Katrina Mena at the Dynamix Records Launch Party - Afterlife

Check out this video of me singing "Afterlife" at the Dynamix Records Launch Party at Thee Grotto, Orlando. Lyrics to the song are below:

"Afterlife"

Verse 1

Meet me in the afterlife

Where everything, will be alright

You’ll find me in the purple skies

Gliding through the city lights

Chorus

I will look for you

I’ll fly, til I find you

I will fall into

The light

Til I find you

Verse 2

Meet me in the afterlife

Everything will be alright

In between a cloud of rain

Or inside a paper plane

Repeat Chorus

Verse 3

Meet me in the afterlife

Where everything, will be just fine

Take my hand, and show me where

Lead me up to a flight of stairs

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:

How long will time be?

How long will the world seem?

Repeat Chorus

Outro:

Meet me in the afterlife

Where everything will be alright

Meet me in the afterlife

As I fall into the light.

Afterlife.

This song was inspired by the grieving and loss of a loved one. I sincerely believe that our souls continue to move forward outside of the physical world. We are all beautiful bounds of energy and love and will continue to live again and again. As CS Lewis is attributed to saying: "You are not a soul. You are a soul. You have a body." 

I hope that this inspires you to find hope and peace in life after death. 

With love,

Katrina

Katrina Mena - Deep In Your Soul

I will be releasing my debut single "Deep In Your Soul" on March 14th on Beatport.

There comes a time when you must take a chance and just go for it. Ever since I was in high school, I started writing my own songs. I started off joining bands and collaborating with several people, mainly my dear friend Adolfo and then my buddy Barmey from college. In 2009, I wrote my first song all by myself called "Deep In Your Soul." I sent it to a friend and now several years later, it is being released through Dynamix Records, LLC. 

This release will feature several remixes of the title track "Deep In Your Soul" by GoLab and The Renegades. Also, a bonus track entitled "Afterlife" will be featured with a remix by Ian Stewart. These songs will be included in my upcoming album entitled equilibrium which will be released later this year. The concept of the album is about spirituality and inner strength... seeking balance, embracing love and creating peace. 

I am very nervous but there's no turning back now... hope you enjoy =)

"I Can't Make You Love Me" sung by Katrina Mena (Bonnie Raitt Cover)

Hello Divas!

I wanted to share with you my first cover song video! Last month I recorded one of my favorite songs at Full Sail Studios, "I Can't Make You Love Me" by Bonnie Raitt. I tried uploading the song onto soundcloud but they no longer allow users to upload cover songs. So... I made my first song video on iMovie! Its very simple, with the main purpose being to listen to my recording, so here it is:



I absolutely adore this song and when I sing these lyrics, I try to recreate a time in my life when I felt this way. It was a sad and dark time but singing this song is very therapeutic and an excellent way to purge emotions. Do you ever reflect back on particular moments when singing certain songs? I recommend you try sometime =) Thanks for listening! Katrina

The Inspiration Behind Adele's album, 21

Just the other day I was working with one of my students who was singing Adele's song, "Set Fire To The Rain" when I stumbled across this video. This track-by-track interview showcases Adele as she explains the meaning behind each of her songs from her mega successful album, 21. I had asked my student what the lyrics of "Set Fire To The Rain" meant to her and she had no idea. When she couldn't come up with an answer, I realized that I did not know what that song meant either! So.. we looked at this video instead:

I am not only posting this video because I find it both fascinating and entertaining. In fact, I am posting this video to prove a very important point. As a vocalist, it is crucial that you have an emotional connection to whatever it is that you are singing about. Before conquering a song, a connection needs to be made from the heart. We must take the time and put the effort to really dissect the meaning behind each and every word that we are singing about.

It is then, and only then, that we can truly be authentic.

Hope you enjoy! =)
Katrina

The Passaggio - The Vocal Break by Robert Lunte

As a young vocal coach, I study methods from more seasoned coaches in the industry. NATS Member Robert Lunte, who happens to be a fellow University of Miami alumni is the creator of the Vocalist Studio and ModernVocalist.com. Here is an awesome video where he explains The Passaggio (The Vocal Break) in both female and male singers:





It is important to know where your voice sits in relation to the notes on a keyboard. Robert utilizes the vocal twang to help bridge through the vocal break and shows you how to create a seamless and connected tone through the chest and head voice.

