Ashton’s Singing Cafe’ Vocal Course
The 6-month course of Ashton’s Singing Cafe’ Vocal Course is aimed at singers who aim to perform while improve their singing skills. The course is open to singers from all popular genres of music. By the end of the course, each student will have achieved a higher professional level of singing and performing ability, and will be the primary goal of this course. The course is taught as a one-to-one private lesson in which the student will meet the teacher in either a rehearsal, or performance space once the student has grown their repertoire to performance level. Students will gain in-depth knowledge by using the concepts found in the ‘Moore Vocal Solutions’ curriculum taught in the “Ashton’s Singing Cafe Vocal Course”. The MVS curriculum will allow you to use its teachings across genres which will strengthen your own ability to perform confidently on stage. This course is affordable, comprehensive, and affective which will allow you to use your improved singing skills immediately upon completion.
The course will be taught 2-4 times per month in an atmosphere of openness and trust. Becoming a performing vocalist, as well as gaining a basic understanding of musicianship and stage etiquette are the primary goals of The Ashton’s Singing Cafe Vocal Course. The ASCVC is sure to elevate any singer’s ability that uses the skill sets contained within.
Place and Contact:
The course is currently available in the Tokyo and Yokohama metropolitan areas. Therefore, rehearsal spaces and performance venues will usually be less than a 10-minute walk from the nearest train station.
Please inquire about joining the ASCVC by contacting: moorevocalsolutions@gmail.com or Instagram: @ashtonsensei
Information regarding the 6-month Ashton’s Singing Cafe Vocal Course in Japan is as follows:
Each student will be provided with a lesson sheet for each lesson to make each session’s learning points easier to remember. Audio and video recording of the lessons are allowed and strongly recommended to help with practice between lessons.
To ensure the lesson’s effectiveness, it is suggested that students take lessons on a regular basis, preferably 4 times per month.
Fees:
6-month Course
The course fee within Tokyo for a 6-month course includes 25 vocal lessons and 5 accompanied live performance opportunities. These performance opportunities will happen in the form of recitals or jam sessions around the Tokyo and Yokohama area according to your availability. This course containing 1,800 valuable minutes of instruction as well as 5-accompanied live singing performances will be discounted at ¥200,000 for a six month period.
4-month Course
The course fee within Tokyo for a 4-month course includes 12 vocal lessons and 3 accompanied live performance opportunities. These performance opportunities will happen in the form of recitals or jam sessions around the Tokyo and Yokohama area according to your availability. This course containing 720 valuable minutes of instruction as well as 3-accompanied live singing performances will be ¥110,000 for a four month period.
2-month Course
The course fee within Tokyo for a 2-month course includes 5 vocal lessons and 1 accompanied live performance opportunities. These performance opportunities will happen in the form of recitals or jam sessions around the Tokyo and Yokohama area according to your availability. This course containing 300 valuable minutes of instruction as well as 1-accompanied live singing performances will be ¥45,000 for a two month period.
A deposit of at least 25% of the full course fee is to be paid before the first scheduled lesson. Please read our standard terms.
Acceptance and Preparation:
Minimum age limit is 10 years old. To qualify, applicants should be able to match pitch, and willing to sing in English. Singers should prepare 1 song to be worked on for each lesson
Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Ashton Nickolas Moore has expanded his love for music across the ocean to Japan. He began his musical endeavors as a young boy on Detroit’s west side taking lessons in violin, piano, percussion, and voice. He continued his love for musical knowledge at Michigan State University where he graduated with a Bachelor or Arts, and masters in Jazz Studies in 2005 and 2008, respectfully. He has performed with jazz greats such as Jon Hendricks, Rodney Whitaker, Wycliffe Gordon, Cyrus Chestnut, Christian McBride and Dianne Reeves.
In January of 2005 Ashton performed two concerts of Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Goin’ On Suite’ at Dizzy’s Coca Cola Club in Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York, NY. In October 2008, he was asked by the State of Michigan to perform the national anthem for then Senator, now Past President Barack Obama’s presidential campaign trail in Lansing, MI. While humbled by these experiences Ashton has gained confidence to perform as a true musician. Ashton is currently living and working in the Tokyo area as a professional singer, vocal instructor, and songwriter.
The ASCVC can provide assistance in the reparation for ABRSM exams as long as the songs being prepared are being done in English. However, the higher the grade level, the less English options for song selections.
Lessons attended:
6 months/25 Lessons/5 Performances
4 months/12 Lessons/3 Performances
2 months/5 Lessons/1 Performance
Personal vocal development using the “Moore Vocal Solutions” curriculum.
