Thursday, March 28, 2013

Tanzanian Boy Band 3G, and Joett's Vocal Training CD Coming Soon

This is me pictured with G Fullah, who is signed to my record label and is part of my new boy band 3G. It has been one of my busiest work stretches of late. I'd flown in my record producer Ken Kanyeria from Nairobi last Wednesday (he flew back yesterday), and worked pretty much flat out to complete the acoustic and voice recordings for the debut 3G single "Mrembo wa Kiafrika"...which I've now sent off to London where my UK producer Patrick Jonsson takes over. He will be mixing and mastering the acoustic track, and then he will remix the vocal tracks to a nu disco beat. I can't wait! Patrick is AMAZING.

And what's more, Ken, who'd worked with me on the vocal and acoustic guitar recordings to my comeback single I Could Never Live (Without Your Love) in 2010 and the Boogie remix in 2011, had been busy re-editing my soon-to-be-released-on-CD vocal training program Learn to Sing with Joett, with which I'm also releasing a singers handbook Letters from a Vocal Coach.

My comeback single I Could Never Live (Without Your Love) began life as a training program I gave my students back in 2010. One of my students said to me “this is such a beautiful song, why don’t you finish it off and record it?” Well, I took their advice and the next thing you know I was not only recording the single, I was also recording an entire training program around the song, the result of which is my Learn to Sing with Joett vocal training program on CD. Watch out for release date COMING SOON.

JOETT
BUY Learn to Sing with Joett CD Online from TripleClicks 

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Friday, March 8, 2013

Down Memory Lane: A Closer Look At TIKISA In Pictures


Going down memory lane with these backstage photos from TIKISA Season 2. This is the lovely and extremely talented Helen Mangare from TIKISA Series 1, who has now joined our team of choreographers for Season 2.  And my gosh she lost so much weight on Season 1, and what's truly amazing is that she's kept it off into Season 2. The quickest way to lose lots of weight in no time at all is to DANCE DANCE DANCE!

I was running dance-into-shape classes at Nanasi studios at the time (during Season 1) and boy oh boy did I lose weight! What I'm seriously considering doing next is to create a dance-into-shape video. I'm sure that'll go down pretty well. The more fun it is to get into shape the better, I say.

And now take a look at the boys below. They all worked really hard to bring you some of the BEST entertainment on television ever.

Dancers Abeid (right) and Daniel (below right) took these pictures with me backstage. Talented kids. Daniel won the competition in the end. He is SO talented, it's unbelievable. He deserved to win. I'm sure he'll be joining our team of choreographers in Season 3. Coming up next (see below left): some of the lovely girls who lit up our television screens as they danced away to the Salsa, Rumba, Chacha, Mirenge, Tango. Standing far left is Daniel (Helen Mangare's dancing partner) from Season 1--who is also on the choreography team in Season 2; with Rehema, Suleiya and Gloria (far right).


And to my right, a picture of me and the dashing Brighton who after a wobbly start in Episode 1 seemed to give everybody a run for their money to emerge the 3rd winner with his dancing partner... the gorgeous Faiza.

(Left) Work work work. In a meeting with fellow judges Sauda Simba and Ali Baucha sat opposite me, and management discussing the finer details of the show--well what you don't get to see on telly LOL. And below, me on the judge panel with head choreographer Ian looking on.

We had so much fun on TIKISA. The entire team was great, the dancers were great. And yes, the audience in the auditorium who religiously attended each shoot WERE amazing. We couldn't have done it without them. And as for YOU viewers out there, you keep us motivated. Your love and support is immeasurable. Quite literally. Thank you so much. Hope to see you all next season!


JOETT

Download Joett tracks from iTunes, Amazon MP3, TuneCore.
Buy Joett CDs from A Novel Idea Bookstores Dar, Zanzibar, Arusha.
Nationwide CD distribution via Joett Music (Airtel Money, TIGO Money, M-Pesa).
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Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Letters from A Vocal Coach: How to Maintain a Healthy Throat

One of the most frequently asked questions my students throw at me is... "how do I look after my throat?" Well, I'm going to begin by telling you what you SHOULDN'T do, and then I'll fill you in on HOW to preserve your voice and what supplements to take to maintain a healthy throat.

DON'T smoke. DON'T take recreational drugs. DON'T booze excessively. It practically destroys the voice (Want proof to all of the above? Look at Whitney Houston towards the end of her life!). DON'T drink ice cold drinks. They interfere with the vocal chords. DON'T scream and shout when you're out on the town partying. You'll have lost your voice the next day and if you don't know how to fix the problem (as I will show you later in this article), you'll have a croaky voice lingering on for longer than you'd want. And here's a message to those of you who go to the beach to practice singing by yelling your lungs out. DON'T do it! This is the fastest way to ruin your voice completely. Now let's take a look at what you CAN do to preserve your voice.

1000 MILLIGRAMS VITAMIN C

I'll begin with a quick remedy tip for putting a stop to flu symptoms, including a tired sore throat from overuse. Simply pop a 1000 milligram vitamin C effervescent tablet into a glass of water and drink up. If you're in a really bad way, pop up to 3000 milligrams over the course of the day. I regularly take vitamin C once a day. Especially when I'm using my voice a lot (teaching), and when I have concerts lined up. Vitamin C protects me. Always!

VITAMINS & MINERALS

Let's take a look at the whole body approach for a minute. You need to keep your immune system working optimally. And the quickest way to do that is to ensure that you're taking vitamins and minerals to stay healthy. I take Super Potency Megavites (or if you'd prefer liquid vitamins, Veriuni Advanced Liquid Nutrition  is superb AND delicious!). And to add to that arsenal, I also take Super Antioxidant Formula. And I'm going to ask you a quick question. Would you like to have smooth, flawless skin? Well, Super Seven Skin Support works for me! Honest.This helps fight free radicals that, well, slowly but surely, destroy the body . So there you have it! In a nutshell, what-to-do and what-not-to-do to maintain a healthy throat. For access to the full Health & Wellness department click here!

DRINK WATER

Keeping the vocal folds moist through good hydration is very important for good voice health. We can provide moisture to the vocal folds by drinking water. It is highly recommended that you drink at least 2 liters of water a day. And when you're singing, it's advisable to have a bottle of water handy.

To find more handy singing articles on this blog, run a search for Singing Lessons as well as Letters from a Vocal Coach.

You are the instrument, learn to sing like a pro!

JOETT
Vocal Coach

Download Joett tracks from iTunes, Amazon MP3, TuneCore.
Buy Joett CDs from A Novel Idea Bookstores Dar, Zanzibar, Arusha.
Nationwide CD distribution via Joett Music (Airtel Money, TIGO Money, M-Pesa).
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