The New Era of Singing Training

The New Era Of Singing Training

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The NEW ERA of SINGING TRAINING Why Breakthrough Methods Can Dramatically Improve Your Voice – Faster Than You Ever Knew Possible

By Per Bristow creator of THE BRISTOW VOICE METHOD www.BristowVoiceMethod.com

© 2008 Per Bristow - All rights reserved

The New Era Of Singing Training

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Table Of Contents

What Is The Bristow Voice Method?……………………………………………………………….. 4 What Others Say About The Bristow Voice Method…………………………………………… 4 The Promise Of A Greater Voice…………………………………………………………………………. 6 The Questions That Drove Me To Write This…………………………………………........... 6 Why Your Voice May Be More Powerful Than You Think…………………………………… 8 Why I Am Sharing This………………………………………………………………………………………. 9 The Myths Of Singing That Still Hold Us Captive………………………………………………. 10 The Right And The Wrong…………………………………………………………………………………… 11 Are You Talented Enough? What Is Talent – Really?.................................... 11 Talent Versus Training………………………………………………………………………………………… 12 The Discovery That Changed My Life…………………………………………………………………. 13 How We Really Learn………………………………………………………………………………………….. 14 The Birth Of A Genius – YOU……………………………………………………………………………… 15 The Real “Secret” To Learning……………………………………………………………………………. 16 The Two Words That Stop You In Your Tracks………………………………………………….. 18 How To Develop Amazing Skills…………………………………………………………………………. 19 The Art Of The Process………………………………………………………………………………………. 21 Peak Learning And Peak Performance………………………………………………………………. 22 The Old Conditioned Beliefs Of Singing Training………………………………………………. 23 The Magic Of A Developed Kinesthetic Awareness……………………………………………. 24 Your Voice As A Non-Physical Instrument…………………………………………………………. 25 The Natural Singer In You………………………………………………………………………………….. 26 Singing Training From a Historical Perspective…………………………………………………. 27 Breath Control – Why It Is Counterproductive…………………………………………………. 29 The Evolution Of Breath Control………………………………………………………………………… 29 To Release Restrictions………………………………………………………………………………………. 31 The Power Of Letting Go……………………………………..…………………………………………….. 32 The “Slow Learner’s” Trap………………………………………………………………………………….. 33 Why Practicing To CDs Slow You Down…………………………………………………………….. 35 To Practice Effectively…………………………………………………………………………………………. 36 Five Ingredients To Rapid Improvements…………………………………………………………. 37

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What Is The Bristow Voice Method? The Bristow Voice Method (BVM) was born out of Per Bristow's vast experience as a performing musician, singer, actor and athlete, his many years of experience as a teacher and coach, together with his unique depth of knowledge in areas of human anatomy, modern training methods, advanced learning strategies, peak performance psychology, advanced mental training techniques, nutrition and more. The Bristow Voice Method is designed to go far beyond improving the physical voice. Depending on the individual’s needs and desires, BVM serves to bring the individual to significantly greater levels of wellbeing, self-confidence, creativity and health, in addition to dramatically and rapidly improve communication, presentation and performance skills.

What Others Say About The Bristow Voice Method "My range has already improved in both the higher and lower registers with much better quality, and I perform with greater freedom than ever before. I'm sure The Bristow Voice Method will help you too." Bobby Pulido- Grammy nominee and platinum selling artist ”I have studied with some of the most wellknown vocal instructors in Los Angeles, but NO ONE compares to Per's tapestry of training tools in vocal pedagogy. With Per's freeing approach and compassion, I have found my one true voice and I am seeing the results in my professional singing career. He is not only the 'Buddha of the Voice', he is without a doubt Los Angeles' most extraordinary vocal coach." Angel Travis - Universal Records recording artist ”I was blessed to have found Per and I can't imagine where I would be without him (probably still hoarse from the gig last night.) He is the rock singer's dream coach, and I am proud to count him among some of the most influential people in my life.” JFK, lead singer of the World Wide Spies “I was very self-conscious about singing in front of people. Now I feel like I've been liberated to explore my own abilities. This course was definitely a life enhancer for me.

"Per Bristow is a rare combination of skill and passion. He has a unique ability to understand and hear what you and your voice are all about and cater to your unique needs. When you sing eight shows a week and need to learn to work around the adverse conditions, you need a coach who's done it and knows what he's talking about. It's hard not to kick yourself for not having found him earlier." Jerald Vincent, singer on National tours of The Producers, Aida, and more.

"First of all, I would like to say a big thank you for your product. From lesson 1 alone I learnt so much about my voice. I come from having 3 singing teachers, multiple online products including...(product name left out as courtesy to colleagues) and honest to God I have never learnt as much as I have from those 50 minutes of instruction!" Daniel Yuen - Canada “My name is Colleen. I am a professional singer and sing for private parties, fundraisers, Legions and the list goes on. I thoroughly enjoyed your online course. I learnt things about singing that I didn't know before. I used to push my voice, but my voice began to flow and I now sing with little effort. Thanks Per. I learnt a lot from your course.” Colleen Durdon - Canada

Albert Huerta - Utah

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“I have sung my entire life until I was nearly 21 years old. My voice did get progressively better, but I hit a wall. That is when I began looking into technique. But what I found was confusing and conflicting information. Thankfully, I stumbled upon your course. Naturally I was skeptical at first, but after the course I have been singing better than ever. I am constantly in awe of my voice to the point that I cannot believe it is actually coming out of my mouth. Music is such a huge part of my life and I cannot thank you enough for making such high-end vocal training available and affordable.

“Hi Per: Thanks so much for making your method available to the public. I used to force the notes out and I easily became hoarse. Now I sing the notes with ease. I get comments like "Wow, your voice is so powerful, and you seem to do it effortlessly". I am now able to sing louder and stronger with far less effort or strain. I am the vocalist for a Neil Diamond Tribute band. We book gigs all over the country. Your course has helped me take my performance to the next level. Many thanks Per.” Eddie Kij - Arizona

Mike Harari - Florida "As a child I used to stutter. Somehow I got over that but I think a lot of stress and strain developed in my vocal chords which I have not been able to get total freedom from until I took this course. So thank you Coach for allowing me to learn so much from you. I appreciate the fact that you are 'REAL' with people and that you are making the student feel safe and free to make mistakes. I love your approach: Freedom!” Cavélle - Florida “Wow … I gotta comment .. This is ABSOLUTELY AWESOME !!! Oh yes – so much more than just singing … Thank you !!! I really want to thank you for helping me see something within me, the singing voice, that was always there … A new instrument of music that I can play … I have spent most of my life expressing my emotions through the piano and guitar. And now, to be able to express my emotions with my voice … Wow !!! Thank you … Even at 51, I realize now that ya can teach an old dog new tricks !!!” Danny Sternadel - Oregon “I have been singing for the past 9 years and took voice lessons from 3 different teachers before. But nothing can compare to what Per's online lessons have taught me. I always felt learning to sing is far to hard and complicated. But then, the truth now becomes that I have never felt learning to sing can be so effortless and simple. It's truly God's blessing to have Per. Awesome!!!”

