefit of not allowing performers the opportunity to hide behind technology and mask their flaws. Singers had to be able to sing well and bands had to play well. There were no overdubs or pitch shifting tools available. Unlike today, most performers did not go into the studio until they had really honed their skills as a live performer. The benefit of this was that when they had to play live to support their record, they were genuinely good performers and could replicate what people heard on the radio.

Today’s studios possess millions of dollars of sophisticated equipment. They can change the pitches of a recorded instrument or voice, they can add all kinds of effects to make things sound different and performances are not captured on tape but edited and compiled on computers. This has been great for creating CD’s that sound fabulous in headphones but has also had quite a few very negative effects on the recording industry.

Firstly, the majority of live performances are pretty unsatisfying. Because the recording studio can now compensate for unpolished or weak performers, many artists have great sounding records that they can’t reproduce live. Their voices sound thinner, shakier and more off key in person. (The ones that are really weak singers will simply lip synch to their record when giving a “live” performance!) That said, technology is never inherently harmful or evil, it is how human beings apply technology that is either good or bad and music is no exception. Recently, I had the opportunity to participate in two recording sessions that utilized the modern recording studio in very different ways.

Vocal Genie in a Bottle

The first of these two sessions was a real revelation to me. Having worked for years as an In-studio Vocal Producer in many different recording studios I was very familiar with the technology available to artists. But in this instance, the things that the engineers were doing were truly remarkable and showed that technology seems to have experienced another big jump in the last several years. I showed up at the studio and proceeded to watch the artist lay down her vocal track. It was thin sounding, off-key in places and generally sounded bad. After all, she was very inexperienced. I was sure that the engineers would tell her that this track was pretty much useless and that she would have to record another. Instead, they told her that it was great and basically sent her home so they could fix and mix the track in private. After this artist left I approached the engineers and told them I was surprised that they were going to keep the track she recorded. Their response was that it really didn’t matter; they knew she couldn’t sing and that they could fix her performance in the mix. They went to work and did exactly that. The final result was stunning. The artist’s voice was not recognizable. It was almost a state of the art performance, but it had nothing to do with the original state of the track. What’s the point? I know for a fact that the artist was never going to be able to produce the mixed track live or at least she wouldn’t be able to at this point in her development as a singer. Furthermore, although the singing sounded full and completely in key, it also sounded somewhat cold and sterile, as well as lacking any type of human emotion. I was both impressed and appalled by what the engineers had created. They literally engineered a Frankenstein monster of a song. In many ways, this approach to vocal production is akin to the artificial insemination techniques that are often used to help couples conceive babies when for whatever reason they cannot accomplish it naturally. In this instance, modern technology is very helpful as it allows people to realize their dreams. But in the case of ‘vocal invitro fertilization’ I consider it to be a complete fraud. Furthermore, in the cases of artificial insemination the baby was conceived in a ‘bottle’ but was implanted back into the mother’s womb and then naturally delivered by her. In the cases of ‘vocal invitro fertilization’ the ‘baby’ (vocal genie) was not ‘implanted’ back into the singer’s anatomy and, therefore, in the final analysis, the performer could not sing to save her life. Either the performer can sing or he or she should not be given the opportunity to do it artificially. Afterall, there are more than enough talented singers who wouldn’t need to have a performance engineered for them. They can cut it naturally.

Enhancing of the Natural Performance

A few weeks later I took part in another recording session with one of my most talented and accomplished clients. Again, she was singing in a studio that had all the bells and whistles. After she had recorded her performance (which was very good) the producers mixed the track. The song sounded great, as it retained all of the spirit and emotional qualities of my artist. Yes, of course they also used state of the art technology but only used it to enhance the original performance rather than to create something entirely new, ie. a little reverb here and there and a cool flanging effect during the bridge. This was a prime example of how to use the modern studio to add the icing on the cake and not to create the cake from scratch with artificial ingredients. In my opinion, this is the way that artists should record. The new technology should be used along with the natural talent of the artist in the same way that a great writer now uses word processing and benefits from computer graphics and desktop publishing software. Change is the one thing in this world that is constant and to resist it outright is futile. But with respect to how people are using modern recording technology, we need to ensure that it is beneficial to the final product, instead of being harmful.

