The Fundamentals
VOCAL STYLE
THE JELLY
BEAN EFFECT
F
or most singers the
term vocal style has an
assorted line-up of
descriptions. Allow me
to digress a little. I promise
you there is a point to this
meandering. !
!
For those of you who don’t
know, let me fill you in on a
little secret love of mine: Jelly
beans. Jelly beans are
probably the most moreish
(can’t stop eating) and
flavourful little sweets ever
invented. You know that old
phrase “like a kid in a candy
store”? That’s me with Jelly
beans. Jelly beans to me are
like fruits are to a fruit bat or
carrots are to Bugs Bunny or
spinach is to Popeye… I think
you catch my drift. I never
really know what I am going to
get bite after bite. Distinctive
flavours explode onto my
tongue, drawing me into a
blissful experience that
inspires that unavoidable
“mmm”. They’re simply
amazing!!
!
Ok, so I hear you asking,
“Josh where are you going
with this? What do jelly beans
have to do with vocal style?”
Well, I would like to present
the idea of vocal style as ‘Ear
Candy’, a phrase coined by
producer Quincy Jones. Or as
I like to call it, “jelly beans for
your ears”. Distinctive flavours
and colours that leave you
wanting more, igniting the
senses with such vocal
iSing | issue 1
delights that your audience
members almost feel like they
are kids in a candy store. The
Jelly Bean Effect.!
!
Style by its very definition is
about being individual,
distinctive in appearance,
idiosyncratic. In fact the word
idiosyncrasy is made up of 3
Greek words: “idios” which
means ‘own, private’, “sun”
which means ‘with’, and
“krasis” which means
‘mixture’. In other words, style
can be defined as your “own
mixture”. Isn’t that what we are
all trying to be… ourselves?
For me, vocal style is about
being YOU--singing in a way
that gives people the pleasure
of hearing your “own mixture”
of different vocal shades,
colours, nuances, effects and
so forth. Causing your very
own Jelly Bean Effect.!
!
As singers we should create
the time and space to really
explore this idea. To allow
ourselves to embrace the
sound making process and all
it involves: making mistakes,
trial and error, discovery and
acceptance of one’s ‘own
mixture’ of voice. It’s the one
thing that makes you different,
that makes you stand out from
the crowd. But all too often
singers try to hide their own
voice (consciously or
unconsciously) in favour of
another sound that they feel is
more acceptable. The journey
to discovering your own vocal
style starts with accepting and
loving yourself, your voice and
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