INFO FOR RECORDING ARTISTS
I remember my days making records. . . . I would spend hours tweaking arrangements, making sure every instrument played the exact right part, editing and re-editing lyrics and going over the mix with a fine tooth comb. I have to come clean though and tell you that rarely did I ever put the same amount of preparation into my vocals before recording as I did everything else. My thinking was “hey, I wrote the song, of course, I know how to sing it”.
What I didn’t realize at the time, and what my experience has taught me since, is that just because I wrote the song doesn’t mean I’m going to deliver an amazing vocal performance.
In fact, most of the time it means I’m too close to the song because I wrote it, so I have zero perspective on how to enhance my performance. I learned that the hard way, after much trial and error.
My work with recording artists is to help you gain a consistency and freedom with your singing so that there’s a greater emotional impact in your recorded performance.
It doesn’t matter how great the songwriting is or how amazing the production of the track is if your vocals don’t touch the listener on a gut level. That kind of impact requires you have simultaneous clarity of technique and open emotional intention. Achieving both at the same time requires tools, and that’s what I give the recording artists I work with.