“I’m just a beginner but your singing course was very helpful. I can sing with a wider range now and the lessons were fun and felt very personal. All in all, the interactive singing course was a wonderful, educational, and rewarding experience. Thank you again. “ Frank Au - Seattle, Washington “I have enjoyed your voice lessons a lot. The exercises are fun and you present the material in an easy relaxed way.The written material and video complement each other well and gives me, the singer, a better understanding on what is going on. I have created a new relationship to the different muscles that defines my voice. I have had a great time studying with you.” Benny Sommerfeld, cantorial student - California “Per, you have made my voice feel the freedom that I had always wanted! I’ve been singing and performing for years and I’ve tried many other approaches that have made me feel like a robot in comparison. Now my range has improved and I have more confidence to gracefully slide into my higher registers and my songwriting has improved drastically too. I've learned so much about singing! Thank you Per -you rock” Tara Napoli – Los Angeles, Califronia

For another four pages of success stories visit www.BristowVoiceMethod.com/successstories.html

Mike Lee, Worship Leader - Malaysia

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The Promise Of A Greater Voice Who wouldn’t want to be able to sound great when they sing? Who wouldn’t want to be able to sing with complete freedom and confidence? Who wouldn’t want to be able to attract people, and be admired, appreciated, respected and loved? Maybe you want to be able to experience the high of 50,000 cheering fans… maybe you want to be the front singer of your band, or succeed at your next American Idol audition… maybe you want to see your friends’ jaws drop when they hear you at the next karaoke night… maybe you want to be able to experience the true inner joy of singing – whether by yourself or together with others… I don’t think there are many people who deep inside wouldn’t want to sing better. However, many feel they aren’t good enough. Many feel uncomfortable with their voice. And even more don’t know what to do to dramatically improve their voice. In this report I am going to outline some of the findings from my last two decades of coaching singers, and why it is that I can comfortably say that you can indeed develop your singing voice dramatically. The even better news is that you can do it so much faster than you probably ever knew possible. In fact, I’m not only going to address why you can sound better than ever, but how you can literally turn your voice into a magnet of attraction.

The Questions That Drove Me To Write This For the last almost two decades, I have coached singers and speakers in the Los Angeles area, and have become known as somewhat of a maverick in the field – not only in the field of voice, but for igniting a person’s ability for rapid learning, communication and peak performance. However, I didn’t really set out to be different just for the sake of being different, and I continue to be amazed and puzzled as to why it is that The Bristow Voice Method has enabled so many to rapidly experience such profound shifts in, not only their voices, but their lives as well. Having said this…

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There are two things we should establish right away: 1) As you will come to see, to not achieve dramatic results is highly unlikely. It is, in fact, quite hard not to. 2) It has little to do with me, but everything to do with the enormous capacity that lies within you. Enormous capacity that for some reason has never been given permission to flourish. The question is how to make it flourish. Some of the questions that have driven me to develop methods that can be used by anyone are: Why is it that so many singers after years and years of training are still limited in the way they sound and in their ability to move an audience? Why is it that they can suddenly transform these abilities? Why is it that some people learn and develop exceptionally fast while others don’t? How can someone who has had a hard time developing in the past turn into a fast learner? Why is it that so many people falsely believe they can’t sing? Why is it that training methods for development of the human mind and body – from reading skills to sports – have developed rapidly, while singing training in general tend to rely on beliefs from centuries ago? Why is it that the majority of singing students, as well as teachers, have come to believe that “breath control”, as one example, is something to be strived for? Why haven’t they realized that this belief has been holding them back significantly? Why do so many contemporary singers shy away from taking “singing lessons”? These are just some of the many questions that have been churning in my mind over the years. Some of the answers to these questions have become quite obvious and which I will share with you in this report.

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Why Your Voice May Be More Powerful Than You Think It’s not surprising that American Idol, and all the other spin-offs in 39 countries, is as popular as it is… that karaoke bars are flourishing, garage bands are formed every minute, and that song in all forms are expressed throughout households, parties, devotional gatherings and choruses all over the world. Singing has been with us since the evolution of mankind. Singing is a fundamental way of creating a bond with other human beings. Singing lifts our spirits. Singing makes us feel good. There is no known society or tribe that doesn’t sing. In fact, we could argue that we all “sang” way before we were able to form sounds into language. Yet, many experience feelings of inadequacy. Many – even accomplished singers – experience discomfort, physical strain and lack of confidence. Many feel unsatisfied with the way they sound or how they are able to express themselves. Many, who once loved to sing, have lost the joy and would do anything to re-experience that joy. And many more live with a false belief that they cannot sing. In short: Many feel restricted in some way, but don’t know how to break free of these restrictions. You might feel restriction too. You may feel you can’t sing in tune well enough, or that you experience strain or that you can’t sing those high notes or you just don’t have the quality of voice that you would love to have. In some way, you feel more restricted that you would like to be. Then again you may not experience this as “restrictions”. We are exceptionally adaptable animals. We tend to live our lives held captive by our beliefs of who we are and what we can or cannot do. However, since you are reading this, I assume you intuitively know what a difference your life could be if you could break free of some of the limiting beliefs and realize a greater potential within you…

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…If there was a way you could discover a greater freedom to your voice… if there was a way to rapidly gain greater confidence and ability to express the way you would really like to express… if there was a way that you could step on stage and experience how people are profoundly attracted by your voice, charisma and personality… if there was a way to feel more empowered, confident, influential and attractive as a human being! I am here to tell you that there is indeed a way. And with your permission I would like to show you how.

Why I Am Sharing This For the last almost two decades, the basis of my practice has been one-on-one private coaching. As rewarding as it has been there has also been frustration, since I have only been able to help a limited few, one person at a time. Finally, a year ago, I launched a home-study course – The Captivating Singer – in which I lead people through a specifically designed process according to the principles of The Bristow Voice Method via online videos. The feedback was nothing short of astounding and although the marketing was minimal, people from 15 countries have experienced it. (Some of the feedback you can read at the top of this report, and you can read more at www.BristowVoiceMethod.com/successstories.html) As of this writing, this old course has been discontinued and a new training program is about to be launched – an affordable training program for anyone, and it promises to go far beyond the previous course. It is also designed to do much more than dramatically improve your physical voice. Naturally, you are welcome to join this program when it is launched in a couple of weeks, but that is for a later discussion. For now, I want to offer you strategies you can embrace today. Everyone deserves to be able to sing with freedom and confidence. I’d like to show you the problems many singers fall into when they attempt to develop their voices – traps they fall into that slow down their progress by years. My goal is to help empower you so you can be the singer you’ve always wanted to be.