This is a great tutorial for singers looking to expand their belt range, create more beef behind their "money notes" and also help you understand what tools to use during this critical part of the voice.

I will be watching this video more than once.. so much info here!

Jaw Tension Relief for Singers

Drop your jaw and say awwwwwww! Jaw tension can be a major pain if you are a singer. I used to have some serious jaw tension during my young opera years and even though it may seem impossible to get rid of, I promise that there is a relief to jaw tension! Here are some tips that I have learned when working with my teachers and students:

• Massage your cheeks, jaw line, chin and neck before you sing. If you feel tenderness this is an indication that there is some kind of tension hiding in these muscles. Massage in circles and be gentle. Do this before you begin your vocal warmups and to help loosen you up before you sing.
• Drop and unhinge your jaw during your idle time. I call this the dummy face because I admit that you do look a little silly doing this. But if you practice "letting go" of your jaw then you will begin to get used to loosening up these muscles. Great places to drop and unhinge your jaw are when you are reading, watching TV, cooking and sitting down. 
• Drop and sigh with the vowel sound "awe" to help connect your sound to a relaxed jaw position. Do this as a part of your warmups. Doing this enough times will help your body understand how to produce sound without clenching your jaw muscles.
• Hold your chin while you are singing to keep an open mouth and dropped jaw position. You will notice that more sound will come out of you because more space will be created and tension will be eliminated giving you a nice, free, even tone!
• Stick your tongue out and vocalize on a yah, yah, yah, yah, yah up and down the scale. It will sound silly but your jaw will become completely relaxed. 

As you begin to relieve your jaw tension, you will notice that it will actually become easier to sing. Your voice will sound a lot more free and your range will be able to expand dramatically--especially in your higher notes. More importantly, getting rid of this annoying tension will allow you to reach your true singing potential!

Hope this helps!

Vocal Rest for Singers

As a singer, sometimes you just need to give your voice a break-- be quiet and go on vocal rest! A couple of weeks ago I had a really awful sinus infection.. my ears were clogged, my nose was stuffy and I had a really uncomfortable itch in my throat that made me sound hoarse when I spoke. I tried to sing a couple of times and it wasn't pretty. So how did it go away? Well, I cancelled all of my sessions that week and refrained from practicing any songs. I also limited my talking and went on vocal rest. Within 5 days of taking medication and literally not singing, I walked into my gig on Sunday and sang effortlessly and beautifully. It felt so amazing to have my real voice back!

According to the NYU Voice Center, vocal rest is a time of introspection and delegation. Vocal rest gives your voice time to heal, settle and relax. When your voice is fatigued or if you're trying to overcome an illness, the fastest way to let your voice heal is to refrain from using it. Believe it or not we use our voices for just about everything... when we cough, sneeze, clear our throats, hum and even whisper. During vocal rest, try to limit or even avoid doing all of these things to expedite your recovery. 

If you have a really busy performance schedule that requires you to sing almost on a nightly basis, try not to speak the entire day leading up to your call time. As it gets later in the day, closer to when you have to go on stage, gently start to warm up your voice (starting at the middle of your range, slowly working your way upwards and downwards) and take two shots of honey. Honey will lubricate your voice and will give your cords an awesome coating to help facilitate the production of sound with a lot more ease. If you're not at 100% during your gig, amp up your monitor mix or sing your song in a lower key. Always listen to your body when your voice is trying to tell you something. If it hurts, stop and take a couple of days off so that you can rest. 

Giving your voice the respect that it deserves is an amazing investment in your future as a vocal professional. If you can incorporate small bouts of vocal rest during your practice and performance schedules, then you will be able to accomplish the following things:

• The avoidance of more severe vocal problems that may require longer periods of vocal rest, therapy and even surgery.
• Stronger vocal muscles. Strength in muscles comes from stress AND recovery, and adequate recovery time is just as important as your training. 
• A longer lasting vocal career!

I hope this helps and if you have any questions, please let me know. Also, I would like to know if you have any vocal rest tips of your own!?