DS Vocology LLC is a singer education organization with product lines including the VocalizeU singer training software, VocalizeU artist retreats and other educational events, a mentoring network, and in the near future, the vocalist fitness program VUFit, vocalist tea, and vocalist dietary supplements. The company was founded in 2010 by Dave Stroud, who was previously the CEO of Speech Level Singing, and a driving force behind the Vocology in Practice network of voice teachers.

Well known students and users of DS Vocology products include Ben Folds, Mike Posner, Natasha Bedingfield, Sara Bareilles, Great Big World, the Pentatonix, and many others.

Central to the D.S. Vocology approach is a goal-oriented approach, reverse-engineering strategies based on the desired vocal approach. The network of mentors that teach in the organization vary in methodology and style (including popular/commercial and classical genres), but matches students with teachers who can bring them their desired results. Various product lines are coordinated to address the needs of the students, whether the student needs vocal coaching, a practice regimen, business guidance, industry contacts, production assistance, a fitness program, and so forth.

The “DS Vocology” label comes from founder Dave Stroud’s initials, combined with “vocology,” a term coined by Ingo Titze and Prof. George Gates to mean “science and practice of vocal habilitation—that is, the development of vocal capacity to achieve specific goals.

The emphasis of the VU “Student Centered Learning” approach balances each singer’s unique personality, character, and style of interest with technical voice training. There is an orientation towards understanding scientifically and physiologically what the vocal requirements are to achieve each student’s particular artistic goals, and developing precise approaches to meet those demands healthfully. Besides various musical methodologies, it can also include what are more commonly used as medical-based technologies, such as stroboscopic imaging, to help students understand their vocal mechanisms and identify technical problems.

Coordinating the various product offerings is an app called VocalizeU, available on computers and handheld devices. It includes:

• musician tools, such as an electronic tuner, metronome, recorder, and virtual piano
• automated voice evaluation tools, leading to prescribed vocal exercises
• tools for warming up your voice, and exercises for developing technique
• mechanism for connecting with live, remote teachers called VIP (Vocology in Practice) Experts, for additional fees; collectively, the certified teachers belong to the VocalizeU Teacher Network
• recommended library of vocal technique books

DS Vocology teachers focus on multiple dimensions of artist training: Vocal Registration, Musicianship, Ethics, Artful Teaching, and Business.

Live workshops, camps, and retreats for vocalists and songwriters a given several times per year at varying locations, primarily around the U.S. but also internationally. Recurring locations have been a Summer Artists Intensive at Mount St. Mary’s College in Los Angeles and a Winter Songwriting Retreat in the San Bernadino Mountains. Additional VocalizeU events have taken place in Nashville, Hollywood, and Japan, Korea, and Mexico.

The culture of VocalizeU events is strongly health conscious, upbeat, and mutually supportive within the community. There are typically student performances every night. Musical studies are supplemented with impromptu aerobic exercises, yoga, and meditation sessions. The core group of vocal and songwriting instructors is often joined by music industry experts in related fields and by celebrity artists; past presenters have been James Ingram, Chaka Kahn, Ben Folds, Jordin Sparks, Pat Leonard, and Dan Wilson.

 

Interview with Dave Stroud, President and CEO of DS Vocology, LLC. 

Jonathan: What is unique about DS Vocology?

Dave: When someone decides to enter the entertainment business, there is no “how to” manual. With pretty much every other industry professional, whether it’s an accountant, an attorney or a doctor, there is a clear pathway to success. Take this class, pass this test, and get hired by this company. In singing, or entertainment, that pathway is not always as clear. Our goal at DS Vocology is to provide a place for singers to not only develop the skills necessary, but connect them with products, classes, events, mentorships, and industry opportunities that will help clearly define their pathway to success. 

DS Vocology was developed by singers, for singers. We’re not a single-minded entity but rather a gathering place of great minds from around the globe where singers can develop the skills, resources and relationships necessary to become whomever they see themselves as.

We embrace differences in approach to, songwriting, vocal technique, style development or any other aspect of developing a creative being.

Our mantra is “Giving Everyone a Voice.” We truly mean “everyone,” not just everyone who agrees or believes the way we do, but giving everyone a voice. I truly believe there’s no one person or method that has all the answers, and we want to be able to provide for singers from all walks of life and schools of thought.

Every decision we make, we make with the idea that it’s great for singers. Every choice we make as a company, who we bring in for our events, who we do a bundle deal in the software with, or any other area—is always a decision of what’s in the best interest of a our signers. 

What does the learning process look like at DS Vocology?

