|
Singer's Guide |
|
A
Singer's Guide to The Muse's Muse Compiled by Jodi Krangle This
compilation of information resources is put together for those songwriters
who are also singers and looking for a way to improve both crafts
at the same place. Being a vocalist myself, I'm somewhat biased
towards providing resources for singers here. You'll find quite
a lot to help you here on The Muse's Muse. Below is just a sampling:
Articles
| Columnists | Resources
| Tools ARTICLES:
These
articles will be useful to you as you improve your guitar playing
and learn the craft of songwriting. - Safe
Voice Revolution?
- Diana Yampolsky, a professional vocal coach/consultant,
talks about some of the things that make a voice "safe", not sorry
- and why a singer should care.
- How The Voice Works - Eric Frey talks about the vocal fundamentals of vocal fry, chest voice, middle voice, head voice, whistle voice and falsetto.
- The Technical Elements
of Vocal Style - Diana Yampolsky explains how to
merge physical sound and emotional style.
- Vocally Speaking... The Cutting Edge
- Diana Yampolksy gives hints to vocalists about how they
can make themselves stand out from the crowd.
- How
to turn Shaking Knees into a nice Vibrato - Do you get
stage fright? Toronto singer/songwriter, Don Bray has some
thoughts to help you get that added rush working for you instead
of against you.
- Be
It, Feel It, Love It, Live It - Diana Yampolsky
talks about the dedication required to become a truly great singer.
- Effective
Lead Vocals - Jeannie Deva talks about what makes
one singer's voice "really do it to you" while another's leaves
you feeling ho-hum. Is it just that some have it and some don't
- Some indescribable and mysterious achievement of luck and lineage?
Read on to find out.
- Singers
As Athletes - For those of you just embarking on your
vocal journey, this article will outline what parts of the body
are used to vocalize and why vocalists are just like athletes.
By Dagmar Morgan.
Other
articles can be found both in the Songwriting
Articles section and in the Newer
Articles section.
There are a lot of them and I highly recommend that you check them
out!
Back
to Top COLUMNISTS: There are a lot of columnists here who have been incredibly
generous with their time and have contributed excellent articles.
Though columns that deal specifically with guitar playing are few
and far between, some have been recently started here and I'd like
to draw your attention to them. I invite you to continue checking
their columns regularly for additions. And if you don't find the
answer to your particular question, feel free to ask the columnists
directly! Each one has an email address you can write to at the
bottom of their menu page. - Fine Tuning
Dagmar Morgan's column dealt with singing and how it was
affected by general health and well-being. As a a Certified Nutrition
and Wellness Specialist and Personal Trainer as well as a singer/songwriter,
she was uniquely qualified to make suggestions in these areas
and while she wrote for The Muse's Muse, she contributed many
very helpful articles.
- Singer's
Corner
Jeannie Deva is a versatile vocalist, master voice teacher,
recording session vocal coach/producer and columnist. while she
wrote articles here, she also contributed many very helpful articles
in regards to training and improving the quality of your voice
along with hints on how to make your sound distinctive.
There
are also a bunch of fantastic articles listed in the Previous
Columnists section - the place where I put all the columns
by folks that are no longer writing for the site (and there have
been a lot over the years!). Many of them would be
very useful to you as a songwriter (even if they aren't specifically
a singer) and deal with a whole host of different topics from where
to find your inspiration to how to get along in the music business
and what to watch out for. Back
to Top RESOURCES: Here are some locations around The Muse's Muse that might be
particularly helpful to you. - Help
For Newcomers - Tips on how to get the most out of this
website.
- Muse's
Muse Music Resources - A huge number of links in any number
of musical categories - quite a lot of them having to do with
singing, buying microphones for a home studio, demo houses that
can help you get your music out to the wider world, etc. If you
don't find precisely what you're looking for here on The Muse's
Muse, you're bound to find it in this database.
- Muse's
Muse Message Boards - A place for you to talk with fellow
songwriters about topics that are of interest to you. There's
a very large amount of information for vocalists - and in fact,
a forum dedicated to it (The
Vocal Score) that I recommend you check out and participate
in, if you're interested.
- The
Muse's News - The website's monthly e-zine and newsletter
had its first issue released in March 1998. 13,000+ subscribers
later (and growing!) the newsletter is one of the most popular
features of The Muse's Muse. There are also frequently articles
about guitar playing or resources that mention it. Have a look
at the back issues on this page.
Back
to Top TOOLS: These links will provide you with the tools to keep yourself
organized, find that perfect chord, allow you to find some great
reading resources to supplement your knowledge on the craft of playing
guitar, find the best deals on purchasing guitars, and lots more.
- BerkleeMusic.com
Online Courses - At this famous music school, you'll find
a whole host of different courses you can take to further both
your singing skills and your songwriting skills. And you can take
them whether or not you're able to actually be in Boston. Check
out their current roster of instructors and courses.
- Information
on Recording Equipment For Songwriters - As a vocalist,
chances are you might be interested in having some means of recording
yourself - or at the very least, be on the lookout for a good
microphone when you're performing at gigs or in the studio. This
is a section devoted to more information about recording gear,
offering possibilities and great deals through Musicians Friend.
There's also a short history of recording along with some suggestions
on the basic equipment you might need for a simple home studio.
- SongU.com
Online Songwriting Courses
- At SongU.com, you can take over 30 instructor-led and self-paced
songwriting courses 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for one affordable
yearly tuition. Learn from a faculty of successful award-winning
industry professionals and active hit songwriters. In addition
to personal feedback from the instructors, online guidance counselors
and coaches will provide you with a customized learning path tailored
specifically to your goals. Special
for Muse's Muse visitors: Take a free songwriting course
to familiarize yourself with SongU - before you buy a membership!
Click
here to learn more!
- Lyricist
V3 Songwriting Software (Newly updated!) - Organization
for songwriters - receive a $5.00 discount just for purchasing
it here (normally $49.95)! Read
a review to learn more. Just thought I'd mention this as it
really is a great piece of software for any songwriter - vocalist
or no. :)
- MasterWriter
Songwriting Software
- "This remarkable piece
of software turns your Mac or PC into a valuable songwriting partner"
-- Richard Leiter, Keyboard Magazine - Find out more about
this program (and receive a $70 discount for purchasing it here!)
- by visiting this
page. You can even try it for 30 days before deciding
if you want to keep it!
- Brett Manning's Singing Success Systematic Vocal Training System, is the "secret weapon" used by some of the winners of the world’s most prestigious vocal awards, including the Doves, the CMA Awards, and yes, the Grammies. It also comes with an unbeatable guarantee. If you don't see an improvement in six months, you can return the package for a full refund, no questions asked. Get your package today!
- Suggested
Reading - A list of books that are a worthy addition to
any songwriter's library and including the books that are reviewed
in the newsletter. These books are a great source of inspiration
and instruction and definitely recommended.
While I don't have any at the moment that are for singing alone,
you'll find links there that will allow you to do further searches
within Amazon.com if you're looking for something specific. You
can also try looking through Berklee's list of great books. To
do that, start by clicking
on this link.
- Find
Music-related Software @ SharewareMusicMachine - A huge
database of various freeware and shareware software programs to
help you with your songwriting, to help you record on to computer,
and lots more. WELL worth checking out!
Back
to Top
|