Vocal coach
 

Just watched episode 2 of the THINFS tour memory videos, and this woman, Mary Jo Duprey, came up with the title "Vocal coach". I found this on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/maryjodupreyvocals/

There's even a picture with Jon, and he obviously has mentioned her personally in his RRHOF induction speech, which I must have missed, but so be it...

That should put every discussion to whether or not he (still) has a vocal coach to rest ;-)

It can't be a great commercial for a vocal coach to have Jon represent your services.

I wonder if she was working with him before 2013. If that's the case, she should not have kept her job. It's one thing to not be able to sing like you used to in your 20s. It's another to suddenly and completely lose your voice in your early 50s.

Jon should visit Ken Tamplin :)
https://www.youtube.com/user/kentamplin

He does wonders with singers. I've founf him thanks to our Pop Idol contestant Gabriela Guncikova (hired as Gabriela Gun for two TSO tours, chosen based on videos with Ken)
This is incredible:

Aloha !

She was taught by Katie Agresta, who brought Jon's voice back from the dead after the Slippery and New Jersey tours. Jon sings the way he does on Keep The Faith because of her. I don't think she's a bad teacher, I think she's really working with what she's able to work with. You can teach a student all he needs but if he abuses his instrument it's a waste of time, really.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

I agree. Well, she does thank her "sister" Katie Agresta for teaching her everything she knows, so maybe Jon went from Katie to using her services at some point. When would be a good question, as well as what exactly led to his condition and what exactly that it ;-)

THIS. It's naive and short sighted to think that she should be fired because she couldn't repair Jon.

I think she was brought especially for the THINFS tour; she was front of me in Rock in Rio 2017, and everytime JBJ sang something good, she was happy clapping with a big smile on her face (no more happy than me >_< but anyway); she also works A LOT with Everett’s voice...

That's not what I said. I said she should be fired if she was working with Jon when he was still decent and didn't stop the decline. I can't imagine Jon paying her to go on tour with her and then ignoring her advice. However, that doesn't seem the case if what Yovana's saying is true and it usually is. She was probably brought in way too late.

Hmmmm...

This time I have some proof >_<
The woman clapping at the end is her https://www.instagram.com/p/BbFw86Yn9TB/
and her feet here https://www.instagram.com/p/BbDabSmHn9b/

...ignore completely my yeah's/screams in Keep The Faith >_< jajaj

Aloha !

Do you think a mechanic should be fired for fixing a car that's breaking down because the driver abuses it?I can. Jon's always booked more shows than his voice is capable of. Just because it's no longer 7 shows a week doesn't mean he's able to deal with this instead.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

another proof
THINFS book:
https://s15.postimg.cc/i0opmvdkr/image.jpg

Man... now it feels even sadder that Jon can't sing anymore. Not even a professional vocal coach can help him.

The best vocal performances of the THINFS tour in terms of consistency were probably BOR in Buenos Aires and Porto Alegre, Saturday Night in Sao Paulo and These Days in Jersey - and none of them came anywhere close to any pre-mid-2013 version of those same songs (well, maybe BOR was closer to early '13). It's heartbreaking how much more quality vocals we used to get up until Hyde Park '13, and how suddenly Jon dropped off afterwards...

Katie Agresta is pretty good at what she does from what I have read. In London 2010 Dry County (Video with blue shirt and black pants) I can see how Jon does pretty correct technique compared to like 80's and 90's (Not fully correct in 90's from what i have seen).

Jon had Katie Agresta with him in 2008 and we saw good things come out of that.

He didn't seem to be working with any particular vocal coach in 2013, but if I recall correctly, he started requesting one in each city as part of his rider on the BWC tour, so presumably he knew things were going wrong then.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM6S...ature=youtu.be

At 27:18 Jon in '93 said before the concert about someone that helps him sing really well.

And as I heard from someone long time ago here. They said Jon got vocal exercises for vocal warm-down to do after concert.

