OK . . . So Steven Tyler’s Rendition of  Our National Anthem Wasn’t Perfect, and He “Blew-out” a Few High Notes  as  Many Famous, and NOT so Famous, Singers Have Done Before Him . . .

By now, isn’t it obvious to all of you critics and Steven Tyler bas-hers that our National Anthem is  a hard song  to sing? Those of you who are comparing Steven’s “Anthem” to Whitney Houston’s “Anthem” at the 1991 Superbowl, which many believed set the standard  for the “perfect Anthem”, or the Jennifer Hudson “flawless Anthem” at  Super Bowl XLIII,  are in need of a Big Voice Reality Check!

It’s common knowledge that Whitney and Jennifer’s performances were pre-recorded in a big recording studio with auto tune and then edited to perfection, long before the Superbowl.  They, along with many of the singers on “The 10 Best National Anthems” list, were  lip-syncing their song. If you are not familiar with what the words, lip-sync means, it’s this: They mouthed the words to the National Anthem as the pre-recorded CD played over the arena sound system. They did not sing the National Anthem live. (This group also includes Faith Hill’s critically acclaimed version at Superbowl XXXIV.)

To be on the safe side, most renditions of Our National Anthem sung at important events, ARE pre-recorded to avoid vocal disasters and screw-ups.

It takes a true voice-pro and a ton of intestinal fortitude to stand in front of thousands of fans,  microphone in hand, and sing LIVE without CD back-up, especially when we live in an un-forgiving, electronically enhanced society that hasn’t a clue how the human voice functions, or whether what they are hearing and loving is live or “Memorex”.

Of course the edited, enhanced versions are amazing, but so is Steven Tyler’s singing on the Arrowsmith studio albums. “There are too many variables to go live.”, wisely stated Superbowl pre-show producer Rickey Minor.  ”I would never recommend any artist go live because the slightest glitch could devastate their performance.”  Which brings us . . .

. . . Back to Steven Tyler

For the media to consistently acclaim Steven’s anthem as the worst since Rosanne Barr’s disaster where she grabbed her crotch and spat on the ground, (which of course was ment to be funny. . .) is ridiculous.  Roseanne is NOT a singer, while Steven is one of the best! So. . .What DID happen to Steven’s voice?

A Voice Coach’s Take on Steven Tyler’s National Anthem

According to Arrowsmith band member Joe Perry, an amazing singer in his own right, Steven had flown into Tampa to sing the National Anthem. after attending 2 funerals in Los Angles and was exhausted. The first thing I learned when I began teaching voice over 20 years ago was that the voice is not like a guitar or horn, that you can put in a closet when you are not using it. Your voice is happy when your happy, sad when your sad, sick when your sick and exhausted when your exhausted. The great Opera singer Pavarotti once said; “As a singer, if you have 5 good voice days in a month if you are lucky. The rest of the time, you must sing like you are having a good voice day, no matter what is going on in your life. “

Emotions, hormones, cabin compression in an airplane, air conditioning, what you eat and drink etc.etc.etc. The list of things that can affect your voice goes on and on. That’s why singing is such a blessing to the listener, and a frustration to the singer. We all want to sing our best, but there are times when outside circumstances are so overwhelming that no matter how good we are, we suffer “vocal blowouts.”

As I watched Steven start to sing, I knew he was in trouble because he started too high which is so easy to do with the, oh so frustrating to sing, National Anthem. (I’m sure it would have been fine on one of those, “good voice days.”  For those of you who have been in Stevens shoes . . .  knowing you are in deep trouble long before you get to the “rockets red glare. . .”, here is the greatest advise I can give when singing the National Anthem   a-cappella, (without music):

NEVER, Never  Get Your  Starting Note (Pitch)  by Singing the “Oh-woh. . . .”

It is the second word “Say” that you should use to set a safer key to sing in. If the word “Say”, as in; “Oh-woh SAY can you see. . .” is on the lowest note in your range. . .you will be just fine when you get to the highest “Rockets Red Glare. . .” part of the song.  I swear, this has never failed to work with my students. Even those without big ranges.

I did a one-minute video for One minute U on YouTube a few years ago and have received hundreds of comments from people who told me; “This tip has saved my life many times!” So I know it works. . .

Please me know your success or if it doesn’t work for you, let me know and we will figure it out together. Oh . . . and if any of you know Steven, will you please tell him the key word is SAY! In the mean time don’t be so quick to bash a good singer who falters, unless you have; “Walked (or sung) in their shoes.”

Here is the link to: Vimeo How to Sing the National Anthem in the Right Key.

Well, it’s American Idol time again when millions of people all over the world become "obsessed with singing". Don’t you love it?

Singing has been with us ever since primitive man stopped thinking of his voice as simply a grunting digestive tool to use during the feeding process. The truth is, the human voice is the most amazing—God created instrument—on this planet. It is more versatile and adjustable then anything man has come up with yet. A horn always sounds like a horn, a guitar like a guitar etc, but a human voice can not only sing many styles, it can mimic the best instrumental sounds—just listen to Bobby Mcferrin’s a cappella Voicestra recordings to hear what your voice can really do. When it is used properly your voice—yes, I said yours—can; soothe the savage breast, lull us all to sleep, whip us into a frenzy and even spiritually enlighten us. Wow, no wonder American Idol is the most-watched show on the planet!

As a voice coach, this is the time of year when every one, whose number one fantasy is to stand in front of a cheering crowd and sing, calls me to begin preparing next years audition. The American Idol "gang" always makes sure that the singers "passed through" are not all Carrie Underwood’s or Kelly Clarkson’s. If they were, very few Idol wan-ta-be’s would dare to try out.

I am located in San Diego and when Idol was here last year I had students who were actually told at the audition that they were "too good and not what we are looking for", by the first auditon judicators. (No, Randy, Simon and Paula do not listen to the thousands who audition, only the very few who are either, good, kind-of-good, off-the-wall, or just plain suck.) This process makes for good television and keeps thousands of singers dreaming of a singing career. It also, sadly, destroys the hopes and dreams of many good singers. (I was lucky that year to have one of my former students make it to the top ten.)

Correct Singing Takes Skill and Practice

Singing good. . . good enough to make money at it, does take an understanding of how your vocal instrument should be played. If you want to sing Opera, ten years of voice training is nothing because you will be training all of your career. If you are a singer, interested in a more pop/contemporary style, good singing is important but as we all know, many have made it to the top in the pop field without being the best singers. They are the ones who have "the look.’ American Idol also uses the "look" factor in choosing many of it’s contestants. It also uses the "story" factor. "Is your mother in jail?" "Are you homeless?" "Was your aunt on your mother’s side a 60′s pop star?" Unless you absolutely blow them away with your singing, you will need a good "human interest story" to win points with the Idol creators.

Yes, good singers do make it on American Idol and American Idol is a door to a singing career, but not always the one you are dreaming about. (Many Idol finalists move on to Broadway, Broadway touring companies, Nevada Casinos, and Indian Casino’s. Taylor Hicks was here in San Diego last year, first at a Casino, then in the touring company of Grease. But what the heck, it’s still show business and pays good!.)

The bottom line is, if singing is your dream, take the time to do it well, create an image that is yours alone, have a good story ready and when someone approaches you in that line of thousands and asks the question; ". . . Soooooooo, why do you think you are the next American Idol?" Have a good answer because that answer alone may just be your ticket to stardom.

Happy Singing!

Joni