My new album

People, I really have to apologize for not updating this blog for a while. My schedule was rather packed lately. I am exhausted, yet happy because life seems so meaningful with these activities.

Ok, let me tell u more what I have been up to.

My first album (previous one is considered my demo EP) is finally out. The printing is nice and most importantly, the songs are well recorded. And I felt really happy because we received a lot of good comments, from all over the world. We even got Malay and German listeners, unbelievable!!! (did I mentioned that the songs are all sung in Chinese?).

I am totally speechless with the feedbacks. I feel so grateful.

Feel free to visit the website 2v1g to to check out more info. Not to mention that you can have a trial listen on that site. So, what are you waiting for? Enjoy.

用声音来演出一首歌

我个人认为，一首歌，就好像一部电影。
旋律和歌词，像是剧本和对白。好的剧本，如果没有遇上好的导演，好的演员，它就没有办法跳出来。
一个歌手的声音，绝对能影响整首歌曲的呈现。
常常发现，很多歌手是在惯性的把歌唱好，然而，却忽略了我个人很重视的一部分--投入感。
投入感，很抽象，对吧？
那我就具体地说说我对它的看法。

我习惯叫学生在练唱之前，先把歌词读一遍。（他们往往都觉得这个动作很奇怪）。我的用意是要他们熟悉个到底在讲述什么？反复了解，歌词里主角的心态，出发点和情绪。然后，我会叫他们，仔细得听着音乐，把歌词的画面套在音乐上。简单的说，像是在拍摄歌的音乐录影带一样。

歌词的每一个段落，到每一句，到每一个字，都应该有它的情绪的。然而，大部分演唱人，往往会在这一块处理得不够细腻。试想想，如果歌词里的每一句，都是你的对白，你想讲的话，你的语气会是怎样的？

不妨试试看。然后告诉我你的想法。甚至疑问。

Lip bubbling

Before you start to practice any exercises of singing, I would suggest you start with producing a lip bubbling, as long as you can. Meanwhile, use your hands to feel the energy and muscles involved in your front and back of torso (your body basically, esp your abdominal).

Now, enhance the boring lip bubbling with note. Means, combine the humming with the lip bubbling together. Hold the lip bubbling as long as you can. Then, start to sing a 'Ah', as long as you can. You shall feel the same energy and muscles involved as you're producing lip bubbling.

Give it a go!!

Lucky to have Mia Palencia 幸运拥有 Mia Palencia

As a Malaysian, I felt so lucky to have Mia Palencia. If you don't know her, check out her official site from my link (you will thank me for introducing you Mia's music). My ears are tired with those mainstream Mandarin and Canto Pop; BUT thank god, Mia's music keep me alive. Mia wrote her own music, telling her story, with her own voice and tune. I'm not kidding you. I went to one of her showcase today (oh, she just released her 1st album 'Finding My Way') and from the moment she started to sing, I get goosebumps here and there. My tears are rolling in my eyes. I am so grateful to have Mia Palencia. Her music healed my soul. And you, you should feel grateful too.

我们很幸运，拥有Mia Palencia 这样出色的音乐人。
相信很多人（尤其只听中文歌的朋友）都不知道 Mia 是谁。
没关系，到她的官方网站去一趟吧，保证你不会后悔！http://www.miapalencia.com
（可以的话，去一次她的弹唱会。你会爱上她和她的音乐）

如果你的耳朵对现今中文乐坛大部分缺乏创意跟个人风格的作品，
感到疲累，无奈，
那你一定要听 Mia Palencia。

一把很有穿透力，却不失温暖和诚意的女声，加上简单的乐器，
写的是自己的生活和想法。
Mia 的歌，有一种治疗心灵的作用。
我觉得 Mia 就像天使。
听她的歌，我会重新思考生活。会对生命产生感激。
天空虽然偶尔灰灰的，放晴以后它依旧美丽。
生命无论遇上什么样的挫折，我们都要学会微笑。
如果每一人都拥有一颗感恩的心，世界就会很美好。

今天，我出席她的弹唱会，
1个小时的演出，感动没有停止过。眼泪一直在眼眶徘徊。
我，很久，很久，都没有被好音乐打动了。
谢谢你，Mia，让我找回失落已久的那份感动。

(Malaysia) Irreplaceable Jazz Queen -- Sheila Majid

I bet you all know Sheila Majid, the Jazz Queen of Malaysia (or you might heard her through Rynn Lim 林宇中 song's 'Melody'). Then you'll definitely know this song 'Lagenda' . (OK, then you should be older than 25 ^^, Ha!!) This song is one of my all time favourite. The melody and the lyrics are so well written. Everytime I listen to the song, I get goosebumps.

One day, I received a call from a senior backing vocalist (Lydia, a great mentor of mine), asking me if I would like to sing backing vocals for Sheila Majid. I was extremely surprise and happy (imagine that you're going to work with your idol!!). I postponed all my dates, and reserved the day especially for this legendary diva.

I was freaking nervous when first work with Kak Sheila. She and her band (the crews as well) are so fantastic and professional, yet very humble and nice. I was so much in love working with them *v*.

Everytime she sings, you'll get inspired. You wouldn't find her not connected to the music. The moment she started to sing, you just can't help to keep silent and let her lead you to her world. We've been working together for so many showcases, and 'Lagenda' was sung for uncountable times, still, I feel like crying everytime when I hear she sings.

Check out the titles below (try your luck at Youtube, you will find lots of clip there). You won't regret for doing this!

