Gary Powell, Composer/Producer

by Gary Powell

This March 15, 2008 I shared my birth date with the SXSW Music Conference in Austin, Texas while serving as a panelist for their new “Quickies Session”. Instead of the typical panel full of self-serving musical contradictions and pandering, this experience was different. Not unlike “speed-dating”, each panelist sat, with no more than four pre-registered participants, for a twelve-minute jam session of ideas and brainstorming. Its subject being centered on studio production, there were few, if any, beginners participating in this panel. The main question I inferred from the participants was, “what do I do next?” That, of course, is the question for all of us regardless of where we are developmentally. Consequently, there were no questions about how to become a better musician. Being a competent musician seemed to be a given and that fact should, of course, never be a given. I found myself not talking about gear, recording techniques, how to work with singers, financial issues, producing, or my connections. I did find myself talking predominantly about creating relationships, which was the one skill or strategy noticeably absent from most of these participants. We humans have done a poor job of integrating our humanity within the technically evolutionary construct of the past two decades. “Future Shock” is now here, delivered and filled with all our many creative tools and technologies which are often isolating.

If born after 1981, then this isolation is possibly all you know. Unless humanity takes an overwhelming evolutionary leap backward, humans will be still, very unconsciously, be making decisions about whom to work with the same way we have in the previous hundred thousand years. it will and always has been about relationships. Who are our allys? Who are not our allys? Who can you trust and who can trust you?

Let me introduce you to Canadian singer/songwriter from Toronto, Kate Schutt, who was one of the participants at the “In the Studio” panel. Yes, I left that session with many CD’s handed to me from other participants. Two days later, however, Kate is the one who followed up with me by writing a personal note with her enclosed Artistshare download card. Her note made her music personal to me. Now I wanted to hear it. How simple was that?

Kate has also adopted and implemented the paradigm shift of Web 2.0 by including her audience in her music production ideas. You can go to her ArtistShare site and submit personal love stories from your own experiences. If chosen, Kate will write up to four songs drawn from her audiences’ own experiences to be released in August, 2008 on her album entitled, “The Telephone Game”.

Fortunately, Kate Schutt is also the real deal. Within her jazz leanings, she is a songwriter (and I don’t give that title lightly), arranger, guitarist and sings with a seductive and whispery vocal timbre. This is what we want to see; talented writers and performers who not only hone their craft and deepen their artistic expression, but also take the initiative in taking care of themselves rather than Waiting for Godot.

Find recording session musicians and collaborators using the online tools of file sharing and professional networking of INDABAMUSIC.

SONGNUMBERS provides your music with a unique telephone number for listening and downloading songs to your customers.

FIZZKICKS lets you create custom designed download cards for your music.

Get, for the first time, an accurate counting of airplay worldwide for your songs with STREAMSERF. Thank you, John Waite for this valuable service.

MYXERTONES creates ringtones directly from your music.

Provide your customers with music downloads of your music even on your own site with ARTISTXITE.

All Content of Gary Powell’s Site is Licensed Under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License

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Filed by Gary Powell at 4:35 pm under Music Clinic & Lecture Notes
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by Gary Powell

Every singer, regardless of where they are in their recording careers, needs an outside ear of someone they trust who is a competent coach in the recording studio. As a vocal coach, helping to sculpt a vocal performance of a talented singer is one of the most exciting musical events in the studio.

After getting a feel for what the voice might be able to do, I listen for pitch accuracy, tone, weight, phrasing, color, air and any missed opportunities across all of the singer’s performance choices and gestures. That may be even the right order for my listening hierarchy. It all happens sort of at the same time though, so it’s hard to know which comes first for me.

Concurrently, while discerning the capabilities of the voice it’s a mistake to not also consider the person playing the instrument. The psychology of the artist will always be present in a recording session even if it’s unconscious. Fear, anxiety, nervousness, feelings of inadequacy, overconfidence, and arrogance are all likely to show up in the studio, especially with singers. A singer’s instrument of choice is already integrated in a physical-emotional-walking-talking-singing-human-unit. Chances are all the disparate parts of that human unit are actually not, however, very well integrated. Making conscious the unconscious in a respectful and effectual way should be the goal. Insightful observations will help any coach discover the person who is in the studio or on stage with you. Knowing when and how to actually share these observations is a skill as important as what we know about the voice itself. I strongly suggest becoming a student of the psychology of an artist and of yourself BEFORE attempting to interpret or intercede. Stepping up to the next level for a singer will not only be about their singing capability. Step lightly. There is a human being behind that voice.

