TOTAL ARTIST TOOLKIT

Welcome! Below please enjoy hours of content informed by some accomplished lifetimes making music. Learn from a #1 writer and multi-platinum artist, a platinum lyricist and charting jazz artist, an artist manager and CEO, and an accomplished vocal performance coach. All assembled to help you find and trust your voice as writer or artist and build and connect with an audience.

THE ART OF THE SONG, WITH #1 WRITER / MULTI-PLATINUM ARTIST MATT SCANNELL of VERTICAL HORIZON 

How many times has a song come to you in a dream and you were sure you'd remember it, so you rolled over and went back to sleep--only to wake to find it gone with the morning light?

When that happened to my friend Matt Scannell of Vertical Horizon, he got up. He got the song down. That song, "Everything You Want," became the #1 song on the Billboard charts the following Summer. It was the most played song on all radio formats that year. And Billboard named it one of the Top 50 Adult Radio Hits of All-Time.

The multi-platinum artist joined me for an open Zoom conversation on Wednesday 6/10/20 to talk about songs, guitar, being an artist, and so much more. He even played some of his songs.

This is not a conversation about the historic moment we are in. But I hope it will be one that reminds us all to keep working at how we attend to the important ideas that keep us up at night.

Here's wishing you all strength and safety where you are.
  - Rob Seals

HOW TO WRITE STRONGER LYRICS, with Platinum Writer MARK WINKLER

I love great lyrics. And I love talking to great songwriters about how they write theirs. I was excited to talk with Platinum Writer Mark Winkler as we discussed Writing Stronger Lyrics.  I had questions for Mark. The nearly 95 songwriters in attendance had questions for Mark. He fielded our questions with thoughtful, personal, specific examples. We looked at a couple of songs. It was an inspiring and informative night.

HOW TO BUILD YOUR AUDIENCE IN A QUARANTINE-AFFECTED MARKET, with 3T Ent CEO GAELEN WHITTEMORE

Gaelen Whittemore has been equipping artists to navigate the digital landscape for nearly 8 years here in his Your Modern Mindset class. As artist manager and CEO of 3T Entertainment, he is both steering careers of established artists like Too Short and recently signed to Empire Records IYLA. Here he guides you in essential principles to create your brand and build an audience in the pandemic world we live in right now.

HOW TO CREATE AUTHENTIC PERFORMANCES ON DIGITAL MEDIA, with Vocal Coach JOY GRAYSEN

Joy Graysen has helped scores of singers and artists make meaningful connections to their own power, their material, and their audiences, from American Idol and Voice Finalists to those tackling their first open mics. In this free interactive Zoom workshop, she helps you find your power and Create Authentic Performances on Digital Media.

She teaches an empowering 6-wk class over Zoom: How to Conquer Stage Fright and Master the Art of Performance. To connect with Joy for private lessons, be sure to request that HERE.

THE BEATLES FOR GUITAR: A SONGWRITING MASTERCLASS , with BILL LaFLEUR

They wrote the songs that changed music. In this informative and informal 90-minute Zoom workshop, Bill LaFleur examines the harmony-melody strategies and styles of John Lennon in "Strawberry Fields" and of Paul McCartney in "Penny Lane." 

Watch the video and download the handout as our guest--Bill's own notes about the songs, a theory lesson, and his transcriptions. Included is a guitar arrangement for "Penny Lane" (a song written for piano). 

THE BEATLES FOR GUITAR - (will open in a new window)

He gives a glimpse of the riches he'll impart in his 6-week online class The Beatles for Guitar, available fully interactive in real-time on Zoom, and on-demand.