by Gary Powell
A simple report can hardly explain the whole of the workshop at “The Buffalo Summer Institute in Media Writing and Production” in Buffalo, New York this last week. I really like to interpret my experiences beyond just what happened, otherwise we’ll all just be punching time clocks and this was definitely not punching time clocks. 
Let me first say that I really miss these singers already. Missing someone implies an emotional attachment which became apparent to me when I saw how hard these singers were willing to not only work, but work outside of their normal comfort zones.
As a vocal clinician, it was my job to identify the vocal talent present, and as diverse as that talent was, find the common thread of what would most benefit the most people. For this group, that turned out to be deepening the relationship of the ear and the voice……and in this, case learning to LEAD WITH THE EAR. It’s a paradigm shift for singers to suddenly switch off what they think has always worked for them. Many singers are flat-out resistent to this kind of vocal “therapy”. Well, not in Buffalo!
These singers have all had successes, been trained, sung in front of large audiences, been on TV, made commercials and had record deals. Maybe it’s the hot buffalo wings up there, but whatever it was, the egos were dropped almost immediately.
This was inspiring and encouraged me to come up with more exercises and music that would be right for them. I wrote, with the help of everyone, one little funky tune entitled, “I’m Going to Eat My Way to the Top”, inspired by food made famous in Buffalo.
Each celebrity food got a verse…food like “Buffalo Wings”, “Beef on Weck”, “Might Taco” and “Bison’s Dip”. We performed this live with a piano at the closing banquet for other students, faculty, parents and friends. (Thanks to Patrick James for giving us your lick for the powerful “beef on weck” lyric.)
Another comment about Buffalo families and supporters: I met so many wonderful parents who were very present while keeping a very respectable distance. Not to take this too globally, but that’s not how all parents act in Texas. (See any news story about the latest cheerleading incidents.) Now that I’ve angered my entire state, let me just say how great it was to see and meet so many parents and just make note of so many gracious fathers. There was no doubt about sacrifices made in support of these young adults.
While I took the musical responsibility, Ted Kryczko, Vice President of Product Development for Walt Disney Records, took the lead in counseling individuals around the topic of music business. Ted interviewed each singer, learning about their experiences and aspirations while lending his sage wisdom from having been at the center of Walt Disney Records for over twenty years. Thank you, Ted, for inviting me to your home town of Buffalo. I guess this makes me a Bills fan, not to mention a “Beef on Weck” fan.
My thanks to Jennifer Koch-Gibson, the director of the institute, for her accommodating support of everything Ted and I needed. I’m so glad we had the piano for the banquet! Also, thanks to Mike and Robbie at Audio Magic, the recording studio where we worked all week. Thanks to Debbie Bello for your open mind, the support of your students and my morning coffee!
Most of all I want to give three big “woops” to these singers and to their friends and families for a wonderful and memorable week in Buffalo, New York. I am impressed by your spirit, talent and discipline and am honored that you gave me your trust. Come to Austin and we’ll write a song about enchiladas verde, suizas and mole with a side of guacamole!
The Singers of the Buffalo Summer Institute
Jennifer Waris, Patrick James, Jay Dref, Samantha Will, Jillian Ambrose, Barbara Levy Daniels, Danielle Calato
Colton Rudloff, Ashley Kate Alaimo, Kelly Warner, Collin Ranney, Samantha Taglienti, Katie Ralyea, Amanda Nagurney,
Eva Burger, Caitlin Koch, Auria Fuentes, Chelsey Zimmerman, Rita Bella, Toni Silveri, Sarah Russell
by Gary Powell
A simple report can hardly explain the whole of the workshop at “The Buffalo Summer Institute in Media Writing and Production” in Buffalo, New York this last week. I really like to interpret my experiences beyond just what happened, otherwise we’ll all just be punching time clocks and this was definitely not punching time clocks.
Let me first say that I really miss these singers already. Missing someone implies an emotional attachment which became apparent to me when I saw how hard these singers were willing to not only work, but work outside of their normal comfort zones.