Singers hoping to transition to the recording studio after having had some success in live performing present a special issue for a vocal coach. The excitement alone of a live performance can mask many vocal problems of a singer. Audiences can respond emotionally to shear bravado and volume. A $10,000 signal path of preamplifiers, tube microphones and compressors is not as easily impressed as human audiences. This electronic audience simply listens in more detail than we humans do. I’ve often said that no one learns to sing until they start recording. That said, there are some great voices out there whose recorded performances sound just terrible. Seldom is it the fault of the microphone! Usually, it is either the fault of the vocal coach or… the lack of having a vocal coach.

Most recording producers are secretly intimidated by singers. A producer’s skillful use of technology can help mask their lack of knowledge and experience.

Nashville likes the term vocal producer. The term producer has become meaningless to me, so I prefer the coaching model.

Learning to sculpt a vocal performance takes years of mindful experience especially if your goal is to have singers still enjoy their singing after you’re gone. Veteran vocal coaches work in VERY fine detail not unlike the aforementioned signal path. Some singers will fall into this experience willingly and with great joy. Others might be resistant or even confrontational. It’s our job to discern when someone’s singing is being enhanced by our presence and when it is not. Hopefully, we can ALL know that much.

In the meantime, nurturing the awakening of a person’s talent in a way that both sustains the voice and the singer should be the goal.

All Content of Gary Powell’s Site is Licensed Under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License

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Filed by Gary Powell at 11:45 am under Music Clinic & Lecture Notes
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by Gary Powell

My semesterly sojourn to Glenn Richter’s music business class at the University of Texas is like a performance. Professor Richter is School of Music’s Professor of Instrumental Conducting and the Director of the Center for American Music.

I think all my best teachers and professors have had a bit of performer in them regardless of the subject. This class was the kind that allowed some improvisation. Below is a list of what I THINK we talked about. If I left anything out, please add it in the comments.

If you are under the illusion that these students are not on top of all the issues discussed below, then visit the site of violinist Rebecca Browne, who is the class member pictured second from the right in red. Also, you can listen to the wonderful voice of singer Azniv Korkejian, (pictured center in the white jacket/maroon collar) who sang for me after class.

I opened by singing “I’m Gonna Get My Needs Met”, my interpretation of Joseph Stalin. Then the following topics ensued.

The size of the musical palette needed in order to accommodate the size of the idea expressed.

Learning our own personal philosophical leanings as defined by how we view ourselves in relation to others and our own identity and responsibility.

The source of the creative urge or spark…..trusting the mind to assimilate all the “loaded-in” disparate parts into the whole. (See drawing at right to help make sense of this and yes, I know I can’t draw!)

How to keep the gig? Don’t miss deadlines! Don’t go over budget! Don’t whine!

When it is time to take care of yourself, take care of your client at the same time whenever possible.

How do you get the gig? Get lucky first, but back it up with training, discipline and a prodigious work ethic just in case you have to actually work for a living. Be brave. Be bold. Go to parties.

The fine line between arrogance and confidence.

Don’t let adults perpetrate the big lie about “arriving” or “the cream rising to the top”. Here is what adults don’t tell you. At 55 years of age I have the exact same challenges you have. Get comfortable with the constant reinvention of yourself.

This class was really fun for me. I met some wonderful and talented young people and we cut a wide swath across the professional music field. Teaching another person how to be successful is a slippery prospect. Even after 30 years as a composer, musical arranger and musician, I have just a sliver of knowledge about how it all works. NO ONE knows how it all works. However, when we come together we can share, learn and inspire each other from our own experiences, the good and the bad of it, in spite of our own prejudices and our ever-expanding philosophical and ever-changing emotional selves.

Best regards to all of you and especially Glenn Richter for sharing his class with me.

Filed by Gary Powell at 6:15 am under Music Clinic & Lecture Notes
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Thank you, Glenn Richter, for another great day with you and your students. Here are links to some of the topics we hit on in both your classes for those students interested in following up. See you soon. — Gary Powell

News on Podcasting
Antares Auto-Tune and A-Vox

I don’t remember which student in the morning class turned us on to this, but this site is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about. It figures someone has developed this kind of idea so completely. I’m lovin’ this. Please tell the student (on the back row) thank you for me: Artistshare

This PBSYOU program will be helpful to anyone with an individual spirit: Entrepreneurship Classes on PBSYOU

Powell Studio Productions in Austin, Texas uses the following music production applications:

For Sample Library Playback:
Tascam GigaStudio
Real Guitars with Modeled Guitar Sounds:
Line6
For Digital Audio and Sequencing:
Digital Performer
For Music Notation:
Sibelius

Filed by Gary Powell at 7:02 pm under Music Clinic & Lecture Notes
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by Gary Powell

Glenn Richter teaches this class of freshman Plan II students and has invited me to guest lecture October 5th. I always enjoy spending a day with Glenn and his students each semester.