If you spend any time reading music industry publications or follow music-related media, you might have picked up on a recent trend: a lot of high profile performers are “experiencing difficulties?” with their voices. Not to sound insensitive, but in a way, this is actually a blessing in disguise. How so you may ask? They have been given a wakeup call that, if heeded, will make them better singers and their music that much more pleasureable to listen to.

Recently, a new client approached me because both his singing voice and his speaking voice were damaged. The person admitted that he had known about me for many years, had seen my advertising all over the place and had read my articles in Canadian Musician and other publications. Like the majority of singers, he did not see the need to consult a vocal specialist until he started having problems with his voice. (I believe this is akin to somebody realizing they should have taken some skydiving lessons after they have jumped out of the plane!) This fellow had damaged his voice by singing for years with incorrect vocal technique and did not decide to contact anybody until his voice was almost literally gone. The fact that he has all but lost his voice and finally decided to seek the help of a Vocal Specialist is actually a blessing because he will now learn how to sing without damaging his vocal anatomy and, as a side effect, will also sound exponentially better.

As strange as it may sound, I have found that these types of vocal problems are the norm rather than the exception. Furthermore, I must admit that I am not that impressed with the majority of “professional” singers I hear on the radio. Many can sing as well as I can fly an airplane and I most definitely do not have a pilot’s license. Therefore, at the risking of sounding quite cold, I must admit that voice problems are actually a positive occurrence for many aspiring singers. The benefits are two fold. Firstly, they will learn to sing in a way that will not damage their voice. Secondly, they will no longer be insulting listeners with off key singing, strained deliveries, and all forms of “meowing”, “howling” and “whining”! If that is not a blessing, then what is?

A safe voice revolution is my take off on the safe sex revolution. When people realized that unprotected sex could harm their health and even kill them, they started to engage in safe sex. Most people were also motivated to change their sexual habits because they did not want to catch a sexually transmitted disease and pass it on to someone they cared about. Too many performers do not apply the same type of thinking to singing. As I already mentioned before, they strain their voice until nodes appear and often hurt the ears of the people they should care about the most – the audience. Just as it is insane to have unprotected sex in this day and age, so too is it to not consult a vocal specialist. Vocal Specialist’s services should not be considered expensive at any cost as a safe voice for the performer and increased pleasure for the audience is guaranteed! We all know that the best medicine is preventative medicine, therefore, taking care of your health before illness occurs is a must. In many ways, instruction in the basic technical aspects of singing should be as central a part of a singer’s life as a healthy diet and physical exercise.

Unfortunately, the majority of people do not even recognize the technical part of singing. In art forms such as ballet and figure skating the performers are judged on artistic merit AND technical ability. With singing most people only talk about the artistic aspects. I believe that vocal technique needs to be recognized and emphasized as it is in other art forms. I suspect that one reason that vocal technique is not really recognized by people in the music business is because there is no one, true established technique that is accepted by everyone.

 However, I am encouraged that a safe voice revolution truly has begun. The increasing acceptance of the importance of my profession attests to it. One of the greatest truisms is that sometimes bad things that happen to you are actually just what you need. I would like to note that even though I can make a decent living repairing damaged voices and I believe that helping the sick is the most honourable thing a person can do, my preference is to work with healthy voices. In many ways, I would compare myself to a builder who prefers to build a castle with good marble instead of cracked and chipped bricks. Too often I have to work with the latter but I find solace in the fact that a Safe Voice Revolution is truly picking up steam. So please strive to practice safe (and correct) singing. You audience will thank you!