The New Era Of Singing Training

"I have been playing and singing in a rock and blues band for nearly 12 years (e.g. AC-DC, Guns 'N Roses, Jimmy Barnes etc.). In the last year, I've had problems singing those high notes. So I hopped on the Internet and came across Per Bristow's website and signed up for his online course. What an eye-opener!!! Not only did my voice get back to the level I was performing before, but it also improved beyond that - especially the comfort with which I'm singing these high notes now and also the very low range. Thanks Per!" Frank Hendrikx - rock singer, New Zealand

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The Myths Of Singing That Still Hold Us Captive Perhaps you have heard or been told that breathing is the foundation for singing? Perhaps you have been taught you have to learn breath control techniques or maybe you have even been exposed to statements such as “sing from your stomach”, or “sing from your diaphragm”. Perhaps you have even been warned that “if you sing from your throat you will damage your voice”. How many times have you encountered the advice that in order to sing properly you must first stand with “correct posture”? You may also have heard or been told to “feel as if you are yawning”, “sing through the mask”, or “open your mouth”? Have you been told to push harder with your stomach to sing high notes? Have you heard that in order to sing high notes or sing with power you must “”support your breath”, or have “stomach support”? Perhaps you are as confused as most as to what these statements mean? Perhaps you have come to accept them as “right” and have never been exposed to anything different? And more importantly: How many times have you been engaged in singing training where the process is via singing scales? Why are scales always used do you think? To develop musicality, learn to sing on key and be able to hit the right notes? How could I possibly argue that singing scales is often highly ineffective?

Why is it that most traditional singing training focuses on posture, breath-control and singing scales?

Could I possibly believe differently than that “breathing is the foundation of singing”? I’d seem ready to be hauled away if I did, wouldn’t I?

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The Right And The Wrong As you will come to learn throughout this report, I don’t subscribe to a “right versus wrong” mentality. We could easily agree that breathing is the foundation of singing. We might even feel that this statement is a sign of wisdom. Then again, we could also easily agree that breathing is the foundation for life. Would this statement be a sign of wisdom or a sign of simplistic naiveté?

“Out beyond ideas of right-doing and wrong-doing there is a field. I’ll meet you there.” Rumi - 13th century poet

Anyone can make statements and say what is supposedly wrong and what is supposedly right. Anyone can tell Michael Jordan who just missed a shot to shoot more to the left next time. Whether it is right or wrong is beside the point. The only thing that matters is whether it is helpful or not. The only thing that matters is what unleashes greater capacity within you.

If you are a complete beginner and have not been exposed to these kinds of statements and strategies, I consider you to be in a beneficial situation. However, for all the singers who have been exposed to statements such as these and the belief patterns that go with them, it is absolutely fascinating to observe that when they release these habitual restrictions, they suddenly break free to discover a new dimension to their voice and expression they didn’t know was possible. I am going to address how you can experience this too. However, let’s start off by addressing the issue of talent.

Are You Talented Enough? What Is Talent – Really? What if you are simply not talented enough? Maybe you’re just not born to be a singer? How talented do you need to be? There is probably no other skill where the word talent is as used and misused as when it comes to singing. We hear the term “natural singer” all the time. Many sincerely believe that singers are born rather than made. Many believe where they are today (or where they are not) is a result of their talent (or lack thereof).

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What is “talent”? Wherein lies the talent of a singer? Is it the shape of your larynx that determines your talent? Your ear? Your mind? What is it? Who is equipped to judge talent? What if we are talented, but the talent has only lied dormant?

WHEREIN LIES THE TALENT OF A SINGER?

I would like to start out by boldly claiming that the word “talent” in my opinion is a quite meaningless word. In singing, were it is ultimately about communicating, the word “talent” is even more meaningless. There are successful singers who sound completely different and have completely different physical bodies, different musical “talent”, different personalities – in fact, completely different skills in every area. We could argue that to succeed in sports you need a certain genetic physical makeup. However, even in that area “talent” is highly overrated.

Talent Versus Training Last year I wrote an article about the similarities of teaching a kid to confidently catch a ball coming at him at high speed, and a singer effortlessly and confidently going for a high note. As I sit here and write in my backyard, I see my 6-year-old son pounding baseballs at a target over and over again. Since last year when he first stepped on a baseball field he’s been hailed as a “natural talent” – as a “born athlete”. But what if they saw how he practiced? What if they knew the activities of discovery of his own body and mind that he has been passionately engaged in since he was an infant (since in the womb probably). What if they knew about the mental training he has engaged in while watching his big brother and pros in action?

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There is no denying that we are all different. We are all unique and are born with different genetic makeups. However, what exactly is that talent? Before I address the fascinating similarities between learning to throw and catch a ball and developing your voice, and before I explain why you are a genius whether you know it or not, let me first share one of the most profound moments of my life…

The Discovery That Changed My Life It was, in fact, also about throwing. At the age of 15, I entered a track and field meet in Sweden (where I grew up) to throw the javelin and in that competition I broke my personal best by 8 meters. It was an amazing throw. The feeling in my body as I released the javelin sent chills through my spine and with that throw I suddenly ranked in the top 20 in the whole nation. But I was no javelin thrower. I was thin and weak in comparison to others. I have never had, nor will I ever have, a body that remotely resembles that of a javelin thrower. I could have shrugged it off as a lucky throw. But luckily I didn’t. In fact, I knew exactly what had happened. And as I lay down to sleep that night, I thought back on the previous 18 months and all the pain I had been in. 18 months earlier and for six months straight I had been unable to lie down without severe pain in my lower back as a result of a back injury from playing soccer. In whatever position I assumed – lying down, sitting, walking – pain was always present: Before that injury I dreamt of excelling in sports, but I never really did. I was decent on a local level, but I had seemingly little capacity (talent?) to be competitive on a higher level. Now eighteen months later, I was ranked among the top 20 in the nation in 6 different track and field events. And this in the same year that I won the regional volleyball championships while messing around in a slew of other sports. The funny thing is that my physical abilities where still quite average. I was still the thin guy with average sprint and jumping ability. However, there was another area I was considered exceptionally talented in and that was playing the violin. “Natural talent” was all I heard every time I performed at a recital. “Natural talent” is what I heard when I at the age of 12 was invited as the youngest ever to play in the symphony orchestra.

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Natural talent? Were they kidding? Had they no idea of the process behind why I could learn things fast – the process and the mental discipline to get the fingers moving the way I wanted them to? I got so tired of hearing about “natural talent” that it was probably this that drove me to transform other parts of my life. If I can learn one thing quickly, why can’t I excel at something else? I turned my ability for rapid learning to other fields I was interested in – be it singing or writing. By the age of 17, I had never sang a note that I can remember. A few years later I was one of a highly sought-after singers and performers in the nation. Nobody knows the thought process or the learning process of a child, since as children we aren’t able to verbalize it (nor do we have much desire to do so). But these thoughts have been with me ever since my days of the injury: What is it that makes a body heal? What is it that makes us develop skills fast? Can anyone do it? Perhaps it has been my dismay with people’s use of the word talent that has driven me to become a coach and help people from all walks of life discover greater abilities within themselves – whether they consider themselves talented or not. So for the last decades, my life has centered around helping others acquire the skill of learning fast and transforming their inner abilities. Whether it is the world-class backup singer who has no voice six days before his US tour, or the accountant who never believed she could sing but transforms her life when she experiences an amazing voice she never knew she had.