A reminder...
JBJ (WWWB book): “Before every show, I warm up my vocal chords. But after the show, I cool down. Every night. Twenty years. Simple as that.
Around 1990, I was having a lot of problems with my voice. Little Steven said, “Katie Agresta.” I called Katie and she asked me if I warmed down, and I said I’d never heard of such a thing. Then she asked me, “If you ran a marathon, would you go right to bed or would you walk it off?” I said, “You have my undivided attention.”
For years, I’d visit her studio to sing, listen, learn. I’d bring Katie on the road whenever I felt beat up. I’ve relied on a cassette tape of her warm-down exercises from the day I met her. It’s a religion. I take it with me everywhere. Ninety-nine percent of the time I won’t go home from a show without it.”

Dana Wood (2009 “Singing Sensation” W Magazine article): Of course, not every ailing patient bends so easily to Kessler’s will. “Some A-list rock stars think they’re not human,” he says, and they trot out onstage regardless of the shape they’re in. “If I get the feeling that they’re not going to cooperate—and it’s not just canceling a show; it can be an adjustment in their behavior like staying silent for three days—I make it clear that they’re taking a risk. And I’ve never had someone blatantly disregard my wishes.”
Except for Jon Bon Jovi, that is. “Forget about shows—he’s told me I wasn’t going to do entire tours,” says the rocker, a patient for 20-plus years. “There were tours when he’s said, ‘Listen, [your voice] is shot. I don’t think you’re gonna make it.’ And not only did I make it, but I got stronger. And a lot of that has to do with his nurturing. He’s my doctor, shrink and friend. And the only one I trust with my moneymaker.” (Scott Kessler M.D., Voice Doctor)

She has nothing to do with Jon loosing his voice again. Jon's voice has deteriorated after being overused for years and years. It's a physical issue which unfortunately has passed the point of no return.

In my mind, a vocal coach should advise a singer on how to use his voice not to "overuse it" and give specific tips on how to maintain it for as long as possible. Has Jon really "overused" his voice more than Bono, Bryan Adams, Steven Tyler, Roger Daltrey and many others? I don't know, but my guess is no. Many voices has declined over decades of singing (which is OK), but Jon fell of a cliff over the course of MONTHS!

My theory (and nobody has disputed it yet) is that he either ignored it and/or got comfortable with his 'renaissance' in 2008 and stopped using the coach until it started going to shit mid-tour in 2013. I think the way he used his voice in this 5 year period contributed greatly and that was because Jon may not have had a vocal coach by his side. Either way, it's only his stupidity to blame.

Either way, I wouldn't advertise myself as a vocal coach by boasting Jon as my student :D

Aloha !

My guess is yes. With every world tour you can hear a decline in Jon's voice. He starts weak, gets stronger after about 20 shows, grows confidence and overdoes it, and halfway through the tour a decline sets in. It's been like this for over 20 years now. If your voice is going through a decline it's a clear sign either the amount of shows isn't doing you any favors or the set you're doing doesn't work for your voice.

Again to come up with another car analogy, I can drive my old Mercedes to the max every day and have it fixed every few months but eventually the engine will break down because I'm not using it the way it's meant to be used. Jon can have all the vocal warm ups and downs he wants, it's what he does in between that's causing the damage. And the artists you mention all have or had serious vocal problems. They've just dealt with it differently.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

Overuse your voice and don't have enough time to recover your vocal cords.
Eventually the irritation or strain builds up and turns into vocal damage and then the vocal damage builds up which could cause anything from loss of range to worst cases the nodules, polyps, etc.
1987 could be a possible example.

Basically how touring and vocal cords can be.
Jon's voice has deepened and lowered for those reasons and also probably aging.

Vocal warmups are mostly for muscle memory to be able to enter mixed voice, whatever.
Vocal warmups are almost no different from the vocal downwarm's or vocal exercises.

I wonder what Jon told his vocal teacher at the end of 2003..
Vocal coach probably be like "You complain about your voice going bad and do everything you can but then do the worst stuff for your voice knowingly and complain to me."

I think JBJ only needs chicken soup... but poured over his head -_-

Um..."I can make the check out to you; or I can make it out to another coach. While I make up my mind, is there anything else you'd like to bitch at me about?"? :p

Yes ... Aerosmith has always played 15-18 songs sets, and U2 songs are not as demanding as Jovi’s ... and Jon has toured more than these guys playing 2.5 to 3 hours sets on a average basis ... and what’s worse: Jon had a great voice, but not a very good technique. Combine this with the overuse, it’s suicide.

