King vocal about saving the voice
Voice coach Dawn King (left) goes through a series of vocal warmup exercises with student Wendy Schafer.
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Professional singer/voice coach Dawn King is relearning her craft, and loving it.
After decades of training with traditional voice techniques, King, 45, went down to Nashville to work with celebrated voice coach Renee Grant-Williams. As a peak performance coach, Grant-Williams has helped countless A-list singers fine tune their voices as they prepare to lay down tracks in the studio. Miley Cyrus, Keith Urban, Christina Aguilera, Faith Hill, the Dixie Chicks, Tim McGraw and Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead are just a few of her top clients.
When King returned to Vernon, she had a completely new perspective on how the voice works. After her first one-day clinic with Renee Grant-Williams, she recalled: “I was blown away by how quickly the technique worked, but equally by how unorthodox it is.
“There’s nothing out there that’s like this, let alone from a world-renowned vocal coach who really teaches the elite.”
King is now ready to share this knowledge with other performers from her home-based business, Studio Beau Soleil. She is the only vocal coach certified by Grant-Williams working outside the U.S.
“If less than one per cent of the population is learning this technique, then other people have to learn about it,” said King.
Rather than follow the traditional belief that the voice comes from the belly button up – King refers to older methods like diaphragm breathing, chest voices and resonators of the face – she says the new approach starts from the legs and moves forward.
“It’s a full body experience. The body is an instrument,” said King. “The breath is so unique as far as where it’s placed. I have learned to breath completely opposite to what we were taught traditionally. Breathing is about effortlessness as opposed to tightening up.”
Along with sorting out pitch problems and helping students reach certain notes, and improving overall richness in voice, King says one of the main benefits of Grant-Williams’ technique is it protects the voice.
King, who sometimes does four-hour sets with her husband, Robert – their duo is called The Kings – can attest for that.
“One of the greatest challenges that all singers have...is this fatigue that goes on. But it’s just not part of what our experience is.
“The voice has to be taken care of. There’s not a lot of knowledge out there about how to care for your voice.”
Wendy Schafer, a self-described karaoke enthusiast, was ready to give up singing altogether before she discovered King.
“As a student I’ve taken vocal lessons from a number of places...and just never really improved. I sang a lot of music, but just didn’t improve.
“It’s really different with Dawn, it’s really backwards for me, but what I found in one lesson is that I heard a richness in my voice that I have never heard before.”
Added King: “Whether it’s karaoke or a choir master teaching, it doesn’t really matter, it’s still using the body as the instrument as opposed to the breathing. It’s the lower body that’s delivering the sound.”
For semi-professional and up-and-coming singers, King says taking the next step is all about confidence. She frequently comes across talented performers who find it overwhelming to get on stage.
“What if that learning curve could be considerably reduced and then the performance level just catapults?” said King.
“I love to coach people on their confidence, their delivery and their connection with the audience. And that just comes form within, so finding those places within a person is a blast, and I love it.”
King is offering a pair of upcoming clinics – a half-day karaoke clinic, Saturday Nov. 21, (9 a.m.-1 p.m.), and a full-day performance clinic Saturday, Jan. 30, full day (9 a.m.-5 p.m.). Visit www.dawnking.ca for more information.
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