Monday, November 10, 2008

A healthy voice is will last you a lifetime!

Vocal Training Warrior: Vocal Training, Voice Lessons, Singers Voice Lessons, Speakers Vocal Training, Actors Vocal Training, Home Recording Studios, Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercises, Clear Diction Exercises, Vocal Training Videos, Vocal Training E-books.

In my popular book, Singing and Speaking on the Edge of a Grunt, chapter one discusses the incredible health benefits associated with singing, speaking, laughing, athletics and other “natural” physical activities. Research has proved that these activities release human endorphin hormones into the body. It is also very important to accept your personal responsibility to make healthy choices every day to keep you voice healthy. Read these important tips to maintain a healthy voice.

Do Not Abuse Your Voice!

It is obvious that to continue to be a powerful vocalist one must take care of their voice. Right? The truth is that many of us take the voice for granted and expect it “just to work” no matter how much we may abuse it.

Voice problems may arise from a variety of sources including voice overuse or misuse, cancer, infection, or injury. Here are steps that can be taken to prevent voice problems and maintain a healthy voice.

Get Proper Training

This is above all the most important aspect of proper vocal performance. This is because many vocal ailments originate or are made worse by lack of proper breathing, controlled breath support, air delivery and poor diction. Most people do not vocalize correctly out of the womb. I do not care how great your voice sounds now. Ask Elton John who had, arguably, one of the finest rock voices in pop history and ended up with surgery to his larynx in 1986 due to constant improper use. His voice has never recovered. Compare this to such people singers like

Luciano Pavarotti and Beverly Sills. Due to their proper training, they sang in high registers at an old age. Do not make the mistake of dismissing them because they sang “opera.” All vocalists must have proper breath support no matter what style they perform in. All styles change form the neck up and are the same from the neck down.

Drink Plenty of Water

Keeping your body well hydrated by drinking plenty of water each day is essential to maintaining a healthy voice. The vocal cords vibrate extremely fast even with the most simple sound production; remaining hydrated through water consumption optimizes the throat’s mucous production, aiding vocal cord lubrication. To maintain sufficient hydration avoid or moderate substances that cause dehydration. These include alcohol and caffeinated beverages (coffee, tea, soda). And always increase hydration when exercising.

Do Not Smoke

I can’t believe that we must still say such a thing with all the evidence that smoking can kill you. It is well known that smoking leads to lung or throat cancer. Primary and secondhand smoke that is breathed in passes by the vocal cords causing significant irritation and swelling of the vocal cords. This will permanently change voice quality, nature, and capabilities.

Do Not Abuse or Misuse Your Voice

Sorry to inform you but your voice is not indestructible. In every day communication, be sure to avoid habitual yelling, screaming, or cheering. And if you participate is such activities, project your power form your abdomen and not your throat. Try not to talk loudly in locations with significant background noise or noisy environments. Be aware of your background noise—when it becomes noisy, significant increases in voice volume occur naturally, causing harm to your voice.

I am currently working with a 29-year-old woman who had vocal cord surgery last year because she was a bartender in college and had to speak over the crowd constantly. She had four vocal nodules on her vocal chords. If you feel like your throat is dry, tired, or your voice is becoming hoarse, stop talking.

Minimize Throat Clearing

Clearing your throat can be compared to slapping or slamming the vocal cords together. Consequently, excessive throat clearing can cause vocal cord injury and subsequent hoarseness. An alternative to voice clearing is taking a small sip of water or simply swallowing to clear the secretions from the throat and alleviate the need for throat clearing or coughing. The most common reason for excessive throat clearing is an unrecognized medical condition causing one to clear their throat too much. Common causes of chronic throat clearing include gastro esophageal reflux, laryngopharyngeal reflux disease, sinus and/or allergic disease.

Moderate Voice Use When You Are Sick

Reduce your vocal demands as much as possible when your voice is hoarse due to excessive use or an upper respiratory infection (cold). Singers should exhibit extra caution if one’s speaking voice is hoarse because permanent and serious injury to the vocal cords are more likely when the vocal cords are swollen or irritated. It is important to “listen to what your voice is telling you.”

Do Not Take Your Voice For Granted

Your voice is an extremely valuable resource and is the most commonly used form of communication. Our voices are invaluable for both our social interaction as well as for most people’s occupation. Proper care and use of your voice will give you the best chance for having a healthy voice for your entire lifetime.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Singing, Speaking and Laughter will Improve your Health

Vocal Training Warrior: Vocal Training, Voice Lessons, Singers Voice Lessons, Speakers Vocal Training, Actors Vocal Training, Home Recording Studios, Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercises, Clear Diction Exercises, Vocal Training Videos, Vocal Training E-books.

In my popular book, Singing and Speaking on the Edge of a Grunt, chapter one discusses the incredible health benefits associated with singing, speaking, laughing, athletics and other “natural” physical activities. Research has proved that these activities release human endorphin hormones into the body.



The result is that people experience physical and mental health in a natural way and not because they have ingested some drug or had a few drinks. I recall all the rehearsals and the concerts I directed when I was the founder and musical director of the Capistrano Chorale. Our rehearsals were in the evenings and it was often the case that myself and many of the members would arrive very tired from a day of toils. Sometimes it was very difficult to find the strength to begin the rehearsal. But, when it was over, the whole group was full of endorphins and the room was full of energy.

Just as in vocal music where there exist “style” groups that range from the Opera Music crowd to the Country Music crowd (click here to see my youtube video on performing in multiple vocal styles) , so there is the same division in the medical community. There are medical professionals that use only drugs and surgery in their practice and there are those on the other extreme that believe Chiropractic and Acupuncture, for an example, are the only true approaches to promote health. Then there are the rest of us in between that realize that most approaches to medical care have their place and, further, they have more in common than they have different.

In this article, I want to showcase a well-known medical professional that has always tried to bridge the gap between the two extremes. His name is Hunter " Patch" Adams. Hunter founded the Gesundheit Hospital in the 1970s as a pilot project. The hospital was proposed as a model health care system aimed at changing society. It was envisioned to be a forty-bed rural community hospital in West Virginia where care is free and is based on compassion and friendship. Many may recall the 1998 feature film starring Robin Williams called Patch Adams. I admire Dr Adams as he truly thinks "out of the box." As a professional, I relate to him and his approach. Singing, Speaking and Laughing all produce health in our body both physically and mentally. If there exists a natural means to create overall health, then these approaches must be tried first or, at least, in conjunction with traditional medical therapies. I will let Patch tell you his story about his vision and work since 1967. His story is taken from his website, http://www.patchadams.org/.

