About

About Bridgetown Vocal

 Bridgetown Vocal is a voice studio based in Portland, Oregon dedicated to bringing world class vocal instruction to every student. The name comes from the vocal technique we teach, Speech Level Singing, which teaches people how to sing through their bridges between the vocal registers,  it is also a nod to the home city, which is  nicknamed Bridgetown.

Bridgetown Vocal is the ideal resource for any vocalist, or aspiring vocalist, who is looking for vocal knowledge and mastery of their singing.  Utilizing the most trusted and cutting edge vocal technique in the industry, Bridgetown Vocal customizes each lesson for each unique voice.  There is no single way to teach two different people how to use their voices more effectively and healthfully.  In a Bridgetown Vocal voice lesson, the instructor diagnoses the vocal tendencies of a student and uses a powerful toolbox of medically proven exercises to lead the student and their vocal tendencies towards balanced and healthy vocalization (singing).  It isn't a mystery, it isn't abstract; to make any individual's vocals stronger and more beautiful, we need to achieve a low and stable larynx with medial compression on the vocal folds.  Anyone can know this intellectually but the path to getting there is different for each student, and our technique serves as the personal guide.  Some have a longer road to travel than others, but with dedication and practice, anyone can recoordinate their vocal muscles to achieve a low and stable larynx and properly compressed cords throughout their entire range. 

Balanced vocalization leads to a voice with:

• A relaxed, and natural tone
• No cracks, wobbles, or flips ANYWHERE
• Vocal stamina; one can sing for hours and hours, night after night!
• Improved Pitch
• An expanded range (2-4 octaves)
• Easy movement through the bridges (acoustic transitions between vocal registers)

           ....all of which amounts to a healthy voice that lasts a lifetime!

Bridgetown Vocal's voice lessons are for beginners and professionals alike.  Pro singers and musicians learn how to get more out of their voices (range, dynamics, colors) with less effort and more health, and beginners can explore producing sounds and learning songs to enjoy their voices with (...and, one day, become professional vocalists themselves!).  And, now, you don't have to live in Portland to study with Bridgetown Vocal!  All you need is Skype or iChat.

What is SLS?

From Opera To Rock, Jazz to Pop or R&B, over 120 Grammy Award winners use it.  Speech Level Singing (SLS) makes singing as natural and easy as speaking.  SLS produces an eiffortless, powerful and expressive voice by teaching a singer how to recoordinate the tiny muscles of the Larynx (aka Voice Box).  Each student is individually assessed for his or her specific problems, and given exercises to mediate them. You can learn to sing with the same comfortable, easily-produced voice you use when you speak (hence the name), no matter where the note is in your range. When you know how to use your voice correctly, you can have it forever!

The key to Speech Level Singing is in understanding the bridges and the mix. Bridges in the voice are passage areas from one part of our vocal range to another.  These passage areas are a result of vocal cord adjustments that must take place in order for us to sing high and low in our range. These vocal cord adjustments produce resonance shifts in our body which makes them hard to sing through easily.  Our knowledge of the best use of the voice and the efficacy of our exercises has been supported with the 20th century invention of strobescopy that has allowed us to observe the vocal cords in the Larynx while they are at work.

In many cases, SLS rehabilitates vocal damage, caused by poor teaching or years of abuse that could otherwise limit or end a career, or even require continual medical intervention.  SLS training will improve your voice allowing you to sing safely with greater range.  The technique we teach is endorsed by many Ear Nose and Throat Doctors (ENTs).

Speech Level Singing is what vocalists as diverse as Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Kelly Clarkson, Linkin Park, Frankie Valli, Bette Midler, Rain, Phillip Web, James Ingram, and Regina Spektor all have in common, and now it is available to you!

 Meet Your Instructor                                                                                                                        

Hi, I'm Daniel, and welcome to Bridgetown Vocal!  I love to teach singing esecially when I learned how liberating it can be to train the voice with SLS.  I used to be a floundering vocalist myself, I grew up training as a musician in piano, cello, voice and other instruments.  Vocally, I sang in professional choirs, competitions, and eventually sang my way into a Music Composition program at McGill University's music conservatory in Montreal Quebec.  I was trained classically with my voice in one of the top music schools on the continent, yet I walked away from that program being frustrated with the results, hating voice lessons, and not being happy with my singing.  I felt that what I learned was useless when I tried to sing non-classical styles of music like jazz pop and rock.  I didn't know what to do, but I was certain I wasn't meant to give up singing because I knew I had what it takes to sing. 

Still, I was frustrated and took to the usual advice to try damaging my voice to give it some edge.  I found that all I was doing was damaging my voice and not sounding better.  Then I stumbled upon the information that there were voice teachers who worked with my favorite singers like Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson,among others, and I looked deeper to find that what was behind them was Speech Level Singing and its founder Seth Riggs.  I also noticed that there was a certification program to train teachers and signed up because I was already teaching singing lessons (even though my lessons before discovering SLS were just the same vocal misinformation that plagues most voice teachers and voice schools).  After my first lesson studying under SLS master teacher Spencer Welch I found myself singing the way i wanted to.  The change started happening immediately and I realized this is what I had always dreamed voice lessons could be like (and I had studied with many different teachers before).  That there was concrete information and effective personalized exercises surrounding the training of a voice was completely unusual to me.  Here, my teacher could explain the reasons I was frustrated with my voice in my music and showed me exercises that immediately started working and I could feel it.  It was, and still is, incredibly exciting to discover your real potential!

Fast forward to 2011 and I have been a certified teacher in Speech level Singing who has worked with hundreds of voices in Portland and across the country.  I have a band that has released our EP and is about to release our first full-length studio album (set for release in March, 2012).  We play a combination of Soul, Rock, and Pop and I do the songwriting, lead vocals and keyboards/guitars.  I have years of experience in leading bands, performing on stage, studio recording/production, booking, publicity/promotion and more that helps me help you along on your way as a musician.  I have done vocal production on some client's recordings and do session vocals for backup parts as well.

Outside the scope of music I teach Skiing (11+ years of that) as a nationally certified Ski instructor, play whitewater sports (I usd to be a whitewater rafting guide), and explore the potential of this life.  I hold a BA in psychology, which helps people overcome their fears of singing.  I am also a breathworker (unrelated to singing), and I love to cook and check out local music.  Teaching has always been my passion and I have had a knack for it since I was young.  I am a transplant to the Northwest, originally from upstate New York, so i like exploring my surroundings. 

I am openminded--accepting of different lifestyles, orientations, religious backgrounds, and differing levels of ability and confidence.  I am very professional, confidential, and reliable with my clients.  I try to absorb as much information as I can and pass it on to my students.  I love learning from my students--it helps me be a great teacher!  I look forward to singing with you.