Pinks Mag 003

WEBBERONBAKER
Singer & Vocal Coach Helena Webber
talks about one of her idol's, musician
and tutor Howard Baker.
ARTICLE BY HELENA WEBBER
Being a vocal coach Singer / Songw rit er
have given m e t he opport unit y t o m eet
a lot of very Talent ed people from t he
w orld of Music and Ent ert ainm ent ..and
around 10 Years ago I had a Vocal
Consult at ion w it h an out st anding
Singer / Songw rit er from t he Nort h East
called HOWARD BAKER
In his Native North East and also
Internationaly , amongst many other
acheivments Reaching No One in the word
Wide Blues Charts has brought him Fame
and recognition In Britain France and
America . Howards career Spans over
Decades .. The Secret to his Ongoing
succsses is He never Stands still always
moving forward continuing to write and
Record new Material and Taking on New
Musical Progects ..When you speak to him
about His Talent He Just Says
"It's what I do" just Amazing !! Hes forever
Being offered new projects .. One leading
agent from the North East quoted to me
we will be lucky to get Howard Baker for
the night i think that says it all ... I could
write a Book on Howard Bakers Career.
Maybe at some point i will .
Howard Came from A mining family and
spent 18 Months Down the Mine , He left
home at 16 Joined the Navy and went to
sea for 6 years .in that time He taught
Himself to Play guitar he had a few
musical people in his Family. He went on
to do Busking in Hawaii, Austria and Brazil.
At 22 he decided to go for a professional
career in Music and began writing lyrics
and making plans to launch His career and
At the age of 24 Years he performed at his
first gig which took place in his Native
North East. By 1972 he had become a
highly sought after Artist. His Musical
Influences Include Paul Rogers, Andrea
Bocelli, and Little Richard, a very Eclectic
Mix of Genres which has gone into
Howard's hugely versatile voice .
He told me he believes no Matter how
good a natural Singer is they Must have
some Vocal Training to show the voice at
its best .. When i first heard him sing my
comments included his excellent use of
vowels and vocal placement which he uses
to his full advantage. Howard knows the
importance of doing warm ups before a
show and never fails to do them ... A note
for all singers !! He told me he always
Starts practicing in low key Songs and
them Moves out of his comfort range. He
believes that every singer needs a mentor
or someone to motivate them; I totally
agree with him. As, being a mentor to my
singing students, has been a hugely
important part of my work.
Howard recommends every up and
coming singer to watch professional
artists at work; and interestingly said to
include Opera singers who have huge
demands on the voice and how crucial it is
to use correct posture and voice control
and highly efficient breathing to power,
project and protect the voice.