Vision for a Free Hospital Based on Fun and Friendship

by Patch Adams

I entered medical school in 1967 to use medicine as a vehicle for social change. I used my free time to study the history of health care delivery around the world and to look at contemporary models with the idea of creating a medical model that would address all the problems of the way care is delivered. I didn't intend to create a model that would be the answer to the problems; but to model creative problem solving, and to spark each medical facility to design their own ideal rather than succumb to the garbage of managed care, or a resignation to the impossibility of humanistic care. Beginning in the climate of the political "war on poverty," I felt confident that a free hospital to serve the poorest state, West Virginia, would find easy funding and that we would be built in four years. I smile writing this as we enter our 33rd year without having broken ground on the hospital. However, we have asked our architect to go to finished drawings so that we can begin building as soon as we have funding in hand. None of the journey has gone as I imagined and the vision is so much deeper, more comprehensive and far-reaching as a consequence of such deliberate progress.

The original vision had all the principles we have maintained all these years. There would be no charge for the care. Barter was also not an option. In fact, we wanted to eliminate the idea of debt in the medical interaction as a way to begin recreating human community. We didn't want people to think they owed something; we wanted them to think they belonged to something. We could not conceive of a community that did not care for its people. This also meant a refusal to accept third party reimbursement, both to refuse payment and to sever the stranglehold that insurance companies had on how medicine was practiced. We would have nothing to do with malpractice insurance, which forces fear and mistrust into every medical interaction. We espouse the politics of vulnerability and are clearly aware that we can only offer caring and never promise curing. In such a flagrantly imperfect science, we need the right to make mistakes.

The loudest cry of patients was for compassion and attention, which was a call for time. So initial interviews with patients were three to four hours long, so that we could fall in love with each other. Intimacy was the greatest gift we could give them, especially at a deathbed, with intractable pain or chronic, unsolved medical problems. It was natural to insist on a house call to sweeten this intimacy. When I made a house call, I opened every drawer and snooped in every closet. I wanted to know the patients in all of their complexities. An apparent secret in the practice of medicine (so easily erased when business is the context) is how care is bidirectional. This intimacy is as important for the caregiver as it is the patient. The bidirectionality of healing is at the core of preventing burnout. The business of medicine has connected the word care with the concept "burden," to describe all who need care, who are not wealthy. But we found the unencumbered practice of medicine is an ecstatic experience.

In spending this amount of time with patients, we found that the vast majority of our adult population does not have a day-to-day vitality for life (which we would define as good health). The idea that a person was healthy because of normal lab values and clear x-rays had no relationship to who the person was. Good health was much more deeply related to close friendships, meaningful work, a lived spirituality of any kind, an opportunity for loving service and an engaging relationship to nature, the arts, wonder, curiosity, passion and hope. All of these are time-consuming, impractical needs. When we don't meet these needs, the business of high-tech medicine diagnoses mental illness and treats with pills.

What the majority need is an engagement with life. This is why we fully integrated medicine with performing arts, arts and crafts, agriculture, nature, education, recreation and social service, as essential parts of health care delivery. We knew that the best medical thing we could do for the patients was to help them have grand friendship skills and find meaning in their lives. This is a major reason that the staff's home was the hospital. We insisted on friendships with our patients (made easy by not charging, and giving them our lives). A patient ideally would bring their whole family while they were healthy, and stay a few days as friends, becoming familiar with the hospital (home, sanctuary), so that just being there was relaxing, even healing.

We wanted patients to bring all their interests and skills to essentially become temporary staff as well as patients during their stay. For example, if a car mechanic came as a patient, we could notify the poor in our greater community who might need their car fixed, and have it happen while the mechanic was getting care. The mechanic may also give classes on basic mechanics. All these features help build community, creating a sense of interdependence. Those receiving care cannot feel indebted because they become both the help and the helped.

To help promote diversity and truly to be full service in our planned facility, we insist on integrating all the healing arts. Allopathic medicine, including surgery, ob/gyn, pediatrics, internal medicine, family practice and psychiatry, will work hand in hand with complementary medicine, including acupuncture, homeopathy, naturopathy, chiropractic, ayurvedic, anthroposophic, herbal, body work and faith healing. It will be an exciting opportunity to study how they can all work together under close observation. The entire environment will be an example of preventive medicine exploring how to help a patient and their family grow healthy (or at least healthier!) From the beginning, social, environmental and global health were felt to be essential as part of our medical practice. There, violence and injustice became medical issues. Unemployment, the discrepancies between rich and poor, poverty, pollution, corrupt governments and economic systems all become concerns of a medical practice. There was always an invitation and encouragement to become involved in social change, even if the individual did not feel it affected their life. We want to build a fine community of people whose ethic is caring for all. Now, we have added to our vision a school to teach social change with the whole community as its laboratory. Agriculture will not just be about feeding people, but an exploration into sustainable agriculture. We'll use designing the community as an experiment in appropriate technology.

One of the most radical parts of the vision was that we wanted all of the activity to be infused with fun. I wanted to build the first silly hospital in history. Foolishness was embraced, often to extreme, in even the most profound of situations. We had fun deaths and bizarre, outlandish behaviors with the mentally ill. In our normal, serious world with somber medical environments (even though no research supports being serious and thousands of research papers encourage joy and humor as healing), we saw no contradiction in feeling that a hospital could also be an amusement park, even implying it is important for staff and patient.

The ideal staff people we looked for were, by intention, happy, funny, loving, cooperative and creative. I knew the key to the creation of this beautiful model was in the people deciding and choosing to live there; because it is people that really make a model. Ideas can only be as real as the people living them. Politically, our most potent wedge for change would be living happily together, in constant, joyful service, fully expressing our creative selves at extremely low salaries. The point was not to try to teach a staff this, but to find people for whom this was their way of life.

In our first 12 years (1971-1983) we did all this as a pilot project. Twenty adults and our children moved into a large, six-bedroom house and called ourselves a hospital. We were open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, for all manner of medical problems from birth to death. Three of the adults were physicians. We saw 500-1000 people each month, with five to fifty overnight guests a night; totaling 15,000 people over those 12 years. We were never sued. At least three thousand of the patients had mental illness and we did not give psychiatric medicines. We referred out what we could not handle. It was truly ecstatic, fascinating, and stimulating. No one gave us a donation and we were 0:1400 for foundation grants, so our staff had to work part-time jobs to pay to practice medicine. After nine years of nobody leaving, most staff said they felt we would never be funded, and wanted to stop. It was the saddest moment for me, for I loved all of them and knew that I had to persevere.

I tried to recreate the work for three more years and realized that in order to continue, I need a facility to support this model of care. Now the job was to raise the funds to build it. It appeared that our ideas were too radical to get conventional funding, and so I realized that we had to go to the people of the world to get the needed funds. The model for that in modern society is through publicity and fame. So I broke a basic tenet of our philosophy—no publicity—and became public. For the last 20 years we have climbed that fame and fortune ladder in hopes that we would attract funds to build our ideal rather than compromise the vision. This went to monstrous extremes in 1998 when a feature film, "Patch Adams," was released with Robin Williams playing me.

