Blair Clark’s Carmel School Helps Singers Sharpen Skills & Shine on Stage
Blair Clark has worn many hats throughout his career: singer, songwriter, producer, coach and business owner. He’s toured in Europe, worked in Los Angeles, Chicago and Indianapolis, and now serves as president and owner of the Voice and Performance School in Carmel.
Clark has had a lifelong passion for music and teaching, having been a vocal coach for more than 25 years. He is also the founder and artistic director of the Carmel Jazz Fest, a 501(c)(3) committed to spotlighting and educating emerging and upcoming artists.
He started his own business, Coach Blair’s Voice and Performance Studio, and later transitioned to the Voice and Performance School. He chose Carmel because he wanted a strong education system in which to raise his children. Clark enjoys having his home in the Midwest while flying to Los Angeles or Nashville for producing and performing — or helping his students make networking connections and record their first albums.
“When I’m not coaching, I’m producing. When I’m not producing, I’m performing,” he says. “And when I’m not performing, I’m trying to sleep.
“Carmel has grown and grown. This was a good place to grow my business. There was a musical energy here that was very conducive to starting a school.”
The school currently has four teachers, but it has the capacity for five. Each teacher focuses on different student levels.
“All of our instructors are professional musicians who perform as well as teach,” Clark says. “We screen everyone who comes in as an instructor. They’ve been out there on the road before, they’re performing currently. It’s hard to teach something you’re not doing.”
The school offers trial lessons for potential students to see if the program fits their needs, and for teachers to determine where to place them.
“We want to put them somewhere they can thrive, and they can move from level to level,” Clark adds. “They might have a good voice but they can’t hear a pitch, or their pitch is good but their breath control isn’t.”
Clark teaches the more advanced students and those aiming to perform professionally.
“What sets us apart from School of Rock, Bach to Rock or the other organizations is that we are a one-stop shop,” he says. “Our primary opportunity is vocal performance: show choir, musical theater, professional vocalists and those who want to learn how to accompany themselves with instruments.”
The school also teaches bass, guitar and piano, and it has a recording studio and practice rooms for rent. Students can bring their whole bands to rehearse, or record their music.
“We focus our attention on providing everything a vocalist needs, from beginner or intermediate to professional,” Clark says. “It’s very competitive. No matter how well you sing or how good your God-given gift is, it’s important to learn the techniques of voice placement and all the mechanics that go into not only getting you where you want to go but keeping you sharp so you don’t lose your edge.”
His students range in age from 8 to 80, and he says he will coach someone as long as they want to take lessons. Some students have been with him from the time they learned to ride a bike to the time they learned to drive.
“We get a lot of adult professionals who were in a band or a choir when they were younger but stopped to get married or follow their career,” he says. “We have everything from music ministers to CEOs, doctors and lawyers.”
Clark clarifies that there is more to being a vocalist than simply singing.
“The body is the instrument,” he says. “People think of just the voice, but there’s ear training. You have to be able to hear the pitch. There’s breath control — when and how to breathe, diaphragmatic breathing and where to get your breath. You have to learn projection, broadening your range, singing a wider scale. From a performance perspective, it’s hand gestures, facial expressions, body movement, and those tie in with your voice. There has to be a storyteller in the vocalist. Every story has an ebb and a flow. Range, placement and articulation are important. All of those things come together to make the body the instrument.
“We can take anybody and take them to another level,” Clark adds. “If they just can’t hear a pitch, we can make some improvements, but it’s kind of like Michael Jordan. If God’s already blessed them with a gift, you can sharpen that gift and make it better. They’re going from a 10 to a 15, instead of a 5 to a 6. We’re the difference between McDonald’s and Prime 47. I want to prepare you for your next step in your musical journey.”
As the artistic director and founder of the Carmel Jazz Fest, Clark gives students opportunities to perform live in a series of pop-up concerts and other community events.
“The idea is we can take them, find out what they need, and help them fulfill their goals,” he says. “However long that takes, that’s how long we commit to that. Then they go off and conquer the world.”
The Voice Performance School is located at 154 Medical Drive, Suite 170 in Carmel. More information can be found at voiceandperformanceschool.com or by calling 317-447-9872. Find more about the Carmel Jazz Fest at carmeljazzfest.org.