In the previous article, entitled ‘How Not to Become a Singer’, I outlined, in a humourous and sarcastic way, many of the problems that hinder most aspiring singers. In this month’s column, I would like to seriously offer you a different approach which will hopefully help you learn how to reach your full potential as a singer. Whenever I conduct one of my educational seminars, I always start by saying to the audience that I did not come here to prove anybody wrong or to prove myself right; I came to offer something different and you can accept it or reject it. And on that note, I would like to talk about two things that may at first seem different or even rather conflicting in nature: Science and Spirituality. Your first response may be something along the lines of “I hated science in high school” or “I sing rock music not gospel.” Therefore, I would like to invite you to open your mind and entertain the possibility of seeing yourself and your voice in a completely different way.

I call my method of vocal instruction Vocal Science because I believe that I have developed a proven scientific method to producing sound and producing the best possible vocal performance. The first point to understand is that sound is a physical material body and it travels as such upon the laws of physics and geometry. The second point to understand is that you can compare your body to a very complex, high level computer, and your anatomy and physiology represent the hardware. As you probably know, software is essentially a set of instructions, and hardware is useless unless you have the proper software running on it. Your brain is like a computer’s CPU and everything you do (i.e. walking, talking, eating) is essentially the process of running software. The act of singing works the same way and your voice is the output resulting from your physical hardware and your software, i.e. training or lack thereof. Unfortunately, we cannot simply drive to Future Shop and buy the software that will make us a great singer (or painter, athlete or doctor). We acquire our software through learning. There are two ways you can learn: through your own experience or by having someone teach you. When I start instructing students, I not only have to give them the proper program, but I have to DEBUG or UNINSTALL the previous software or deal with a “VIRUS” on their system that they have somehow caught. Then through the method of visualization and special exercises we can access the cell in the speech center of your brain which is responsible for the voice (singing and speaking) and input the instructions for it to do exactly what we want it to.

In 24 years of teaching, I have discovered that there are four components that make up the mechanism which allows your voice to reach its fullest capacity: Physical Support of your body, structure, placement of the sound and, as a final outcome, the projection of the sound to its aimed destination. Complying with these components will guarantee that there is no pain or strain on your vocal anatomy.

There is one thing that sets human beings apart from complex machines running algorithms: our spirits. In many ways, singing is a lot like the martial arts. Most Martial Arts are not only techniques for fighting or self-defense, but are also philosophies of how to live your life. They consist of good technique and a spiritual component. I approach singing the same way. Good technique is the basis upon which a singer’s spirit is free to soar. It is your spirit (along with your completely individual physical body, i.e. no two people have the exact same DNA) that makes you different from anyone else and makes you unique. (Why try to sound like Celine Dion or Mick Jagger. The world already has one of each.) Only when you sing with proper technique are you able to project a voice that is purely yours and reflects your individual self. It is your spirit that separates a technically good performance from one that is truly authentic. Many of my past and present students have not only developed good technique but have improved in all aspects of their life or have changed their lifestyle completely. They are healthier, more positive, and more fulfilled. The process of learning proper balance for singing will reflect in more balance in your life. Conversely, a singer with incorrect technique cannot give a truly special performance because their spirit, i.e. voice, is inhibited by “bugs” or “viruses” in their software. By experience, many people are coming to me and dying to express their emotions and release their voice. I help them to discover and uncover it and let it soar. The congruency of the physical sound and the emotional rapport with the audience produces the desired total performance, i.e. combination of technical skill and artistic merit.

Vocal Science is at its most basic an alignment of the subconscious mind, conscious mind, and physical body, which are then put into total integration and synergy with each other. This is the formula for the ideal vocal performance. By using specially designed exercises with the appropriate repetition, you can program your mind so that when you sing you will perform many of the technical aspects of singing subconsciously. Seventy-five per cent of your performance will come out on automatic pilot and you will need only a small amount of conscious effort to put your performance in place. Your physical body is the condition of your hardware; your spirit is the individual intangible that will make your voice and performance something that is unique and reflective of your state of being. The release of your spirit into the performance of a song is dependent upon using the correct technique.