These efforts have brought us a three hundred seventeen acre farm in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. The land has three waterfalls, with caves behind one. We built a four acre pond, there is a mountain of hardwood trees and twenty-eight acres of rich bottom land that has had no chemicals on it for 22 years. We have built two beautiful buildings in anticipation of someday building the hospital. Two years ago, with a little sadness that the hospital was still not built, and a hunger to begin seeing patients again, I agreed to consider reopening with a first phase that would include an outpatient clinic and a school for social change, with residence facilities for the staff. We have asked our architect of 21 years to give us finished drawings for it. We owe no money and have a good start for Phase 1.

I could feel frustrated, even sad, that the hospital is still unbuilt. However, in the long run it may prove to have been a very positive time line. After 33 years, we have built a much larger, more diverse, more intelligent, more globally influential model than we ever dreamed of in those first 12 incubating years. Our global impact has affected far more patients' lives and inspired more social change than if we had gotten our funding early on. My failure at fund raising has forced me and our evolutionary staff and friends to expand in every direction and meet a quality and quantity of people that make our greater team of friends and contacts number in the thousands in almost every area of endeavor; especially healing, the arts, and social change. Gesundheit! has indeed become a global mover and shaker active in forty or more countries, expanding beautifully all the time.

When we build the model with people serving it, full and part time, its example will be breathtaking with a process already in place to have an important impact because a variation of that is happening already. The patients of our first 12 years were individuals and families looking closely at their organ systems. The patients of our last 20 years have been communities and societies looking at their organ systems: environmental, social, political, economic. All of these "patients" will dance through the hospital when it is built. I have had to earn the funds to support these last 20 years' activities, with every month being a creative journey of survival. Since the film's release, we're not on such a survival edge, but we have still not raised funds for major construction. The beauty of the journey makes patience easy, especially since every day is wildly exciting and globally influential, regardless of the building progress. This is not to say that the building of the hospital is any less important. On the contrary: it is more important than ever since it has remained, these 31 years, the only model in the U.S. (and one of few in the world) to comprehensively address health care delivery problems. Our example of joyful persistence alone is an important, inspiring model for the changes needed in the world.

We stopped seeing patients in 1983 to devote ourselves to fund raising full time for the hospital, by expanding out into the world. I began lecturing and performing on a wide variety of subjects (fifty lectures, shows and workshops) with every imaginable kind of audience and with as many as eleven lectures in a day. All levels of education from elementary schools to medical schools (most of the ones in the United States and in thirty to forty countries), churches, community centers, conferences and corporations. For most of the time it was for 150-200 days a year and 300 days a year since the film, always all over the world. A constant flow of publicity and my two books translated into ten languages and the film have made our project part of the medical dialogue all over the world when referring to humanized health care.

During these 20 years our clown healing work has expanded all over the world, so that clowns are now a regular part of hospitals on every continent and this is expanding as people hear the message that it is really about spreading joy in every public space as gestures toward peace, justice and care. I started taking clowns to prisons, foreign countries, even to refugee camps and war zones. For 18 years I've taken thirty clowns from all over the world to Russia for two weeks of clowning in hospitals, orphanages, prisons and nursing homes, as well as airports, subways, streets and hotels. Ten years ago this led to our getting involved in the care of orphans in Russia in work that is now recognized all over. We have taken clowns into the war in Bosnia, the Kosovo refugee camps in Macedonia, the Rumanian AIDS orphanages, African refugee camps, Cuba, China, El Salvador, Korea and Haiti. As I write this, we took twenty-two clowns from all six continents and ten tons of aid for three and a half weeks into the war in Afghanistan. Because this work has connected us with many aid and relief organizations (like Airline Ambassadors), it is now easy to organize huge quantities of people and aid quickly and effectively. These experiences have also gotten us involved in the global conversations on conflict resolution.

All of our gestures of love and fun have been a magnet for beautiful people who want to devote their lives to loving service. Every year thousands of doctors and nurses tell me they would be willing to live and work full time 40 to 60 hour weeks in our hospital for $3,000/year. Many more want to come part time. Students of medicine from all over the world constantly entreat us to let them come study what we are doing. This may be the most important reason to get the hospital built.

Nine years ago a special group of old and new friends began to come together in a real group commitment toward the dream; our second major staff change. No longer did I have to carry the vision alone because the individuals of this group—though quite diverse in thought and personality—each felt they found a place and readiness in themselves to want to be and work for the now-collective vision. For any project created by one person this is a grand step so that the vision can continue if something happens to the visionary. Another important bonus is that each of them brings their special interests and talents to the project to vastly broaden how the multiple tasks I used to do now get done, and each adds their blessed creativity again enhancing every part of the vision. What it feels like to me is that now everything is in place to make the hospital a reality.

We plan to build a forty-bed rural community hospital. There will be sixty beds for staff and beds for their families in a creative, comfortable communal hospital. There will also be forty beds for guests who would be healing arts students on electives, ophthal-mology teams every three months, plumbers, string quartets, and anyone wanting a service-oriented vacation. There will be 30,000 square feet devoted to the arts in a fully arts-centered hospital. There will be a school for social change and in-depth agricultural programs. It will be funny looking, full of surprises and magic. We'll be exploring how far below the national average our effective operating budget can run—I believe we'll be shockingly inexpensive. Our ideal is that an endowment would cover the annual costs and realize without this we'll find creative ways to pay for its operation. There will be a forty-acre village to house our children's school (also for sick children and children of sick parents) and other important community experiments, like how to integrate all ages in a fun, healthy way. Staff persons who've served for four years and want a little distance from the intensity of the hospital can create their fantasy living space in our village.

I want to tell all readers that the journey has been heavenly all along the way. Simply being in an idealist quest is its own reward. I've never felt I've sacrificed anything or thought it was a hard journey. Hard would have been having to work in corporate medicine and lie to patients and myself every day. My concern for humanity's future drives me to want to put whatever efforts I can to changing everything that hurts people and nature. The Gesundheit! Institute is that for me, and so many others.

Dr Adams is truly a pioneer and a visionary that has changed how we think about our approach to physical and mental health. I would encourage all of you to do what you can to spread his message and, hopefully, donate to his cause.


Jonathan Morgan Jenkins
http://www.vocaltrainingwarrior.com

Buy Jonathan's best selling ebook on sale for only 16.95!
http://www.vocaltrainingwarrior.com/ebooks

http://www.youtube.com/vocaltrainingwarrior


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Monday, August 11, 2008

Free MP3's, Free Lyrics and Free Chord Charts for Singers and Vocalists

Vocal Training Warrior: Vocal Training, Voice Lessons, Singers Voice Lessons, Speakers Vocal Training, Actors Vocal Training, Home Recording Studios, Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercises, Clear Diction Exercises, Vocal Training Videos, Vocal Training E-books.

I have researched the following FREE RESOURCES on the Internet to help you achieve your success as a vocalist and a consumer.

The first resource I want to share with you is LimeWire. This is a Free (basic service) Music, Video, Images, Document and Computer Programs sharing service. It is different from Napster or itunes in that you are sharing and not making a purchase.