We believe in “Student Centered Learning,” which is the idea that a singer knows best who they want to be and where they want to go, even though they might not know it yet. Our job as mentors is to help them clarify their goals so that we can give them the exact steps it takes to find their success. Singers will often say, “I want to be a successful singer” without a clear definition of what that means, what it looks like, or how to get there. 

Billy Mann spoke at our last Winter Retreat and explained it in two genius and simple formulas: A + B = ? A is where the singer is currently in their career, B equals random choices singers often make to better their career, and the ? is the hopes that they’re now at a better place than their current situation. Instead, Billy says to try this... A + X = PDO. First define your PDO (Pre-Determined Outcome). Clearly define what sort of fantastical life you want to be living. This is the fun part. What do you want your life to look like? Do you want to be on a tour bus? Do you want to be a session singer? A background singer? A super star? What does your fantasy life look like? Don’t be afraid to dream big. Then work backwards to A via X. Again, A is where you are now, and X is the very specific steps you need to take to accomplish your PDO.

At VU, our goal is to help a singer understand A. Where they are in the big scheme of things. Then, what is the fantastical life they want to live with music, and then through our events, software, instructor network, and others, help them build X as a way of daily living. They achieve their PDO because they begin to live a daily system and routine that gives them the outcome they dream about.

In student centered learning, there is also a very important process of helping a singer with both what is important to them and what is important for them. This process fits into the aforementioned formulas through understanding the student on a deeper level. I liken this process to helping a child at dinner time. What’s important to them is the yummy desert but what’s important for them is the spinach. The goal to get to yummy desert happens after the eating the healthy spinach. A singer may not want to practice every day but that’s how you become a great musician.

How is practicing with the app better than practicing with just a piano?

The App is designed to keep the singer focused on the vocal development process. I think playing with any instrument is very important, but I am also a fan of separating the processes. When there are vocal issues to work through, only focusing on the vocal training means that particular issue can be resolved quicker by having focused practicing on the micro, rather than the macro. Sort of along the lines of "The Talent Code." However, once that particular issue has become a second nature/easier process, then adding a larger view back into the training is important. This is also why I separate the ear training from the vocal development training. I don't encourage a singer to try to learn a melodic inor or a Dorian scale at the same time they are trying to balance the thyroidarytnoid with the cricothyroid hand-off. They both require concentration and are better accomplished when separated. 

What are the most common problems that singers struggle with?

Singers generally struggle with two issues: one creative and one technical.

The creative one is the struggle to find uniqueness and individuality—which, by the way, is the most important one. The reason singers “make it” is that they find their space in the competitive grid, and they are smart enough to keep reinforcing that sound and image. This is a lot easier than it sounds, and it takes a good team to get this right. ?I have worked with many, many talented singers who never made a significant mark on the business side, due to the fact that they were just another great singer. This is also the trap many parents get caught in. They hear their young child begin to sing and are amazed that their kid can sing like they can. They assume, because they have such great voices, that their kids will therefore somehow make it.

Here’s the even bigger truth to this: If one has a really unique voice, he or she can have a much lower standard of a “good voice,” and still be more likely to make it.

The second problem is technical. This is the one that shows up when a singer tries to ascend or descend throughout their range. It’s that crazy change from one register to the other that can either create strain or a break in the voice if it is not developed properly. I call this a “bridge” in the voice, because it really is just bridging the chest voice to the head voice. This is a process where a dominant group of muscles give up to a different group of muscles that then become dominant. The magic of VocalizeU vocal software is that the workouts are designed to eliminate the struggle in that area via the vocal assessment process. There are generally three different ways singers approach this area and VU detects the problem and assigns a workout to smooth out the process for them.

Could you share an insight that you give to your students that routinely leads to significant breakthroughs? 

The biggest piece of insight I have to offer my students is this: How are you living your day-to-day life? The most significant breakthroughs happen because I see students begin to live their lives differently. They structure their days effectively and they place themselves in a position to receive the inspiration and then be able to do something with it. I could list name after name after name of people I have worked with, that most of your readers would know, and I can say they live a very specific way of life that makes it easier for them to become and stay successful. 

They create a system. Their days are structured and they lock out time for each piece of what they need to develop. Songwriting, piano practice, voice practice, reading all sorts of creative books, and, believe it or not, physical fitness all become part of a daily system they truly live by. Within a few weeks of living like this, I see huge transformations taking place. They become very powerful creative beings. 

 

[Author’s Disclosure Note from Jonathan Feist: I have presented at a number of VocalizeU events as a VIP mentor, discussing music project management. I was struck by the culture I found there of mutual support and the energy of dynamic learning, which is why I was moved to write this article. I have not received compensation of any sort from them in exchange for this piece, and they did not have content oversight, though they did review it for factual accuracy.]