It's time to make a record.

Are your vocals ready?

First, I know you're wondering:

What’s the difference between a producer and a vocal producer? Do I really need both?

You probably think of your producer as the person who arranges your music, hires musicians, and basically manages your whole project. The word “producer” has gone through a transformation along with the music industry these last several years, so it can mean anything from the person doing literally everything from the extra bedroom in their house to the ones running projects that cost in the tens of thousands in state of the art studios for major label artists.

In either case, they are the ones who help you bring your vision of your music to life.

A vocal producer, then, is the same thing, but with a pinpoint focus on the vocals.

A vocal producer understands singing deeply. Everything from healthy vocal technique, tones and textures, phrasing, diction, harmonies, and more.

A vocal producer’s job is to help the artist deliver interesting, honest performances that will connect with listeners through their speakers, arrange background vocals that support the melody and the lyric, and overall make sure that there’s not a single boring thing coming out of your mouth.

Do you need both?

If you’re not sure, that’s cool!
We can hop on a call to talk it through.

Hey! It’s me again.
Or maybe you’re here for the first time.

Real quick,

I'm Courtney.

I’m a singer turned songwriter turned vocal coach turned recording artist turned vocal producer.

I love literally everything about
SINGING and MAKING. RECORDS.
and I am here to help you sing on records you can’t wait to scream about from the rooftops.

I am here to help you realize your
vision for your song.

If you’re here it’s because you’ve got plans to release music in the near future, and you want to get the absolute most out of the investment you’re making in yourself and your music.

EEEEE!

I just want to squeeze you because nothing excites me more than artists taking control, making music, and bravely releasing it into the world.

It comes down to this.

You want your listeners to be

🎤happy,
🎤sad,
🎤surprised,
🎤delighted,
🎤nostalgic,
🎤interested,
🎤entertained.

Anything but bored.

Not for one single second.

That's where I come in.

I have a one of a kind process for prepping artists for the studio based on my years as a singer, vocal coach, my brief stint as a musical theater actor in college, and even what I’ve learned over the years about effective songwriting.

I‘ve had artists tell me they didn’t truly understand their own songs until they went through the vocal production process with me, and the differences between their demos and masters final records prove it.

I don't change your songs.

I MAKE THEM SPARKLE.

Your hooks get hookier.

No disrespect to Queen Dolly, but there’s a reason Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” blew the hell up. It wasn’t the hook itself, it was how she sang it. Dolly agrees.

Your listeners feel connected to you.

You actually don’t have to be a vocal virtuoso like Whitney if you know how to connect emotionally with your lyrics when it counts. Bob Dylan agrees.

You deliver the absolute best vocal performance you're capable of.

Hit the high notes. Get that vibrato. Be brave enough to go gritty. The vision you have is possible with the right guidance and encouragement. Work with me and you’ll agree.

This is the stuff that makes your music

MEMORABLE.

When people remember you, they come back for more.

When people remember you, they keep listening, day after day, week after week, year after year.

And when you put in the best performances of your life, you can still be proud of the work you did when someone tells you ten years down the line that they love your song and can’t imagine that one time in their life without it.

How the VOCAL PRODUCTION Process Works

Together we explore what vocal foundations are needed to deliver a strong performance. Areas we might focus on are:

1. Expanding range
2. Releasing tension
3. Breath management
4. Developing tones or textures needed for your artistic expression

You’ll get a practice plan that supports the development of the specific song you’re recording, with the goal of helping you feel strong, confident, and consistent when you step up to the mic.

Come with your lyric sheet ready to be vulnerable. We will explore:

Every line of the lyric and what it means to you.
What’s unsaid in the lyric, including character back story, setting, and more.
You’ll get a new practice plan with exercises designed to connect your body to the emotional space needed to deliver an honest performance.

Take your strong vocal foundation and find out how filtering it through a potent emotional headspace changes the performance. We will:

Let the emotional arc of your vocal performance scuplt the dynamic arc of the song.
Use diction and articulation to drive home the most important points, and spice up places that need some extra interest.
Make multiple choices to try in the studio so we can stay flexible and open to the moment.

Let’s make a memorable AF record. I will:

Warm you up specific to your song
Serve as a translator between you and your producer
Help you get into and stay in the headspace you need to deliver an authentic performance
Tackle any technique issues that arise
Listen for any new shiny golden nuggets that appear so we can lean into them
Time allowing, I can stick around to help you comp all of your vocal takes into one amazing performance.