I can’t count the number of times that LimeWire has been able to locate music files that I would probably never find in the marketplace. Further, I got them for free. When you take into consideration all the other types of files that you can search for other than music, this site is an incredible resource. Further, unlike many music files services, LimeWire is compatible with Windows and Apple.

Read below all the great benefits of LimeWire and the cost.

LimeWire Basic Service is FREE.

LimeWire Turbo Pro for as little as 21.95.

Here is the link to LimeWire.

http://www.limewire.com/download/version.php

What is LimeWire?

LimeWire is a fast, easy-to-use file sharing program that contains no spyware, adware or other bundled software. Compatible with all major platforms and running over the Gnutella network, LimeWire's open source code, is freely available to the public and developed in part by a devoted programmer community. LimeWire is offered in dozens of languages and is available in LimeWire BASIC, a free version, or LimeWire PRO, an enhanced version with personalized technical support offered at $21.95.

Why Should I Use LimeWire?

LimeWire is the fastest, easiest, most advanced file sharing program available and it's completely free of spyware, adware and any other bundled software. Find out more about LimeWire's features.

For the ultimate Lime experience, LimeWire PRO features access to optimized search results, faster downloads, free updates and personalized technical support for up to six months. Get your copy of LimeWire PRO today.

What's new at Lime Wire?

Lime Wire is introducing a filtering system to encourage safer, more responsible file sharing. Copyright owners interested in blocking their files from being downloaded, uploaded and shared are invited to learn more and register here. LimeWire users can learn more about responsible file sharing in Copyright Information.

About LimeWire LLC

Lime Wire LLC is a New York City-based company founded in 2000. We develop innovative, sophisticated applications of file sharing technology. Industry experts Mark Gorton (Chairman) and Greg Bildson (COO, CTO) lead an international team of professionals from the world's most prestigious academic and professional institutions. Find out more about Lime Wire LLC.
The latest and greatest new additions to LimeWire.

> Protection Against Identity Theft
New ways to control your sensitive material.

>Even Better Control Over Shared Files
Easily see and control what files you are sharing.

> Built-In Browser*
Browse the Web, right from LimeWire! (Windows users)only

And LimeWire still has all of these great features:

> NO BUNDLED SOFTWARE OF ANY KIND!
No spyware. No adware. Guaranteed.

> Firewall to Firewall Transfers.
Since about 60% of users are currently firewalled, this feature greatly increases the amount of content on the network.

> Faster network connections.
Using new "UDP Host Caches", LimeWire starts up and connects faster than ever before!

> Universal Plug 'N Play.
UPnP support allows LimeWire to find more search results and have faster downloads.

> iTunes Integration.
Windows and Mac users can now take advantage of LimeWire's iTunes integration.

> Creative Commons Integration.
LimeWire now recognizes OGGs and MP3s licensed under a Creative Commons License.

> "What's New?" feature.
Users can browse the network for the most recent content additions.

> Search drill down results.
Searches in LimeWire now immediately display information that fully describes files.
> Proxy support. Users can now use web proxies to route their downloads to protect their identity.

> Support for International searches and International groups. Users can now search in any language, and LimeWire ensures that a user will be connected to other users with their own language to aide international users to receive search results in their native language and to find content from sources that are close to home.

Free Song Lyrics

The next Free Resource is Song Lyrics. There are numerous websites that have collectively compiled the lyrics to most songs ever written. In my private studio, I use these services constantly. I have listed below five important ones.

Here is the best way I know to find lyrics. Just put the Song Title followed by the word Lyrics in the search box of any search engine and numerous listings will come up after you initiate the search. You will likely find one of the websites listed below.

Here is how you can import the lyrics into your computer. Create a new Word Document, Highlight the lyrics you want, Copy them and them Paste them into you Word Document. Once there, you can change the Font and use your editing tools to make the lyrics look as you want.

Links to Free Lyrics websites.

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/

http://www.metrolyrics.com/

http://www.allsonglyrics.us/

http://www.allmusicals.com/

http://www.lyricmania.com/

Free Chord Charts/Guitar Tabs

Here are some more valuable and Free resources. There are many instances where I just want the chord structure to a song or the Guitar part written in tablature. The websites listed below are excellent resources that I have used on numerous occasions through the years.

Just like the method above for finding lyrics, you can put the Song Title followed by the word Chords in the search box of any search engine and numerous listings will come up after you initiate the search. You will likely find one of the websites listed below.

http://www.chordie.com/

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/

http://logue.net/xp/index.htm

http://www.911tabs.com/

I hope that you will find this information very helpful. We often hear stories of how the Internet is being used to accomplish negative and harmful things. Here are many examples of how it can be used for incredible personal benefits.

I wish all of you the best of success!

Jonathan Morgan Jenkins

Buy Jonathan's best selling ebook on sale for only 16.95!
http://www.vocaltrainingwarrior.com/ebooks

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

The Secret of Performing with Vocal Power for Singers, Public Speakers and Actors.

Vocal Training Warrior: Vocal Training, Voice Lessons, Singers Voice Lessons, Speakers Vocal Training, Actors Vocal Training, Home Recording Studios, Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercises, Clear Diction Exercises, Vocal Training Videos, Vocal Training E-books.

Many Singers, Public Speakers and Actors are constantly seeking new strategies of how they can improve their voice. If you browse the internet to search for answers, you will find many opinions. But, some subjects about achieving powerful vocal performance are not debatable. They are the systems in the body that must perform as a team to produce powerful sound. They are the Abdominal Mucles, the Larnyx or Voice Box and the Throat and Head which I call The Amplifier. The strategies of "how" to operate these systems are many but the basic systems function as they do without our consent. Let's learn important information about these basic body systems.

May I introduce the Vocal Power Team!


The Vocal Power Team - The key to becoming a powerful and understood singer, public speaker or actor.

1) The Abdominal Muscles
2) The larynx
3) The Amplifier

"When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world." George Washington Carver (1864-1943)

I am someone who has always believed in teamwork. When I directed my 75 member choral group, the
Capistrano Chorale, we were all dependent on one another to practice and perform to our individual potential. When we all did, the performances were exceptional and when we all didn’t the performances suffered.

We have the same scenario in our body. We have three separate body systems that must operate at their individual potential and coordinate as a team in order for our singing or speaking to be powerful. The following material consists of excerpts from my popular book
Singing and Speaking on the Edge of a Grunt. This material is simply an explanation of their basic functions. The answers to how to coordinate them to produce powerful vocal sounds are explained in the book. I hope you learn something special from this material. The body is truly an incredible machine!

1) The Abdominal Muscles

The Abdominal Muscles are located between the ribs and the pelvis on the front portion of the body. There are five muscle groups that combine to completely cover the internal organs. Further, they support the trunk, allow movement, and hold organs in place by regulating internal abdominal pressure.

The five main abdominal muscles groups are:

> Transversus Abdominus - The deepest muscle layer, its main role are to stabilize the trunk and maintain internal abdominal pressure.