How We Really Learn Dr. Howard Gardner at Harvard University is one of the people who paved the way for a greater appreciation of our differences with his theory on multiple intelligences. The intelligences he describes are: Linguistic intelligence ("word smart") Logical-mathematical intelligence ("number/reasoning smart") Spatial intelligence ("picture smart") Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence ("body smart") Musical intelligence ("music smart") Interpersonal intelligence ("people smart") Intrapersonal intelligence ("self smart") Naturalist intelligence ("nature smart")

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What kind of “intelligence” do you think my strength is? What is your strong “intelligence”? What “intelligence” do you think a singer needs? You may also be familiar with the different modalities of learning. These include auditory, visual and kinesthetic. Sometimes we also include tactual as a fourth modality. These modalities refer to the way we use our senses to take in and process information. It has been found that different people us their senses differently when they process information. Now realize that most of the discussions in regards to methods for accelerated learning are geared towards retention of information. But where are the methods to accelerate the development of musical intelligence and inter- and intrapersonal intelligence?

The Birth Of A Genius - YOU Despite the differences in learning styles, it might be interesting to consider what world-renowned developmental psychologist Jean Piaget pointed out: that initially, we all learn kinesthetically. When you entered this world, your senses and your awareness of self were developed via your kinesthetic experiences. You began discovering that the hand in your face was in fact your own hand, that the feet wiggling about were your own feet. Your eyes began to interpret what you touched and vision was developed. We discover the distance to objects via touch. We discover what is soft, hard, round or sharp via our touch. Sound is at its root vibration, and our hearing – our ability to interpret these vibrations – develops in the womb as a kinesthetic experience. And as an infant you began making sound. Just merely making sound – any sound – was a fascinating exploration in and of itself. At that time you had no concept of good versus bad or right versus wrong. As long as that freedom prevailed, you explored endlessly.

touch – vision – distance – balance – space – shape – texture – sound – goal – concentration – awareness

Physical actions become interlinked with mental activity. This was also shown by Jean Piaget’s study of the young child who, when attempting to "figure out" how to get an object out of a closed matchbox, opened and closed her mouth.

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Habits, beliefs and knowledge are constantly being implanted via our kinesthetic discoveries in association with other sensory experiences. Most people would think that becoming a great singer is about musical intelligence and auditory learning. And this is exactly what singing training historically has always emphasized. This is why listening, copying sounds and notes, and singing scales are the dominating methods to learn to sing. Most beginner singers are for example encouraged to follow along with prerecorded CDs. But singing is much more than that. Singing is also very much a physical activity. Not surprisingly, just about every client – even exceptionally accomplished singers – are shocked at what they discover when they go through the Bristow Voice Method’s Kinesthetic Awareness Process - KAP™. They have just never experienced anything like it. Is it not surprising that they develop incredibly fast. (Singing is of course more than just a physical activity – more on that later)

The Real “Secret” To Learning Now let’s go back to the art of teaching a child to throw and catch a ball to help us understand how you can rapidly develop your singing voice – no matter your age.

Take a look at both these pictures above. Which kid is going to throw the ball the farthest? It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? But what is the difference? Now, I’m using my own child here as an example since I know the facts behind it, but it could be any kid. When people see him throw, bat or catch they often react in amazement as you seldom see a six-year-old do something like that. The term “he’s got a great arm” is often used for someone who can

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throw well. But is it just the arm? Look at the picture. Where do you think the power and accuracy is coming from? Now, if a kid like this pounds the ball with speed and accuracy the first time he steps onto a baseball field, it’s not surprising that he is going to be hailed as a “natural talent”. But talented at what? We should first realize that if he throws a ball only 50 times a day (which is about 20 minutes of play), he has thrown it over 18,000 times in a year! Considering this factor alone, wouldn’t we expect that this kid shows greater skill level than a kid who has never tried? Is this talent or training? Has this anything to do with their skill level 5 years from now? However, even so, it is not the time spent that makes the real difference. The secret lies in the how – in the process. While repetition is known as the mother of skill and practice is certainly valuable, the person who excels is not necessarily the person who has done something the most. The reason one child throws further, harder and straighter than another has also less to do with strength than we might think. The secret of a throw is to use the leverage and balance of the body – feet, legs, hips, back, shoulder, arm, eyes etc. But here’s the important part: The process of learning – even learning a physical activity – is more a mind issue than a body issue.

While repetition is known as the mother of skill, and practice is certainly valuable, the person who excels is not necessarily the person who has done something the most.

Now, the power of the mind is a huge subject and a dear subject of mine but would take hundreds of pages to write about, so let’s settle for this: The act of catching – i.e. the result – is insignificant during the process. Catching the ball just becomes the obvious and soon very easy byproduct. As a result, a five-year-old catches a ball thrown at him with full adult speed without blinking an eye. Catching the ball is insignificant in the process of learning to catch a ball Hitting the ball is insignificant in learning a baseball swing Hitting the notes is insignificant in learning to sing on key!

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Let’s read that again: Hitting the notes is insignificant in the process of learning to sing on key! We can state this in a different way: It is the child who is concerned about catching the ball that has a hard time learning to catch the ball. It is the child who is concerned about hitting the ball who never learns the balanced swing. It is the singer who is concerned about hitting the notes who ends up singing off key! In fact, let’s take this one step further and broaden our perspective: It is the person who falls for get-quick-rich schemes who never gets rich. It is the person who goes for lose-weight-quick schemes that has a hard time not being overweight. It is the person who seeks instant gratification via drugs (pharmaceutical or recreational) that has a hard time being healthy. Yes, when we go for quick-fixes we apply band-aid solutions to a deeper problem. A quick-fix mentality is ultimately a very slow process towards the real goal. The reason for all this is simple: The result-oriented person has not learned to truly experience the process. When our mind is focused on the result, our mind rushes back and forth between anticipation and judgment and cannot truly experience the process.

The Two Words That Stop You In Your Tracks And there we have the word: Judgment. We adults are expert judges. When a kid makes a drawing, our inclination as adults is to say whether it is good or bad. If we have a positive mindset we might say it’s good. But commenting that something is good is also making a judgment. While praise is highly beneficial, we easily fall into the trap of praising the result rather than the process. As kids we then grow up with a subconscious desire to be good and get external rewards (until maybe we rebel in our teens).

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As you can tell, there is one emotion that runs through all of this. That’s right: It is FEAR. Embedded in the desire to be good, the desire to catch the ball and the desire to hit the notes, lurks the fear of not being good enough, the fear of missing the ball and the fear of not hitting the notes. Every person who lives with a secret desire to be able to sing, yet feels they can’t, was at some point told they weren’t good enough. This person was told to be quiet or maybe was kicked out of the chorus. Many have been told they don’t have a singing voice. Well, how many attempts did you make? How many people helped you find your singing voice? And that belief of not being able to sing well enough has lived on ever since. It’s a ridiculous belief really. It’s as ridiculous as the kid who misses his first attempt at a basketball shot, then never tries again and goes on to believe he can never learn. We grow up with these paralyzing beliefs of what we can or cannot do based on other people’s judgments. But let’s not blame anyone else. The only thing that matters now is your own judgment of yourself. Artists are judged all the time. You are auditioning all the time. Now, since you are here reading this, you know that you are not going to let old judgments and conditioned beliefs stop you. You know there is magic within you. Perhaps you have even rebelled against preconceived ideas that someone else has held on you. Good for you.

How many times today have you made a judgment about someone else? How many times today have you made a judgment about yourself?

How To Develop Amazing Skills So to go back to the throwing a ball example: How do you teach a kid how to throw a ball like that? The answer is: You don’t. Take two kids and show them exactly how to make a throw with great technique and you get two different results. One kid might get it immediately, while the other one just can’t do it. People ask me if I can teach anyone to sing. Although I certainly believe anyone can learn to sing very well, we could also argue that I don’t teach anyone.

