Vocal Points: Austin Renfroe Proves Practice Makes Perfect
posted in: Pop
While OurStage artist Austin Renfroe hasn’t been singing his whole life, he’s been making up for lost time since deciding to pursue a musical career. With the help of a voice coach, hours and hours of practice and a whole lot of natural talent, Austin is proving to the world that he is a force to be reckoned with. He really seems to understand when elaborate vocal embellishments should be added to his well-crafted songs, and when straight, simple singing is most effective.
Austin shared with us some of the ways that he’s learned (and is still learning) to utilize every aspect of his voice through training, and we want to share his story with you!
OS: At what age did you begin singing? How did you become interested?
AR: I started singing when I was seventeen. I heard an album by an artist named Matt Wertz and I remember thinking “That’s what I want to do”.
OS: How was your voice matured since you began singing?
AR: My voice has come a very, very long way. The things that jump out at me the most are my range. I went from 2 1/3 octaves to 4 1/3. My voice also has gained character. I didn’t know how to utilize the many different tools that my voice was capable of until the last year and a half. The deep and rich tones are definitely another way to hear the maturation of my voice. It all kind of expands out of the growth in my range.
OS: How often do you meet with your voice coach, or work on your voice alone? Would you like to share any vocal warm-ups or exercises which have been particularly effective?
AR: In the beginning, I would sing along to bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Eagles. I was introduced to Jan Smith when I was twenty-one and began meeting with her two (times) a month for about a year. During that time, I was spending anywhere from two to three hours singing every day. I would work on whatever it was that she gave me to work on. Mainly consisted of intervals, vocal positioning and breathing exercises. All of which are far too complicated to describe in writing (at least for me).
OS: Of all your songs, which do you feel is the most challenging vocally? Which is the most fun?
AR: “Honesty” is most definitely the most challenging of all the songs. There are so many textures and specific melodies, as well as scaling 2 octaves throughout the song and giving no room to breathe… it’s a pain to do live if I’m not in good vocal shape. The most fun song is “Can’t Bring Us Down”. It allows me to have the freedom to move around doing vocal runs and using as many coloring textures as I would like. I am always excited to perform that song.
OS: Is there anything you feel you could still improve on when it comes to your voice?
AR: Absolutely. I got a really late start with singing, so I’m constantly playing catch up. Intervals are such a huge part of singing (I’d say 80%, if not more than that) and I’m still working on those. The other that I’m working on right now is the called the switch, or the break. It’s the spot in your voice where you change over from full voice, also called chest voice, to your falsetto, also called your head voice. I’m trying to make the transition seamless so that I can transition better in and out of vocal runs.
OS: What’s the most rewarding experience you’ve had vocally?
AR: I recently performed on SiriusXM’s Cosmo Radio show Cocktails With Patrick. I performed “Can’t Bring Us Down” live on air, and the response from the listening audience was amazing. I knew that I had done really well, but I didn’t expect people to respond so positively.
OS: Is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
AR: I spend hours at a piano working on intervals. One of my secret weapons is a Web site called Good-Ear.com. It’s many different types of ear training exercises that every singer should work on. I also spend hours listening to great vocalists. Ones that aren’t in my genre… just great vocalists. That’s another reason why I’ve grown so much in the past three years.
Check out Austin’s music on OurStage Today!