The act of singing is then a combination of good technique and your individual self. I have titled the book which I am in the process of writing: Vocal Science: Flight to the Universe, to reflect my belief that a scientific approach to vocal technique is what will allow your voice (i.e. spirit) to take flight and soar. I will expand upon these ideas and provide more detailed information in the following chapters.

How NOT to Become a Singer (And Work Harder at Doing It)

I thought that in this chapter I would vent a little of my frustration and have some fun while sharing some of the insights I’ve gained over the years regarding myths about learning to sing.)

Since everyone knows it takes years of arduous work to become even a moderately good singer (myth #1), for once I’ll go with the status quo and add what I know to it, so as to assist people in working harder at taking even longer at it. Most people have this under control, so this article is to keep it that way and is also for those few who may be breaking this long tradition (like myself) and doing it faster, easier and more naturally.

The first point is to be sure and drop your jaw while singing (a little is good but more is better) because it traps the sound in the throat preventing it from being lifted off the larynx to the upper palate, thru the four main vocal chambers or cavities and outward with anything close to your maximum power.

The second, and equally important point, is to sing from your diaphragm and push your stomach out. This prevents the upper diaphragm from expanding fully, therefore limiting your air supply and increasing the likelihood that you’ll run out of air depending on the length of the note or phrase you’re singing. An excellent way to train yourself for this is to lay on the floor and find yourself a nice thick book to place on your abdomen (the Toronto yellow pages works great) and “pump paper” up and down until you can stick that stomach out so that even a punch won’t phase you. Then you’ll be sure that the upper diaphragm will never open fully.

Next you should sing with your speaking voice i.e. sing each syllable of your lyrics using your vocal cords with your chin down and without any support or structure to it (“closing” each syllable) which characteristically produces a “pear” shaped opening inside the mouth and cuts the sound short making it less than truly sing-able. This will help avoid lifting the sound off of the vocal cords, bouncing the sound off the upper palate (“opening” the syllable) and projecting the properly structured sound outward which produces a round “apple” shaped sound inside the mouth and making the sound, unfortunately, more sing-able. (This is also, by the way, why people with accents tend to lose them while singing. More about this in future issues.)

While we’re on the subject of the shape of things, be sure and breath only through the nose because it tends to make the shape inside the mouth more elongated or banana shaped and the sound more nasal. Great eh!

Another way to make more work for yourself singing (and have less as a singer) is to make certain that as far as your head goes, you sing only with your jaw and mouth including your tongue and lips. This excludes the use of your facial muscles and reduces the likelihood that any resonance in those nasty head cavities I mentioned earlier will take place causing your sound to be amplified (God forbid) and unavoidably reflected off the upper palate and projected outward to the audience.

Tilting the head back is very important since it directs the trajectory of the sound away from the audience. This is particularly useful in bands because it not only means that you will have to put more energy into getting the sound out to the audience but it also means that you will be directing some of the sound back behind you to set a proper example for any of your band members that might be developing a “natural” singing voice.

Bending your knees is a great technique for limiting your power as a singer. Since sound is a physical thing, bending your knees changes the ratios relating to your height and the arc of the trajectory for the sound will cover much less distance , which is what you want right?

Another very relevant issue that I would like to cover in detail in the future and that I’ll just touch on here is diet. One of the single most important causes of throat problems with singing is mucous. Sound can’t lift off of thin air, it lifts off the vocal chords. Dancers don’t dance on carpet, they dance on hardwood floors. This is so they can get a proper lift. In the same way, you can prevent a really sharp “lift” with each and every note you’re singing if you have lots of mucous and phlegm on your cords and in your system. The best foods to eat to get this way are animal products especially beef, pork, milk, eggs and cheese, although all dairy products will do a really great job of getting you there. Foods to avoid would be mucous burning foods and herbs (cayenne tops the list) or fresh fruits and vegetables, grains, legumes and anything else whole and unprocessed that doesn’t have a face.