Yes they have but think about it... Steven Tyler is about 15 years older than Jon and has toured for a longer time. He also used some of the hard stuff like heroin and I think that has an effect on your voice as well... his singing technique didn't sound healthy too...

Shame she hasn't really been able to help Jon anymore...

Maybe she has though; he might be worse without her?

Mary Jo Dupey is a vocal coach.
Katie Agresta is a vocal teacher.

Vocal teacher teaches you how to sing better, makes you be able to hold notes and hit higher ones, vocal exercises, etc.

Vocal coaches are more about stage looks, how to perform better on stage (not really in terms of voice), etc.

He needs Katie Agresta.
Mary Jo Dupey is for the concert itself really not voice.

Are you sure? I'm under the impression they are the same thing. I don't think Jon needs any help at all with how to act during a show by now.

Nope. Vocal coach and vocal teacher are exactly the same thing.

No.
Search for the difference between vocal teacher and vocal coach. Not ignorance.

I hate to sound arrogant or something here but I have read on A LOT of stuff from aviation to singing..
Above 41000 feet you have to use 100% oxygen with pressure.
Vocal sirens can help get "rid" of an unnoticeable flip in your voice and vowels can indirectly affect your larynx position for example the note you hit due to muscle memory.

Sorry, my bad.

However, a vocal coach isn't about "stage looks" or overall performing ability. A vocal coach helps you choose songs that fit your voice and can discuss your possible problems with you to then be continued as a deeper discussion with a vocal teacher, who's usually also more experienced and has better knowledge about technical singing in general. The difference is not that big, though, and the details can vary.

I gave slightly bigger differences from each of those terms to not make them confusing.
But yes the thing about looks is a bit rare not often occuring.

Jon used a chesty sounding balanced mixed voice for notes but nowadays he uses too much chest voice in his mix which leads to him being flat on the higher notes.
I had the same problem for some time but developed mixed voice a bit more so i could afterwards easily even hit G#4 - F#4 original Always tuning instead of the live G4 - F4 which i often was flat of.
I still sound chesty, etc above G4. Even baritones can avoid being flat on tenor notes with mixed voice but the baritones might sound a bit lighter or thinner on those notes though.
I always feel most comfortable singing Bon Jovi songs 1 half step from original though. And ITA chorus can be 2 - 3 steps lower. I don't feel so safe above G#4 though.

Just saw this photo on Instagram and noted the caption at the bottom....It seems MaryJo is an Agresta as well...

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...47be68bb30.png


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

https://www.facebook.com/maryjodupre...type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater

Are you sure about this? Can you provide video evidence?

I am no singer, but my impression was always that Jon only sang with chest voice only (with small exceptions such as chorus of Say It Isn't So or any screams), which is partly why it declined so greatly over the decades as head voice and falsetto usually hold up no matter how old the singer gets.

When I hear a "mixed voice" in popular music I usually think of Myles Kennedy or Adam Levine when they sing high and sometimes you can't even be sure how much chest they're using at a given time. Jon's singing, on the other hand, always seemed straight forward to me - straining and belting to the absolute max.

It's very unlikely for any male to hit a C5 like that and have a range going to as low as G2 without being in pure falsetto or head voice at C5.
Especially Jon.
There's a thing called passagio which is around anything from the C4 - E4/F4 area for males and second passagio is slightly higher and most slightly trained singers can go up to second passagio without flipping to falsetto.
Once you do some vocal exercises to get rid of that flip (Second passagio) you can go into your highest parts of mixed voice which can sound exactly like chest voice.
The reason Adam Levine, etc mix voice sound very thin like that is due to a high larynx position (Most modern pop singers usually sing with high larynx position).
The reason Jon's mix sounds chesty like what it was or is is due to only a slightly higher larynx than normal, in around 2007 (Maybe even slightly before) he trained it to become at a neutral or even low position which made him sound kinda operatic at even his high notes.


5:55 until the end is where Jon does those "ooooh" stuff at the end of TAALS and slides from anything from D4 to G#4 and once or twice slightly higher than A4.
Your able to do that once you have mix as a man especially if you have a baritone lower range (Jon). If you didn't have mix voice you would likely have to shout it too loud or even scream it to sound chesty there unless you were a woman.