As a vocal clinician, it was my job to identify the vocal talent present, and as diverse as that talent was, find the common thread of what would most benefit the most people. For this group, that turned out to be deepening the relationship of the ear and the voice……and in this, case learning to LEAD WITH THE EAR. It’s a paradigm shift for singers to suddenly switch off what they think has always worked for them. Many singers are flat-out resistent to this kind of vocal “therapy”. Well, not in Buffalo!
These singers have all had successes, been trained, sung in front of large audiences, been on TV, made commercials and had record deals. Maybe it’s the hot buffalo wings up there, but whatever it was, the egos were dropped almost immediately.
This was inspiring and encouraged me to come up with more exercises and music that would be right for them. I wrote, with the help of everyone, one little funky tune entitled, “I’m Going to Eat My Way to the Top”, inspired by food made famous in Buffalo. Each celebrity food got a verse…food like “Buffalo Wings”, “Beef on Weck”, “Might Taco” and “Bison’s Dip”. We performed this live with a piano at the closing banquet for other students, faculty, parents and friends. (Thanks to Patrick James for giving us your lick for the powerful “beef on weck” lyric.)
Another comment about Buffalo families and supporters: I met so many wonderful parents who were very present while keeping a very respectable distance. Not to take this too globally, but that’s not how all parents act in Texas. (See any news story about the latest cheerleading incidents.) Now that I’ve angered my entire state, let me just say how great it was to see and meet so many parents and just make note of so many gracious fathers. There was no doubt about sacrifices made in support of these young adults.
While I took the musical responsibility, Ted Kryczko, Vice President of Product Development for Walt Disney Records, took the lead in counseling individuals around the topic of music business. Ted interviewed each singer, learning about their experiences and aspirations while lending his sage wisdom from having been at the center of Walt Disney Records for over twenty years. Thank you, Ted, for inviting me to your home town of Buffalo. I guess this makes me a Bills fan, not to mention a “Beef on Weck” fan.
My thanks to Jennifer Koch-Gibson, the director of the institute, for her accommodating support of everything Ted and I needed. I’m so glad we had the piano for the banquet! Also, thanks to Mike and Robbie at Audio Magic, the recording studio where we worked all week. Thanks to Debbie Bello for your open mind, the support of your students and my morning coffee!
Most of all I want to give three big “woops” to these singers and to their friends and families for a wonderful and memorable week in Buffalo, New York. I am impressed by your spirit, talent and discipline and am honored that you gave me your trust. Come to Austin and we’ll write a song about enchiladas verde, suizas and mole with a side of guacamole!
The Singers of the Buffalo Summer Institute
Jennifer Waris, Patrick James, Jay Dref, Samantha Will, Jillian Ambrose, Barbara Levy Daniels, Danielle Calato
Colton Rudloff, Ashley Kate Alaimo, Kelly Warner, Collin Ranney, Samantha Taglienti, Katie Ralyea, Amanda Nagurney,
Eva Burger, Caitlin Koch, Auria Fuentes, Chelsey Zimmerman, Rita Bella, Toni Silveri, Sarah Russell
by Gary Powell
MUSIC is the only art form that vibrates, resonates, oscillates, pulsates and thumps. This sonic thing makes it our most palpable art form. No other art shakes one’s booty quite the same.
Songwriters work in lyrics, harmony and melody. Composers work in all that plus texture, color, voicings, doublings, sections, combinations of sections and a thousand other devices and nuances. Even with the legacy of attention focused on these compositional elements, there is nothing quite as exciting as having your chest GET POUNDED. We feel music. Literally.
There is method in balancing the elements of sound production and the mastery of that sound is ultimately what a musician does. Singers study tone and placement and every instrument has sonic qualites needing to be either enhanced, disguised or masked. The recording discipline of audio engineering has much to teach us about these audio relationships and especially that of sound and its effects on the human body. There is a scientific language which helps explain this relationship. It has a vocabulary rarely utilized by practicing composers or players. It’s the language of the audio ENGINEER.
