Okay, since everyone is asking... and thank you for asking... I've posted three ruff mixes on my myspace from the big band project I recorded earlier this year. I hope to have the finished product out soon. thanks again and I hope you enjoy them...
http://ping.fm/rBOUR
Thursday, July 23, 2009
I'm on stage and I'm petrified!!!
I know a lot of performers who struggle with this challenge. I am not willing to call it a problem because I think this is an issue that is mostly generated by the mind and by thinking. By focusing on the anxiety we actually make it worse. I want to go over some of the stages I see people go thru and then I’m going to give you some tips for how to start overcoming these thoughts, or illusions.
Anticipation – this is often the worst stage for people. They believe that actually being on stage is the worst part, but this is the stage where they are tortured for hours and sometimes days before a performance. Thinking of every little thing that could possibly go wrong. I have said this to singers forever and I’m going to say it again now…
WHAT YOU THINK, YOU WILL CREATE!
If you focus on what might go wrong, chances are good you will bring it into reality.
Avoidance – From there, the next thing some performers do is let it stop them from performing all together. This only reinforces the stage fright. The more you get on stage the more you will learn to manage your thoughts, and emotional responses. If you continually avoid the stage, you prolong the period of anticipation.
Anxiety or panic - then the next time you have to get on stage, you can’t breathe, you shake, sweat, feel light headed… and since your are focusing on you and what you’re feeling, it is next to impossible to give… and I want to emphasize this… to perform is to GIVE a great performance. If you are focused on me, me, me…. It’s hard to GIVE a great performance…
This is also the stage when some performers try to manage the stage by altering it with substances. Let me make this clear. I don’t think this is ever a good idea. It is never good for you physically or good for your body because we need the body to be strong in order to help us sing. It also makes you less aware and SOMETIMES you do things you would never normally do, you miss things that you would have been able to handle if you had a straight head on your shoulders… Even if everyone else is doing it, IT’S NOT YOUR PARTY. It’s the audience’s party.
You need to be constantly aware when you are on stage, things happen that aren’t always planned and you will need your wits about you to handle them instantly… If your judgment is impaired, that will likely not happen, and like I said you will do things that you would never normally do.
Appraisal – so then you get off stage, look back and appraise how you did. Oh my God and then I did this and I didn’t do this… I shouldn’t even be up there… sound familiar… If you didn’t feel like you performed up to your best, you start the cycle all over again from the top and start talking yourself into the next bad performance.
Do you see how this cycle works?
There are a few things you can do to help get you thru these stages and help you manage your anxiety.
Breathing:
This is the biggest thing you can learn to do. You’ve no doubt heard me say this a million times, breathing for singers is not the same as breathing for everyday life. You need to learn to breathe abdominally and diaphragmatically if you want to sing really well. You also need to learn deep breathing for relaxation. Not only of your body in order to let the sound come out and to support the sound, but deep breathing will help you over come nerves. Breathing is the first place I notice nerves in singers on stage. When singers are not breathing correctly and not supported, voices waver, notes are tight or flat and they are generally just not confident up there.
If you take a couple of deep breaths now.. go ahead… notice how you feel.. You may put your shoulders back, you may shake your head around, and chances are good you feel pretty confident and relaxed. That’s where good performing comes from. Being able to let the energy flow thru you. You are alive and feeling great. Now you have something to GIVE to your audience.
Be Prepared:
Practice, practice, practice! What you know inside out and backwards you will feel more confident about doing. And practice it like you will be on stage. Practice how you walk out. Practice what you will say. Practice taking the mic out of the stand and please move the stand behind you so you don’t have to try and sing around it. Don’t hang on the mic stand, it only looks like you’re tired. It is not a crutch. When you practice speaking, speak out loud. Say it and sing it like you will do it on stage.
If you make a mistake, KEEP GOING! If you stop every time you make a mistake, you are teaching yourself to stop when something happens, and oh… guess what… when it happens on stage, that’s what you’ll do… then you’ll just have one more thing to pick on yourself about. If you make a mistake, make that a time to practice how you will get yourself out of it without the audience knowing. I can’t tell you how many made up lyrics or mumbles I’ve sung on stage. And I’ll tell you what, as long as I look confident and deliver my mumblings with a smile and a gesture, 99% of the time, NOBODY EVEN NOTICED!
