Vocal Arts

Analysis Essentials Series: Pentatonix | "The Sound of Silence"

One of the first analysis videos Peter ever made was for this iconic cover from Pentatonix. Peter goes into detail about the musical arrangement, vocal technique, blending of voices, belting, vocal registration, and more. Please enjoy this breakdown of "The Sound of "Silence" as part of the Analysis Essentials Series.

Elliott Michael Robinson: Endless Bass

Elliott Michael Robinson is a seasoned veteran of the contemporary a cappella community currently residing in Dallas, Texas. Though most known for his insane low notes and nearly five-octave vocal range, the Illinois native is also an award-winning songwriter, arranger, and vocal educator. (And attorney, but who's counting?)

 

Throughout the years, he's performed with countless vocal groups--InPulse, Home Free, Re: Voiced, Chapter 6, Street Corner Symphony, The House Jacks, AXIOM, and more--as well as recording background vocals for projects spanning just about every genre you can think of. Oh yeah, and he also sang all the low bass vocals for Das Sound Machine in Pitch Perfect 2. (Remember them? The group that definitely would've won in real life...) 

 

These days, you can find Elliott doing regular corporate things, being a proud and relatively new Girl Dad, deadlifting with your entire family on the bar, grabbing barbecue somewhere, and/or contributing his multifaceted bass skills to collaborative online projects with artists from all over the globe. 

 

Peter and Elliott discuss life as professional musicians, vocal range, how voices change and develop overtime, advice for young bass singers, fitness, work/life balance, collaborative projects, career goals, and much more. Please welcome Elliott Michael Robinson. 

Eric Whitacre: Musical Genius

Grammy Award-winning composer and conductor, Eric Whitacre, is among today’s most popular musicians. His works are programmed worldwide and his ground-breaking Virtual Choirs have united over 100,000 singers from more than 145 countries. A graduate of The Juilliard School, Eric is currently Visiting Composer at Pembroke College, Cambridge University (UK) and is an Ambassador for the Royal College of Music (London). Eric served two terms as Artist in Residence with the Los Angeles Master Chorale and is proud to be a Yamaha Artist. His long-term relationship with Universal/Decca Classics has produced several ‘hit’ albums. Recent compositions include a long-form work - The Sacred Veil - and an orchestral piece - Prelude in C - commissioned by the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra. His collaboration with Spitfire Audio has resulted in two trail-blazing vocal sample libraries which are used by composers the world-over.

Peter and Eric discuss Eric's Grammy Award-winning compositions, electronic music, philosophies on creating art, the relationship between music, conductor, and ensemble, and many more topics. Please welcome Eric Whitacre.

Bobby Bass: Hoist the Colours

Bobby "Bass" Waters is a bass singer, music creator, and core member of three musical groups: The Bass Gang, The Wellermen, and Pitch Slapped. Across platforms, Bobby boasts a following of over 2 million people, and his videos have garnered over 1 billion views. He has collaborated with many of the biggest names in the short-form content space, like Lauren Paley, MALINA, Vinny, Luke Taylor, Peyton Parrish, and more. Bobby has even been featured in an Apple commercial for his amazing bass voice. 

Peter and Bobby talk about the meteoric rise of "Hoist the Colours," how to create success as a musical artist, the financial viability of various platforms, the evolution of The Bass Gang, upcoming projects, and much more. Please welcome Bobby Bass.

Alex Seaver (aka Mako): The Music of Arcane

Composer, songwriter, and producer Alex Seaver (aka Mako) has created a unique niche for himself in the entertainment industry. He has released two best-selling albums; performed at Coachella, Lollapalooza, and EDC; and collaborated with the likes of Sting, Pusha-T, Avicii, Madison Beer, and Alan Walker.

A classically-trained musician, Seaver earned a full scholarship to Juilliard. Upon graduation, he relocated to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film music. Alex has established himself as a songwriter and composer for Riot Games’ League of Legends, beginning in 2017. His first track, “Legends Never Die” (performed by Against the Current), has earned over 400 million streams on Spotify alone, while his role expanded with Netflix’s League of Legends-based animated series, Arcane (2021). In addition to scoring the hit show with Alexander Temple, Alex co-wrote songs for the soundtrack, alongside Pusha-T, Sting, Wooded, Bea Miller, PVRIS, and others. Please welcome Alex Seaver.

Luke Taylor: Luke the Voice

Luke Taylor is a bass singer from Thornton, Pennsylvania who is pursuing a songwriting career in folk and western genres. He has amassed a following of over 4 million people on TikTok from his bass singing videos, as well as performed on American Idol -- he is known throughout the world for his deep, rich voice. Luke is also a member of The Wellermen, and is studying voice at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. 

Peter and Luke chat about bass singing, going viral on social media, vocal technique, career goals, getting recognized in public, philosophies on life, and much more. Please welcome Luke Taylor. 