(Copyright 2005 Jesmax Music, BMI)
Lecture Level and Requirements
Here’s the answer to the question “What happened to all the great songs?” This is the history of popular music as influenced by war and peace, recording technology and the boom box. Can be adapted for any level secondary and above. Inclusive of non-musicians.
All Content of Gary Powell’s Site is Licensed Under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License
.
by Gary Powell
MUSIC is the only art form that vibrates, resonates, oscillates, pulsates and thumps. This sonic thing makes it our most palpable art form. No other art shakes one’s booty quite the same.
Songwriters work in lyrics, harmony and melody. Composers work in all that plus texture, color, voicings, doublings, sections, combinations of sections and a thousand other devices and nuances. Even with the legacy of attention focused on these compositional elements, there is nothing quite as exciting as having your chest GET POUNDED. We feel music. Literally.
There is method in balancing the elements of sound production and the mastery of that sound is ultimately what a musician does. Singers study tone and placement and every instrument has sonic qualites needing to be either enhanced, disguised or masked. The recording discipline of audio engineering has much to teach us about these audio relationships and especially that of sound and its effects on the human body. There is a scientific language which helps explain this relationship. It has a vocabulary rarely utilized by practicing composers or players. It’s the language of the audio ENGINEER.
(Copyright 2005 Jesmax Music, BMI)
Lecture Level and Requirements
Here’s the answer to the question “What happened to all the great songs?” This is the history of popular music as influenced by war and peace, recording technology and the boom box. Can be adapted for any level secondary and above. Inclusive of non-musicians.
All Content of Gary Powell’s Site is Licensed Under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License
.
by Gary Powell
There is no doubt that Meredith McCall stars as Austin’s “leading lady” in our rich theatre community here. She can most often be found performing at the Zachary Scott Theatre Center here in Austin.
As a producer, I often look to the lyric to best determine the musical setting for a song. As a songwriter, I get to decide that right up front during the writing process. Ted Kryczko, Vice President of Product Development at Walt Disney Records, also drives this decision about stylistic determinations. In this case, he needed a funny Christmas song for an upcoming project. I penned the lyric first and upon approval wrote the music for “The Silly Words of Christmas Time”. This was indeed a theatrical piece requiring acting skills as well as singing ability.
Ted suggested Meredith McCall as she has a long history of singing at Powell Studio Productions for Disney sessions. We both know her as an actor and singer. In this case, we were asking her to sound like a young girl. The song had many verses with words trotting by at a very quick pace, so I sent Meredith a quick mp3 of a scratch vocal (“scratch” meaning a rough performance just for learning the song). She came the next day and delivered the perfect performance in only two takes.
These Meredith McCall solo performances can be found on various Disney Karaoke and other recordings listed below. Please note that I do not sell these recordings. For more information please go directly to Walt Disney Records or follow the links below for specific titles.
A PARENT’S CHOICE AWARD WINNER
A Bug’s Life Sing Along
“Flea-Ring Circus”, “Ladybug”
Cinderella
“A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes”, “So This is Love”
Beauty and the Beast
“Home”
Various Other Meredith McCall Performances
“Home for the Holidays”, “Easter Parade”, “The Purple People Eater”, “The Silly Words of Christmas Time”
Chorus Performances
“Let’s Sing a Gay Little Spring Song”, “Summertime, Summertime”, “Baby Mine”, “Bibidibobbididoo”, “Little April Shower”, “The Name Game”, “The Ugly Bug Ball”, “Little April Shower”, “Here Comes Peter Cottontail”, “In the Good Ole Summertime”, “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree”, “High Hopes”, Kurt Van Sickle Sessions
by Gary Powell
There is no doubt that Meredith McCall stars as Austin’s “leading lady” in our rich theatre community here. She can most often be found performing at the Zachary Scott Theatre Center here in Austin.
