Hitting the right note

Jo Thompson has honed the vocal skills of the stars of rock, pop, stage and TV. Neil McKelvie gets in tune with Acton's musical maestro

Above: Jo Thompson

'You're going to be really surprised,' laughs vocal coach Jo Thompson. 'It's Craig David.' She's spot on - I am! I had just asked Jo, who has worked with a who's who of the rock, pop, stage and film business, to name the most gifted singer she has ever taught. 'Craig has the best natural instrument,' she adds. 'Performing live, he's extraordinary. He has an incredible ear, he's very musical, his voice is so agile and he has a golden tone.'

So, since we're on the subject, who was the least talented? Well, I had to enquire, but naturally Jo is too discreet to reveal the guilty party. She is, however, engagingly frank when we touch on music-based reality TV shows, a world that she knows intimately from her time as a coach on Celebrity Stars in their Eyes and Pop Stars: The Rivals. 'I turned on The X Factor the other night and was appalled by the standard. Some of the singers have OK voices, but they're just not interesting. There are loads of people with OK voices. That's nothing like enough when there are excellent and original artists around such as Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse and James Morrison. I'd like to think that anyone who is serious about their music would follow the myspace route rather than going on The X Factor.'

James Morrison is one of the 'students' who have made the pilgrimage to Jo's Acton home and he is, she tells me, the perfect example for aspiring singers. 'James has an exceptional voice and a wonderful feel for someone so young. Most importantly, he's come through in the best way. When he was 15 he was out there busking and then performing in pubs and clubs. He learned his trade and that is now paying off for him.'

 Jo herself, a self-confessed Essex girl who has been happily settled in Acton for 20 years, comes from a musical family. Her father is a semi-pro jazz trumpet player and as a child she was, as she confesses with a smile, 'one of those kids who if there was any singing to be done always took the lead part.' From the age of 16, when she began 'proper' lessons, Jo had ambitions to make singing her career and after taking a music degree she launched herself onto the London session world. 'I answered an advert in The Stage, auditioned, got the job and then the musicians I worked with put me forward for other sessions and it all snowballed from there. I ended up being a jobbing singer for 15 years and I was very happy - I did everything from opera, oratorio and songs from the shows to jazz, rock and pop.'

Jo's coaching career developed in tandem with the session work and was born from her personal experience of 'bad teachers' whose instruction actually threatened to do more harm than good. She was inspired to study vocal technique in detail and come up with her own approach. 'Some teachers made singing seem so difficult and such a mystery. I make everything very clear. I say if you do this, this will work, and if you do this, it won't and so my students learn how their voices operate - and it doesn't matter whether they are classical or rock or pop singers. How the sound is produced is slightly different, but the basic technique doesn't change.'

So successful has Jo's method proved that a few years ago she was asked to write Find Your Voice, a self-help manual for singers of all standards. 'The idea was to mix simple exercises with practical advice and what pleases me most is that it has been well received by professionals,' she says proudly. 'The book is still selling and I've had lots of emails saying how much it has helped.'

Jo's first pupils came courtesy of an advert in Melody Maker. 'It was the must-read for singers and bands back then. Many of the artists I coached were starting out and when they branched out and made other contacts they recommended me. It was all word of mouth.' Today she is in constant demand, working with 'ordinary' members of the public as well as star names (Ms Dynamite, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Jake Shears of The Scissor Sisters, Tom Baxter, Tom Smith of Editors, Lucie Silvas) and on film, stage and TV productions.

One of Jo's 'specialities' is to prepare artists' voices for the rigours of touring; James Morrison was a case in point. 'With James I had to make sure that his technique was strong enough to withstand a long tour. That meant giving him an effective warm-up routine of breathing exercises and looking at his material and finding ways to protect his voice in the tricky areas.' Curiously, and to her great frustration, Jo doesn't get to actually travel with her students. 'Everything else comes before the singing lessons,' she admits with rueful smile. 'The record companies just won't pay for them - they are always first to be axed, long before clothes and styling! You spend a concentrated period with someone and then, just when you need to be with them most, they go away for ages. It's madness.'

Having ascertained that Craig David has been Jo's most able student, I wondered who was her favourite? There's no hesitation. 'Jane Horrocks! Talk about a complete pro. Jane works so hard to get everything just so. We were together for months on the film of Little Voice and we had to dissect every artist; we would watch loads of video footage and listen to each little bit of phrasing - it was so intensive but just fantastic.' And what about a 'tip for the top'? 'There's a young guy called David Jordan who has just released his first single. He's exciting. He's been described as a cross between Prince and Lenny Kravitz, but really he's got his own distinctive style.'

In addition to her teaching responsibilities Jo is currently creating downloadable video singing lessons for an exciting website project (www.ilearntoplay.com) and she is also a partner in Charismalab, a high-level communication skills company. 'We don't offer a traditional voice projection and production programme,' she explains. 'I'm teaching executives in leadership positions about their voices. The brief is to help them develop the tools and techniques to make a good first impression on a one-to-one and group basis, handle high-level negotiations and take the next step up.'

A final question: is it really possible for everyone to sing? 'Yes! We all have a voice that can be developed. I don't believe anyone is tone deaf. I do believe in people not necessarily having a good sense of pitch, but over time everyone can learn to sing in tune and make a reasonable sound.' Fortunately, Jo didn't ask me to hit a note. Now, I must check out Craig David again...

For information visit www.jothompson.net and www.charismalab.com. The Find Your Voice book and CDs can be purchased online from www.artemismusic.com