Signature Style Singing

Discover Your Vocal Identity. Make compelling and original versions of songs. Create a charismatic and impactful performance style. 12-part flexible online course for intermediate advanced singers.

Most of all you miss out

You don’t REALLY go for it with your singing. You’re loaded with potential, but no one else sees or hears what you have. You miss out by not backing yourself 100%

NOT… telling a potential audience, client or venue booker you exist!

NOT… asking the musicians you’d really like to sing with because you’d afraid they would turn you down - so you ask someone on your ’level’ instead.

NOT… sharing your singing online because you don’t think it’s good enough.

NOT… making that brilliant creative idea for a song, a show, a recording.

NOT… enjoying your singing, challenging moments, rewarding moments and all.

How most singers go about finding their Signature Style and singing identity

#1. Copy the original artist and song exactly

Success means sounding exactly as good as the original artist and song (probably much loved). Not a terrible idea. You’ll take on energy, phrasing ideas, a story, maybe some dynamics and a new sound. You may be happy here. But it’s not your story, the phrasing ideas don’t have a background understanding, the energy is imposed not meaningful, and the core intention is missing. An audience may not dig your ability to sound like the original, and want to hear your version. Fantastic for tribute acts and the occasional homage song in a set. Limiting for the rest of us.

#2. Singing only your own style and songs

On the surface the approach we’re going for. Unless! You haven’t enough tools to be original with: your melody ideas aren’t memorable. Your rhythmic ideas are lumpy and groove-less. Your storytelling is safe and predictable. You haven’t discovered the knack of showcasing the best of what you do. And you’re just too similar to everyone else. There isn’t that strand of uniqueness.After a while you find yourself repeating the same ideas over and over. It lacks the necessary magic to keep an audience - and yourself! - hooked. Candidly, there’s just not enough depth to construct a genuinely unique artistic identity.

#3. Staying in ONE genre bubble

You’re an RnB singer: you do what other RnB singers do. Respecting the culture of the musical world you want to operate in is honourable. Staying too close can keep you dull. Adding micro-ideas from a variety of influences transforms you from same-old-same-old, to: wow! check out this singer! It doesn’t need to be loud, splashy or provocative. I guarantee an audience - and musicians who’ve heard it ALL before - will recognise and appreciate the difference. The key to magnetically attracting those exciting opportunities and being invited to inner circles.

#4. Jumping from idea to idea

A constant rotation of ‘starting again’. You can’t hear anything good in what you made, recorded, performed, filmed. So you scrap the idea and find another one thinking it will be better. Your system doesn’t work. You never get the bonus of slowly chipping away at the same project until its full magnificence is revealed. Like a diamond cutter who fails to see the potential and throws it away reaching for a new stone. You’re constantly in that early stage until you give up completely, thinking you’ve not got what it takes.

#5. More working on vocal technique

Makes sense right? It worked before so back you go to exercises and warm ups. Again, not a terrible idea, but it might not solve this problem - more complex and creative than pure functional skill.

Introducing Signature Style Singing

12-part Flexible Online Course to help intermediate advanced singers go from average and bland , to finding their memorable sound and style so they can confidently sing in front of others, be part of the scene, and be recognised as a unique and distinctive singer

• Craft an authentic artistic persona

• Make compelling and unique versions of songs

• Create a charismatic and impactful performance style

“Don't you ever let a soul in the world tell you that you can't be exactly who you are.”

—LADY GAGA

The Signature Style of Prince

—a genre-defying blend of funk, rock, RnB, with a deep connection to music as spiritual release. Provocative lyrics, sensual stage presence and flamboyant fashion style. Prince challenged the society norms and what it meant to be a pop icon.

The Signature Style of Billie Holiday

—A raw and deeply expressive voice gave her a unique ability to convey intense emotion in an authentic way. Influenced by her life struggles and her love of the phrasing of the horns, she became one of the most influential jazz singers.

The Signature Style of Tina Turner

—Trademark vocal sound, unaffected delivery and willingness to commit to herself 100%. The wisdom in her story showed.

How to find your Signature Style

Work with your vocal strengths

This course moves beyond ‘learning to sing’. We intentionally focus on acknowledging how and where your singing captivates to place it in good-fit projects, songs and venues.

Draw from the groove

We explore many a groove from around the world to get you singing with interest and connect to a style. Swing, Bossa Nova, Bolero,, Soul, Funk, Rock, Blues, RnB, Gospel. We’re exploring embellishments (riffs!), use of instrumental phrase ends and being creative with bass lines. You may not outwardly ‘sing in that style’, but the influences will bring a unique flavour to your songs - and the rhythm section will love you.

The memorable melody and lyrical movement of classical music

Full of memorable ‘hooks’ we bounce off the rich heritage of classical music. Learn how to construct beautiful and striking melody lines - both written and on the spot. Learn how to bring a powerful ebb and flow to the shape of your phrases to connect with your audience and get a more dynamic result from your band. For your original songs, rephrasing covers and creating extraordinary live shows.

The freedom and spontaneity of jazz

Jazz runs on a deeper level than ‘doo-be-do’. Getting familiar with the spontaneous approach of what feels right in that moment gives you that knack of creating a ‘you had to be there’ delivery. Learning how to build tension - and therefore interest! - with dissonance, twist-the-knife note choice and those sliding in-between the notes sounds. Get comfortable with improvisation and a nod to reharmonisation will bring a fresh approach to your covers. (and no, you don’t need to play an instrument or read music - the ideas are in your head, we just need to get them out).

The innovation and trend-awareness of pop

It’s very, very easy to fall in the trap of copying the successes of others. Awaken your innovative side - experiment with the concept of ‘what could be’, rather than sticking with what already exists. Even if your ambitions are low-key, and you operate in a musical world far away from modern pop, bringing a twist to the standard is incredibly fun and deeply satisfying. As it is said: steal like an artist, not a thief.

The impact of a visual aesthetic

It’s not just about the voice. Share and connect through artwork, stage style and set design. Connecting to the visual helps you paint more of a compelling picture in the minds of your audience and collaborators until they understand you are interesting, intriguing and one-of-a-kind.

The uncopyableness of your narrative

If there was a ‘secret sauce’ to discovering your Signature Style, this would be it! In a world of over-the-top statements this one is true: you are genuinely unique. Singers are tuneful storytellers, and the only one with the stated lyric. (Instrumentalist’s can only imply). But we lose track of this in all the effort to developing technique, staying in tune, handling the mic, getting a sound together and delivering to the audience. In a sensitive, considered and private way, we work on acknowledging your narrative - significant memories, culture, life choices. Until it effortless shows in how you sing, and in your choices around what you sing, who you sing with, and the themes of your creative work.

Where a Signature Style will take you

12 months access to Studio

Signature Style Singing is hosted on Studio is an international community of advanced level singers. Don’t feel so alone.