Here’s a special  New Year video message for you:

And even if you are not a member of The Singing Zone… to ALL students. customers, clients and subscribers to my newsletter:  I wish you a wonderful finale to this year, and an exciting 2012 filled with opportunities to learn, grow and prosper.

Best,

Per Bristow

P.S. If the Facebook error message pops up below, try refreshing the page one or more times and it will hopefully become visible.

But what about advanced singers? Are the strategies I outlined only for beginners?

Not at all. The advanced singers who engage in the strategies of the Bristow Voice Method (whether in private or via The Singing Zone/Sing With Freedom home study program) know that much of the training encourages you to turn off your auditory sense temporarily (at will), and the reason for that is to help you develop a greater kinesthetic awareness than before (which can’t be done as long as you are listening and judging yourself).

With this greater awareness you can now effectively release tension, develop greater freedom and effectively develop strength, flexibility (range) and more.

In the precious article, I used the act of throwing a ball at a target as an analogy. I explained why making the child “focus on the target”(which engages the visual sense) is as counterproductive as telling a singer to sing scales and listen for the notes.

This applies just as much, if not more, to an advanced singer who has little need to just "sing notes" over and over again.

So let’s go back to the "throwing a ball at a target" analogy, but let’s this time use a professional baseball pitcher as an example. The “pitcher” is the person whose sole job is to throw the ball at the target.  Does he, therefore, practice throwing at a target all the time?

Of course not. He spends an enormous amount of time on other activities to develop strength, coordination and flexibility. Many of the activities never even include a ball. And when he does practice with a ball, much of the time he will focus on parts of his body – on the execution of a movement - rather than on the target.  If he has an injury or weakness, his focus and training will change  accordingly.

A professional pitcher knows better than to believe that he will develop strength and flexibility of his rotator cuff, or heal an injury, by just throwing a ball over and over.

Yet, many singers believe they are practicing effectively by just singing the same scales over and over. Many follow warm-up tracks, or pre-recorded audio exercise tracks, and sing the same scales in the same tempo, and in the same order, day in and day out.

Many become stifled and stagnate since they continue doing what they’ve always done  The day a problem occurs they, understandably, don’t know what to do. Naturally, no scale, pattern of notes, or vowel/consonant combo is ever going to heal a physical problem.

As I mentioned, when my professional clients develop a deeper level of awareness, they can also rapidly do something about the “problem” they might have. They can release restrictions and effectively develop greater strength, range, resonance, endurance and so on. Singing patterns of notes and trying to hit the notes “correctly” is not what a professional needs when he/she experiences restrictions in the voice. 

With greater physical freedom, you can perform with greater freedom and create a greater bond with your audience. Your performance will, therefore, become more successful.

Now, you might be thinking "but you still need to sing the notes to be a good singer". Yes, of course you need a good ear to be a musician, and there are ways to effectively develop that. However, that is for another discussion. The issue here is to learn what to focus on at any given time.

We could discuss this forever, but understanding intellectually obviously does very little in this case. To really develop the awareness and freedom we’re discussing, you must of course engage in doing – in the training. There is just no way around it. Nor can we experience any significant results if we are not mentally willing to let go of preconceived ideas and truly experience something new. (This applies to all learning)

But I hope, at least, this has helped you understand some of the underlying principles that have proven so effective for many thousands of singers worldwide. And also why it really doesn’t matter how “advanced”, or how much of a “beginner”, you are.

So let me finish by claiming that your mind and body is truly phenomenal. Once we tap into your potential and develop an extraordinary awareness of your body and mind… once you give yourself permission to let go of preconceived ideas of what you can do and cannot do… once we give you permission to explore, experiment and discover new abilities within you… then dramatic results are not only possible but very predictable. 

And most of all it is fun. Learning is fun. To feel a sense of growth is the juice that makes life exciting – at least it is for me. How about you? Have you noticed some shift by changing the way you approach your training – perhaps even beyond singing? Have you perhaps already engaged in the training and made some interesting discoveries?