Perform in front of friends or family:
When you have practiced your song or whatever performance your doing and you feel confident. Gather some friends and family together and sing it in front of them. They will love it and it will help you by having some people in front of you to perform to. If you can go to other safe places to perform great. Maybe it’s at a family picnic, or in a choir. What ever you do, start putting yourself in front of people a little at a time. That way when the crowd is larger, it’s the same for you, just a few more people.
Expect to feel some nerves:
Don’t think you shouldn’t feel nervous. If you can learn to turn nerves in excitement, it can help drive your performance… I always get butterfly’s right up to the point where I step out of the wings. I have learned to manage it so it doesn’t get the best of me and turn that energy into great performances. What I’m saying is that if you feel nerves, it’s perfectly normal. You just have to learn how to handle them. And you can learn how!
Cut yourself some slack:
If you are learning to perform, and believe me, it is something most people need to learn to do, you have to start somewhere. If you were learning to fly a plane, you wouldn’t start by jumping into the cockpit of a 747… if you were in the Tour de France, you wouldn’t jump on your Huffy and get in next to Lance Armstrong would you? … you have to start somewhere and that’s the beauty about learning, your not expected to be perfect. Performing is a skill you learn over time. You learn by having great coaches and mentors helping you. You learn by watching other great artists. Get concert videos of your favorite performers and watch what they do. Incorporate some of what they do into what you do. Get your hair brush and start practicing!
The bottom line is this:
KEEP SHOWING UP! What you intend in your thoughts with passion, you will act upon and ultimately create. You have the choice.
Anticipation – this is often the worst stage for people. They believe that actually being on stage is the worst part, but this is the stage where they are tortured for hours and sometimes days before a performance. Thinking of every little thing that could possibly go wrong. I have said this to singers forever and I’m going to say it again now…
WHAT YOU THINK, YOU WILL CREATE!
If you focus on what might go wrong, chances are good you will bring it into reality.
Avoidance – From there, the next thing some performers do is let it stop them from performing all together. This only reinforces the stage fright. The more you get on stage the more you will learn to manage your thoughts, and emotional responses. If you continually avoid the stage, you prolong the period of anticipation.
Anxiety or panic - then the next time you have to get on stage, you can’t breathe, you shake, sweat, feel light headed… and since your are focusing on you and what you’re feeling, it is next to impossible to give… and I want to emphasize this… to perform is to GIVE a great performance. If you are focused on me, me, me…. It’s hard to GIVE a great performance…
This is also the stage when some performers try to manage the stage by altering it with substances. Let me make this clear. I don’t think this is ever a good idea. It is never good for you physically or good for your body because we need the body to be strong in order to help us sing. It also makes you less aware and SOMETIMES you do things you would never normally do, you miss things that you would have been able to handle if you had a straight head on your shoulders… Even if everyone else is doing it, IT’S NOT YOUR PARTY. It’s the audience’s party.
You need to be constantly aware when you are on stage, things happen that aren’t always planned and you will need your wits about you to handle them instantly… If your judgment is impaired, that will likely not happen, and like I said you will do things that you would never normally do.
Appraisal – so then you get off stage, look back and appraise how you did. Oh my God and then I did this and I didn’t do this… I shouldn’t even be up there… sound familiar… If you didn’t feel like you performed up to your best, you start the cycle all over again from the top and start talking yourself into the next bad performance.
Do you see how this cycle works?
There are a few things you can do to help get you thru these stages and help you manage your anxiety.
Breathing:
This is the biggest thing you can learn to do. You’ve no doubt heard me say this a million times, breathing for singers is not the same as breathing for everyday life. You need to learn to breathe abdominally and diaphragmatically if you want to sing really well. You also need to learn deep breathing for relaxation. Not only of your body in order to let the sound come out and to support the sound, but deep breathing will help you over come nerves. Breathing is the first place I notice nerves in singers on stage. When singers are not breathing correctly and not supported, voices waver, notes are tight or flat and they are generally just not confident up there.
If you take a couple of deep breaths now.. go ahead… notice how you feel.. You may put your shoulders back, you may shake your head around, and chances are good you feel pretty confident and relaxed. That’s where good performing comes from. Being able to let the energy flow thru you. You are alive and feeling great. Now you have something to GIVE to your audience.