> Rectus Abdominus - It exists between the ribs and the pubic bone at the front of the pelvis. This muscle group is commonly called “The Six Pack”. The main function of the rectus abdominus is to move the body between the ribcage and the pelvis.

> External Oblique Muscles - They exist on each side of the rectus abdominus. The external oblique muscles allow the trunk to twist to the left or right.

> Internal Oblique Muscles – These flank the rectus abdominus, and are located just inside the hipbones. They operate in the opposite way to the external oblique muscles. For example, twisting the trunk to the left requires the left hand side internal oblique and the right hand side external oblique to contract together.

The abdominals are an extremely important part of the breathing process, especially during exhale. They assist in forcing air out of the lungs by depressing the thorax. Then, our fifth muscle group begins its very important job. The fifth and arguably most important muscle for our discussion is the Diaphragm.

> Diaphragm - In the
anatomy of Mammals, (Yes, we are one of those!) the diaphragm is a shelf of muscle extending across the bottom of the ribcage. The diaphragm separates the thoracic cavity (with lung and heart) from the abdominal cavity (with liver, stomach, intestines, etc.). In its relaxed state, the diaphragm is shaped like a dome or parachute.

2) The larynx






I must first say that I consider the Larynx to be one of the greatest miracles and gifts that mankind has ever been given.

Take a moment and consider life without a larynx. If you could not sing, speak or laugh I think you would agree that your life would change in a major way. We have actually been born with a free instrument. It is better than any instrument created by man because it can not only create pitch, but it can communicate words. No other instrument can do that. With many people, though, they shy away from singing because many students, in my experience, think they sound poor. This is often because, as in my case, somebody close to them laughed at them when they sang and maybe inferred that they had no talent. Unfortunately, with the voice, many people fail to understand that, like any instrument, it must also be trained to reach its potential.

Of course, there exist many people who sound wonderful without any training. The mistake many of these people make is that they will achieve exceptional voices if they submit themselves to effective training. This is because their basic voice is so far advanced without training. Often times I have seen these gifted vocalists conclude they have a natural talent and have a perfect voice that does not require training. Another problem these people with natural voices have, common to everyone, is the lack of knowledge of how to achieve effective breath control. The truth that I have found is that humans do not breathe correctly under normal conditions. All of us must learn this basic and vital ability.

In a comparable example with the steps required to learn another common musical instrument, if you were learning the guitar, you would not expect to immediately be able to play it once you purchased your instrument. That would be ridiculous! Anyone would expect that they must take some kind of lessons. One reason that our approach to training the voice may be different is

that our instrument already works. Since we have used it to communicate, starting with our first scream, we have already developed some level of vocalization and pitch. The important thing to understand is that your basic level of development will be different from everybody else. You must accept your current ability and move forward with confidence and dedication to create a voice that represents your individual potential.


3) The Amplifier


The what? Do I need my electric guitar? No. Actually, an acoustic guitar would be a better analogy. All kidding aside, without the resonating cavities of the neck and head, our little voice box would probably sound like a munchkin from the Wizard of Oz.

Have you ever heard an electric guitar played without an amplifier? No much to hear, is there? But, plug it into a couple of high-end Marshall Amplifier stacks and run it through some crazy effects and you will hear it for a long distance. Here is how this same principle works within our body.

As we have discussed, the vocal cords are two bands of mucous membrane tissue located in the larynx. The larynx is located in the neck at the top of the trachea or windpipe. Vocal cords produce sound by vibrating together as the air passes through them from the lungs, supported by the abdominal muscles. After leaving the larynx, the vibrations travel through the resonating cavities (amplifiers) of the neck and head. When they reach there, the sound is further amplified by resonating (bouncing) against the hard boney surfaces that enclose those cavities, especially the teeth.

This amplified vibration is eventually projected, as a complex sound, beyond the body via the open mouth. Before exiting, the sound is often enhanced by the addition of words. This is accomplished mainly with the tongue, teeth and lips. The result is called diction. We will discuss diction in depth in chapter five. At the end of the process, the resulting outside of body sound is the sound of the individual’s voice. The individual’s voice quality is also partially dependent on the thickness and length of the vocal chords. Further, the shape, thickness, and density of the bones and cartilages, and the size and shape of the empty spaces in the resonating cavities are of prime importance when determining our voice.

I hope this information was helpful.


Thanks for Reading! Visit my web site for more info. http://www.vocaltrainingwarrior.com/ebooks

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http://www.vocaltrainingwarrior.com

Blessings,

Jonathan Morgan Jenkins




Sunday, May 4, 2008

Performing all Vocal Styles with Expertise and Confidence is Critical to your Resume as a Vocalist.

Vocal Training Warrior: Vocal Training, Voice Lessons, Singers Voice Lessons, Speakers Vocal Training, Actors Vocal Training, Home Recording Studios, Quality Microphones, Podcasting, Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercises, Clear Diction Exercises, Vocal Training Videos, Vocal Training E-books.

To become a truly professional vocalist, you must be able to perform all vocal styles with expertise and confidence. If you are a vocalist that is stuck in a "Style Rut", read this article and you may find that it is not as difficult as you may think to sing and speak in different styles with control and confidence.

During my tenure as a Voice Instructor, I have coached Singers, Speakers and Actors of every age and musical of speaking style. Some typical singing styles would be, Classical, Opera, Musical Theatre, Jazz, Pop, Folk, Rock, Rhythm and Blues and Country. Some typical speaking styles would be, Corporate Trainer, Corporate Speaker, Politician, Teacher, Poet or Rap Artist. Some typical Acting styles would be, Stage Actor, Musical Theatre, Film Actor, Commercial Actor, Voice Over or the creation of specific Characters or Accents. If I missed any, please add them to the list.

My point is that there are so many uses for the Human Voice, an incredible miracle of an instrument. After working with all of these people through the years, I have found these consistent themes in how they perceive their chosen method and/or style.

1) They often worship their chosen style and exclude all others. (This is especially prevalent with snooty academic/classical crowd)
2) They think that their style of singing is the only correct way the voice can operate.
3) They have little or no understanding of how the voice operates.
4) They think they are gifted and do not need competent training.
5) They refuse to even consider expanding their capabilities by attempting to sing or speak in another style.

To me, anyone who thinks in any fashion like this is incredibly naïve and has little or no interest in becoming an accomplished vocalist. If I have ruffled your virgin feathers, I make no apologies.

Before you leave the room or call your Attorney claiming that I have bruised your ego, please allow me one chance to explain to you the many aspects of proper vocal performance that are similar to all vocal styles. Then we will discuss the actual few differences. Here is a list of all the aspects of vocal performance that must be understood and applied by all vocalists and all musical or speaking styles.

1) How to breathe properly to intake the maximum amount of oxygen every time we breathe.
2) Understand how the body is engineered to use pressurized oxygen to accomplish many vital functions by coordinating the abdominal muscles.
3) Have a thorough understanding of the most important abdominal muscle for singing or speaking called the Diaphragm. This includes its position in the body, how it is used to intake oxygen and how it is used to pressurize airflow and expel it in a controlled and efficient manner.
4) Have a thorough understanding of the Larynx or Vocal Chords and how this marvelous organ is used to accomplish a fundamental sound and correct pitch.
5) How to keep our throat open so the fundamental sound and pitch which emanates from the Larynx is not restricted and therefore diminished in any way before it reaches the resonating chambers of the head.

