Tenacity is the quality or fact of being very determined; determination

Tenacity is also a series of short blog posts about my favorite players, musicians, athletes, artists, songwriters, entrepreneurs, writers, excellent people, etc.  The posts explore how they got to be so damn good at what they do. 

I asked a simple question: What made a difference for you along the way?  I encouraged short, sweet, and (most importantly) practical answers.

Jennifer Hamady

My friend Cliff Goldmacher directed me to Jennifer when I told him I was looking for a vocal coach in Manhattan.  Little did I know I would show up for my first lesson with her and meet a kindred spirit. 

One word comes to mind when I think of Jen Hams (as I like to call her): Wow!  Her approach to singing is unlike anything out there.  Literally.  Her list of accomplishments is long (she spent the early part of her career singing with and composing for artists and companies including Stevie Wonder, Christina Aguilera, Wyclef Jean, Smokey Robinson, Kid Rock, Usher, Cirque du Soleil, Disney, and American Idol), but it's never gone to her head. 

To put it VERY simply, her approach to singing is holistic and deals with mental and physical inhibitions so that the singer can establish personal, professional, and performance confidence, and communicate with authenticity, humility, and strength. 'Nuff said.   She coaches, conducts clinics and masterclasses, and publishes books.  To me, though, she is an amazing, hilarious, passionate person; I feel very, very lucky to call her a friend. 


When I asked Jenn what made a difference for her along the way, she sent this response:

"I listened constantly to songs that intrigued me - singers that intrigued me - and I would imitate them over and over and over again.  I would zone out and spend hours recreating exactly what they were doing and harmonize with them.  I was always listening, and always singing ... that's a big part of it. The other side of that coin is that I loved the process.  It never felt like 'training' -- it always felt like fun, like a really neat challenge to see how close I could get to recreating other singers' sounds."