I shot this video today as my Thanksgiving greeting to you. Watch it and see what I mean when I say Thanksgiving is a fascinating and quite interesting holiday tradition…Hopefully you are not in a situation where you are overwhelmed with struggle and pain, but if you are, maybe this exercise can help… Starting small and expanding bigger and bigger can be amazingly powerful wherever we are physically, mentally, socially or spiritually in our lives.
 

Thank you all private clients, all customers of the Sing With Freedom program, all members of The Singing Zone, all subscribers to my newsletter and all visitors to this website! Please add a comment below and add your thoughts on the subject and maybe share something you are grateful of. 

Adam Lambert  – Mad World

Adam does it again.  I’ve never though of the original version as a great “vocalist” song, but Adam turns it into a one-of-a kind vocal performance. Once again he uses his vocal range and dynamics not to show off, but to express truthfully. 

http://www.americanidol.com/videos/season_8/performances/adam_lambert_mad_world

Allison Iraheta – I Can’t Make You Love Me

Allison had me before she opened her mouth.  When she looks down and up again she is already completely into the emotion context of the song (And it’s not because she looks down – I don’t care where she looks). From when she sings the first line (turn down the lights) until the end I truly believe here.  I really empathize with her when she sings “I can’t make you love me if you don’t”.

http://www.americanidol.com/videos/season_8/performances/allison_iraheta_i_cant_make_you_love_me

Anoop Desai  – True Colors

This was my favorite performance form Anoop.  Last week he just went for attitude rather than truthful expression.  I still don’t understand why he hasn’t chosen a song that is more fun where he can use his natural charisma. The problem with Anoop is that although he has a beautiful voice he doesn’t fully grasp what he is singing about.  In this song he is singing to a person who is down and sad. Why does that mean that he needs to be down and sad?  In fact, if you were to inspire a friend to make them feel better because you see their true colors, would you sit on a stool and look like the world is coming to an end?

http://www.americanidol.com/videos/season_8/performances/anoop_desai_true_colors

Danny Gokey – Stand By Me

I am surprised Danny chose the mic stand again this week.  Last week he admitted it was out of his comfort zone and he became noticeably self-conscious with his fiddling around with the microphone – or the “I-don’t-know-what-to-do-with-my-hands” syndrome.  This week it is much better. However, not surprisingly, the song and his performance goes to a whole new level when he steps away from the stand.  Had he done I earlier this whole song would have been sensational.  It was still great though.

http://www.americanidol.com/videos/season_8/performances/danny_gokey_stand_by_me

Kris Allen – All She Wants To Do Is Dance

I’m liking Kris more and more. He’s cool. He’s Fun. He’s quirky. He’s charming. He let’s his charm and likeability come through in his songs – exactly what I wished for Anoop. I can see why he has many fans.

http://www.americanidol.com/videos/season_8/performances/kris_allen_all_she_wants_to_do_is_dance

Lil Rounds – What's Love Got To Do With It

When they announced she was singing Tina Turner’s ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It”, I said to myself “please don’t come out looking like Tina Turner”. This is becoming uncomfortable to watch. Four weeks in a row she has turned into a karaoke rendition of the original artist.  I don’t know who the real Lil Rounds is and I don’t become as emotionally involved in her song as I would like.  It’s a bummer, because she sure has a great voice. This I also why it’s great for singers to take acting classes. I mean real acting classes where the training is about learning to be truthful, spontaneous and vulnerable in the moment – i.e to stop acting.

http://www.americanidol.com/videos/season_8/performances/lil_rounds_whats_love_got_to_do_with_it

Matt Giraud – Part Time Lover

One of Matt’s best performances.  The best thing with Matt is that he is unpredictable.  Sometimes it hasn’t worked, but sometimes it’s great.  It very much comes down to song choice for him.  I’m excited to see what he does next.

http://www.americanidol.com/videos/season_8/performances/matt_giraud_part_time_lover

Scott Macintyre – The Search Is Over

Not so sure about the guitar. The problem here is that the song becomes a little “shouty”. It’s a tendency Scott has that compresses the sound rather than makes it rich, warm and powerful. If he would discover how easy it is to get more power with far less effort, he would become far more dynamic and passionate in his expression.

http://www.americanidol.com/videos/season_8/performances/scott_macintyre_the_search_is_over