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In fact, maybe I’m not a “teacher”. We could argue that my real expertise is to learn. I am a learner, and as such I help other people become rapid learners. Think about it; you weren’t “taught” a language. A child acquires a language when exposed to it. There is no way I could “teach” my kids to lay 100 piece puzzles at the age of two and a half. They both did it because they were in an atmosphere where they enjoyed the process of discovering how. I don’t teach my kids how to throw a ball or how to catch a ball by just showing them how to do it. I help them discover a fearless approach to seeing a ball come at them. I (and my wife – let’s not forget her) help them discover and develop an awareness of their body – i.e. kinesthetic awareness – and help them discover the balance, rhythm and movement of the body. This also includes the ability to go from maximum physical output to maximum physical relaxation in a matter of minutes. This involves activities seemingly unrelated to catching and throwing a ball. Do you see the T-shaped arms? A fraction of a second earlier, his right arm was complete stretched to be able to get the leverage and free rotation in his shoulder. You seldom see this in a kid this age. Why not? Is it hard to learn? Of course not. It’s just that most kids never discover how easy it is. Most kids this age do as his friend in the other photo and effectively lock their shoulders which makes any power quite impossible. Similarly, many singers effectively lock their larynx. The kids who have a hard time discovering this are not necessarily the ones with less “talent”, but the ones who have not had the opportunity to be coached through the process. In all likelihood they have been more focused on the outcome of the throw than on experiencing the beautiful feeling of a freely rotating shoulder. Similarly, many people have not had the opportunity to experience the process of freeing the functionality of the voice. In all likelihood they have been more focused on the outcome of the sound, hitting notes and singing scales than on experiencing the beautiful feeling of freely vibrating vocal cords (vocal folds).

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See the power and balance in the right leg? A fraction of a second later his right foot pivots, the hips snap around, still in perfect balance, creating momentum for the upper body, making his arm the last thing to move. His friend in the other picture does what commonly kids do at this age, and makes movement of the hips quite impossible. Likewise, many singers make movement of the vocal cords quite impossible. As an example, learning to catch the ball has included seeing soft objects coming at him in the air, studying different colored balls come rolling toward him, studying the spin of flying objects, then stopping balls flying towards him while calling the colors, and a multitude of other games. Catching has seldom been part of it. (The steps to free your voice are far simpler!)

The Art Of The Process So… There is never any right or wrong involved in the game – i.e the process. There is no judgment of the result – but instead awareness of the process. A year or so later, catching that ball that comes straight at him at full speed is like picking an orange off the tree. Talk about confidence. Can any child learn this? For some it may take longer, but of course they can. In a year or so, they boy on the right may be sensational. We don’t know. Then again he might be more interested exploring other areas.

The Great 19th century novelist Henry James mentioned awareness as one of the essential qualities of genius. “A genius is a person on who nothing is lost.”

Can anyone learn to sing? Of course they can. Does it matter how old you are? Not necessarily. What matters is if you are willing to let go of judgment and allow yourself to experience something new. So a rapid learner is involved in curious exploration and discovery. A quick-fix mentality seeks external rewards, while we seek internal rewards. Internal motivation is far more powerful than external motivation.

Since a rapid learner is involved in the process, she is also involved in the present moment. Anticipation and judgment are reflections on the past and the future. Awareness is just that; being aware of the here and now without judgment.

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The present moment is where rapid learning takes place and where peak performance occurs. The rapid learner and the peak performer may love results, there is nothing wrong with that, but he learns that the way to remarkable results is to love the process.

Peak Learning And Peak Performance Rapid learning and peak performance happen in a state of heightened awareness in the here and now. (Actors speak of “being in the moment” and athletes speak of “being in the zone”.) Kids are experts at this until we encourage them to judge the result or achieve results just to get external rewards. So we could argue that I don’t “teach” people how to sing. I help them discover a process in which they discover a voice they never knew they had. I help them discover an awareness of their instrument, together with a process of learning they never knew existed, no matter how young or old. When we take our minds off of needing to sound good and hit the notes – i.e. the result – we can experience true magic. And not only has it been proven to be exceptionally effective – it is also fun. Kids don’t see fun things as “practicing” – nor should they. To them it is all play. It’s interesting to ponder why we adults have turned the word “practice” into a rough-sounding chore that takes effort, instead of using the more effective learning tool “play”. A child will do more of what he experiences as fun, and so will you. Joy is what creates a desire to do more of the same. So we have spoken of curious exploration. We have spoken of the fact that this curious exploration is a process in the here and now, and we have spoken of joy.

Curious exploration + joy

Y

momentum

Yes, now we have momentum. We want to do more of it. Now we are doing more, not just for the sake of doing more, but to discover new things. Each new discovery creates more joy and more curiosity, leading to more discoveries etc. Part of that joy is of course when we experience dramatic improvements, there’s no denying that. However, being aware of improvements is a far cry from judging. Naturally, when we realize possibilities, these possibilities become magnets for developing further.

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Doing with joy, doesn’t mean everything has to be fun every single moment. Frustration can be an important part of the process. The frustration of not being able to reach the toy isn’t seen as failure for the infant, but it makes him want to move forward. Athletes come to enjoy the fact that some physical and mental pain is part of growth. In fact, growth is impossible without it.

So during a process, there is no such thing as right or wrong. There is no such thing as correct versus incorrect. Does a child who is learning to walk experience the falling down as “wrong” or “incorrect” or a “mistake” or “failure”? Of course not. Falling once in a while is a natural and vital part of the process. It is only we judgmental adults who make the errors of reacting to that fall as if it was a “mistake”, or an “oops”.

The Old Conditioned Beliefs Of Singing Training Unfortunately, so many singing teachers are conditioned to believe in correct versus incorrect. This is not surprising. Volumes have been written regarding correct versus incorrect breathing, posture and overall use of the voice. The tradition of singing training has taken such a stronghold over how singing is supposed to be taught, that teachers still quote what was supposedly “correct” centuries ago. Many even go so far as to state that singers of different styles sing incorrectly, and the internet is loaded with material making claims of correct and incorrect singing. (Note: There are surely plenty of singing teachers that have evolved their thinking and their methodology from the old-school thinking, and this is in no regards dismissive of their fantastic work. Yet, from my experience, the overwhelming majority of singers have indeed been exposed to this very kind of limited thinking.)

We should realize that anyone who speaks of correct versus incorrect is obviously only expressing their limited and judgmental view of the matter. So the issue is never what is correct or incorrect according to some idealized opinion or according to a book. The only issue is what will help the person in the most effective way. .

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My passion as a coach (and parent) is to create a situation where the person gets to acquire skills they want to acquire. One of my developed skills is to be able to develop strategies to “trick” the person into discoveries of their unknown potential. The real help is when the person develops a greater awareness of their body and mind. One of the tools is via The Bristow Voice Method’s Kinesthetic Awareness Process (KAPTM). Through this, the person rather immediately gains a newfound awareness of the voice. The person experiences what makes the voice free and what restricts the voice, and can therefore easily go on to rapidly develop their voice on their own. To not experience significant “results” – greater range, power, freedom, dynamics, resonance, endurance, health, etc. – through this process would be quite unlikely, perhaps as unlikely as an infant not discovering how to walk.