As a producer, I often look to the lyric to best determine the musical setting for a song. As a songwriter, I get to decide that right up front during the writing process. Ted Kryczko, Vice President of Product Development at Walt Disney Records, also drives this decision about stylistic determinations. In this case, he needed a funny Christmas song for an upcoming project. I penned the lyric first and upon approval wrote the music for “The Silly Words of Christmas Time”. This was indeed a theatrical piece requiring acting skills as well as singing ability.
Ted suggested Meredith McCall as she has a long history of singing at Powell Studio Productions for Disney sessions. We both know her as an actor and singer. In this case, we were asking her to sound like a young girl. The song had many verses with words trotting by at a very quick pace, so I sent Meredith a quick mp3 of a scratch vocal (“scratch” meaning a rough performance just for learning the song). She came the next day and delivered the perfect performance in only two takes.
These Meredith McCall solo performances can be found on various Disney Karaoke and other recordings listed below. Please note that I do not sell these recordings. For more information please go directly to Walt Disney Records or follow the links below for specific titles.
A PARENT’S CHOICE AWARD WINNER
A Bug’s Life Sing Along
“Flea-Ring Circus”, “Ladybug”
Cinderella
“A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes”, “So This is Love”
Beauty and the Beast
“Home”
Various Other Meredith McCall Performances
“Home for the Holidays”, “Easter Parade”, “The Purple People Eater”, “The Silly Words of Christmas Time”
Chorus Performances
“Let’s Sing a Gay Little Spring Song”, “Summertime, Summertime”, “Baby Mine”, “Bibidibobbididoo”, “Little April Shower”, “The Name Game”, “The Ugly Bug Ball”, “Little April Shower”, “Here Comes Peter Cottontail”, “In the Good Ole Summertime”, “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree”, “High Hopes”, Kurt Van Sickle Sessions
by Gary Powell
Top Row
Jennifer Waris, Patrick James, Jay Dref, Samantha Will, Jillian Ambrose, Barbara Levy Daniels, Danielle Calato
Middle Row
Colton Rudloff, Ashley Kate Alaimo, Kelly Warner, Collin Ranney, Samantha Taglienti, Katie Ralyea, Amanda Nagurney,
Bottom Row
Eva Burger, Caitlin Koch, Auria Fuentes, Chelsey Zimmerman, Rita Bella, Toni Silveri, Sarah Russell
————————————————————————
Ted Kryczko, Vice President of Product Development for
Walt Disney Records, invited me to co-teach a class for singers at
The Buffalo Summer Institute in Media Writing and Production in Buffalo, NY. The twenty-one singers pictured above showed up probably not knowing exactly what to expect from us. We, also, had no expectations about the level of talent that might show up.
The singers represent all age groups and presented songs from broadway, jazz, pop, coutnry and R&B. First of all, these people can sing. There is hardly anything more fun for me than to work with singers in groups, especially after we all get over ourselves. Finding our illusive “voice” in an event competitively styled to promise a real opportunity in the music business is a challenge for everyone. I suspect at the bottom of searching for a “break” are people who are sincerely intestested in learning to make better music and learning to be better communicators with their instruments.
All these people are going to sing throughout their lives….that’s clear or maybe just my fantasy. But, they are all that good and my wish for all of them is that they contiunue to learn and grow and bring their gifts and discipline to their communities and the world.
Later, I’ll give a more detailed post about this week-long class and what we all learned together.
by Gary Powell
Top Row
Jennifer Waris, Patrick James, Jay Dref, Samantha Will, Jillian Ambrose, Barbara Levy Daniels, Danielle Calato
Middle Row
Colton Rudloff, Ashley Kate Alaimo, Kelly Warner, Collin Ranney, Samantha Taglienti, Katie Ralyea, Amanda Nagurney,
Bottom Row
Eva Burger, Caitlin Koch, Auria Fuentes, Chelsey Zimmerman, Rita Bella, Toni Silveri, Sarah Russell
————————————————————————
Ted Kryczko, Vice President of Product Development for
Walt Disney Records, invited me to co-teach a class for singers at
The Buffalo Summer Institute in Media Writing and Production in Buffalo, NY. The twenty-one singers pictured above showed up probably not knowing exactly what to expect from us. We, also, had no expectations about the level of talent that might show up.
