Make your voice sound more powerful, use vocal technique to expand your range and expression, and learn to become more confident in vocal performances.
Great songs don’t write themselves. They come from great singer-songwriters who equip themselves with the skills and tools to make the most of their ideas. That means reaching a level of vocal and instrumental proficiency that allows your songs to shine. In this program, that instrumental proficiency is tailored to singer-songwriters who play guitar. The program culminates with strategies developed by legendary Berklee professor Pat Pattison for writing the brilliant lyrics common to many hit songs. You’ll leave this course with an understanding of how best to create unified, memorable songs.
To thrive as a well-rounded vocalist, you need more than a great voice; you also need to understand the mechanics of contemporary music. This certificate program offers music theory (intervals, scales, harmony, etc.), ear training (time, rhythm, pitch using the solfege method, etc.), and voice studies (breath, technique, vocal care, etc.)—all knowledge that is tailored to you as a vocalist. With a strong awareness of what is happening in the music that you hear, write, and/or sing, you’ll be able to stand out as a more confident and capable musician and vocal performer.
Connect to your authentic singing voice with this holistic guide to a healthy and expressive singing life. This collection of technical discussions, exercises, and insights will help you improve all aspects of using your voice, from healthy sound production to exercises for greater vocal facility to guidance on rehearsing with your band. Interviews with Patti Austin, Ysaye M. Barnwell (Sweet Honey in the Rock), and others lend their perspectives to singing, the mind-body connection, and a natural/wellness focused approach to musicianship. The accompanying CD supports the practice exercises and approaches to learning new songs.
You will learn:
“This book is incredible. In my forty years as a producer working with singers and producing music, this is the most comprehensive work I’ve ever seen. It talks about what people really need to know, beyond the typical stuff you see in books for singers. It encompasses the spiritual and physical sides of being a musician as well as the study of music. The interview with Patti Austin alone is worth the price of the book.”
—Bernie Drayton, Music and Record Producer, nominated for GRAMMY® awards and winner of several Cleo Awards
“Jeannie Gagné’s book on vocal technique is a very thoughtful and thorough break down of the anatomy of the voice, offers tools for good health and well being, and takes the aspiring vocalist through all phases of building a healthy voice to last a career. I appreciated all the diagrams and attention to detail. I think it’s a great reference for young students, teachers looking for new ways to convey concepts and veterans seeking to improve or brush up on their technique.
Jeannie is a very well respected vocalist in the world of music who has maintained a beautiful instrument and in writing this book is preparing the generations to come to do so as well.”
—Lauren Kinhan, New York Voices
“Jeannie is an excellent teacher with a creative approach to vocal technique and wellness. This book will help singers connect body, mind, and spirit for truly inspired singing.”
—Anne Peckham, Interim Chair of the Voice Department, Berklee College of Music
Jeannie Gagné’s career as a professional singer and professor of voice at Berklee College of Music spans over thirty years….