I adore MasterClass Lady, her reviews are so in depth, and always pointing out helpful tools and not just saying that was good, that was bad. Here she gives Scotty a lot of technical help while also expanding on what he does so well. You are a Gem in the blogging community!! Please visit her site, and see what she has to say about the other contestants.
SCOTT McCREERY: “I’m Thinking About Country Comfort”
Strengths: Scotty – who knew there was a country song by Elton John? Well, apparently you did and given your ability to nail country music, this was a serendipitous find in the Elton John catalogue.
As always, I loved your comfortable style on stage; you have an endearing, genuine manner that connects you to the audience with incredible ease.Your distinctive baritone voice, resplendent with “head voice” clarity and centered pitch, embraced the melodic line very well. And, as always, you communicated your story with sincerity and conviction.
This was a wonderful performance, Scotty!
Critique: Scotty – we need to address some technical issues that are, presently, reducing your effort to grow and expand as an artist. First of all, given your young age, you are so fortunate to possess such a rich, robust sound in your lower range.
However, that being said, you are presently using only a portion of your God-given talent. The clarity we are hearing in your voice, the beautiful implementation of your natural head voice, the pitch accuracy – all of this will disappear over time if you don’t work hard to expand your very green technical skills. Presently, all these wonderful vocal elements are a product of your youth and you must work very hard to preserve them.
For instance, that upper note toward the end of your song was very strained. You approached it the wrong way. You were physically and vocally reaching for it, rather than singing over the note. This is a mental process that really works, Scotty. Always think down when singing up and vice versa.
And, never, ever raise your head. All this does is cause you to tighten your throat and use all the wrong muscles to produce your vocal sound. Your voice needs to be guided from the diaphragm and your facial muscles need to be open and relaxed.
Also, while sustaining your melodic line, you need to work on your vowel placement, making sure that you are singing only the pure vowels in your words and not all the vowels in your diphthongs . Relax your throat and jaw, remembering to adhere to the circular mouth formation on all the vowels. This will encourage you to make stronger use of your diaphragmatic muscles.
And don’t forget to relax and bend those knees. This will keep the soft palate elevated and the throat unobstructed.
Also, your signature method of ending your songs with a lower note is becoming very predictable and predictable is never good in this competition. You need to come up with something different – perhaps a high, falsetto note or two or three? Anything but the low, low note. Time to give that a rest.
Finally, you need to correct your tendency to lean sideways with your body when you sing. It detracts from your stage presence and really inhibits your vocal technique.
I have given you lots to think about Scotty because you have enormous potential in your voice. Take it one step at a time and let’s see one or two changes next week.