Be Prepared:
Practice, practice, practice! What you know inside out and backwards you will feel more confident about doing. And practice it like you will be on stage. Practice how you walk out. Practice what you will say. Practice taking the mic out of the stand and please move the stand behind you so you don’t have to try and sing around it. Don’t hang on the mic stand, it only looks like you’re tired. It is not a crutch. When you practice speaking, speak out loud. Say it and sing it like you will do it on stage.
If you make a mistake, KEEP GOING! If you stop every time you make a mistake, you are teaching yourself to stop when something happens, and oh… guess what… when it happens on stage, that’s what you’ll do… then you’ll just have one more thing to pick on yourself about. If you make a mistake, make that a time to practice how you will get yourself out of it without the audience knowing. I can’t tell you how many made up lyrics or mumbles I’ve sung on stage. And I’ll tell you what, as long as I look confident and deliver my mumblings with a smile and a gesture, 99% of the time, NOBODY EVEN NOTICED!
Perform in front of friends or family:
When you have practiced your song or whatever performance your doing and you feel confident. Gather some friends and family together and sing it in front of them. They will love it and it will help you by having some people in front of you to perform to. If you can go to other safe places to perform great. Maybe it’s at a family picnic, or in a choir. What ever you do, start putting yourself in front of people a little at a time. That way when the crowd is larger, it’s the same for you, just a few more people.
Expect to feel some nerves:
Don’t think you shouldn’t feel nervous. If you can learn to turn nerves in excitement, it can help drive your performance… I always get butterfly’s right up to the point where I step out of the wings. I have learned to manage it so it doesn’t get the best of me and turn that energy into great performances. What I’m saying is that if you feel nerves, it’s perfectly normal. You just have to learn how to handle them. And you can learn how!
Cut yourself some slack:
If you are learning to perform, and believe me, it is something most people need to learn to do, you have to start somewhere. If you were learning to fly a plane, you wouldn’t start by jumping into the cockpit of a 747… if you were in the Tour de France, you wouldn’t jump on your Huffy and get in next to Lance Armstrong would you? … you have to start somewhere and that’s the beauty about learning, your not expected to be perfect. Performing is a skill you learn over time. You learn by having great coaches and mentors helping you. You learn by watching other great artists. Get concert videos of your favorite performers and watch what they do. Incorporate some of what they do into what you do. Get your hair brush and start practicing!
The bottom line is this:
KEEP SHOWING UP! What you intend in your thoughts with passion, you will act upon and ultimately create. You have the choice.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Mic Techniques.. Do’s and Don’ts….
I’m writing this as a shout out to the great gal who helped me set up my on line hosting… Thanks for all your help… and when you see the show next time, go thru the line and say hi to all the dancers for me! …. And yes, I talk singing with everyone…
She had some great questions regarding microphone technique and the dreaded stage fright issues that many of us experience. I’ll cover mic technique now and next time have some tips for you about how to over come stage fright.
As a general rule get as close to the mic with your mouth as you can… you’ll hear the term “eat the mic” used a lot. This simply means getting the sound source (you) as close to the mic as possible. Also sing directly into the top of the microphone, don’t sing over it, off to the side or feet away from it. Put your lips right on it for lead singing or any time your singing soft.
As a side note:
If you are doing shows where lots of people you don’t know are singing on the mic before you… you may want to carry a disinfectant wipe with you and run it across the screen of the mic before you sing.
You should pull the mic away from your mouth when you sing louder and when you sing back up and are not the lead voice. Use the three-inch rule as a guide. Pull away just under three inches or just over three inches, as long as you can still hear your voice being amplified. As a general rule when I am singing background vocals, I am just over three inches away, unless the soundman directs me otherwise.
One “don’t” with a microphone is to cover the ball of the mic with your hand. Many rappers do this but it changes the sound of the mic and therefore the sound of your voice. If you must do this, let the soundman know up front. You’re very likely to get feedback from your monitors.
Never: put your hand right over the top of the mic, you will get feed back if you do this!
Never: point the microphone into the monitors, you will get feed back if you do this!
Also, when there are two people singing on one mic… you’ll both have to get as in front of the mic as you can, hopefully you like the other person. And a mint might be nice… ☺ if you sing off to one side, it won’t pick you up very well.
I hope this helps with how to hold the microphone. The best advise I can give you is if you are going to start performing a lot, spend the money and buy yourself a microphone. You will learn how close and how far you can get without losing sound quality. Then take it to all your gigs. Most of the time, if it is a professional mic, the soundman won’t mind using it.