Many tenors aren't able to go above E4 - F4 and those areas without mixed voice.
Also if you didn't know.. It sometimes happens that tenors think they are baritones and actually have voices that behave like that but once they get vocal training, etc they find out out they are a tenor and can sing tenor range due to development of the voice.
If Jon actually shouted and screamed everything his voice would have been gone already at the first album or second one.
Jon does pull up chest to the C4 - F4 area though which is another thing, still isn't pure chest, has some mix in it though.

Before I trained for mixed voice in real life I could only go to E4 - F4 by shouting loudest I can, now I can sing at C4 - G#4 or even A4 and sound very clean (1995 clean like Jon) easy and still sound chesty, which is really tenor singing range.

Now the problem is Jon really has forgotten about mix voice or just uses it to a minimum amount unless he needs to. Which leads to him shouting everything above G4.
that's for example why he shouts out "Bed of nails" nowadays or really shouts "Lay my hands on youuuuuuu" after the solo, and many more examples I could give. And the thing of avoiding mix voice for highest notes is a recipe for vocal damage.
Jon was techincally most correct around 2008 LH era.
2013 and afterwards he really ignored technique and stopped using the twang he used.
The Jon in 2018 we see nowadays is absolutely the same I did before I developed my mix voice the most I could.. I had to shout G#4 note which Jon does in LYHOM after solo ("Youuuuu" after "Lay my hands on").
My only current problem with mix voice right now is a too high larynx which leads to me sounding very thin above A4, but when I have a lower larynx than usual I sound chestier than normal above A4.

My talking range, normal range, etc is pretty much almost the same as what Jon had 95/96 or maybe 97/98. Have to sing "Only the names will change" the same way Jon did to reach the F#4, etc without being too loud.

Jon has extremely likely gotten vocal training before Bon Jovi the band formed.
When people say that tenors can hit C5, that's really with training and the C5 must sound good enough to be counted as a part of your singing range. Many completely untrained baritones or tenor can't really go above E4 - F4 area unless they are shouting too loud or maybe even screaming.

For your "Straining and belting to the absolute max":
You can use mix voice almost like how you can use chest voice, you can scream it like a drunk angry man, you can abuse it and cause vocal irritation/damage. The difficulties when finding your mix voice the first time could be controlling the notes you hit or adding rasp without screaming, etc to it. For example in opera you usually train your mixed voice to sound as chesty as your chest voice as possible, which leads to many people thinking that they are hitting that D5 in actual chest voice.
Mixed voice is actually also kind of proportional to your chest voice, the lower your chest voice the lower your mixed voice usually is.
Inevitably he will have to lower notes at some point though due to the chest/mix voice thing being kinda proportional.
If you are too quiet with mix voice you will only most of the times really only hear head voice/falsetto, being loud with it in the same way as Jon leads to it being chesty sounding. Accessing mixed voice isn't really the same as falsetto or head voice though.

Jon going to his higher part of mix voice (First 2 albums are very good examples and sometimes Power Station):
2:20 - 2:23 going to his higher part of mix voice.


Sorry for the wall of text, only wrote the interesting stuff though, avoided everything boring. Hard to explain singing stuff without writing too much, due to how singing has misconceptions, truth's and a lot of other stuff.

In his prime, Jon had a very chesty voice - but he never sang in pure chest voice. Not only is it almost physically impossible, but if he truly did that - he'd have no voice whatsoever after only a few years. Throughout the 80s, he had the incorrect habit/technique of "pulling chest" (where you try to maintain that power as you go higher up your range) which lead to him destroying his voice on the Slippery When Wet tour. When you pull chest, it squeezes the vocal cords and can really wear out one's voice.

