The more you use your voice, the stronger it gets.Being able to express yourself adequately can make a significant difference in every aspect of your life.I am often told that I have a natural talent as a speaker and a broadcaster. While that is a nice compliment, it isn’t exactly the truth. I wasn’t born with the natural ability to “broadcast”. Because of the industry that I am in, however, it is crucial that I have superior verbalization skills. Therefore I put a great deal of effort into broadcasting myself both on the air and on the stage. Presence has everything to do with EVERYTHING.I am going to let you in on a little secret… First, communication didn’t always come easy to me. I have horrid –and quite frankly, painful— memories as an adolescent who had a lot to say, but lacked the ability to SAY IT without mentally shutting down or (–gasp!–) crying inappropriately. Second, I spent years educating myself on vocal clarity, intonation and linguistics. My performance training didn’t end in college. The majority of my 20’s and 30’s were spent participating in play readings, literary discussions and theatrical performances… all which contributed to improving upon my vernacular and phraseology. Finally, you may be surprised to learn that I practice and “warm up” my voice for nearly 30 minutes before each and every broadcast. It’s a bit of a hoot, actually. I do all kinds of funny noises, consonant clusters and tongue twisters that prepare me to use my full range, increase my vocal quality, inflection, intonation, tonality … and even my rhythm. WHY?Using the full range of your instrument allows you to deliver a more compelling message. Skills such as these give you the confidence to show up for yourself each day ON PURPOSE and leaves a powerful impression on those you wish to align yourself with. You don’t have to be a national broadcaster or public speaker to benefit from this artistry. _______________________________________ On Today’s show…We are creatures of expression.Today’s guest, Tina Shafer is a mother of 2, and multi-platinum songwriter, a vocal coach to many of today’s top musical talent, and the author of a new book Finding Your True Voice, a small booklet that covers 25 years of her best vocal techniques. |
Today’s Guest |
Meet Tina Shafer!Singer Songwriter/vocal coach Tina Shafer is the Artistic Director of the New York Songwriters Circle, an in the round series for songwriters that has been in business since 1991. Home to such artists as Norah Jones, Jessie Harris, Vanessa Carlton, Tony Winner, Billy Porter, John Oates, Marc Cohn. The series is held the first Monday of every month at the historical Bitter End in NYC’s West Village. At first Tina called upon some of her writing friends to do shows in the round such as George David Weiss, Steven Dorff, Albert Hammond, Chuck Taylor, Siedah Garrett (Michael Jackson), Gary Burr, Hugh Prestwood, Big and Rich,Lana Del Rey, Gavin DeGraw…later she decided to incorporate young talent as well. Tina is also a seasoned performer having opened for Suzanne Vega, sung with Phoebe Snow, John Oates, Marc Cohn, Gary Burr and Gavin DeGraw to name a few. Tina has also sold over 33 million records as a songwriter and is a mentor and vocal coach to many celebrity artists. There is no other showcase in NYC or in the country that has run as long as The New York Songwriters Circle. It is a unique Entity. |
