Singing Lessons With Seth Riggs

Singing Lessons With Seth Riggs

Aidin Vaziri | When we first called voice teacher Seth Riggs at his Los Angeles studio, he picked up the phone and emitted the most amazing multi-octave wail. Then we realized that we had accidentally dialed his fax machine. So we tried again on his real phone, and the 75-year-old whose clients have included Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder and Barbra Streisand spent about an hour playing random chord progressions on his piano, making weird noises with his mouth and talking about old-school show business people who may or may not have been around during the Civil War. But just when we were starting to think Riggs was completely out of his tree, he started talking smack about Madonna, Josh Groban and "American Idol," and then we knew he was a genius.



Seth Riggs
Q: Hello?
A: We have four principals at the Metropolitan Opera right now, and we've had as many as six Broadway leads in one shot. Like Doug Sills in "The Scarlet Pimpernel." Bernadette Peters in "Annie." Oh, Peter Gallagher did "Guys and Dolls." The girl that did "Miss Saigon." You know. Here in L.A., we had the first black "Phantom." That was Robert Guillaume.
Q: These are real people?
A: We've had a lot of very fine people in that area. And then I have 120 Grammys here in the studio.
Q: Where do you keep them?
A: Well, they didn't give them to me, but the people have won that many.
Q: So the Grammys are not actually there?
A: Wouldn't that be something, because I did all of Quincy Jones' work and he's got like 52. He started out with Bessie Smith.
Q: The horse? Actually, I've been told I sing like a donkey. Can you teach a donkey to sing?
A: All right. We just left this interview. Can you roll your tongue?
Q: Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
A: Perfect. That's it. Now don't stop the tongue.
Q: The dogs around the corner are actually barking.
A: Perfect. What I'm so excited about is you're going right in your head voice. You're saying, "That's the stupidest thing I ever did." Yes, it probably is. But it tricks you into making that bridge.
Q: Do you think I'm ready to audition for an off-Broadway run of "Cats"?
A: I don't make stars. I assist the vocals that God has already given them as gifts. Now, Macaulay Culkin. They called me to help him with "Home Alone 2." He couldn't find his pitch with a map and a flashlight. But when I gave him these stupid exercises he finally got the pitches, and he did it.
Q: So I'm at least as good as Macaulay Culkin?
A: And Val Kilmer. When he did "The Doors," he did all the voice. And when you see Kim Basinger in "The Marrying Man," that's all her. She did the whole damn thing. Whoopi Goldberg in "Sister Act 2." She had never sung. I've got a whole list of people.
Q: Damn, I'm awesome.