As the editor of this magazine I routinely attend a variety of music industry events, including conferences, seminars, showcases, etc. Probably the most entertaining, enlightening evening I’ve spent in a while was at a recent “Closed Session with David Coury” (www.davidcoury.com/closedsession) held at Swinghouse Studios in central Hollywood.

At this installment of “Closed Session” –– a series open to industry only –– I and about 30 colleagues looked on while Coury, an accomplished voice coach, worked intensively with three distinct acts: a female pop-rocker, a male alt-folk singer/songwriter and a female R&B/pop duo. He’d never worked with these artists prior to this; his previous exposure to each artist, as part of a screening process, was via disc or video. In each 30-minute session, Coury’s approach was as consistent as the result was remarkable: he hovered just a few feet away from the artist, alternately praising, chiding, revising, challenging, collaborating, questioning, and ultimately inspiring them in a way that made each a significantly more effective communicator, a more substantial artist, and a more compelling live performer.

Coury’s instinct for just how to handle these young performers under intense industry scrutiny –– by turns stroking and poking their fragile egos and ultimately spurring their skill and talent –– elicited a palpable improvement from each performer with the support of a backup band of quick-study session players.

From where I sat, it was evident that each artist came away from his or her 30-minute session with something of a breakthrough moment. While all of the artists had evidently received plenty of advice in their career, no one had ever before challenged them, worked them, like this. Coury’s blunt, straightforward manner, tempered by his artistic sensitivity, gave the artists a better understanding of who they are, what their material represents and how much better they can and must be to succeed. Each artist seemed to leave the theater having glimpsed a new realm of possibilities and with the knowledge that they had demonstrated the talent to realize them.

Coury’s so called “Closed Session” had the effect of opening up each artist’s vision of what they could be.

Tags: VOCAL COACHING

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 15th, 2009 at 2:39 pm and is filed under Mark Nardone's Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.