The Magic Of A Developed Kinesthetic Awareness Why develop kinesthetic awareness? What is kinesthetic awareness? A skilled pianist has trained to be able to move two fingers with incredible speed (as in a trill) while still being able to maintain complete relaxation in the rest of the hand. However, if a beginner piano player attempts the same fast trill, the entire hand will undoubtedly tense up. Tension will probably even spread all the way into the shoulder and may continue into the face, and perhaps even to the stomach and legs. Skilled violin and guitar players have trained to be able to keep their wrist relaxed even though the fingers are involved in intricate movements. This seemingly remarkable feat of being able to isolate muscles is a developed skill. It is not something you are born with. In an untrained singer, the many small laryngeal and pharyngeal muscles, together with the larger muscles of the throat, neck, face, torso and abdomen, tend to move in a single package.

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The better we are able to separate and thus improve the functioning of these muscles, the better and freer our vocal instrument becomes. There is hardly any hobby or line of work that does not require the use of muscles. In fact, the activities we consider to be non-physical, such as monotonous sitting activities, can be the most taxing on our physiology. As we all know, the work force is full of back problems, shoulder problems, carpal tunnel syndrome etc., partly created from years of built-up tension. Many vocal disorders result from years of unaware vocal misuse. Too often we don’t become aware of our body until it screams for help. We could easily claim that our kinesthetic awareness – the awareness of bodily movement (and non-movement as in tension) – is a foundation, even a prerequisite, for maintaining good health. The day we want to change habits, heal injuries, develop new skills, or improve in just about any area, we must tap into our kinesthetic awareness. The better we do it — the faster we experience results.

We could easily claim that our kinesthetic awareness – i.e. the awareness of bodily movement (and nonmovement as in tension) – is a foundation, even a prerequisite, for maintaining good health.

-- Unless the computer worker becomes aware of her habitually tensed shoulders, a change will probably never take place. -- Unless the singer becomes aware of his habitual tendencies, the habits continue. Awareness is always the first step towards changing a habit and improving a skill. Kinesthetic awareness also goes hand in hand with self-awareness. Like the infant, the discovery of self is via your kinesthetic experiences.

Your Voice As A Non-Physical Instrument We have talked a lot about the fact that using the voice is very much a physical activity. However, your voice is more than just a physical instrument – much more. Your voice is directly linked to your psychology to a far greater degree than any other instrument.

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Letting out your voice is like baring your soul. This is one reason why it feels so incredibly good to sing and why singing has so many proven health benefits. On the other hand, this is also why singing can be quite fearful, and why it can be so psychologically taxing when the voice doesn’t cooperate. Your physical voice is inseparable from your inner voice. Your voice is you. It is not surprising that a restricted voice goes hand in hand with a restricted personality, a forceful voice goes hand in hand with a forceful personality, a timid voice goes hand in hand with a timid personality, and so on. Sometimes the relationship is obvious. Many times we may not experience our habitual use of the voice as “restricted”. We may not feel “restricted”. Then again, we are very adaptive creatures. We can easily just “get by”. However, I suspect you are not interested in just “getting by”. Part of my work is not only to help you release and develop your physical voice, but to simultaneously release your “inner voice”. The real magic is when you experience a newfound freedom to your “inner voice” and you feel freer, more confident and more empowered as a human being. The idea is to ignite the real you – not the you that only sounds good, but the you that becomes more spontaneous, charismatic, and compelling. In short, you become more attractive. The successful artist is after all the person who is in some way able to attract an audience. You can do it too – whether that audience is one person or 50,000 people is really beside the point. Singing is ultimately about communication. We could argue that it is more about “interpersonal intelligence” than musical intelligence (to go back to Gardner’s model). Then again, to be able to gain that awareness of others, you need a high degree of intrapersonal intelligence. And to use your voice in an effective way requires kinesthetic intelligence, and we could go on.

The Natural Singer In You The point is that we are all different and every singer and artist is different with different strengths and weaknesses. Artists attract different audiences for different reasons. Some are able to sing with amazing sounds and some have average sounds but are able to communicate wonderfully. So who is a good singer for that matter? Is Barbara Streisand a better singer than Bob Dylan? Is Ray Charles a better singer than Pavarotti? Who has the most “natural talent”?

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Comparisons like these are of course meaningless. The answers are nothing more than reflections of our personal preferences. These artists do what they want to do and they do it with passion. Who is a “natural singer”? The “natural singer” is someone who at an early age, or later in life, found joy in letting out the voice without inhibitions. Muscles developed and the sound became an extension of themselves. He/she was probably surrounded by great role models and she couldn’t stop singing. He/she simply fell in love with singing. Singing became an empowering expression of the soul. Is this talent or training? It is always interesting when a person says she can’t sing. It doesn’t take much gentle probing to realize that a more accurate statement would have been: “I don’t know if I can sing or learn to sing, I really haven’t tried, much less trained to any great extent.” Professional singers also get hampered by their beliefs and fears – sometimes to an even greater extent than amateurs. This may include limiting beliefs about their potential, their range, what their audience likes etc. The greatest fear arises of course the day the voice doesn’t cooperate. Singers, just as everyone else, become afraid of growth and change and instead “play it safe” and do what they’ve always done. Successful singers fall into this trap just as easily. Unfortunately, what they used to do was fresh and full of life, but “playing it safe” now becomes stale and limiting. Their careers are not only stifled and begin to deteriorate, but resistance also begins to manifest itself in muscular function (or dysfunction). Others, who get stuck in the “don’t fix what isn’t broken” or “I know it all” attitude, naturally tend to operate on a level far below their potential. Although our voice is so deeply rooted in our psychology, the beauty of singing (and of art in general) is that we need a psychoanalysis session in order to sing. You don’t need to fix the psychology. You don’t need to change anything. You can instead accept what is and use it in your art.

Singing Training From a Historical Perspective Having said all this about freeing the voice, it is unfortunate that so many people who would like for this to happen, never get to experience it. Frankly, part of the reason is due to how singing training has historically been conducted. Again: This is not to in any way meant to come across as negative towards the many great singing teachers that are daily inspiring people to sing better. This is to address the evolution, as well as lack of evolution, of singing training that the overwhelming majority of people who would like to sing better are exposed to.

