weather! Happy Friday, everyone! It’s Kim Dawson here with another vocal health tip. As I sit in my bed laid down with some little bug I must have gotten from one of my students, I am reminded of one thing. This time of year, there is an abundance of many things, namely, germs! They abound, and people get so worried with other things that they forget to take care of themselves. Don’t forget, folks! Wash your hands often, and make sure to stay hydrated! And most of all, bundle up! We like to think that we can handle all changes in the weather. Don’t be proud. Wear a hat to keep your body warm. And if it’s cold out, wear a coat that will keep you warm, not just a little jacket because you think it’s cute, or because you want to convince yourself that it’s not that bad out. Also, wear a scarf. Keep that throat protected from the elements! Be smart! Take care of your voice, and it will take care of you! Have a great day!
How’d you like it?! We made the top 3 and now we need your votes. You can help us become the champions of The Sing-Off. The show is in it’s 3rd season and we’ve seen Nota and Committed win it all. Now, vote for Urban Method in 3 ways…
It was so hard to see Vocal Point go this week. Both of their songs were just great, especially that Bobby Brown song with all that choreo, some of those boys can dance better than I can! Each and every one of the Vocal Point boys are so talented, kind and so much fun! Urban Method and vocal point were best buds. Every thursday before a taping we would sing for eachother so we could get some nerves out before the big day! In one of our little meet and greets we got to see another talent that Ross was hiding. Did you know that Ross can catch jelly beans in his mouth from all the way across the room? It was crazy!! All in all Vocal Point was a great addition to the show and we had to much fun with them on our sing-off journey.
Hey there, Urban Method lovers! Happy Friday! It’s Kim Dawson here with another vocal tip.
I am often asked if everyone can be taught to sing. The answer is simple. Yes! There’s an ancient African saying that goes, “If you can talk, you can sing. If you can walk, you can dance.” We all have different voices, and are born with different natural abilities. Some of us have to work harder at it, but we can all sing. Even those of us who are tone deaf, which aren’t really many of us, can be taught to sing on pitch. It’s true! I have a good friend who couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket when she was young. She couldn’t tell one pitch from another, and didn’t know that what she was singing was different than what anyone around her was singing. But, she really wanted to sing, and had a very patient music teacher in school who worked with her every day to improve. Now she teaches elementary school music for a living, and has a lovely singing voice to boot.
Now, I may not sound like Barbara Streisand when I sing, but that’s okay. Neither does Aretha Franklin, and she’s doing just fine. So, don’t be afraid to try to learn to sing. You don’t have to be amazing before you ever set foot in a voice teacher’s studio. Go for it! Let your voice be heard! And have a great weekend!
Happy Friday, Urban Method fans! It’s Kim Dawson here with another vocal health tip for you.
When our voices are fatigued, we often have a tendency to whisper when we speak, believing that this is easier on the voice. Well, guess what? It’s not. Speaking in a forced whisper actually harms the voice more than it hurts. It makes the cricothyroid muscle work harder than it has to, and it wears out more quickly than it would if you just spoke at a normal level. Here’s a diagram to show you what that muscle looks like:
The cricothyroid muscle tenses the larynx, and helps with phonation. And since whispering is not quite to the point of phonation, the muscle works hard to make that phonation, but never quite gets there. How frustrating! So, what should you do instead of whispering? You just shouldn’t talk at all! If you are put on vocal rest, then mime, write on paper, use sign language, or whatever! Just don’t talk! I know it’s hard. I’m quite the chatterbox myself. But, I promise that you will reap the rewards in the end if you take care of your voice. The voice is the only instrument that people use all day long. So it would stand to reason that using our instrument makes use tired faster than say, practicing the violin for hours. I know. I’ve done both. Take it easy on yourself. Don’t use your voice when you don’t have to, and take care of this precious instrument. You only get one! I’ll leave you with one of my favorite jazz tunes sung by one of my favorite jazz singers. Have a wonderful vocal health day, and a wonderful weekend! Much love to you all!
Today is a special day, not only because we made it pass being the
bottom two, but because I am finally releasing my second demo. Here it is, Care
Free! This one is a little accessible/poppy than Hold Your Ground, hope you enjoy.
This one was really fun to record, I’ve only ever written for guitar and covals. This time I borrowed a conga from the guys at Kwik Trax (my african drum is a more of a bass drum), and started laying down some rhythms.
On another note, I’m really excited for tonight’s episode. I think
it might be favorite night. Being in the bottom two really lit a fire under our
butts to put out something so creative, moving, inspiring…I could go on and
on. The lesson is watch tonight and get ready to be blown away, cuz we were!
Hip Hop week on The Sing-Off. We are in the middle of lesson learning.
As the Hip Hop group we’d like to represent our genre well. The name of this game is representing those who got you here. So in the process of choosing our songs, we’ve narrowed things down to a couple of options: either perform something from one of the top current artists or something from an icon.
The genre took off when East Coast and West Coast had their representatives (Pac and Big) hit the mainstream and develop followings that not only supported their reps, but fiercely opposed the other coast’s rep. It comes down to this–perhaps the most important part of successful music: “We need a little controversy” (thank you Eminem for the line). When there is rivalry, opposition, and something respectable for people NOT to like, the energy grows as does the fan-base. Biggie represented the East Coast while a strong contingent of West Coast artists had developed. Without the two artists, Hip Hop would not be where it is today. As we try to push hip hop into vocal music, what better way to honor the National competitiveness than in a competition like this one.
We chose to go with Love, iconic hip hop song from Tupac that would translate well into a cappella and the Urban Method style. Hope you enjoy.
Update: The NBC Execs have informed us that they are looking for a more current Hip Hop song for the show. In a scramble to find a new song for this week, we turn to Eminem, Jay-Z, and Kanye. Apparently there is a Kanye song on the books for this show, J’s crew will not release the rights for a song just like Eminem (especially after a favor from his crew allowing us to do Love The Way You Lie). So we will be performing a song from the current charts and adding our hip hop style and some UM flair.
The Lesson Learned? To fully understand and perform Hip Hop, you must get to the roots of what it is. The reason many people rap is that their message feels more expressed to them in words rather than song. The fact that you can focus on saying what you need to say rather than condensing and compressing that into words is the root of Hip Hop. The genre is very much about a confident stand for what you believe, and the drum and bass emphasis is crucial to delivering that message. Now, people are mixing song and rap, R&B and Hip Hop, Pop and Emcees…let’s explore that corner.
I almost passed out today towards the end of my work out. It is not just enough to drink a protein shake after working out. Health Tip #18: Water is not enough. Drink/Eat some protein and carbs before and during a work out. It is good for healing muscles and preventing fatigue.
