Hey Singers! I’m Justin Stoney,
the Founder of New York Vocal Coaching
welcoming you to Ep. 17 of Voice Lessons Online.
This is the show where passionate Voice Teachers
from all over the world help us learn
from some of the greatest singers of all time.
Today’s singer is one of the most creative
and original singers in today’s music industry.
And with 3 genre-defying albums, an electrifying stage presence,
and multiple film roles to boot, she’s just getting started.
It’s Janelle Monáe.
Mmhmm!
I’m sure we can learn a few things to learn from Janelle.
First, Arbender Robinson, tell us about how Janelle
uses the full vocal orchestra.
Hey there friends.
So one thing one of the many things that I love
about the human voice is that it's able to produce
and create so many different sounds.
If you think about a musical instrument,
which your voice is, a guitar sounds a guitar;
a drum sounds like a drum; a flute sounds like a flute -
but the human voice can sound and imitate a
myriad of different instruments - and I truly believe
(and I tell this to my students) one sign of a great vocalist
is when they are actually able to use their own
voice as an orchestra.
I think that Janelle Monáe does this extremely
well so we're going to take a look at a few clips.
In this first clip imagine that the human voice is a
full on synthesizer.
That the human voice is electronic music.
Let's watch what Janelle Monáe
does with the voice in order to enhance that
idea of musical sound.
Check this clip out.
Awesome!
Now granted we can help that a little bit
with some effects through the microphone but
everything that we're doing physically emotionally
and vocally really enhances that synthesizer sound
that we have here.
So now we're going to look at another sound
here let's see what instruments you think Janelle Monáe
is imitating with the voice in this next clip.
Take a look…
What did you guess?
I imagine that this was more like the Brass Section
or the Trumpet Section of an orchestra.
And in this final clip I think that Janelle Monáe
is maybe imitating the sound of classic guitar let's see
what the voice does here
Awesome!
So in your own singing in your own music making
sometimes it may help as you're trying to create
different styles to imagine the instruments that
you're trying to mimic, or the animals that you're
trying to mimic, or the sounds of nature that
you're trying to mimic, and see what you can do in your
own voice to give value to those sounds.
Enjoy the human voice.
I'll see you soon.
Awesome Arbender.
Next, Zac Bradford.
What can we learn from Janelle’s uses of straight and vibrato.
Hi Singers!
It’s no secret that Janelle Monáe is an amazing singer.
She has great control over vocal elements
like straight tone and vibrato and often uses them
as stylistic effects in her singing.
Straight tone is produced when there's little to no variation
in the sung pitch, whereas Vibrato occurs when
there’s a small oscillation above and below the intended type of pitch.
Have a listen to this next clip and hear Janelle
demonstrate straight tone.
Awesome.
Now, let’s hear Janelle’s vibrato.
Fantastic.
Every song is unique and can benefit from a mixture
of elements like straight tone and vibrato to enhance
both the communication and expressivity.
To practice your vibrato, you can do things like agility
exercises or staccato onsets as a healthy vibrato
is a result of a balance between agonist
and antagonist vocal muscles.
To practice straight tone, you can focus on sustaining notes
both simply and conversationally with an emphasis
on a smooth release of airflow.
Alright singers.
Thanks for having me again,
I look forward to seeing you again soon.
Thanks good sir!
And Abby Payne.
Janelle certainly embodies her performances, does she not?
And Kristy Bissell.
Tell us a little a bit about Janelle’s “Intentionality”.
Hi Singers!
I am going to tell you about Janelle Monáe.
Why I love her.
She is one of the most multifaceted artists out there.
I love her movies.
I love her music.
And I love her intention.
Every project she is involved in,
I can see that clear intention.
And some of the themes that I often see in her projects are:
self expression, diversity, inclusion, empowerment,
women empowerment.
And it’s so special to see an artist like that,
that has that much intention.
I believe her.
I want to follow everything she does because I believe her.
And when I heard the song Cold War,
I was completely taken.
So, take a listen to what she says and of course
listen to that beautiful voice.
I want you to feel I wrote this song because
And then she goes into the song and it’s so powerful.
And I question whether she actually thought,
“I’m going to belt this”
I don’t think so, I think she was like,
“This is what I have to say this is what is important to me.”
And her voice just
did what it did.
And why can’t me and you go into a song like that.
And say, “This is my intention This is what the song is about,
let me see where
my voice takes me.”
Janelle Monáe is a fantastic person to step in the shoes of.
And think
about - what can I do - how can I be more
intentional with my music making?
I promise you’ll love it.
And thanks to all our experts!
I’m going to share what I’ve learned from Janelle in a moment,
but first - here are some resources
that might inspire your vocal journey.
It’s very easy to underestimate the power
of IMAGINATION in our singing.
But, this - more than anything has
been what has set Janelle Monáe apart.
She not only thinks outside the box, she lives that way too…
Don’t you remember playing like that when you were a child?
Well, Janelle has never lost this sense of play in her performing,
her writing, and everything that she does…
But, as it turns out, using one’s imagination and embracing one’s
childlikeness doesn’t result silliness or not being taken seriously.
Instead, it can become a vehicle for making our most
profound statements as artists…
So often we think - “if only I can get an impressive enough voice”.
Or, “if only I could write a good enough song.”
THEN, I could call myself an artist.
Or THEN, I could make it as a musician.
But, Janelle proves that these kind of standards
and goals aren’t always what they are cracked up to be.
Sure, she’s an amazing singer, writer, and performer.
But, these things are not ultimately why Janelle stands out.
It’s her imagination that sets her apart.
So, ask yourself a question: what inspires your imagination?
Which film?
Which book?
Which character?
Which idea?
Even if you never thought that it would have anything
to do with your singing, maybe it can.
Maybe it’s your imagination and not your vocal technique
that is your next step in becoming the artist
that you were meant to be.
Imagine that.
We’ll see you next time for more Voice Lessons Online!