Studio Sessions: One Small Change Can Throw Everything Off with Jess Jones
Jess Jones had written poetry for years, but turning those words into songs was a whole different skill set. It meant not just saying something—it meant singing it in a way that people could feel.
We worked through one of his originals, “Selena”—a song that’s grown with him over time. From its earliest recording in 2019 to now, the difference in his tone, control, and presence is night and day. And the best part? He’s doing it without pushing. But once we started removing his guitar playing and made some vocal tweaks to what he was doing it got more difficult for him to control the pitch. This shows that muscle memory was serving him well to get the notes out, but now it was time to work on his voice overall so that he can translate what he does in this song into other songs as well - quickly!
From Poems to Songs: Jess’s Journey
Jess started as a poet. Writing was always a natural way for him to process emotions and tell stories. But when he began experimenting with melody, something clicked. “I wanted to try turning one into a song,” he said. “Just to see if it worked.”
Spoiler alert: it worked.
But as many singer-songwriters find out, writing a great song and performing it well are two very different things. Jess’s early recordings had beautiful emotion—but the tone wasn’t always full, the pitch needed refining, and the delivery wasn’t as connected.
That’s where our work began.
Getting Fuller Tone
One of Jess’s biggest vocal shifts came when he stopped trying to “sound powerful” by forcing things.
We tried all kinds of tone-shaping tools during our session:
Straw phonation to reduce tension and help airflow
Open-mouth “la-la-la” exercises to free up space
Jaw-release strategies to stop gripping
Mirror work to check posture and facial tension
And yes—we even tried the classic “puffer fish” technique. (Did it work? Not really for him. That’s okay!)
“It just kind of… made me lightheaded,” he said. “Yeah, let’s skip that one,” I laughed.
The takeaway? You don’t have to use every tool. You just need to find the ones that help you sing with less tension and more connection.
Accompaniment vs. A Cappella Confidence
Jess admitted he’s used to singing with his guitar, and doesn’t feel as confident singing a cappella. Totally normal. But also? Singing without an instrument is an incredible way to notice what your voice is doing—without relying on muscle memory or external cues. It gives you clarity on your natural timing, tone, and pitch accuracy.
It’s really important to try out different things when you’re practicing to make sure that you’re not relying on muscle memory too much. Because what if you have to make some last minute changes before a performance due to unforeseen circumstances? I don’t want that to completely throw you off. In Jess’ case that meant not playing guitar while singing to break that habit. In your case that could mean starting the song in the chorus or second verse instead of always starting at the beginning, or using a different karaoke/instrumental track.
Only when you can do it out of context do you really know the song. So please take a couple extra minutes with each song and practice it in a different way than you normally would. Eventually this gets really easy for you and you won’t have to do this anymore - you’ll feel comfortable no matter what’s being thrown at you.
Final Thoughts: Building Confidence, One Note at a Time
Jess’ growth is the kind that doesn’t come from just “doing more.” It comes from listening and practicing differently. From learning how to support the voice without overworking it. From trusting that your sound doesn’t need to be big to be meaningful.
This wasn’t a session about fixing flaws. It was about helping Jess feel more at home in his voice—and more confident sharing it, whether he’s playing and singing at the same time, or just singing.
🎧 Want to hear the full session?
Check out the full episode here:
🎵 Want to hear Jess’s original song “Selena”?
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