Before we discuss how style differences are accomplished, please review the above long list of important things that all vocalists must be able to understand and perform masterfully before they can be a powerful vocalist in any style.

Now let’s discuss how we accomplish different styles. You will be amazed at how simple it really is. And when you realize this, my hope is that you will become a vocalist that understands there are more common processes than different ones. And, hopefully, you will become more open to becoming an accomplished singer or speaker in all styles.

Let’s start with the style where the voice is usually operating to its absolute potential. That would be Classical or Opera. I realized that I made a not so flattering comment in #1 of my first group of numbered items. (This is especially prevalent with snooty academic/classical crowd) I did not make this comment about the style; I made this comment about the some of the people that perform that style. The college where I received my formal music degree was a place where the mention of Popular Music was considered Sacrilege. With my childhood musical background being Surf Bands and Rock and Roll, I had to watch what I said for fear of being Tarred and Feathered!

Lets analyze the physical singing style of Classical or Opera. We usually observe the following physical characteristics in the performer.

1) They often breathe correctly.
2) They often understand how to use their abdominal muscles for proper oxygen control.
3) Their Diction is often clear and resonant.
4) Their jaw is often open or dropped to produce the most balanced resonant tone possible.

I my experience, I seldom find these important vocal performance aspects in people who sing in other styles. The main reason is lack of training but another reason is a bad attitude about being open to sing in other styles.

Unfortunately, it appears to be human nature to dismiss a new challenge or even minimize its importance rather than embrace it as a gift that will change our life. We would rather shoot the messenger than listen, embrace and grow. Pretty sad!

What I have found is that, once I can get a student past the mental blocks of experimenting with a new vocal style, it becomes mainly an issue of altering the diction and opening the jaw to different positions that creates basic musical or speaking style changes. It is really that simple.

I want all of you to try something so you can get the effect. I want you to act in character using two extremes. Pick any song or speech you are familiar with and perform it in each of the following characters. Don’t hold back and perform the character as exaggerated as possible.

1) Pretend you are an Opera Singer or Speaking words in a Shakespeare Play.
2) Pretend that you are an old-time Country Singer with all the twang you can muster. If speaking, just say the words that way.

While you are doing this, be aware of the following:

1) How open or closed your throat is.
2) The position of your tongue at all times.
3) How closed or how open your jaw is.
4) What kind of tone, nasally or balanced, you are producing.
5) Do you feel tension in your neck and head or not.

I hope you are getting the picture that the differences in vocal performance are very few compared to the similarities. When you tell your body to become a certain character, the subconscious mind brings it to pass by altering physical positions.

In conclusion, I tell all my students that if they want to truly become and accomplished and fulfilled vocalist, they should be able to sing or speak in any style on command and do it properly.

So, it is time to drop the ego and open yourself up to receiving some proper training. Trust me, when you do this, you will be a very happy vocalist. Further, you will have a healthy respect for all styles, all vocalists and increased admiration for your marvelous musical instrument.

Thanks for Reading! Visit my web site fir more info.
http://www.vocaltrainingwarrior.com/ebooks
Goodbye!

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See you next time!

http://www.vocaltrainingwarrior.com

Blessings,

Jonathan Morgan Jenkins


Sunday, March 30, 2008

The Human Voice is an Incredible and Powerful Instrument for Singers, Public Speakers or Actors.

Vocal Training Warrior: Vocal Training, Voice Lessons, Singers Voice Lessons, Speakers Vocal Training, Actors Vocal Training, Home Recording Studios, Quality Microphones, Podcasting, Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercises, Clear Diction Exercises, Vocal Training Videos, Vocal Training E-books.

This month we will be discussing an incredible creation, the Human Voice. During my 26 years of training this incredible gift, I never cease to be amazed at the lack of knowledge of it’s most basic functions and how it is often taken for granted or even intentionally or unintentionally abused by misguided vocalists. Let us take a glimpse at this powerful instrument and, hopefully, develop a healthy respect.

Larynx

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The larynx (plural larynges), colloquially known as the voicebox, is an organ in the neck of mammals involved in protection of the trachea and sound production. The larynx houses the vocal folds, and is situated just below where the tract of the pharynx splits into the trachea and the esophagus.

I must first say that I consider the Larynx to be one of the greatest miracles and gifts that mankind has ever been given. Let’s pause for a moment and consider life without a larynx. If you could not speak, sing or laugh I think you would agree that your life would change in a major way. We have actually been born with a free instrument. It is more functional and complex than any instrument created by man because it can not only create pitch, but it can also communicate words when used in connection with the parts in the throat and the head that produce diction and tone.


No other instrument can do this. With many people, though, they shy away from singing because many students, in my experience, think they sound poor. This is often because, as in my case, somebody close to them laughed at them when they sang and maybe said they had no talent. Unfortunately with the voice, many people have completely forgot that, like any other instrument, it must be trained to reach its potential.

I agree that there exists many people who sound wonderful without any training. The mistake many of these people make is that they can achieve "exceptional" voices if they would submit themselves to effective training. This is because their basic voice is so far advanced without training. Often times they conclude they have a “natural talent” and “ have a perfect voice that does not need training”. Another problem these “natural voices” have is the lack of knowledge of how to achieve effective breath control. As I have learned through my many years, humans do not breathe correctly under normal conditions. All of us must learn this basic and vital ability.

For example, if you were learning the clarinet, you would not expect to just be able to play it once you purchased your instrument. That would be ridiculous! Anybody would expect that they would have to take some kind of lessons. One reason we forget this in respect to the voice is that our instrument already works. Since we have used it to communicate, starting with our first scream after being born, we have already developed some level of vocalization and pitch.

Another consideration is that, with the clarinet or any other instrument, if you do not want to play or learn, you can sell your instrument and chose another. With the voice, though, you are stuck with what your have. This is why many people harbor ill feelings about their voice for many years. For many, it is easier to just keep quite than take another chance at being ridiculed for singing poorly. This result is a shame as most people can be trained to sing effectively. To reach our vocal performance goals, we must first be grateful for the gift we have and believe that it can improve with correct information and effort.

Now we can discuss the nuts and bolts of this marvelous creation called the larynx.


The larynx, also known as the voice box, is an organ in the neck of mammals that protects the trachea and is the miracle organ that creates sound production. The larynx houses the vocal cords. It is positioned just below where the tract of the pharynx, the part of your throat you see when you look straight back into your mouth, splits into the trachea (passage to the lungs) and the esophagus (passage to your stomach).

Sound is generated in the larynx. Further, this is where pitch and volume are manipulated. The strength of the airflow from the lungs, generated from the lower abdominal muscles and controlled by the diaphragm, contributes to loudness of overall sound. As this air column passes through the vocal chords, a fundamental sound is produced.

