Last week, Coach Hanna had a Facebook Live conversation with Mr Hydir Idris, a TVS vocal coach and singer songwriter who specialises in the genre of Ballads and Pop Music.

Coach Hydir shared his personal journey as a singer, his experience in songwriting and his inspirations, as well as some vocal tips and advice on home-studio recording.

Below is the summary of the conversation but if you want to know more, we suggest watching the full video!

Hanna:

Let’s begin with his name, Hydir. It is pronounced as ‘Hi- Dear’ quite lovely and friendly and exactly matches with his welcoming and calm character, but is there any special meaning behind it?

Hydir:

Hydir means ‘brave’ or ‘lion’.

My grand father gave this name after his pilgrimage trip. I think it suits my character as I do enjoy taking risks now knowing what’s going to happen. For stage performance or song writing it’s always a risky experience because you can always make mistakes during live performance, and cannot guarantee the success. It helped me to develop myself as an artist because taking the risk will surely make you and grow in its process.

Hanna:

Tell me more about your love for music and singing journey.

Hydir:

I started singing around the age of 7. My family was not so much inclined in music as a professional career, but they were enjoying karaoke sessions during family gathering so I had a positive natural exposure to singing. And I started singing for religious gatherings as a lead singer, as well as singing at schools. Once I gained some confidence in singing and opened myself up to the pop and ballad music, I pushed myself more to join competitions from community centre level and built my experience step by step.

It opened the chances for me to meet and connect with producers and I started writing songs. Song writing is a special and important part of my career because it is about showing your inner emotions and self through the music you create.

I didn’t take proper singing lessons until I joined Lasalle college, and there the teachers helped me to recognize and identify my singing voice and it’s limits and issues. Not only I could cultivate my strength, but I could get out of the old habit and expand my knowledge and singing capacity. So I truly appreciate them, and also understand the importance and value of vocal coaches for providing the guidance.

Hanna:

As a song writer you compose melodies and writes lyrics too. Tell me more about song writing, where does your inspiration come from?

Hydir:

I think inspiration comes from mainly the feelings. Love and Sadness are the key emotions we can visually notice in people. And sharing my own feelings in musical story is what motivates me to keep going. So when I get the idea, I write the basic song and show it to friends and take their comments. Their feedback and idea make the song develop into something bigger and is also me to connect and bond with my friends as well.

Hanna:

As a vocal coach, how do you help students overcome their obstacles?

Hydir:
First I assess their singing and try to understand where the problem comes from. Then I do explain the mechanism and principles of singing voice so that students can observe their own singing and adjust it. After that, it is patient and progressive exercise and training.

The key to developing yourself as singer is to be patient and progressive.

As a vocal coach I stand beside them, and offer the space and right direction so that the students can get objective feedback and emotional support.