GEARED queries longtime Brisbane-based pro vocalist and voice coach DANIEL KAY about contemporary voice tutoring, the common mistakes singers make and who he rates among Australia’s finest vocal talent.

GEARED: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, Daniel?

DANIEL KAY: I’m a singing teacher here in Brisbane and I’ve been teaching voice for fifteen-plus years. Essentially, I’m academically-trained and I’m currently doing a doctorate focusing on the teaching of contemporary worship singers, but that’s within the wider framework of teaching contemporary vocal – everything ranging from jazz through to rock and pop music to theatre and country. I do a bit of work with metal singers as well.

G: Sounds like a massively interesting and rewarding occupation to me.

DK: Yeah – I work with a lot of pro vocalists in Brisbane, people who are earning their living from singing, through to amateurs who are discovering the joy of singing for the first time. I teach the full gamut. I’m also the national vice-president for the singing teachers’ association called ANATS – our association represents both classical and contemporary teachers. I’m quite heavily involved in the teaching industry for voice, but beyond that I’m also a performing vocalist and I’m actively gigging.

G: I understand that you’ve been in the industry for a while.

DK: I’ve been in the industry for twenty years and I’ve seen a lot of changes in the industry as well. Back when I started, the big thing vocally was the power ballad. I still get students who want to sing power ballads – mostly older – but with the emergence and development of the indie genre, people like Angus & Julia Stone are more popular now. Singers will always be a dominant part of a band – purely because that’s what the general populace or the listener orientates to. Musos listen to the music, while the general populace listens to the singer, so the challenge of good vocals is not only aesthetic. The biggest challenge facing the contemporary singers is longevity – being able to sing four to five sets a week consistently and not let your voice wear out quickly. Building the technique into a singer for them to be able to sustain that is very doable, but a lot of singers don’t think like that: they think they can hold a tune, they don’t think of themselves as a walking instrument that is quite complex and they need considerable instruction on how to use in properly.

G: As a professional vocalist, what are the most common mistakes singers these days tend to make?

DK: (laughs) I think aesthetically, the most common mistake is everyone trying to sound like someone else. Singers often find themselves emulating someone else, and in doing so they’re often not only emulating how that person sings the song, but also the technical attributes that are required to recreate that sound. More often than not, that means they’re emulating a really bad technique. Aesthetically, the biggest challenge facing singers is to discover their own, unique individual sound, be comfortable with it and allow it to blossom.

I think the biggest technical mistake singers make is not getting lessons or investing in the development of their craft. Quite typically, singers tend to be the people in the band who can’t play an instrument, whereas the instrumentalists may have spent years getting lessons. Bandmembers spend a lot of money on gear – the guitarist will spend thousands of dollars on their multiple guitars, amps, footpedals and effects racks, while on the other side of the coin, it’s singers who tend to spend zip: they do nothing in the development of their craft. I’m a strong advocate for singers buying their own mics, for example, or monitors if they can afford them, and then investing in lessons – ensuring they’re using their instrument to the absolute optimum. The only way to do it is to get one-on-one tuition. There are very few examples of people who excel at singing who haven’t had tuition at some point in their journey.

G: Who are your favourite Australian pop/rock vocalists?

DK: This is actually revealing my age, but I’ve always enjoyed Darryl Braithwaite and in the same era, John Farnham. I’ve always been a big fan of Tina Arena – I think she’s an amazing singer. She probably falls into the category of singers who are quite natural and I don’t know whether she had a lot of instruction. One of my favourite singers is the lead singer of Thirsty Merc [Rai Thistlethwayte] – I really enjoy his work and I’ve observed some technique in what he does. I actually think one of the best female rock vocalists that we produced recently is Natalie Bassingthwaite – I don’t know if she’s received a lot of instruction either. Aesthetically, I certainly enjoy what they do.

DANIEL KAY is the principal vocal coach and supervisor of pedagogy for the DJARTS studio in Brisbane’s Carina Heights. For more info, Daniel’s singing tips and lesson rates check out www.djarts.com.au or call 3398 6758.

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