I have predominately used Shure microphones live. They are workhorses and sound great. If you get a Shure beta 58, I think you’d be very happy.
Now, some will yell and scream that if you have the mic right up to your mouth, you can’t see your face from the audience. You can hold the mic so you are singing into the top of the ball and have the stem of the mic pointed somewhat down so you are not covering as much of your face….
However! WATCH YOUR POSTURE!!!! If you start holding the mic down and your head starts dropping forward… you will make it more difficult on yourself to sing….
The same goes if you have the mic in the stand… bring it up to your mouth, close, so your posture is straight. In my humble opinion, the most important thing is posture so you can sing correctly, and then that the mic picks up the most full-bodied tone your voice has to offer. This will make you feel better about your performance and will help the Appraisal: the period after a performance, when you come to some conclusions about how you did. This has a lot to do with how you feel about going back on stage the next time and is a part of what we have to learn to manage when we are trying to get over stage fright.
Okay, that leaves us off nicely where I can pick up the discussion about stage fright and how to manage it in the next blog…
She had some great questions regarding microphone technique and the dreaded stage fright issues that many of us experience. I’ll cover mic technique now and next time have some tips for you about how to over come stage fright.
As a general rule get as close to the mic with your mouth as you can… you’ll hear the term “eat the mic” used a lot. This simply means getting the sound source (you) as close to the mic as possible. Also sing directly into the top of the microphone, don’t sing over it, off to the side or feet away from it. Put your lips right on it for lead singing or any time your singing soft.
As a side note:
If you are doing shows where lots of people you don’t know are singing on the mic before you… you may want to carry a disinfectant wipe with you and run it across the screen of the mic before you sing.
You should pull the mic away from your mouth when you sing louder and when you sing back up and are not the lead voice. Use the three-inch rule as a guide. Pull away just under three inches or just over three inches, as long as you can still hear your voice being amplified. As a general rule when I am singing background vocals, I am just over three inches away, unless the soundman directs me otherwise.
One “don’t” with a microphone is to cover the ball of the mic with your hand. Many rappers do this but it changes the sound of the mic and therefore the sound of your voice. If you must do this, let the soundman know up front. You’re very likely to get feedback from your monitors.
Never: put your hand right over the top of the mic, you will get feed back if you do this!
Never: point the microphone into the monitors, you will get feed back if you do this!
Also, when there are two people singing on one mic… you’ll both have to get as in front of the mic as you can, hopefully you like the other person. And a mint might be nice… ☺ if you sing off to one side, it won’t pick you up very well.
I hope this helps with how to hold the microphone. The best advise I can give you is if you are going to start performing a lot, spend the money and buy yourself a microphone. You will learn how close and how far you can get without losing sound quality. Then take it to all your gigs. Most of the time, if it is a professional mic, the soundman won’t mind using it.
I have predominately used Shure microphones live. They are workhorses and sound great. If you get a Shure beta 58, I think you’d be very happy.
Now, some will yell and scream that if you have the mic right up to your mouth, you can’t see your face from the audience. You can hold the mic so you are singing into the top of the ball and have the stem of the mic pointed somewhat down so you are not covering as much of your face….
However! WATCH YOUR POSTURE!!!! If you start holding the mic down and your head starts dropping forward… you will make it more difficult on yourself to sing….
The same goes if you have the mic in the stand… bring it up to your mouth, close, so your posture is straight. In my humble opinion, the most important thing is posture so you can sing correctly, and then that the mic picks up the most full-bodied tone your voice has to offer. This will make you feel better about your performance and will help the Appraisal: the period after a performance, when you come to some conclusions about how you did. This has a lot to do with how you feel about going back on stage the next time and is a part of what we have to learn to manage when we are trying to get over stage fright.
Okay, that leaves us off nicely where I can pick up the discussion about stage fright and how to manage it in the next blog…
Thursday, July 16, 2009
What... Still singing too hard????
Well since I got quite a bit of feedback from the last blog, I thought I’d do one more on the subject…
I’d like to explore the idea of conversational singing… This is an area that I am really working on in my own singing right now… Yes, even though I’ve been singing since dirt was created… I’m still learning…… If you’re reading this it means you want to keep learning too… BRAVO!!!
