I think a lot about fundamentals. They are a big part of the videos that I release on YouTube, and they are integral to the methods that I use in my online courses and the lessons that I teach.
Fundamentals so frequently get overlooked. They're not the fastest lick, nor the fanciest sounding riff, but they are a principal ingredient in helping us gain the facility with our voices to be able to sing those licks and riffs.
Fundamentals are the building blocks of our technique. Nine times out of ten, when a vocalist wants help with high notes, they don't have good vowel alignment nor a good appoggio practice below their primo passaggio. High notes in those circumstances will never be consistent enough to rely on in performance.
In this regard, I am reminded of a quote from a famous basketball coach. Roughly paraphrased what was said was, "many have the will to succeed, but few have the will to practice."
As musicians, practice is our jam. There's a reason why the best performances are given to the practice room, it's because we spend so much time there. It's the law of averages.
As vocalists, our practices, regardless of what genre we're singing or the range that we have to cover, is utterly reliant on our fundamentals. Once I send this out, that's what I'm going to do.
What do you think? Leave a comment on the blog by clicking the link below!