The vocal chords are, then, stretched according to the information received from the brain and a certain pitch is produced. This is information is important weather we are singing or speaking. As I have clearly written about in my book, Singing and Speaking on the Edge of a Grunt, Public Speakers and Actors must perform the same air support and control of any singer. In fact, if a speaker, actor, etc. is to be effective, they must also alter their pitch and volume like any singer.

This connection of similar vocal training for these different vocal disciplines is often not supported. They are seldom considered to be doing the same thing when they perform. But, in my world, they all need to become Vocal Warriors. We are all doing the same thing. We are using our voice to express entertainment and ideas to others. Strategies for vocal development are the same for all. This is an important cornerstone of my teaching philosophy.

After the basic sound vibration exits the vocal cords it is altered as it travels through the vocal tract, eventually exiting the mouth and nose. The changes occur based on the individual construction of your unique body and on the position of the pharynx tongue, lips, and mouth. The process of altering a source sound as it passes through the filter of the vocal tract creates the many different vowel and consonant sounds of the world's languages. Further, this is where comedians, for instance, alter their sound to mimic other people’s voices or others create cartoon characters.

The vocal folds can be held close together by adducting the arytenoid cartilages. The muscles attached to the arytenoid cartilages control the degree of opening. Vocal fold length and tension can be controlled by rocking the thyroid cartilage forward and backward on the cricoid cartilage, and by manipulating the tension of the muscles within the vocal folds. This causes the pitch produced during phonation to rise or fall.

To summarize, these two basic movements exist within the larynx.

1) Bringing the vocal chords together so they vibrate and produce a fundamental vibrating sound when air travels between them.

2) Once the fundamental sound is produced, the vocal chords are stretched (just like tightening a guitar string and the pitch rises) and the pitch changes.

Although there exists more complex muscle movements within the larynx needed to produce sound, these are the most fundamental and easiest to understand. After all, my main goal is for you to understand the fundamental basics of vocal production so you can apply them daily and improve your sound. I am not trying to prepare you for pre-med school!

This information is only the beginning to understand the complexities of how to operate the Human Voice. To become a powerful and accomplished vocalist, you must have a thorough understanding of the Abdominal Muscle Systems, the Larynx, the Resonating Cavities in the Throat and Head and the many facets of Diction that are used to produce the multiple styles of Music or Speaking production.

This information is only the beginning to understand the complexities of how to operate the Human Voice. To become a powerful and accomplished vocalist, you must have a thorough understanding of the Abdominal Muscle Systems, the Larynx, the Resonating Cavities in the Throat and Head and the many facets of Diction that are used to produce the multiple styles of Music or Speaking production. All these subjects are thoroughly discussed in my book, Singing and Speaking on the Edge of a Grunt, (click here) on sale for only 19.95! When you consider that my private students pay me as much as 2,400.00 a year to get this information, this offer is an obvious bargain.


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Jonathan Morgan Jenkins
http://www.vocaltrainingwarrior.com


Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Correct Posture for Singers, Public Speakers, Actors and All People.

Vocal Training Warrior: Vocal Training, Voice Lessons, Singers Voice Lessons, Speakers Vocal Training, Actors Vocal Training, Home Recording Studios, Quality Microphones, Podcasting, Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercises, Clear Diction Exercises, Vocal Training Videos, Vocal Training E-books.

Before we can Breathe, Sing, Speak or just walk around, we need to create good posture in our body. Good posture is demonstrated when your body is standing straight up with no "hunch back." Imagine standing or walking while balancing a book on your head and this will create the effect I am talking about. This type of posture provides a few positive things for you. The most important result is an open Lower Abdominal Cage so you can consistently inhale a full breath and an Erect Stance that communicates to others that you are Confident and Positive.

Posture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The word "posture" is derived from the latin verb "ponere" which is defined as "to put or place." The general concept of human posture refers to "the carriage of the body as a whole, the attitude of the body, or the position of the limbs (the arms and legs)."

Good posture is the stance which is attained, "when the joints are not bent and the spine is aligned and not twisted." In this position, a person is thus able to completely and optimally attain balance and proportion of the body mass and framework. Good posture optimizes breathing and affects the circulation of bodily fluids. Padmasana or the Lotus Position is a central stance in yoga which
is used to enhance breathing through good posture. The word padmasana is a combination of the sanskrit words padma (lotus) and asana (posture).

During my 26 years of private coaching Singing Voices in all styles, directing Choirs, working with Rock and Pop vocalists and coaching Public Speakers and Actors, here is one simple physical attribute which is often lacking and can easily be improved. That is the performance of Correct Posture. When I make mention of the need to improve to many students when I see they have bad posture, I often get that "look" like "are you kidding?"

No, I am not. How often do you see people when you are out and about walking around that are walking, sitting or standing with dropped shoulders, a slouched back and a dropped chin with the head tilted forward? Be honest about how you perceive somebody like this. Does this person appear confident, happy, interesting, important, friendly or approachable? Are they somebody you would like to get to know? Probably not. How about taking a personal inventory of yourself, because maybe you are doing the same thing. When was the last time that you watched yourself walk, stand or sit. I suggest that you do and if your posture is not good, make some changes. Because, if this condition is unchanged, it can become a permanent condition as we age.

For Singers, Speakers and Actors, it is even more critical that the body perform good posture. It is not only for the prior mentioned important reasons; it is also because it is more difficult to breathe properly when our abdominal cage is compressed and not erect. Try this. To breathe correctly, you should know that the style of “belly breathing” is the correct one. This is when your lower abdomen is extended when you inhale oxygen. Try to do this with slouched posture. You will find that you can’t extend your abdomen as far. If you straighten up, you will be able to. As you will learn in my book “Singing and Speaking on the Edge of a Grunt,” the amount of oxygen we breathe in and the position of our abdomen prior to coordinating our abdominal muscles to expel the air in a controlled and power manner is probably the most critical aspect of singing of speaking properly.

Let’s first define good posture.



Do you remember the old technique that was used by models to work on their posture as they were told to walk while balancing a book on their head? The truth is that this "old" technique is still a "great" technique. Try it. Stand in front of a full-length mirror, put a book on your head and try to stand and walk. It’s a real challenge, isn’t it? While you are doing this, look at how your body responds and creates good posture. Don’t you look great? Sure you do. The trick is to file away this memory into your subconscious so that it becomes an automatic way of presenting yourself and not a conscious way that you always have to think of. That can only be accomplished through dedicated practice.

What is good posture?

Posture is the position in which you hold your body upright against gravity while standing, sitting or lying down. Good posture involves training your body to stand, walk, sit and lie in positions where the least strain is placed on supporting muscles and ligaments during movement or weight-bearing activities.