Musicianship and Performance
Ear Training
Vocal Technique and Styles
Practical application of Vocal Technique and Style
Basics in Vocal Development and Performance Preparation
The course language is English
The 6-month Ashton’s Singing Cafe Vocal Course is aimed at singers who wish to improve their singing skills in a live performance setting. The course is open to singers from all genres of Western popular music. On completion of the course, the participants will have achieved a higher confidence level of singing ability. Improvement of the individual singer’s technical and artistic development will be the primary goal of this course.
Focus will be on the individual singer’s technical as well as performing development. Each singer will acquire thorough knowledge of his/ her own voice, and will be able to realize the potential of their vocal performance ability.
Study of singing technique includes the use of The Three Overall Principles, and the four modes Neutral, Curbing, Edge, and Overdrive, in singing as well as speaking. Working with sound colour and effects will be included. Emphasis is put on self-study. Participants should decide on areas they wish to work with, how this is done and which results they wish to achieve. A plan will be produced during the course. Different learning methods and practical application How to practise, muscle memory, parameters for defining notes, ready-and-able skills, and centering will be introduced and discussed.
It is important that singers are able to recognize and match pitch with their own voice. Basic ear training will be introduced during the class as singing exercises either played on piano or played on CD, as well as a via live performances.
The singer’s technique should facilitate the message. Therefore, working on expression and performance is central to the course. Included will be work with intonation, improvisation, phrasing, and other means of expressions.
The course will include discussions on music business related subjects, as well as those which particularly relate to vocalists. Topics such as repertoire, purpose, and goals in particular are deemed paramount in their own respective way.
The course emphasis will be put on the students’ repertoire being prepared to performance level. Participants will study singing theory as explained in the 5 steps explained in the “Moore Vocal Solutions” curriculum as follows:
• The first and most important concept is Volition. This is the attitude and thought process that a singer has before performing. Mental preparation has a lot to do with the way we sing. When a singer is in a good mood and remembers to follow the simultaneous 5 steps that it takes to sing, their voice is sure to sound full of life and enthusiasm! On the contrary, if that same singer has bad thoughts in their mind and is not paying attention to either of the 5 steps that it takes to sing then there is a great chance that the singer will not be able to sing with much skill or enthusiasm. Volition or “Confidence” is the first thing for a singer to consider when they prepare to perform. It is even important when practicing alone or rehearsing with a group.
• Breathing gives us life! That is why it is so important when singing. When you allow deep and deliberate breaths to support your tone, singing in tune becomes much easier to do. Breathing can also calm and prepare us mentally for our singing challenges. Interruptions in the voice when singers perform are usually because there is an interruption in their own air-flow. Having sufficient air to sing a song with is just as important as a car having enough gas to complete a road trip. There may be opportunities to stop and fill up in between, but it always interrupts the smooth flow of the journey.
• Vibration/Onset consistency determines the tone quality that we will produce when we begin to make a sound. When you whisper in a quiet room you are relaxing the vibration faculties in your voice. When you try to talk while lifting something heavy, you are then tightening the vibration faculties in your voice. Singers exhibit 3 basic types of vibration/onsets which will be discussed in great detail within the course.
• Amplification or Resonation is the boost of strength, support, and volume in every sound we make. Vocal ‘resonation’ can be thought of as vocal ‘acoustics’. Amplification is about how we create and enhance our vocal sound so that it can be heard clearly by our audience. Have you ever thought about how your voice sounds in the bathroom or shower? Have you ever noticed the echoes we hear when we make loud noises around tall buildings? What does it sound like when you blow across the top of the neck of bottle when it contains different amounts of liquid? All these experiences exhibit what we can think of as “resonance”. The tone quality of our voice or “timbre” depends on the strength of our breath support (actuation), vocal onset, and the placement of sound in our vocal resonating spaces or “sound chambers”. The sound chambers in our bodies will be explained in detail within the course.
• Pronunciation; We use our mouths to speak and sing lyrics, but more importantly to communicate with one another. It is this special ability that makes our voices unique to listener’s ears compared to other instruments played during a performance. Good pronunciation is the key to make your vocal sound unique to you! It can potentially increases your entertainment value and invites the audience to enjoy your performance even more. Expressing yourself through unique nuances and inflections help you give a well-rounded performance.
It is recommended that the instrumental or karaoke version of songs being worked on be utilized between lessons. Learning to follow a consistent tempo helps vocalists prepare to play with real musicians and keep a consistent tempo with an ensemble.
Students should prepare at least 3 songs for the duration of their lesson plan.
For younger singers there will be a planned student recital 3 times per year. Adults will have ample ability to join a vocal jam session around the Tokyo metropolitan area. A short list of said Jam Sessions can be found here; http:// jazzjamsession.blog.fc2.com/