When Jon was getting coached in the early 90s, he was taught a safer way to sing his songs. He developed a little bit more twang into his voice. This is not the terrible nasal voice that began to develop in the 2000s, but rather a vocal technique used to brighten up the vocal sound. It's a cleaner tone that's easier on the vocal cords and it allows you easier access to your higher register. When it's being done properly, you'll get a pleasant-sounding voice with additional brightness and clarity that will be less stressful on the voice compared to trying to pull chest. If you want proof - compare how he sang the 80s songs on their respective tours to the same songs being done in the early/mid 90s. His tone was cleaner and he wasn't forcing his chest voice as hard to reach the upper notes. He also became more consistent live during the early 90s. If you want Jon at his absolute best level live - the Keep The Faith era is probably your best bet. Check out the effortless C#5 he sustains on "With A Little Help From My Friends" during the Evening With Bon Jovi show - it's not a chest-pulled note like it was in the 80s. It's a perfect example of a balanced mixed voice belt with the twang being applied.

If Jon stayed on a more disciplined route with his singing (like he did in the early 90s) and didn't start heavily smoking constantly, he probably would've been able to sustain that amazing voice for a number of years. When he started that heavy smoking in late 1994, subtle damage started happening on the 1995 tour. He was still a great singer and for the most part was keeping his voice together - but there was a slight drop from the 1991-1994 era. Substance abuse/smoking is never good for the voice. Some singers are more lucky than others and can somehow withstand that abuse - while others start having issues in a relatively short amount of time. With Jon, the effects started happening on the 1995 tour. When you smoke - it irritates, swells up, and dries out the vocal folds (which can lead to problems ranging from a hoarse voice to developing nodules). It also will lead to excessive mucus production which can also hinder your vocal quality. On the 1995 tour, Jon's voice was still strong, but it slowly but surely weakened over the tour. He couldn't get the same power he had in his mix voice, so he began to fall back into the habit of forcing and pulling his chest voice to hit mid range notes (and sometimes his upper register) that he once could do without much effort. His upper register was still strong for the most part, but it didn't have the same resonance that it did a few years prior. On a number of gigs from the tour, there would be times when Jon would force mid notes (F4-A4 - basically at his second passaggio and past it) and either not hit the note cleanly, hit the note flat, or have a very rough sound to them. Smoking also damages your lung capacity which leads to reduced breath support and further causes bad vocal habits (singing from throat - instead of the diaphragm, pulling chest, etc). When you combine smoking with some bad vocal habits (and a long tour), you are setting yourself up for a disaster.

By the 1996 tour, Jon lost another step vocally. His tone weakened a bit more - causing his tone to sound "thinner" when compared with previous years. You can blame that on the smoking. If you don't have the best breath support and you have vocal registers that are knocked off balance due to smoking and vocal abuse - your tone will suffer. While he was still able to sing great on the 1996 tour and through his solo shows from 1997-1998, he wasn't the same singer that he was earlier in the decade. By 1998, his upper register had weakened and while he could still hit the high notes (C#5s on Keep The Faith from Ft. Lauderdale, B4s on These Days from the anniversary fan club show, etc) he had lost quite a bit of resonance in his voice and his ability to use his mixed voice was degraded. He started to get a "shouty" quality to his voice (mostly from A4 upwards) due to him falling back into the bad habit of pulling chest on specific pitches or vocal melodies.

Jon used to be a great singer many years ago - but he wasn't a disciplined singer for the most part. With the exception of the late 1990-1994 period, he didn't take a disciplined approach to singing or maintain his voice at the level he needed to sustain it. I'm aware that he improved slightly on the 2008-2010/1 eras when compared to the late Bounce/Have A Nice Day eras, but he still wasn't a great singer - nor was his technique any good. Singing with that bright nasal voice with excessive twang while forcing notes (there's many times where he misses G4s-B4s) isn't good technique at all. Why do you think his voice degraded during 2011-onwards? Bad technique. If his technique was any good - his voice wouldn't suffer that horrible decline and he'd actually sing the proper melody lines and notes (instead of missing them).

I miss his prime voice - but at least there's the live shows!

Compare Always in 2010 and 2017.

2010 Philly:
2017 Greenville:
Jon had obviously changed his technique in an attempt sound better, for example when he puts much more emphasis on shouting the "I will love YOOOU" in 2017.

What the techniques can't fully cover up is the fact his voice is fundamentally thinner and weaker than it was in 2010.

I agree with the car analogy, although I would say the "mechanic" prior to the THINFS tour did a decent a job as they could with what was left of Jons voice.