Proper posture:
1) Keeps bones and joints in the correct alignment so that muscles are being used properly.
2) Helps decrease the abnormal wearing of joint surfaces that could result in arthritis.
3) Decreases the stress on the ligaments holding the joints of the spine together.
4) Prevents the spine from becoming fixed in abnormal positions.
5) Prevents fatigue because muscles are being used more efficiently, allowing the body to use less energy.
6) Prevents strain or overuse problems.
7) Prevents backache and muscular pain.
8)Contributes to a good appearance.

What contributes to bad posture?
1) Bad attitude
2) Obesity
3) Depression
4) Lack of Confidence
5) Pregnancy
6) Weak muscles
7) High-heeled shoes
8)Tight muscles; decreased flexibility
9) Poor work environment
10) Poor sitting and standing habits

Let’s review the negative aspects of performing poor posture.
1) You look ill
2) You look depressed
3) You don’t appear confident
4) You do not appear approachable
5) You look shy

Let’s review the positive aspects of performing good posture.
1) You look confident
2) You look happy
3) You look approachable
4) You look healthy

Correct posture is obviously a very important part of presenting yourself. Think of all the things we do that will be affected.

1) Talking with your boss or co-workers with personal power.
2) Speaking to one person or a group with confidence.
3) Singing or performing in general with confident energy.
4) Standing or walking with confidence.
5) Communicating to others that your are approachable.

And what does it cost you to receive all these incredible benefits? Nothing! It is entirely free. But, it will take a lot of practice and hard work to change old habits.

I hope that you will begin today to improve your image with such a simple thing as improving your posture.

For more information, watch my latest YouTube video on Correct Posture by clicking here:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgoQ9S2O8kU


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Jonathan Morgan Jenkins
http://www.vocaltrainingwarrior.com

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Independence as a Singer, Public Speaker, Actor, Music Student, Instrumentalist or American Citizen is Critical for your Success.

Vocal Training Warrior: Vocal Training, Voice Lessons, Singers Voice Lessons, Speakers Vocal Training, Actors Vocal Training, Home Recording Studios, Quality Microphones, Podcasting, Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercises, Clear Diction Exercises, Vocal Training Videos, Vocal Training E-books.

One of the most incredible founding principles of America is the achievement of the Independence of the individual. As Vocalists or Instrumentalists, we must also become independent through proper music education and use of the latest technology to improve our musicianship.

This month I want to put some “Practical Feet” on an issue that I feel very strongly about. One of the most incredible founding principles of America is the achievement of the Independence of the individual. Have you ever heard of The Declaration of Independence? Unfortunately, there are many young people today that do not know what this document is, let alone what it means. Further, schools are becoming more and more a place to indoctrinate children about the latest Social Engineering Experiment and not teach them those important skills that will ultimately help them to become independent and productive members of society that will have the skills and confidence to visualize and solve the future challenges the world delivers.

The truth about America, especially in our past, is that this freedom has created a country that has been in existence for only a little over 300 years that has become the leader of the free world. May I remind all of us where the greatest inventions were created in the last 150 years have come from? The Telephone, Radio, Television, Film, Electronics, Computers, Aircraft, Appliances, Recording Equipment, Cars, Trains, Water Dams, Space Travel, Construction, Defense, Medicine, etc. The list goes on and on.

Why is this? It is because people have the freedom to visualize their dreams and are aware that once they do, they will have the freedom to improve society and profit by them. In contrast, lets compare the failed political philosophy of Communism. When the State owns you, controls you and tries to play “Daddy”, the human spirit has little incentive to grow and dream. That is why, in my opinion, we should always be wary of political social agendas that want to “provide all the needs of everyone.” This type of thinking only benefits the egos of those who want to implement such destructive political agendas. They do not benefit the individual because once you indoctrinate people that “the Government will always take care of them,” they will begin to lose their incentive to become an individual success. This thinking unchecked and not defeated will eventually destroy the principles of freedom that have made America great. It is good to remember that Socialism is nothing more than Communism Light!

We see this happening in the social structures of our families. Because parents want to be “their children’s friend” or ignore them altogether and have the “nanny” raise them, children enter the real world with little or no skills to be Independent. No wonder they end up wanting to live at home, homeless, on drugs, etc. This is because many parents have completely ignored their duties as parents. A parent’s job from a child’s birth is to make that child fully functional and independent by the time they are legal adults. Trust me, the goal cannot be reached by being a weak parent and only becoming a child’s “friend.” As any “real” parent knows, children will fight boundaries but will thank you in the long run when they grow up and see that you have prepared them to function in the real world.

At this point you are probably wondering about the “Practical Feet” for musicians that I promised in my opening sentence. One of my major goals as a Music Educator for 26 years has been to teach all my students to become independent musicians. For instance, when I teach voice, I avoid clichés like, “Sing in your High Voice,” of “Sing in your Chest Voice,” and not give anyone the practical connection to those statements. You can click “here” and get a Free Preview of my Ebook where I discuss this in Chapter 2. (sign up in the column to the left) I still continue to be amazed at the Vocal Students I inherit from other teachers or Music Programs that have heard the word Diaphragm but have very little or no understanding “what” it is. They are told to “sing from their Diaphragm” without any practical explanation about what that means. One of the first things I teach all my students is the parts of the body that make the voice work. I believe, when I teach them not just “what” works but “how” it works, they will not only perform independently once they leave me but they will also be able to teach another these important principles.

Further, I sell very inexpensive recording studios at my web site. (Click Here to see it) Why? Because an important part of becoming an independent vocalist or instrumentalist is being able to “hear” yourself perform. How else can you obtain an honest rendition of your efforts? Does this not make sense? Of course it does. And, when you can, you have become Independent. And when can depend on nobody else to achieve your goals, your ability to improve will be empowered. This should be a primary goal of any musician.

The truth is, when brave men and women were founding this country, they did not look to a government program to assist them or ease their pain, they had to figure out a way to survive and improve their life. Through this effort, many incredible inventions came forth. These are the efforts that built America. As musicians, we must embrace the information and technology that has been given to us through the diligent efforts of others and use them to become Independence Musicians that can teach ourselves and another. There are few greater services to mankind than to make the decision to pass along important skills to others with a giving spirit.

Now, let me share with you a few resources that you can find Free Information or Musical Tools.

Here is a site where I get almost all my MP3’s and it is Free in its basic service plan. For a cheap upgrade, you can get better service. Since it is a music sharing service, there aren’t any Copyright problems. I have found numerous tracks of obscure music here. Further, you can find many Karaoke Tracks, as well as Video, Documents, Images and Programs.
http://www.limewire.com/download/version.php

A forum filled with Free Vocalist Information
http://www.vocalist.org/index.html

Another resource is Yahoo Groups and Google Groups where you can find Free Information on Numerous issues.
http://groups.yahoo.com/
http://groups.google.com/grphp?hl=en&tab=wg

If you are a Karaoke Enthusiast, here are a few good links.
http://www.freekaraoke.com/songdir/
http://karaokeboogie.com/
http://www.karaokescene.com/



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Jonathan Morgan Jenkins
http://www.vocaltrainingwarrior.com