The music industry is packed with talented, behind-the-scenes individuals that few music fans ever really get to know about and yet their work is of paramount importance to the career of many of the bands and artists we know and love. One such individual is Kathleen Riggs, a renowned vocal coach whose unique vocal technique has helped the likes of Ozzy Osbourne and Dua Lipa, as well as many others. PopWrapped caught up with Kathleen to learn more about her own artistic/musical background, the greatest compliment she’s received as a result of or from her work and her thoughts on the part she’ll play in the future of the business.
When did you first realize you had a talent for singing and/or teaching others to do so, and was it always your plan to go into the profession as you have? Did you ever consider a professional singing career yourself or are you happy to be more “behind the scenes” as it were?
I realized I had a talent for singing when I was very young, about seven or eight years old. Singing has always come very naturally to me and it’s always been a passion of mine. I could emulate my favorite singers so I knew I had something worthwhile. I sang on pitch and had a natural vibrato. I would line up all of my stuffed animals in my bedroom and sing to them night after night. My mother, my father and my six brothers and sisters would all listen at my bedroom door. I grew up around music and a slew of the world’s best singers working on their voices in our living room. I can vividly remember Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson warming up with my dad at our house. My mom was an Opera singer and my dad was a vocal coach. My dad knocked on my door when I was around that age and wanted to train me. So, I started training with him when I was about eight years old and I haven’t looked back. He always said I’ve inherited my gift from my mother and my technique from him. He’s been my only teacher.
When all of my peers in high school were filling out college applications my dad encouraged me to sit in with him, take notes, and start to teach. I was 17 when I started teaching. I didn’t think before that I would have become a teacher and especially so young. But he sent me first clients when I started and now it’s literally 21 years later of having teaching singing as my sole career. I feel very, very lucky and grateful.
It’s not that I don’t love performing but I don’t like that hustle. It takes such a drive to have a lucrative career in singing and I would rather be behind the scenes and have calm and quiet at the end of my days. I am fulfilled by using my voice to show others how to sing more efficiently. I do record music and sing live with local bands here and there when I feel like performing for fun.
What to you makes you instantly sit up and take note in terms of their voice? What does talent sound like to you? Is such a thing even able to be defined?
Hearing people sing in their authentic true voice effortlessly, on pitch with range and control makes me sit up instantly. Someone who isn’t trapped by their instrument and just allows their voice to fly, expressing what’s on their heart makes me tune in technically and emotionally. It has got to be both for me, the talent and heart. I’m able to define talent because I know what it is not. When I hear someone singing off pitch and without any control that’s not tuned into the emotional content of the song I’m instantly turned off.
You’ve worked with some pretty established names over the years including Ozzy Osbourne and Dua Lipa, but which of your clients do you most enjoy having sessions/working with, if you had to choose?
I really enjoy working with all of my clients. Young, old, experienced or not, it doesn’t matter to me if they’re A-list or just starting out as a child, I love to meet whoever it is where they’re at and start to move them forward into a better habit. It really is very fun for me. Anyone that wants to honestly get better at their singing skill who has a work ethic is who I most enjoy working with. Again, I feel very lucky to work with the clients I do, because they’re dedicated.
Which of your clients do you think has had the most progress in terms of their vocal development, and how do you think or have found that to have impacted their career?
The clients that have come in week after week and put in the work with so much discipline and drive are the ones who really reap the benefits. Whether or not they’ve “made it” is beside the point. The clients that can show up to sing the songs they want to sing, in the keys they want to sing them in night after night with confidence and clarity without their voice giving out have won.
What’s the greatest compliment you’ve received as a result of your work with someone?
The greatest compliment I’ve received as a voice teacher in my career is having clients tell me that I’ve opened up parts of their range that they never thought they’d be able to access, and access that range comfortably and confidently.
Your teaching method was first created by your father, Seth Riggs. For anyone unfamiliar with it, can you just explain what the method is and entails?
The method I’ve been trained in is a series of different vocal exercises specifically designed to build in one’s “middle” voice. There is usually a break between a person’s chest and head voice and or the habit of trying to yell from one’s lower register to higher register. So, what I do is I use certain scales to start building in the blend so that the voice is one effortless as well as connected throughout the range. After the range is evened out, we apply those principles into songs to make sure a singer can sing in songs with the same balance as he/she sings the vocal scales.
Your career has spanned more than 20 years – what do you think has been the secret to your longevity and success?
I’ve always said teaching has been good to me. I’ve never been without students. I first started with clients my dad would send me at 17 years old but little by little my name started catching fire and I was off and running with my career. I show up, I’m on time, I tell the truth, I love what I do and am very passionate about it.
People come back because they get the results and it doesn’t take much time to feel the difference. It’s a safe space to come learn and grow. I can show in my voice what I want them to do, so I not only talk the talk but I walk the walk.
As someone who has seen bands and artists come and go over the years, and seen the music industry and what people like in terms of both song and voice change considerably in some instances, how do you foresee the future of the music industry and the part you play in it?
I think I’ll always have a part to play in the music industry because I work with the talent’s voices. As long as there is a singer, I have work. Singers most of the time just sing. But unless you have good technique things will start to happen in our voices as we sing more and more often and/or grow older. Singing is a skill you have to maintain. It is a craft, something to learn the ins and outs of. As singers we have to stay in good condition just like any other athlete. There has to be consistent training even for the legends who have been around forever.
Finally then, what advice would you give to anyone perhaps looking to start singing, with the hopes to be a professional performer one day? Are there any particular tips you share with all your clients that they find to be particularly helpful?
Find a good coach who can sing in their voice where you want to sing in your voice. Someone that can show you how to sing what you want to without any strain or problem. Train weekly with a voice coach and practice your vocal warmups every day. The only ones who fail are those that quit. So, keep showing up. Go out to places that play music and meet people. Network. It’s a who knows who business. So – get in there, do the work. You deserve a seat at the table. Don’t be afraid to reach your hand out and introduce yourself. Don’t be afraid to start over. Be yourself, what you bring to the table is special. We don’t want to hear you trying to sound like anyone else but yourself. Eat clean, drink plenty of water, get your rest. As long as you stay consistent and persistent you can and will achieve your dreams.
For more information on Kathleen Riggs, visit her website or Facebook and follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
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