Tanzanian singer releases voice-training book

Published by Joett Music Publishing, the book is available for sale via US platform Lulu and offers links to audio and video content.

Joett, an appointed juror and member of the AFRIMA Academy of Voters representing Tanzania, said the purpose of the book was to give readers an insider’s view about vocal training by providing singers with helpful tips.

“The book has vocal exercise audio files for home learning aptly entitled Joett Vocal Drills Vol. 1-7,” he told Music In Africa. “Once you've purchased the book you'll find details therein on how to acquire the audio files.”

Joett said the book also offered video content documented inside a studio, which gave readers a practical and dimensional view of a vocalist’s workspace, while discussing the various steps needed to be taken to solve issues related to the voice.

He said the book, which started off as a column in a Tanzanian weekly, quickly grew into a must-have informative resource for singers, as it catalogued real-life scenarios through authoritative content.

“My students inspired me to write this book. There was so much going on in my studio. Over the years I had recorded so much video footage that I uploaded to my YouTube channel, but I felt that I needed to get a physical book out there somehow,” Joett said.

“My greatest challenge was to find the time to write. I blog regularly but I felt that I needed to work under pressure to accomplish this. So I asked the general manager of the Tanzania Business Times newspaper to give me a column and two years down the line I have a book.”

Joett said he opted to sell his book on Lulu because the platform gave the author total control of the product and made the book available on other online bookstores such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

“Lulu is based in the US and Canada and it has distribution centres dotted around Europe. And what also makes this platform ideal for writers and publishers out of Africa is that when it comes to purchasing online, unlike Amazon, they impose no geographic restrictions whatsoever, which allows an author in Africa to reach a wider audience right across the continent,” he said.

Joett also took time to express pride about his accomplishment. “I am the first Tanzanian ever to write such a book. In fact, to the best of my knowledge, the first in Africa,” he said.