Working with Union J, British Boy band signed to Epic. I’m getting them ready for an important show at Alexandra Palace which is being televised. The boys have just filmed a new video called Tonight (We live Forever)
and they are very excited and I can see why, It’s wicked.
They’ve come a long way since I worked with them before X-Factor.
Good luck to George, Josh, JJ and Jamie with this new exciting track – keep on rocking lads !!
Becky Hill has been working with me since she appeared on The Voice in 2012. She had a No. 8 in the charts called Afterglow in 2013 and now she’s knocked my other wonderful client, Ella Henderson, off of the No. 1 spot with the new track she wrote for Gecko called Overdrive.
Congrats to my amazing little Rock ‘N’ Roller and that amazing powerhouse voice that you have.
Becky so reminds me of myself when I was her age with her long blonde hair. She’s a feisty, talented singer and songwriter with the spirit of a lioness.
Well done to Crown Entertainment for having two number 1 tracks in the charts, within such close proximity, they are seriously smacking it out of the ball park right now.
Onwards and upwards ROCK & ROLL, love it.
Congrats to my beautiful and talented client Ella Henderson for reaching number 1 in the charts, well done sweetie, first single straight in fantastic.
I have been working with Ella for a year and a half watch this space, she is going to take the world by storm fresh, strong creative and stunning original songs makes for an amazing album which I love, every track is better than the next.
Here are some pictures of Ella’s celebration party at the Me Hotel in the Strand wicked evening with a very happy and elated young lady GO GIRL.
My Vocalize exercise CD male and female versions, are available as a digital download on Bandcamp.
I’m going to go through a few simple but very effective breathing exercises; good breathing technique will massively enhance your voice control. Your lungs control your breathing, and with the help of Abdominal (diaphragmatic) breathing technique you will be able to take a deeper breath, allowing you to hold longer notes and control your higher range.
To find your diaphragm put you hands on your hips move your hands up until you feel the top bones of your rib cage with your fingers, then make a hissing sound with a TSS sound, that will make your abdominal muscles flex, your diaphragm is just above your abs.
Most of us make the mistake of sucking our tummies in when we inhale but the correct way is to expand your abdominal wall allowing your lungs to take more air in.
Let’s try this together, use the CD as it has a step- by- step instruction from me.
Find a clear floor space, lie down flat on your back, legs straight out relax your shoulders, jaw, neck and your face, and prop a pillow under your head and knees if that’s more comfortable for you.
The diaphragm is a dome shaped muscle which separates the chest from your abdomen when you breath in the diaphragm tightens, flattens and moves down, sucking air into your lungs. As the diaphragm moves down, it pushes the abdomenal contents down, which forces the abdomen wall out, when you exhale, air passes out from the lungs and the abdominal wall flattens.
Imagine your stomach is like a balloon as you breathe in it expands and as you exhale it deflates and flattens.
Slowly breath in allowing the abdomen to rise, it will help you to put your hands on your tummy so you can feel your hand rise when you inhale, now exhale and feel your abdomen flatten as you breath out.
Now try this whilst standing up. You may feel a little light headed when you stand up, but that will soon dissipate as your brain gets used to the increased intake of oxygen.
Keep practicing your breathing every day, like everything in life, practice makes perfect.
If you want to know where the real deal came from please do yourself a favour and watch the film called SOUND CITY, BBC iPlayer, It took me back to where I began and why I wanted to be a singer when I first started singing in the 60’s, no crap just raw talent.
I could not stop watching this program it touched the very core of my music background, which can never really be re created, the excitement of standing in a room and creating music on the spot with other human beings without any help from a computer
The program made me want to go right back to my roots and stay there suspended in the wonderful warm world of analogue, straight from the heart right to the soul.
Check it out here on the BBC 4 website – www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03sltyb
One of the hardest things about performing is to know how to move and sing at the same time. You don’t have to perform full dance steps but you need to feel at ease with whatever you do on stage, when rehearsing try removing your microphone from the stand and walk around the room you are singing in, don’t just stand still, then add a few dance steps and use the floor as much as possible, If your not on a stage pretend you are and focus on singing in front of you with your head up and your eyes open, you want to look at your audience not down on the floor, Also if you keep your eyes closed you shut out your audience and they feel isolated from you, embrace them by looking at them and smiling when you sing.
We all need to talk to our audience as well, that can be difficult as we don’t always know what to say. The first tip I can give you is just be yourself let your personality govern how you talk to people, let your audience know you are thrilled to be singing to them and tell them a bit about yourself and what your song about.
It’s always a good idea to have some guidance from a performance trainer or your vocal coach before singing at a school concert, an audition a competition or a gig with a band.
You should be comfortable from the moment you walk into a room or on a stage, knowing exactly, what you are going to say, and how you are going to move before you start performing, the less prepared you are the more afraid you will feel, we all get nervous before a performance, but if you know what you are doing, it comes naturally and easier, then you are able to enjoy your performance and not worry about anything but singing your heart out
Don’t try to make things up as you go along it usually goes wrong, plan Plan everything you do before hand, that way there are no surprises. If you make a mistake don’t show it by pulling a face just keep on singing and brave through it, if you do this most people will not even notice you slipped up.
It is essential you know your songs and the lyrics backwards, and to Feel confidence in what you are wearing and how you look. We all get nervous in front of an audience and the more prepared you are the less you will stress.
TWB, Think big, Work hard, Believe in yourself.
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