The singers represent all age groups and presented songs from broadway, jazz, pop, coutnry and R&B. First of all, these people can sing. There is hardly anything more fun for me than to work with singers in groups, especially after we all get over ourselves. Finding our illusive “voice” in an event competitively styled to promise a real opportunity in the music business is a challenge for everyone. I suspect at the bottom of searching for a “break” are people who are sincerely intestested in learning to make better music and learning to be better communicators with their instruments.
All these people are going to sing throughout their lives….that’s clear or maybe just my fantasy. But, they are all that good and my wish for all of them is that they contiunue to learn and grow and bring their gifts and discipline to their communities and the world.
Later, I’ll give a more detailed post about this week-long class and what we all learned together.
by Gary Powell
We think we listen to music from left to right like we read. When we whistle a tune, most of us whistle from left to right. Melodies undoubtedly move from left to right. That’s how it’s always been.
So, when the disc-jockey on the radio plays “name that tuneâ€, playing a half second of the song’s most uninteresting part, why do we still recognize it? It’s hardly moving in any direction, yet we might instantly recognize it and win a couple of movie tickets.
What’s at play here is your very personal brain’s recognition of a complex combination of musical elements: elements like instrumentation, texture, timbre, chordal voicing, chordal inversion, equalization, ambient sound, room reverberation AND….. whether or not you were hearing this song while getting your first kiss!
Music is deep. It almost defies explanation………………………….ALMOST!
Analogy might be the best instructor here. And, each of these analogies below has a rich musical heritage that is expressed in musical terms. This is the nature of learning music. Read music, don’t read music, educate yourself or shun study altogether. The music doesn’t ask or need to be understood. But, if the following statements make any sense to you whatsoever, you may possibly be interested in becoming a musician.
It’s a dynamic snapshot that may or may not predict its next picture.
It’s the only place where you are in the present, the past and the future at the same time.
The vertical gives meaning to the horizontal and the horizontal gives context to the vertical.
It’s a flag of a dozen layers of fabric stitched atop one another where one can clearly see all the patterns at the same time….all the while it passes by on horseback while your back is turned.
It has the passion of fire, but consumes nothing.
It’s something your mind can understand even when you cannot.
(Copyright 2005 Jesmax Music, BMI)
Lecture Level and Requirements
Is music appreciation an aptitude that is inherent or can it be learned? These are a series of exciting exercises to discern how your own personal brain perceives music. This is an excellent way for young people to decide how present music will be in their lives. Can be adapted for any level secondary and above. Inclusive of non-musicians.
All Content of Gary Powell’s Site is Licensed Under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License
.
by Gary Powell
We think we listen to music from left to right like we read. When we whistle a tune, most of us whistle from left to right. Melodies undoubtedly move from left to right. That’s how it’s always been.
So, when the disc-jockey on the radio plays “name that tuneâ€, playing a half second of the song’s most uninteresting part, why do we still recognize it? It’s hardly moving in any direction, yet we might instantly recognize it and win a couple of movie tickets.
What’s at play here is your very personal brain’s recognition of a complex combination of musical elements: elements like instrumentation, texture, timbre, chordal voicing, chordal inversion, equalization, ambient sound, room reverberation AND….. whether or not you were hearing this song while getting your first kiss!
Music is deep. It almost defies explanation………………………….ALMOST!
Analogy might be the best instructor here. And, each of these analogies below has a rich musical heritage that is expressed in musical terms. This is the nature of learning music. Read music, don’t read music, educate yourself or shun study altogether. The music doesn’t ask or need to be understood. But, if the following statements make any sense to you whatsoever, you may possibly be interested in becoming a musician.
It’s a dynamic snapshot that may or may not predict its next picture.
It’s the only place where you are in the present, the past and the future at the same time.
The vertical gives meaning to the horizontal and the horizontal gives context to the vertical.