Danny ”Big Brev” Brevik: Viking Vocals

American bass-baritone and social media influencer, Daniel Brevik, is praised for having "a massive, focused, rich, warm timbre." Boasting an impressive following of over 65,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and 465,000 followers on TikTok. Brevik's singing and teaching channel extends even further, with a staggering 650,000 followers on Instagram - with over 100 million views across platforms which have amassed over 20 years of total stream time, effectively captivating audiences on a global scale. A recipient of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis' Richard Gaddes Career Grant, and the Wendy Shattuck Presidential Scholarship from the New England Conservatory, Brevik was hailed by The Washington Post for having "an impressive, sonorous voice" while Opera Today claimed he could "rattle the rafters one moment and be lullingly conversational the next." Brevik was featured on the cover of Opera News for creating the role of Ernest Hemingway in the world premiere of Ricky lan Gordon's Twenty-Seven. The album recorded with the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra is available on all major music platforms. Brevik later reprised his role with the orchestra of St. Luke's in his New York debut at City Center Theatre, and then again at Intermountain Opera in Bozeman, Montana. Notable venues Brevik has performed in include Boston's Symphony Hall, St. Louis' Powell Hall, Lyric Opera of Chicago's Civic Opera House, Amarillo Texas' Globe-News Center, Venice Italy's St. Marks Cathedral, and the Vietnam Opera and ballet in Hanoi Vietnam. In a recent collaboration with Bobby Bass and the Bass Singers of TikTok, their cover of "Hoist The Colours" garnered over 6 million views on Youtube and 8.5 million streams on Spotify. In 2022, Brevik was showcased on stage in concert with Pentatonix legend Avi Kaplan in Boston, MA. Brevik is on the voice faculty at The University of Hartford, and at the Falcetti School of Music in Simsbury, CT. 

 

Peter and Danny talk about going viral on social media, performing opera on a professional level, getting to work with Avi Kaplan, travel stories, fitness, and much more. Please welcome Big Brev.

J.None: Military Bass

J.None is a singer, songwriter, and producer. Featured in the September 2008 issue of “GQ”, he was selected to perform for Grammy Award-Winning super producer Timbaland. J is very giving when it comes to his gift -- he has performed at various community concerts sponsored by Kollission Records, donating all proceeds to the Children’s Kings Daughters Hospital Miracle Network. In 2011 he attained International recognition for placing in the Top 32 on Simon Cowell’s newest talent show The X-Factor as ¼ of the young Pop group 4Shore. Audiences love his hilarious demeanor on stage and his buttery-smooth vocals. J auditioned for Season 14 of the hit Fox singing competition American Idol and advanced to the Top 48. Currently, he is singing bass for The United States Navy Band Sea Chanters, working on original music and producing/writing for other artists via Soundbetter.com, including his nephew, "Naz G." You can find J.None’s newest music on all digital outlets, available now for downloading and streaming!

Peter and J.None talk about his life in the Navy band, singing with VoicePlay, setting and managing career goals and expectations, his experience on X-Factor and American Idol, and much more. Please welcome J.None.

Janet Varney: The Legend of Korra

Janet Varney is an Emmy-Nominated actor, comedian, writer and producer. She can be heard as the voice of Korra on "The Legend of Korra” on Netflix, where she can also be seen as Summer in the comedy series “Country Comfort." On HULU, she fights dark forces starring opposite John C. McGinley on "Stan Against Evil" and appears as Becca on FXX’s "You’re the Worst.” She also created, wrote, produced and starred in the critically-acclaimed IFC online series "Fortune Rookie.” And as of this summer, you can also catch her recurring on Apple TV+’s “Platonic” opposite Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne. Onstage, Janet performs with Rachel Dratch, John Michael Higgins, Michael Hitchcock, Oscar Nunez and more in their improv supergroup Theme Park, and alongside Paul F. Tompkins, Busy Philipps, Paget Brewster and more for the Thrilling Adventure Hour. Janet co-created/wrote/produced “Neil’s Puppet Dreams” starring Neil Patrick Harris. You can also find Janet on YouTube for Geek & Sundry’s “Escape!" which she co-wrote, produced and hosted. She also hosts three hit podcasts: The JV Club with Janet Varney; Avatar: Braving The Elements; and Truth and Justice with Bob Ruff. She is Co-Founder/Creative Director of one of the largest and most acclaimed comedy festivals in North America, SF Sketchfest: the San Francisco Comedy Festival, now in its 20th year.

Layne Stein: Behind the Music (of VoicePlay)

Layne Stein is an arranger, beatboxer, vocalist, audio engineer, and video editor for world-famous acapella group, VoicePlay. Peter and Layne talk about Layne's arrangement process for VoicePlay songs, the development of the group since its origin, the impossibility of predicting which releases will be commercially successful, how to add creative spin to a classic song, PattyCake productions, how VoicePlay creates a song from start-to-finish, and much more. Please welcome Layne Stein.