1. Antara anyer dan Jakarta (this song made her really famous in Indonesia)
2. Kerinduan (the dynamic is fantastic)
3. Ku mohon (you'll cry, trust me)
4. Gerimis semalam (check the the live version)
   
5. Dia (a lovely lively tune)
   
6. Kau
   
7. Sinaran (most of you will know this ^^)
8. Shine (the English version of 'Nada', esp for those who dun understand Malay ;p)
   

Finding the right vocal coach 寻找合适的歌唱老师

(Forgive me for not posting this in Chinese, as written in English is faster, haha ^^!! But if you really don't understand the contents, feel free to let me know. I will try my best to post a Chinese version later.)

So you want to sing? .. .. Erm .. .. You'll probably headache about where and how to find a good teacher? Well, here are some tips I would like to share with you.

MUSIC QUALIFICATION
It's important to understand your teacher's musical background before you start paying to learn. Ask your prospective teacher where they did their vocal training? Is it a recognized qualification? Of course I am not saying that a degree holder will definitely be a good teacher. But you have to make sure that your teacher really know a great deal about singing and how to pass on the knowledge of singing to you (those who went through a proper vocal training will definitely able to do this). Beware of this point because I knew there are plenty of semi-pro singer, who never had any vocal training, trying to coach singing to earn extra money (sometimes they charged really cheap). They probably don't even understand the mechanism of singing, how are they supposed to teach you sing, right? If you really love your voice, you better don't take the risk just for the sake of you can pay less to learn.

VOCAL TRAINING BACKGROUND
If your interest is singing pop music, you should find a teacher who fit into the style to teach you. You wouldn't go to Rock music corner if you're looking for some Jazz album, right? (I know you're smart!!)

EXPERIENCES & REPUTATION IN VOCAL TEACHING
An experienced teacher will know how to structure the lesson better, and communicate more effectively. And they will be able to cater to different learning styles. By finding out the experiences of the teacher, you can easily notice his/her reputation in the industry (See? You kill two birds in one stone!! So, don't be shy to ask).

EXPERIENCES IN VOCAL PERFORMANCE
Ask your prospective teacher if he/she still doing any performances or gigs? Visit them during their showcase if they do. Does it match what you want to get into or already into? Will they be a good vocal role model for you?

ON GOING TRAINING / MUSIC WORKSHOP
A lot of teachers hardly update themselves after they became a teacher (sad to know this, isn't it?). Singing are sometimes like technology gadgets. We need to keep ourselves updated to the latest findings in vocal research, from time to time. So, I truly encourage you to find a teacher who committed in lifelong learning (either on going training or regularly attend reputable workshops). The more they exposed to, the greater knowledge they will have to share with you.

RATES
Everyone has a different price. Taking up lesson with reputable teacher might be costly sometimes. But of course, I am not saying that an expensive school fee is the guarantee of quality. I do emphasis on the value of money. You should make a judgment on your own to see whether the price you're paying for is reasonable. The market rate for pop vocal singing is currently between RM180 to RM350.

INDIVIDUAL SESSION
If you're taking up a group lesson, make sure the teacher will spend time on every individuals, to monitor their progression. Well, if you can afford it, pay for a private lesson. Yet on and off, I do encourage you to take up a group master class or workshop. You will probably get some new ideas from your mates then.

FACILITIES & SPACES
This is a very important issue. Will the teacher accompany you with instruments while you're singing or you will be using a PA system to sing? Will you able to use the facilities for practices out of your lesson hours? Is there any extra rooms for you to do your practice after class? Especially when you're paying a lot for your lesson, make sure you're entitled to these benefits.

LOCATION
This should be the less considered issue. Ask yourself if you're willing to travel far to attend the lesson? It might become unsustainable in the longer term due to e.g. time wasted, expensive travel expenses, and probably the traffic.

RESULTS
If you did not see any improvements or getting any result after some times, you should probably switch to someone else.

CONTACT & NETWORK
It will be cool if your teacher actively stays in the network. So that you will have more chances to expose your talent to the public. As a teacher, I always feel proud to present my students to the public. Experience shows that my students improve faster when they have a platform to perform regularly.

I hope this post gives you some ideas on finding for a suitable vocal coach. You care always welcome to raise your inquiries here. Good luck!

谁？何芸妮。

WinnieHO 何芸妮

5岁那年，被老师逼去表演，才知道自己会唱歌（哈哈^^!!)。
中学时期，就开始很积极地参与创作。喜欢写自己的故事，唱自己的想法。2000年，误打误撞，摘下ASTRO新秀大赛冠军，并代表马来西亚参加“全球华人歌唱大赛”，拿下季军。奇怪的是，我从此以后，不想成为商业的发片歌手。但是，我还是参与许多表演，创作与录音。大学毕业后，我竟然选择当歌唱老师（天啊！我是修读大众传播的！）。就这样，在李伟菘音乐课室担任歌唱部门的主管。2005年的某一天，突发奇想，决定前往英国伦敦修读歌唱课程，完成我小时候的梦想。临走前，发了一张demo EP<谁?>，纯粹为了记录自己的声音。2006年，终于完成学业啦！（考到特优哟！没有浪费金钱，呵呵！！）。我，又回到马来西亚的土地上，继续教导歌唱。幸运的担任了2007ASTRO新秀大赛20强的歌唱导师。期间，也有担任许多海内外歌手的和音天使，比如：台湾的尤雅，林淑蓉，韩国的河莉秀，大马爵士天后Sheila Majid, 美国的常青歌手Johnny Tillotson等等。当然，除了教唱歌以外，我偶尔还是会有演出的（下次要捧场哟！）。希望<音乐手记 mUSic SOUL-diER>这个部落格能为许多热爱音乐和歌唱的朋友提供多一点咨询。来吧，我们一起用心交流好音乐，一起发现好声音。