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As I’ve mentioned before, training methods for athletes have evolved dramatically. Different tools have been developed. Greater knowledge has given us the understanding that different ways of activating muscles affect them differently. Different training strategies have been developed for different sports. It’s not long ago since stretching was introduced. Weight training is a fairly new concept, etc. The world of sports has also been in the forefront in understanding the psychology of performance. But singers still sing the same scales. The singing training that most people encounter here in the Western world is derived from the Western school of classical singing. I stated in the beginning that every society and tribe sings. However, centuries ago in Europe when opera became popular, the common man did not sing opera. It was not music for the people. It was music for the courts. Opera became a style, partly born out of a need to project the voice in a large auditorium over an orchestra. Singing opera was, and still is, a far cry from a natural way of using the voice. It was a highly specialized technique and it was an art form for the elite few. Becoming a singer back then was a way to go from poverty to wealth, just as it can be today. But it was only the select few that were able to pursue it. The chosen ones were indeed chosen because of genetic makeup. In order to be able to create a sound of opera, you did indeed need a certain physicality that was inborn. Today this is no longer true as singers can sound completely different and still be “singers”. We should realize that even within opera there were clashes among techniques. There were differences of opinion between the German and the Italian school, for example. However, even within the Italian school, where the technique that got the name “Bel Canto” came from, there were many differences of opinion. I have to admit I find it somewhat puzzling when teachers of today claim they teach “Bel Canto” or even as some teachers claim; “the real Bel Canto”. How would they know how someone taught centuries ago? Even if that were true, why would that be a positive? If you are striving for Olympic gold, would you use the same training methods from centuries ago? This does not in any way mean that we cannot greatly appreciate, admire and learn from art and cultures of the past. Few contemporary singers of today, however, have a desire to sound like singers did centuries ago. But even so, the real dilemma is when techniques that were used then are promoted as a “correct” way of using the voice. Perhaps such claims are the remains of an elitist point of view.

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By making such claims we are also dismissing every other culture who sang way before opera and “Bel Canto” was ever developed.

Breath Control – Why It Is Counterproductive Interestingly enough, I was once criticized by a speech therapist (perhaps because I had helped some of her previous clients) for not teaching breath control techniques. “Since breathing is the foundation for using the voice, how on earth could I be so ignorant as to not teach breathing?” The fact is that my clients gain greater and freer breathing within just a few minutes, without me ever mentioning breathing. (Remember in the discussion about throwing the ball that I said I help people discover rather than “teach” them what is supposedly right or wrong.) One would be hard pressed to find any singing instruction that does not begin by teaching the concept of breathing. “Breathing is the foundation of singing” is a classic statement. Breath control and breath support are standard terms we hear and read about in just about any literature on the voice. Obviously, breathing is of great importance to singing. Then again, breathing is quite important for life. It is certainly true that many breathe far from optimally, especially in our fastpaced stressed society. It seems therefore logical that if you are going to teach singing you have to start by teaching “breath control”. But what is breath control?

The Evolution Of Breath Control Being “out of control” is generally seen as something negative. The word control and the desire for control has been a natural progression from an evolutionary perspective. Our ancestors’ daily life was about eating or being eaten. The neurological “fight or flight” response has evolved out of a need for survival. As tribes and societies formed, control was necessary. Civilizations have evolved on the basis of control and assuming power over in order to avoid chaos – in order to not be “eaten” from within or from outside threats. It has been necessary for survival and order.

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Religious institutions and political systems have many times been about controlling and assuming power over. Educational systems and parenting were built on the idea of teaching and learning specific skills and to be obedient. Obedience and submission was in fact highly valued, whether in a family, workplace, church or society. The obedient worker was the valued worker, and a worker accepted to be subjugated to the powers above. Children were subjugated to the adult world, and were taught to assume their place in society. It was not long ago that children were assumed to do what their parents did. To “dream of success” or strive for something different is a quite new concept. To not be obedient was disruptive and not seen as beneficial for the greater good. As our level of consciousness, technology, society and our understanding of ourselves have rapidly evolved, we have become more aware that we have the ability to control. Being able to control our emotions, our mind and our lives has been seen as ultimate mastery. So in relation to having no control and being subjugated to outside powers, the idea of being able to better control our lives has naturally been seen as significant progress The pharmaceutical industry was revolutionary in that it first saved lives and then achieved the perceived mastery of being able to control and suppress symptoms and assume power of the body. However, today as we have evolved further, concepts of control have begun to shift. Where mechanical workers where highly rewarded in the past, mechanical obedience has very little value today. In the workplace the worker who just “does his job” is minimally rewarded, whereas the worker who is selfsufficient, creative, communicative and proactive is highly rewarded. The evolution of consciousness has today brought the insight that even greater benefits are gained by empowering others rather than assuming power over others. The successful, thriving corporation of today is the one who empowers its employees rather than attempts to control and assume power over. The successful child is the one who is empowered to discover his own abilities. The healthy body is the body that is empowered to be alive and to flow with energy, rather than being controlled.

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The thriving society is the one who empowers its citizens, which brings greater productivity and greater peace than assuming power over. The thriving schools are where students feel empowered to research, discover, create, work in teams, etc., and the thriving schools are the ones who are moving away from rote learning and lecture style learning. -- The old male ideal used to be the one who controls emotions and who doesn’t show emotions. Today’s strong male is the one who isn’t afraid of hiding his emotions. -- The old ideal of a strong woman was the one of obedience. Today, the ideal woman is the empowered woman. -- Old school acting was not about experiencing true emotion. The skill of an actor in the past was to control emotions and with gestures and voice inflictions illustrate emotions. What was seen as highly skilled yesterday is in today’s world seen as fake.

A phobia is a persistent and irrational fear of a particular object or situation The underlying feeling with all phobias is a fear of being 'out of control'.

Actors of today want to let go of the need to act and the need to control. The top actor of today seeks to experience the truth, and to be completely spontaneous and authentic in the moment.

To Release Restrictions The need to control really implies the fear of being out of control. For example, it is only the person who lives in fear of his emotions who feels a need to control his emotions. It is the singer who lives in fear of missing notes who needs to control the notes. It is only the singer who fears the voice will crack who feels a need to control it. To control implies holding something in check. Breathing is movement – movement of air, movement of muscles and organs, movement of energy. A healthy voice means free movement of air and all the muscles involved in breathing, and free movement of vocal cords (vocal folds).

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Free movement cannot be achieved when restriction is present. Sound is movement and life is movement. Why would you ever want to hold your life? It’s not surprising to observe that people who have been trained in the concept of controlling their breath also have the most restricted breathing patterns, (although they don’t experience it as restricted until they experience a newfound sensation of freedom). For many people fears such as “if you don’t control your breathing you will damage your voice” are deeply ingrained. With all of this in mind, isn’t it interesting that we are so often still taught concepts of control when it comes to singing, when singing is perhaps the most natural form of expression? The result from training with the mindset of attempting to control and do things “correctly” is that, although you may now have a person who sings “well”, can hit the notes well, and has good tone according to the old standard, this singer has no greater ability to truly attract today’s audience. Her true inner voice is no freer than it was when she started her training. This singer is no more empowered by virtue of his training, and has not yet discovered the true, unique, authentic, and influential inner voice that lies within. We could argue that maybe he hasn’t discovered his true “talent”. It is not surprising that many rock singers shy away from singing lessons out of fear that it will ruin their style. This fear is wellfounded. Old-school training may very well change their style, just as oldschool acting training will not release a truthful actor of today’s standard.

The Power Of Letting Go When I lead a client through a series of specifically designed experiments, they suddenly experience a profound shift. Rather than being shown anything that is right or wrong, they experience a newfound sense of release – release of sound, release of air, release of control. They immediately experience that non-restricted breathing – i.e. non-held back breathing – enables them to in fact sing far longer phrases than they had before. Far longer compared to when they attempted to control their breath.