It’s a flag of a dozen layers of fabric stitched atop one another where one can clearly see all the patterns at the same time….all the while it passes by on horseback while your back is turned.
It has the passion of fire, but consumes nothing.
It’s something your mind can understand even when you cannot.
(Copyright 2005 Jesmax Music, BMI)
Lecture Level and Requirements
Is music appreciation an aptitude that is inherent or can it be learned? These are a series of exciting exercises to discern how your own personal brain perceives music. This is an excellent way for young people to decide how present music will be in their lives. Can be adapted for any level secondary and above. Inclusive of non-musicians.
All Content of Gary Powell’s Site is Licensed Under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License
.
by Gary Powell
The musical landscape has been flattened, the crooked has been made straight and“Trick or treat?†is now only“Treat?â€.
“The more we move toward issues of the heart, the further we move away from the tools which would benefit us most in expressing that heart.â€- Gary Powell
If dropped into any shopping mall in America there would be no way to discern in what city you were spending your money. There are libraries full of smart and dusty books which explore the homogenization of our culture. Below is what that looks like in musical terms.
The chain is mediocrity. GET OFF IT!
Song Prologues…………………………..out!
   Repetitive Choruses…………………….in!
Mode Changes…………………………….out!
   Upward Key Changes………………….in!
Dynamic Melody Lines………………..out!
   Step-Wise Melody Lines………………in!
Chord Substitutions…………………….out!
   Chord Predictability……………………in!
Dynamics…………………………………..out!
   Compression……………………………..in!
Four Bar Phrases……………………….out!
   Two Bar Phrases……………………….in!
Harmonic Vocabulary…………………out!
   Vulgar Vocabulary……………………..in!
Ring Cycles…………………………………out!
                  Navel Rings……………………………….in!
Most do not see any of this as an obstacle to our higher selves. However, our minds are smarter than we are and they are a bit disenchanted with the current administration. It seems our brains reach their pinnacle when we are involved in a unified campaign WITH them. Right now they are feeling the fatigue of working solo.
(Copyright 2005 Jesmax Music, BMI)
Lecture Level and Requirements
Songwriting as an art, a skill-set and a trade. Learn to connect musical terms wtih the language of the heart.
Students may either perform or offer recordings for evaluation. Can be adapted for any level of songwriter secondary and above.
All Content of Gary Powell’s Site is Licensed Under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License
.
by Gary Powell
The musical landscape has been flattened, the crooked has been made straight and“Trick or treat?†is now only“Treat?â€.
“The more we move toward issues of the heart, the further we move away from the tools which would benefit us most in expressing that heart.â€- Gary Powell
If dropped into any shopping mall in America there would be no way to discern in what city you were spending your money. There are libraries full of smart and dusty books which explore the homogenization of our culture. Below is what that looks like in musical terms.
The chain is mediocrity. GET OFF IT!
Song Prologues…………………………..out!
   Repetitive Choruses…………………….in!
Mode Changes…………………………….out!
   Upward Key Changes………………….in!
Dynamic Melody Lines………………..out!
   Step-Wise Melody Lines………………in!
Chord Substitutions…………………….out!
   Chord Predictability……………………in!
Dynamics…………………………………..out!
   Compression……………………………..in!
Four Bar Phrases……………………….out!
   Two Bar Phrases……………………….in!
Harmonic Vocabulary…………………out!
   Vulgar Vocabulary……………………..in!
Ring Cycles…………………………………out!
                  Navel Rings……………………………….in!
Most do not see any of this as an obstacle to our higher selves. However, our minds are smarter than we are and they are a bit disenchanted with the current administration. It seems our brains reach their pinnacle when we are involved in a unified campaign WITH them. Right now they are feeling the fatigue of working solo.
(Copyright 2005 Jesmax Music, BMI)
Lecture Level and Requirements
Songwriting as an art, a skill-set and a trade. Learn to connect musical terms wtih the language of the heart.
Students may either perform or offer recordings for evaluation. Can be adapted for any level of songwriter secondary and above.
All Content of Gary Powell’s Site is Licensed Under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License
.