A quick thanks to all of those who helped us pack the house at the Paramount Theater last night in Denver. We had a chance to unveil an original song, some cool new tricks, and rock the songs you came to love from the show. Make sure you tag yourself on the Facebook pic Tony took on stage!
So what’s next?
Now it’s time to put it all together. We’re going to hit the studio and write. That’s right, original music. We’ll be putting music videos together, creating new and exciting content, and building OUR show. The plan is to have that done by summer time (2012) and then hit the road.
Until then…
thank you so much. Our friends, our family, and our newest supporters….we couldn’t do this without you!
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!
Well, hello there, Urban Method folks! It’s Kim again, with some music history for ya. Yesterday (November 2nd) was the 27th anniversary of the day Marvin Gaye, Sr. was sentenced for shooting his son Marvin Gaye. I know. What a sad way to start off a blog entry! But, I realize what an impact Marvin Gaye’s music has had on my life. I absolutely LOVE his music. Sure, everyone knows his big hit “Let’s Get It On,” and what a huge sex symbol he was in his day. But, I am always struck by his versatility. He has his sweet romantic side, as evidenced by the duets he did with Tammi Terrell, like “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “You’re All I Need to Get By.” Then there’s his overtly sexual side, shown in “Let’s Get It On.” And then there’s his reflective, political side shown in his concept album, “What’s Goin’ On.” It was the first album Marvin produced on his own, and he had to fight to get it released. Motown record producer Barry Gordy was very resistant to the idea, and he was certain the record was going to flop. Gordy thought the world wasn’t ready to hear Marvin sing about anything other than love. He was wrong, and we are the better for it.
It’s almost impossible to hear the silky, smooth voice of Marvin Gaye and not smile because of it. He had an incredibly easy sound, and so much charm and emotion. He was one of the greatest singers, and greatest performers of all time. Unfortunately, his troubled life was cut short, and we will never know what other music he had in store for us. But, I, for one, am so grateful that we have any of his music at all. I’ll leave you with a couple of my favorites. Have a wonderful Thursday, y’all!
Inner City Blues. I think most of us can relate to the words in this:
Got to Give It Up. This is the short version. It’s one of the best dance jams ever. My feet get to tapping just thinking about it!
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!
Howdy, there, Urban Method folks! It’s Kim Dawson here to talk about a band I’ve been listening to non-stop recently. I’m talking about the Grateful Dead. Yep, you read that right. No, I’m not a secret Deadhead. I just have to learn a bunch of tunes for some upcoming work I’m doing, so I’ve got Dead on the brain!
I had never really listened to The Grateful Dead before. I just always saw them as the ultimate hippie jam band, and since I’m not really a hippie, I never thought much about them. But, I’ve gotta tell ya, they did some really hip stuff, man. The members of this band (Jerry Garcia, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, and Bill Kreutzman) all came from varying music backgrounds, and used those different influences to create a very unique sound. Going through their song list, you can find bluegrass, r&b, funk, jazz, blues, and classical stylings all kind of rolled into one. Say what you will about their drug usage and lifestyles, or the drug usage and lifestyles of their fans, but the music speaks for itself. And there’s a reason their music resonates with so many people. I was surprised by the beautiful poetry that exists in their lyrics. Lines like “Without love in a dream it will never come true,” and “One man gathers what another man spills” are poignant no matter what your background. And Bill Kreutzman and Mickey Hart are two of the best drummers you’ll ever hear. (I just had to add that. They really did some amazing stuff.) Besides that, the music is just plain fun. Give it a listen. I’m sure you’ll find many, many things to enjoy.
Check out the vocal sound effect video! Here, Richard Steighner from Urban Method demos the sound effects he has used on the first few episodes of the Sing-Off, NBC’s all-vocal show.
Crab Scratch–It’s an imitation of a record scratch using an inward breath with a shaping of the thumb and pointer finger. The result is actually a highly controllable noise that Richard used in “Love the Way You Lie” by Eminem and Rihanna to “bleep” out the swear words.
Vibraslap–A crazy little percussion instrument used for all kinds of reasons. Used in “Just Can’t Get Enough” by the Black Eyed Peas as a transition into the “Switch Up” part. It’s done with a tongue roll while breathing out and mouthing an “F” shape.
Vocal Guitar–The electric guitar sound is done by getting a buzz while mouthing an “F” shape and “W” shape at the same time. Then humming, you can get a pitched noise. It’s used in “Dance to the Music” by Sly and the Family Stone during the solo sections.
Shuffle–A fast snare pattern used for the intro of “Poison” by Bell Biv Devoe. The pattern is “pf, pf, pt, tf, pf, pt, tf, pt, tf, psh” for those who wanna give it a shot!
The Cricket–I’ll keep it a secret for now; if you can do it, post a video and I’ll spread it around!
I’d like to start off by saying that I’m so proud of Urban Method and how far we’ve come on the show! When I chose the members of the group and asked them to try this “Sing Of” thing, my hope was that we would make it on the show. That was it. Make it on the Sing Off. Then, as we started to rehearse for the first times, I realized that we had more than a shot to do well in LA. People probably don’t know that the first time we actually sang together as a group, was the shooting night of our audition video for the show. Find it on Youtube under Urban Method Video.
Now that we are past week 5 where we ripped up some Poison and got the audience dancing, I found that the group is pulling together in new ways. We were shoved into working on the show and with each other 12-15 hours a day and sharing rooms in the hotel after starting the group only 2 months earlier. We have started to find a balance of power and personalities. It’s amazing to sit back and watch as the different personalities and talents just flow during our rehearsals. I’ve found that the quality of our performance improves when everyone gets their voice heard and has input toward our arrangements. So, GO URBAN METHOD! I hear the feed back we are getting on Facebook and continue to be proud of how hard the group works, how hard they want to win the show, and more importantly, how they remain professional and have become friends with a common love of music as our direction. We let the music direct us and it flows from the heart every time we get on stage. Hopefully that is what sets us apart, not only on the Sing Off, but in the future as we move forward.
A quick thanks to all of those who helped us pack the house at the Paramount Theater last night in Denver. We had a chance to unveil an original song, some cool new tricks, and rock the songs you came to love from the show. Make sure you tag yourself on the Facebook pic Tony took on stage!