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In addition, they experience far greater power and freedom but with much less “work”. It is not surprising that the voice suddenly soars with less effort than ever before. Imagine the ultimate freedom of being able to let go – to let go of the need to control… Imagine when fear is a thing of the past and the need to control is replaced with trust… Imagine discovering a newfound freedom where “control” is no longer desirable… where mental and physical tension is released… and your breathing, as well as your voice, becomes freer, fuller, warmer, more dynamic, and more powerful. It is not difficult to realize how this directly translates into a freer, warmer, more dynamic, powerful and compelling human being. Do you think this could happen to you? In fact, even people who have gone through this via the home-study course experience this newfound sense of freedom. It isn’t hard. It doesn’t take years. In fact, once people have experienced it, it seems so simple. The truth is that it is simple. It only takes minutes to get there, and it certainly has nothing to do with talent. As you realize, it is impossible for me to explain the experiments or the process in writing since they have to be experienced. That’s not the purpose of this report. My hope here, however, is to inspire you to let your unique voice blossom. My life is about empowering people. My desire is to empower you to realize a greater version of yourself. Now let’s look at some common traps:

The “Slow Learner’s” Trap The slow learner is the one who operates with a judgmental voice that is so loud and so frequent that the person cannot experience the “now”. The slow learning singing student is the one who will not allow herself to sound anything but “good”, and she will readily point out and subconsciously prove how bad she sounds. (It may seem like an oxymoron since she already believes that she doesn’t sound good.) Naturally, this habitual inner critic will produce anything but a free and resonating sound which, for example, is necessary to make it possible for the vocal cords to vibrate on pitch.

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It is the “fear” of sounding bad that makes the singer sound tense, off-key and indeed “bad”. This has nothing to do with “talent”. Once again, life shows us that we are who we believe we are – we are indeed masters of selffulfilling prophecies. The perfectionist operates in the same fashion. The true perfectionist, in stark contrast to the high achiever, cannot allow herself to do anything that isn’t perfect. This fear of being less than “perfect” only allows her to operate on a level far below her true potential.

It is the fear of sounding bad that makes the singer sound restricted, off-key and indeed “bad”

This is the person who rather than try something new insists on a preferred method of learning. It’s like the c student who adamantly proclaims “this works for me” when explaining his studying method. A high achiever on the other hand allows herself to experience the unknown.

A high achiever also allows himself to experience what others might seem as failures and mistakes, but what he sees as necessary and valuable discoveries to reach the next level. (Remember when you were learning to walk?) Many beginning singers truly believe they have problems singing on key. More on the ability to sing on pitch/on key another time, but let’s just say this: A restricted voice has a hard time singing on pitch, but when the voice becomes freer, singing on key becomes a piece of cake, even for the “pitchchallenged”. The deeper this belief is rooted, the harder it is for the student to allow himself to be in the present moment. There are also the people who are so conditioned to believe that singing is all about emotion and will do everything to “emote” - i.e. try to convince the listener that they are expressing emotion. There is nothing “wrong” with this behavior. It is in fact what we all tend to do as beginners. The goal of today’s acting schools is to train the person to let go of the need to produce emotion (or the result) and instead allow the emotion to happen. The great actor learns to trust himself and does not need to artificially produce emotion or control emotion. Instead, he allows emotion to flow spontaneously in the context of the circumstances.

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Some people are unable to recognize when an exercise leads to enormous improvements, because their mind is still whispering “that still didn’t sound good”. We might subconsciously be asking “did that sound good?” or “am I doing it right?” or have other similar judgmental thoughts.

What is the relationship between acoustic resonance and the ability to resonate with other people?

What is the relationship between the energy you emit and your ability to attract?

What is really charisma?

Our mind is then constantly refusing to acknowledge the present moment. It is constantly juggling between past and future, and we are measuring ourselves against some perceived idea of an ideal result. Naturally, this person develops slowly. He has a hard time acknowledging his kinesthetic awareness, not because of lack of motor skills or “talent”, but because his mind won’t allow him this awareness. Luckily there are ways to transform this person as well. All of us, whatever habits and beliefs we may have lived with, experience transformation when we discover something new that has a profound impact on us.

Why Practicing To CDs Slow You Down One example of a classic trap, that affect the majority of beginnerintermediate singers, is the need to practice to a pre-recorded CD (or tape). The reason why this becomes a slow development process is simple: 1. The singer is led to believe that singing a series of notes is the mark of a great singer. You automatically shift to a mindset of following and doing it right. 2. You shift to auditory learning and your mind is on hitting the notes and sounding good – or sounding in a certain way that the instructor promotes. 3. You become less aware of “how” you are doing it. 4. Your CD never changes and next time you are doing the same thing in the same order and in the same tempo You are simply not in charge of your practice when you practice to prerecorded CDs. You are not in charge of what you are doing, of how you are doing it, and of what you are trying to accomplish.

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Just “doing it” certainly has its merits. There is no denying that repetition is the mother of skill, and there is certainly value in accompaniment. However, a violin player, or any instrumentalist, would consider it foolish to always practice by following the same exercise CD that always plays the same exercises in the same tempo in the same order. Only the athlete destined to plateau after two weeks trains the same way day in and day out in the same sequence and at the same tempo. Which basketball player who just missed a free-throw in practice wouldn’t want to stop and try again, rather than being forced to move on to the next exercise? So many singers have come to believe that vocal training is about following pre-recorded scales. It is completely understandable since there are very few alternatives available to the general public.

To Practice Effectively Singers in bands sometimes make the mistake of using the band rehearsal as their only vocal practice. Your awareness is quite limited when your mindset is on trying to perform the song in the best way possible for the sake of the band. You are then focused more on the result than on developing your instrument. You aren’t given the opportunity to, for example, sing the song in a different key, even if it’s just for practice. You aren’t giving yourself the chance to plant good habits in your muscle memory, which, for example, will enable you to sing those high notes with less strain and more true passion. The strategy of “just going for it full blast” is as slow and limiting as that of the high-jumper who every day sets the bar at the worldrecord height and thinks that by just trying it over and over, he will one day succeed. On the other hand, if you are in a band where experimentation is part of the philosophy, and you develop a greater kinesthetic awareness, then yes, you can absolutely make leaps in your development even during band practice. Always remember this: Practicing is not the same as rehearsing.

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Five Ingredients To Rapid Improvements So, to return to the start of our discussion… You change habits and rapidly improve skills by tapping into your… desire for kinesthetic discovery Then add.. Curiosity Fearless exploration involving all senses Freedom from judgment And… Joy! In essence… Give yourself permission to tap into the same insatiable appetite for exploration and growth that you had when you entered this world. Give yourself permission to experience something new. Doing so unlocks the door a magical world! Sincerely, Per Bristow PS. If you like what you have read I have two friendly request: 1. I have a “tell a friend” script that makes it really easy for you to help me spread the word and help your friends at the same time. Go there right now www.BristowVoiceMethod.com/new-era-tellafriend.html 2. Go to my blog and leave your comment – tell the world what you think about this report. Go to: http://www.perbristow.com/the-new-era-of-singing-training-released.htm Thanks! And pay close attention to your email inbox as I will send you more strategies to help your voice, performance and life. (If you for some reason are reading this without being a subscriber, of course to go to www.BristowVoiceMethod.com and subscribe right away.)

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