The college experience is going to be wholly different for you than it was for me when I was a freshman music major in 1969. The ego-driven, autocratic classroom learning model of “I know everything and you don’t” is hopefully dying. Music is a dynamic subject, meaning we must learn together how to negotiate the rapid changes in technology and sociology.

“Just because something has always been doesn’t mean it should always be!”

As freshmen, you are probably feeling some of this life dynamism right now. As we age, the game only intensifies. I remember being surprised in learning that adults never really “arrive” at what might be called the “best expression” of their lives. So, how does this life and artful dynamism relate to musical performers? Plenty! Certainly you have your favorites. This is the perfect class whereby the examination of a performer’s art and life might become an examination of your own!

Here’s where you, the young student, gets to hear someone else’s truth unprotected from “spin”. I remember, when presented with a chance of talking with a professional, feeling like I didn’t know enough to even know what my questions should be. I don’t want you to have a lost opportunity.

So, instead of asking questions, I suggest that you, the student, individually post a comment here that will help prepare me for visiting your class. I also suggest that you actually make comments rather than ask questions.

Like I said, sometimes we don’t know enough to ask a question. As Plan II students, I know you can write and comment on what’s around you. For instance, the photo at the right has plenty to comment on if you are interested in the performing arts. If we can move the conversation toward cogent and thoughful concern for YOUR experience then my brief visit might be helpful to you. If nothing else, you will learn that your education is YOUR responsibility regardless of who’s paying for it or who’s teaching you. So, post away. Having trouble getting started? Here are some ideas on how you might start your post:

I’m concerned about …
I’m observing that…
My experience has been that…
When I hear “whatever”, I feel that…
My hope is that…
My fear is that…
The music business is…
Dude, wait ’til you hear this…

I will assimilate your comments and try to facilitate a meaningful class for you.

Filed by Gary Powell at 5:03 pm under Music Clinic & Lecture Notes
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by Gary Powell

Glenn Richter teaches this class of upper division students and has invited me to guest lecture October 5th. Glenn is a long-term ally of mine who actively searches out new experiences for himself and his students.

Learning by appointment in the classic model of “here’s the information you need, learn it now” does not always work. Maybe this system is an effective way to study 18th century literature, however, any subject that is either dynamic in technology or highly personal and subjective is going to be bogged down under this archaic “non-method”.

“Just because something has always been doesn’t mean it should always be!”

Music is both technically dynamic and highly subjective. One could argue that anytime a lecturer leaves the student out of the process excepting examinations, it might be a good idea for her to look around the classroom for drooping eyelids, nodding-off heads, surreptitious text messaging and game boys. (If only my iPod earbuds were a little smaller and not so white.)

Here’s where you, the interactive, self-motivated and under-appreciated student, get to drive the subject toward your interests. I could talk about myself for several years (as well as any narcissist), but much of that data would not be beneficial to you. The remedy for this problem is for me to know where YOU are, not where I have been.

So, let’s use this cool blogging technology to do more than just rant. I suggest that you, the student, individually post a comment here that will help prepare me for visiting your class. I also suggest that you make comments rather than ask questions.

Sometimes when we ask questions, we as individuals are not aware of our own psychology behind the question. A comment, however, puts your brain on notice that you might have to defend your comment. Therefore, you might reveal to yourself more about yourself AND learn more about the responsibility you have for your own education. If you need help with not asking a question, try starting sentences like this:

I’m concerned about …
I’m observing that…
My experience has been that…
When I hear “whatever”, I feel that…
My hope is that…
My fear is that…
The music business is…
Dude, wait ’til you hear this…

I will assimilate your comments and try to facilitate a meaningful class for you.

Check out my Lecture Topics and see if any of this has something do you with YOU. I look forward to both meeting and learning from you guys and hope we all enjoy this exercise. Thank you, Glenn Richter, for your brave soul and warm heart.

Filed by Gary Powell at 3:40 pm under Music Clinic & Lecture Notes
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