One of the best ways to practice not becoming a singer that I personally know of is to sing scales. If you look even superficially at the songs you’re singing, you’ll see that they are composed of a certain finite number of specific combinations of sounds, durations and pitch. Singing scales has nothing whatsoever to do with developing yourself to be able to vocally anticipate these in any song. So sing lots of scales and don’t worry, no one either in Russia (my teachers were the best available) or here in the west has ever made any connection between scales and training the voice to do what’s needed to sing properly to me ever. So there’s no danger of you becoming accomplished fast with this approach. (Personally, I developed my own set of exercises based on this subset of sounds, durations and pitch that train the voice to anticipate any part of any song of any style easily but you don’t want to hear about it.)

Finally, be sure and spend time working each of these exercises individually and never collectively because even the thought of integrating or harmonizing the various aspects of your singing might slow you down in your efforts to slow down your singing progress, and that would never do.

So, until next time, work long and hard, and whatever you do, if you want to avoid rapid easy vocal development at any level, stay as far away as you can from me and the Royans School. Or turn the page and learn “how to become a singer”.

Vocal Producer in the Recording Studio – What’s That?
Does it have a Meaning and Significance Conveyed in the English Language, or Should I Perhaps Communicate in ‘Avatarian’?

Everybody knows now that after the premier of the movie ‘Avatar’, people started to learn what’s called now ‘Avatarian’ language.

If you ask me, they’ve spoken Avatarian for quite a while now and even much before the movie was premiered. I certainly have difficulties to understand some of my potential clients and, seems to be, our languages are not corresponding with each other, since I’m still speaking pure English, in a better understanding of that word.

Similarly, when I’m still speaking English, and trying to plead to the music industry professionals, music producers included, they think that I speak Avatarian, whatever that’s supposed to mean. They’re simply unable to understand why they would need a vocal specialist/vocal expert/vocal producer for God’s sake, in the studio with them. Meanwhile, some of those producers who never sang a note themselves ever before, are trying to give instructions to the vocalists how to produce the certain sounds to their satisfaction.

Obviously, if we’re talking about Celine Dion or Peabo Bryson, then granted, they just needed the direction from their producers, as they were extremely vocally sound and did not require extra vocal care. But that’s the exception of the rule, especially if we’re talking about up and coming artists. Those music producers, at best, know what they want to hear, but in the majority of cases, they do not know how to pull out the best performance from the vocalist of almost any calibre.

That’s where I come in and try to explain that I can do exactly that, and while obeying the instructions given to me and the artist by the producer, nevertheless, produce exactly what was asked of both of us. It sounds very simple, but not easy at all. Not easy, because the majority of those producers are getting into competitions with me playing the role of the vocal producer – instead of being thankful for a very much so needed skill in the recording studio, they’re simply being ignorant.

All of this also reminds me of a television show Rockstar Supernova in 2006. Needless to say that my most talented student Lukas Rossi has won this competition with the flying colours and put to shame the bass player Jason Newsted of Metallica, who in some similar to Avatarian language then, was trying to explain to Lukas how to release his ‘gift’ while dropping his jaw down to his knees to look and sound like a ‘pregnant ballerina’. Lukas, to his credit, was very much so resistant to those comments, as he knew better than that. His argument back to all of them involved in the production was, ‘I’ve been singing for over fifteen years now and never lost my voice’. The hired vocal coach and Jason Newsted were insisting that Lukas would ‘open his throat’ to produce what they were looking for. All of those comments were completely against and irrelevant to all of what Lukas knew by that point and what made him a successful artist in the first place.

I could compare all of this to the precedent of me coming up to Tommy Lee, the greatest drummer of all times, and telling him to lift his drum stick in a certain way while myself never having played the drums in my entire existence. How valid would my comments be and what expertise would I base my comments on?

