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FYI

Dorothy: The Art of Finding Your Voice

What does it mean to find your voice? How do you do it? And what happens when you do?

Dorothy: The Art of Finding Your Voice

By External Source

Q: Was there also a point where you discovered singing was a form of expression? Meaning, not only can you belt out tunes, but there’s poetic art to singing that you make personal.


Yes, that’s where it gets interesting. Once you understand the mechanics of the voice and how to use your voice, then you apply the human spirit to it, and it’s a whole new ballgame. If someone is hitting all their runs perfectly and they’re like a machine, and there’s no emotion or energy behind what they’re doing, then they are not going to give audiences goosebumps. They are not going to change the vibration of the listener to something that feels good. It’s a big responsibility as a singer to know that sound is powerful. When it’s a group of people making sounds, it’s extra powerful. I’ll listen to things like Buddhist Monks chanting, and I’ll get goosebumps all over my body, and I’ll be amazed by how it opens up something. The band and I get in a circle and do an om mediation before every show. It really helps our energy, and it connects us to each other. It’s an important ritual.

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I’ve also discovered that when I think I’m warmed up, it’s not even the beginning. An hour into our set, I start feeling completely warmed up. Sometimes the floodgates will open, and I’ll be able to do things with my voice that I never thought I could do. It’s all through channelling. It’s incredible to go to that place. It’s an entirely new dimension that I hope all vocalists that are reading this get to discover. – Dorothy Martin: The Art of Finding Your Voice, M

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R. Zee Jackson
Doug McClement

R. Zee Jackson

FYI

Obituaries: Canadian Reggae Star R. Zee Jackson, A&M Promo Exec JP Guilbert, Irish Singer-Songwriter Glen Hansard

This week we also acknowledge the passing of French music DJ and producer Kavinsky.

R. Zee Jackson (also known as Esso Jaxxon) a Jamaican-Canadian reggae vocalist, songwriter and engineer who had a major impact on the Toronto reggae scene, died on July 25, at age 72.

A profile in the Canada Black Music Archives (CBMA) writes that ''R. Zee Jackson was born in Clarendon, Jamaica, where he spent his childhood before migrating to Canada. In 1973 he participated in a cultural exchange program to the United States which would lead him to moving to Canada in 1975. There he would meet reggae producer Oswald Creary of Half Moon Records and Doug McClement of Comfort Sounds Studio.''

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