bobette jamison-harrison

I honestly believe as early as I could make "sound" I was singing! My mom said, though the words coming out of my mouth were indecipherable, she could feel the passion behind every sound I made. When words formed, it was a RAP! I sang as a small child in the neighborhood church choir and took my talents further as I sang in the children's choirs throughout elementary school. I furthered my training by engaging in performing arts and singing in stage productions. By the time I graduated from high school, I knew that my destiny would include becoming a vocal instructor. I trained under Suzanne Aultz, my beloved vocal teacher at Los Angeles Harbor College. It is there under her tutelage that I discovered a register of my voice that I did not know existed - the Head Register. As I followed her instruction, my voice became so robust, expansive, I could not believe what I was hearing. But what I realized is there was something missing. My Chest Register was gigantic, and my Head Register was gigantic, but the missing piece was the thoroughfare that would enable me to sing from the top of my Chest Register to the Bottom of my Head Register seamlessly without pain, tension, etc. The missing piece was mastering the "Middle Register" which, to me, is one of the most difficult registers to master. Secondly, it is one of the most difficult, abstract, registers to teach if a student was not born as a "Natural Singer" gifted to sing from the bottom to the top of their range without obstruction. The reason it is difficult to teach the Middle Register is because of the amount of effort, time and practice it will take to "build it up - to strengthen it" so that it will hopefully be contiguous with the other registers. Singers usually want what they want, and they want it "RIGHT NOW!" They don't necessarily want to practice to accomplish these enormous vocal feats; they want to find a "quick fix" so that they can get on with making money, singing, performing with others, having their name in lights, etc. As I went on this quest to understand this vocal mystery, I learned that I had to go to four different coaches over a span of years to finally understand how to use this full connected singing method that I was trying to ascertain. It is for this reason that I put in extensive time to master the art of singing from the bottom to the top of the vocal range seamlessly. I desired to become the "ONE-STOP-SHOP" where vocalist go to not only learn how to sing effectively, but to understand any vocal limitations, obstructions, learn techniques to sing when your voice may not be at its best, learn how to care for your voice and maintain it while you are singing in a Broadway show, singing on the road every night while on tour, caring for your voice even while you speak on a daily basis, learning the dos and don'ts of maintaining your voice. These are the things that were most important to me. I've been there and done that. The only thing that matters is, when the lights go up, you are ready to BRING FIRE vocally and you do it very well! Why did I become a Vocal Coach? That is why I became a vocal coach! Last but not least. I've been coaching so long, I can see through a student when they are not serious and wasting my time. I'm so passionate about singing that I will "fire my students" and return their session fee if they are not really serious about learning how to effectively utilize their voice and fully engage in the process of learning to do so. My monicker as a vocal coach: The Warden. Go Figure!