Meanwhile, back to Rockstar Supernova television show, quite often, before the beginning of the show, there were scrolls showing up with the saying, ‘Lukas knows some kind of unknown vocal technique. Let’s find out what it is’. They found out alright, and to their credit still chose the best of the best, Lukas Rossi.

However, on a positive note, there are engineers and producers that are still in existence who embrace exactly that – the coaching, consulting, expertise and production in the studio during the vocal session.

I’ve been working in Canada in numerous studios for over 30 years now. From one very prominent engineer/producer, I’ve learned that in the old style console, there is a magic button – fader – which could do wonders, especially if it’s done manually, hands on console. That’s what the old school producers and engineers call ‘Classic Mix’ or ‘Vocal Ride’. Almost three decades ago, I was offered to ‘play’ with that button and now I think I mastered it as good as nowadays’ population mastered the Avatarian language (lol).

Just recently I sent my production to one of the prominent producers in UK, who, seems to be, has a much more open mind and more than adequate expertise. The version with no rides was vastly different from the version with rides and he acknowledged that. Yes, the fader button could be mistaken for the volume button, but not only volume and dynamics could be achieved while subtly and with care and knowledge moving that button along the vocal lines.

Working with that magic button creates dynamics, inflections, emphasis, separation of the syllables and other benefits, which come out and become apparent once I am done with it. Since I do it manually (hands on the console) you can literally hear and sense my feel on top of the artist’s performance.

The UK producer added after listening to the demo sent to him of my up and coming artist who he will be working with down the road. ‘Riding the vocal is a great technique as it usually means you can get away with less compression and, like you say, bring out particular details of the performance.’

That said it all, pretty much, and confirmed my belief, one more time again, of my usefulness in the studio above and beyond producing the sound and extracting the best possible and authentic vocal performance out of the artist.

What does the Vocal Science™ method entail?

And what does it mean: “Vocal Innovation and Modernization”, and why, in this case, it takes place…? 

The answer is:

• First of all, Vocal Science™ Method and its revolutionary voice/vocal technique allows the voice to work at the fullest capacity possible with positively no pain or strain on the vocal anatomy.
• Second of all, It works wonders for the healthy voice, but if the vocal cords or the vocal box in general are already damaged (or pre-damaged), this technique will help to restructure the voice into a different set of muscles (facial/sinus cavities), which will play the role of the natural amplifier or resonator, while simultaneously being put to work in full conjunction and coordination with the abdominal muscles and where the latter will provide the support for the sound to be lifted off of the vocal cords and off of the vocal box, thus in turn, the use of the throat, larynx and the vocal cords will be minimized and practically eliminated.
• In the case of the Non-Surgical Voice Repair, the natural herbs and remedies will be administered to greatly aid the healing of the vocal anatomy, which presumed that the latter had been released from the harmful pressure of the sound via the application, nevertheless, of revolutionary voice/vocal instruction.

Now My Reader, this is your riddle….  How does Vocal Science™ Method compares to conventional vocal coaching?

The answer is – IT DOESN’T!!!

Conventional vocal coaching suggests to do the exact opposite of the above – i.e., the useless exercises and scales are offered, which are drowning the voice lower into the anatomy and, thus, disturbing the anatomy and inevitably causing its damage.

Those exercises are not applicable to any singing (and of course to proper speaking) and therefore, nobody was ever able to figure out how to apply those, no doubt, “doomed” exercises which are not leading, by any means, to any desirable results. 

Question – Does the Vocal Science™ method suggest to the artist to change their “natural”, life long adapted habits?  

Answer: NO, IT DOES NOT. However, the experience shows that while going through the process, the artist stops not only the bad vocal habits, but also naturally conquers bad habits like smoking, drinking and using drugs, whereas, no doubt, they affected the flora of the throat. In fact, the Vocal Science™ technique is such that the vocal anatomy is engaged in the absolute minimum capacity.  