Time allowing, we can create background vocals in real time in the studio.

If the full day is used to track the lead vocal, a background vocal session can be added at your discretion for an additonal fee.

Background vocals might include:

Harmonies
Duet-like call and response
Voice as effects
Being your own choir
Ad libs

Background vocals support the lead by amplifying the emotional arc and making sure you never lose your listener’s interest. No boring music. Not one single second.

Still not sure?

If you’re still wondering if hiring a vocal producer (me, of course!) is right for you,
here are some really good reasons you might decide to invest in a little extra help:

You are brand new to recording and want to make the most of your investment (and make an AMAZING debut!)

You love your producer but feel like you could be turning in better vocal performances.

You self-produce your records but are never thrilled with your own vocals.

Your vocals always sound fine but don’t seem to have that spark you love to hear from your favorite artists.

You feel like you always sing better on stage than in the vocal booth.

You know you want your music to connect with everyone who hears it, and you know the vocal is the heart of the song.

Just because you can do it alone doesn't mean you have to.

I get that you’re an artist.

I get that you have a vision.

And if you’re anything like me, you have a really hard time giving any amount of control up when the end product has your name on it.

But because I make music as an artist myself, you can trust that I get that.

Hiring me doesn’t mean I take over.

It doesn’t mean I have the final say.

It means that you get a vocal expert with a lifetime of music education and experience behind her, ready to collaborate, make suggestions, have fun, and step back when it’s time.

I’m here to guide you. To give you ideas. To respect YOUR artistry and encourage YOU to make the decisions you feel strongly about.

I will be your biggest champion and defender of your goals.

I will help you make a record you're PROUD of.

We Are Living In a Single World, So I Price by the Single, Girl*

*Will you forgive me for butchering this Madonna lyric? I couldn't help myself.

*Everyone is welcome here, but you know, I needed a word that rhymed with "world."

*If you've got a bigger project, let's still talk.
Project pricing is different but will work out in your favor. I'll swear it on a box of Samoas.

$250

Includes 3 hour long sessions focusing on vocal technique, emotional connection, and synthesis.

$500

Includes everything provided in pre-production, plus up to 6 hours in the studio (must be a Nashville-area studio).

$500-750

Includes everything from lead production, plus background vocal arrangement. Price depends on whether BGVs can be tracked during the initial 6 hour session or more time is needed, whether you hire additional singers, and whether I spend time outside the studio writing and arranging parts. Your full investment will never be more than $750.

Don't take my word for it, but I get results:

As an artist, I want people to feel things when they hear my music. But sometimes we artists write these heartfelt, emotional songs and then play them a thousand times and they get old. We become numb to our own message. We slowly forget the flood of emotions we were experiencing as we first created them. Courtney sat with me and we dug into this song. Word. By. Word. She turned the song inside out with me and together we shook the lyrics up like a snow globe and knocked every forgotten emotion loose again. And then she helped me connect that to my voice in the studio. Feeling the sadness, the hope, the frustration, the passion, and the determination in these lyrics coming to fruition in my voice was the most incredible thing to experience.

David Young, Americana Artist

Courtney’s guidance, without exaggeration, completely transformed a pretty good song into easily one of the best on an 11 song album. She coaxed a vocal out of the artist that we would not have found without her. She journeyed all the way into the heart of the song with her client, channeling the message and emotions along with him. She was far more interested in arriving at the right vocal for the song than adhering to any technical rules. That vocal went on to dramatically impact how we tracked lead guitar and mixed the song.

Kevin Grenier, Owner/Engineer at Hidden Creek Music

I loved how we worked together to find an emotional meaning in my lyrics and used that to give the recording so much more depth. Also, when I had trouble or a question while recording, Courtney helped me resolve it, which led to an incredibly smooth and fun recording experience.

Claire Dall, Pop Artist

This is how I feel about vocal producing your record. Over-the-moon silly/excited.

And I appreciate you considering working with me and I’m ridiculously grateful you took the time to make it this far. When you book a call with me, there’s no pressure. Yeah, I want to work with you. Of course I do! But I’m going to answer your questions and give you the space to make your decision. No pushy nonsense here. We good? Cool.