“Sing your way to the top” 

Bulgarian Scholarship winner Zlatka Dimitrova has just started the One Year Diploma
course at Vocaltech and is having a great time (you can check out her diary here
over the next year).  Zlatka shares her experience of our most recent master class
with Sharleen Linton on 16th October.

On the third week at Vocaltech, I attended the first master class for vocals. The woman I
had the honour of meeting was Sharleen Linton – a very successful backing vocalist and
session singer of the past 4 years. The extensive list of artists she has worked with
include; Natasha Bedingfield, Craig David, Beverley Knight, John Legend, Westlife and Il
Divo!

To start, there was a quick overview of her biography, including gospel choirs, session
work and projects with the biggest names in the pop industry nowadays. Next, Sharleen
introduced us to the topic of the master class: “Sing your way to the top”, she told us
many of the things that she has learned through the years of trying to find her own place
in the industry. This master class had a real practical meaning and made not only me,
but all of the vocalists, to start thinking more about the things that we may have not
considered before, such as - what makes us unique and different from others artists?

Sharleen then made a presentation of many important points; qualities required for a
good session singer; tips about what kind of people succeed in the industry; classifying
the essential vocal skills; a review of the right attitude that one singer should have to
themselves; career strategies; making publicity packs and using online music forums.

A really interesting and vital part of the exchanges between Sharleen and the audience
was the right opinion that one singer should have about his or her skills. As she said, all
of us should be confident, bold and should stand up for ourselves. She made a little quiz
asking every one of us which of our qualities we find really distinctive from the others.

When trying to work out how she could find her own way to the top, Sharleen Linton has
passed many challenges and learned the importance of image and the way you look.
She told us that people appraise your appearance within 3 seconds of meeting you.
That’s why it is really essential for a singer to seriously think about the message they
are sending by the way she/he dresses, looks and even prepares make-up.

Another important topic of the discussion was the importance of our communication
skills. She shared with us situations where she had been tired and not willing to go to
important concerts and gigs, places where she could meet important people. In these
situations, she pushed herself into doing it and this was her advice to us – never to
avoid or refuse to go to these important events, where we can network with people who
can help us with our careers, even if we don’t always feel like going. Networking as she
said, “is one of the most important skills that a singer (and every other kind of musician)
should possess”. She told us: “Even if you’re shy, you have to find a way to change, in
terms of being successful in your career”.

As I mentioned earlier, Sharleen Linton started her career in gospel choirs, that is why
she recommended them as an option for the beginning of a successful career. She
spoke about the gospel roots and the emotional side of this style, which helps us a lot to
develop our singing and musician skills. Requiring certain disciplines, aural skills and
blending, gospel singing can make us stronger and confident and give us basic
experience in the industry, where we can start from the bottom and climb to the top
.

In addition to being a successful session singer and backing vocalist, Sharleen also
has good teaching experience. She demonstrated some practical breathing exercises
and emphasised this within our vocal skills - once you can use your breathing
mechanism right, you already know the most important part of singing.

Another important topic of discussion was the rights that every singer has and has
always to stand for. She advised us never to break our own principles and never to forget
how important it is building our own team of people around us; manager, producer and
lawyer.

At the end of this rewarding vocal clinic, we sang one gospel song: “Glory Hallelujah”.
She invited all of us on the stage so that we could really feel like a gospel choir!

Her final words were confident and really inspiring: it’s hard to be a successful singer,
but if you really want this, you need to work hard and be ready to dedicate all of your time
into doing it, it is completely achievable.

By Zlatka Dimitrova
Vocaltech, 1 Year Diploma Student

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