We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Daleshareé Lee a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Daleshareé, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

For the most part, I’m pretty much self taught, but I grew up watching my mom sing in church and around the house all the time. That’s how music became a big part of my life, it started from her. My mom put me in the kids choir at church and that’s where I began singing at the age of 4. Once I got older, I joined my school’s choir and began learning more in-depth about music and singing. I’m grateful because it’s gotten me this far. In a way, it kind of molded me, both vocally and as an artist.

As far as speeding up the process, I would’ve loved to have gotten a vocal coach or taken some lessons to learn an instrument as well. That and I probably could’ve used YouTube a lot sooner, but I don’t think I got into YouTube until I was in high school. It’s also a reason why I stayed in choir all throughout my middle school and high school career. I love music and I knew I could be taught something more than just learning different songs to sing. I wanted to know more about it because I knew someday I wanted to make music my career.

The most skills I felt that were essential would be learning music theory and breath control. I’ve had some amazing choir teachers who’ve taught me what singing from the diaphragm really means, note names, key signatures, chord identification etc. These things can play a factor when it comes to singing and creating music also along with vocal exercises. I’ve always looked at it as another aid to assist me if I ever decided to learn how to play an instrument or try to produce a record. It definitely helps now though, especially when I’m recording in the studio or writing a song. It helps me with song construction and arranging notes. Knowing these things to me makes it easier to pinpoint when something’s off key. Not only that, having good breath control helps in your delivery. It’s definitely something I’m working on.

At that time, the couple obstacles I had were finances. At one point I didn’t have a computer to access YouTube and I didn’t have an up to date phone lol, but once I finally got one I was able to find videos on vocal training. I’ve learned to just trust the process and throughout it all I’m grateful for what I’ve learned so far and I’m still learning.

Daleshareé, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Daleshareé, but people call me Dale for short. I’m originally from Los Angeles, California, but I ended up moving to Las Vegas when I was 10 years old. I’ve always had a huge passion for music so I started writing songs well into my middle school and high school years. I never wanted to just be a singer. I had to be a songwriter too lol. I wanted to be like a jack of all trades. A dancer, a performer, a producer, just an all around artist. Growing up I remember being so inspired by Mariah Carey and wanting to write songs like she did. Her and Toni Braxton are both extraordinary women who I look up to and I feel it’s where part of my sound comes from. They’re really vulnerable with their music and for me, I’m definitely an emotional being who isn’t afraid to put their thoughts on paper. I only hope that someday my lyrics can reach someone and inspire them as much as Mariah and Toni does for me.

As time went on, I purchased some studio equipment to build a studio in my bedroom. Very low budget, but it definitely came in handy because I started using YouTube to learn how to mix and record covers. I literally had my laptop, a recording program, and a usb microphone, but I made it work. I wanted to perfect my craft more so I used it as practice for when I would be able to finally record in a professional studio. After some time, I began to officially record and release music independently. I would see local artists in my area who would post the studio that they were recording at and once I had the funds, I booked my first session.

So far I’m really proud of where I am now and how far I come. Sometimes I go back and listen to the songs I’ve recorded on my own and compare them to the ones I recorded professionally and it gives me motivation to see how far I can truly go. I look forward to working on new projects and testing my potential. I believe there’s always room for growth and development and I’ve only just begun.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist or a creative is being unapologetically you. You can do whatever you want to do. I feel there’s never a wrong answer when it comes to being creative, you don’t have to conform to what someone else does. Your art is your art and there’s no wrong or right way to express it. Especially if you’re not harming anyone in the process. You should feel free when you create. For instance, whenever I feel a certain way I write about it and when that’s done, I feel relief because it takes my mind off of whatever it was I was feeling or thinking about. And for that, no one can tell me how or what to write. It’s my freedom of expression and not anyone else’s. I find it more exciting when you can do things your way.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

That would be comparing myself to others. I had to unlearn that fast otherwise I’d probably wouldn’t have released any of my music. I had to realize that I am uniquely me and not everyone will like or enjoy my music and that’s okay. I have my own lane and I can’t get too caught up in what other artists are doing. That only hurts me and keep me stagnant so I try to stay focused on the things I’m working on. Also, I’ve learned to not focus so much on timing. I try not rush my process. At times I could get down about why things are happening for this person and not for me, but things happen in God’s timing and not my own. I had to understand that what’s tailor made for me will be delivered when I’m ready for it. Having patience can be difficult, but it’s needed if you’re trying to pursue something you love.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/dalemlee?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daleml1?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/dalemlee?s=21&t=wc8tHVVu3o2QE2cgz9zYTQ
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@dalesharee
• Other: https://solo.to/dalesharee

Image Credits
@dalemlee (myself)