So, even in an undesirable scenario, where the artist employs bad habits such as smoking, drinking, using drugs or what have you, the Vocal Science™ Method and technique will be applicable and highly usable even in the cases described above.   

With that said, it is not mandatory for the artist to change their familiar lifestyle and feel miserable while adapting Vocal Science™ Method and its very unconventional vocal technique.  

THE VOCAL SCIENCE TECHNIQUE POSITIVELY WORKS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!

Since 1976 (graduating from St. Petersburg Music Teachers Collage) Vocal Science™ Method was born and took its first steps. 

Today, in Century 21, via decades of extensive experience and expertise the Vocal ScienceTM Method leaped to the next level of, so to speak, “Forensic Science.” 

During that tremendous jump, it got fully reimagined and modernized and thus got consistent in its nature with Century 21 and possibly… Century 22! 

– Part 3 –

Jon S of Detroit USA, came to us in the early part of this year stating exactly what the title reveals. Nevertheless, Jon was a musician and singer for most of his adolescent and his adult life.

About 20 years ago, Jon began experiencing some vocal problems (vocal cord strain, vocal fatigue and, discovered-by-me, what appeared to be broken cartilage somewhere in his vocal anatomy and in close proximity to his vocal cords). It came to the point that he was contemplating quitting the music business altogether – especially after he was extremely disappointed with visiting so-called top vocal coaches and even some speech therapists and speech pathologists. He spent a lot of money, but with no avail. Unfortunately for Jon, nobody knew how to recover his quite lower throat-positioned voice.

I can compare it with the person who had drowned (like Whitney Houston and her daughter) in the bathtub.

Jon’s voice, thankfully enough, did not “drown” too deeply.

So, with my knowledge, experience and expertise, it took only 10 to 12 hours of instruction and light treatment via natural herbal remedies, to recover his voice and “bring it to the surface”, so to speak. After that, we had spent the remaining part of the 20-hour course on actually teaching him how to sing properly (using the right application of his voice, while concurrently employing my absolutely unique and revolutionary vocal technique); which in turn, and nonetheless, allows the human speaking and singing voice to work in its fullest capacity possible and with no pain or strain on the vocal anatomy whatsoever.

It is a proven and well-known fact that the Vocal Science(TM) Method and technique does guarantee our clients the health and safety of the speaking and singing voice for a lifetime!

Jon’s case was fairly easy for me to solve.

People who come to me with much more difficult voice/vocal disorders would definitely need more time and effort to be employed (from both parties); as opposed to Jon, some of them had, unfortunately, “drowned” their voices to the point of reaching the “bottom of the ocean”, metaphorically speaking.

Needless to say, it is vastly different from “drowning in the bathtub”…

The above is specifically addressed to people who have been diagnosed with an intermediate voice disorder called Muscle Tension Dysphonia, and It is even more so addressed to people who possess a quite severe disorder which is called  Spasmodic Dysphonia…

Now, going back to Jon’s story…

10 years after his ordeal with health and voice professionals, Jon (for the last time) decided to seek help one more time again and stumbled upon our organization. He came to us two times to obtain (in total, 20 hours of instruction and light natural herbal treatment).

After the first 10 hours, Jon exclaimed:

“Diana, I am looking forward to our next session together. With your guidance, I have made some noticeable improvements since my first time working with you and am working my way back to heal my voice from the damage I’ve inflicted upon myself after singing improperly all these years. See you soon!”Jon S

After the next 10 hours, Jon revealed:

Hi Diana, I was singing today and said to myself, ‘that sounds pretty freaking good! Holy crap!– Jon S

So one more time again, we saved someone’s soul and someone’s voice… whereas everyone else had failed to realize Jon’s dream to get him back on stage to do what he loves most.

Way to go Jon! Keep on Rockin’ Man!