If you look at a lot of great artists, what you will find is there ability to really tell you the story rather than sing the story at you… This will also help you to not over-sing or sing too hard. If you feel as though you’re “talk-singing” a large portion of the song and then punctuate the song with big notes and lots of dynamics you might get a performance from yourself and a response from your audience that you just didn’t expect.
Talking v. Singing
Remember I’ve always said if you start on 10 … you don’t have anywhere left to go… Learn to back off thinking that you have to “sing” everything. Try saying the line. Notice where your meter is, notice which words you punctuate and which you don’t when you say something. Now sing it the way you just said it. Do it again and again till your singing feels more like your talking.
I read this great quote, which I’ll include at the end if you want to read it in its entirety, but basically is said life was like being a sprinter… lots of hard work punctuated by brief moments where you get to be great.
Try thinking about your songs this way too, lots of “talk-singing” with brief moments, and only certain notes that will you really belt. You know where; yep, it’s on the money note! Try using all kinds of different colors of the voice in every song, it will give your songs character and make them more interesting for your audience and for you.
Hit one high note soft and pretty and the next time it comes around knock it out of the park! Use full tone, use soft tone, use breathy tone (just not too much on this one), use growls, just plain talk a word or two and then occasionally really sing something full out, wide open… It will get the crowds attention.
Keep it interesting for your audience. Keep it interesting for yourself. And quit trying to hold every note right into the other one. Make it swing; go ahead, give it some soul!
From his book “Slaying the Dragon” Olympic sprinter Michael Johnson who set records in the 200 and the 400 meter sprints in 96 wrote:
Success is found in much smaller portions than most people realize. A hundredth of a second here or sometimes a tenth there can determine the fastest man in the world. At times we live our lives on a paper-thin edge that barely separates greatness from mediocrity and success from failure. Life is often compared to a marathon, but I think it’s more like being a sprinter: long stretches of hard work punctuated by brief moments in which we are given the opportunity to perform at our best.
I’d like to explore the idea of conversational singing… This is an area that I am really working on in my own singing right now… Yes, even though I’ve been singing since dirt was created… I’m still learning…… If you’re reading this it means you want to keep learning too… BRAVO!!!
If you look at a lot of great artists, what you will find is there ability to really tell you the story rather than sing the story at you… This will also help you to not over-sing or sing too hard. If you feel as though you’re “talk-singing” a large portion of the song and then punctuate the song with big notes and lots of dynamics you might get a performance from yourself and a response from your audience that you just didn’t expect.
Talking v. Singing
Remember I’ve always said if you start on 10 … you don’t have anywhere left to go… Learn to back off thinking that you have to “sing” everything. Try saying the line. Notice where your meter is, notice which words you punctuate and which you don’t when you say something. Now sing it the way you just said it. Do it again and again till your singing feels more like your talking.
I read this great quote, which I’ll include at the end if you want to read it in its entirety, but basically is said life was like being a sprinter… lots of hard work punctuated by brief moments where you get to be great.
Try thinking about your songs this way too, lots of “talk-singing” with brief moments, and only certain notes that will you really belt. You know where; yep, it’s on the money note! Try using all kinds of different colors of the voice in every song, it will give your songs character and make them more interesting for your audience and for you.
Hit one high note soft and pretty and the next time it comes around knock it out of the park! Use full tone, use soft tone, use breathy tone (just not too much on this one), use growls, just plain talk a word or two and then occasionally really sing something full out, wide open… It will get the crowds attention.
Keep it interesting for your audience. Keep it interesting for yourself. And quit trying to hold every note right into the other one. Make it swing; go ahead, give it some soul!
From his book “Slaying the Dragon” Olympic sprinter Michael Johnson who set records in the 200 and the 400 meter sprints in 96 wrote:
Success is found in much smaller portions than most people realize. A hundredth of a second here or sometimes a tenth there can determine the fastest man in the world. At times we live our lives on a paper-thin edge that barely separates greatness from mediocrity and success from failure. Life is often compared to a marathon, but I think it’s more like being a sprinter: long stretches of hard work punctuated by brief moments in which we are given the opportunity to perform at our best.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Stop singing so hard!
Singers have a tendency to over push, too sing to loud, when the voice cracks or warbles you want to try harder… In fact what you should do is lighten up. What?!? Yep, lighten up!
(And just an aside, singers please don’t stop if your voice does happen to crack… you’re just training yourself to stop (and probably tense up) when a mistake happens! And you know what that means; what you practice, shows up on stage….)
An exercise that can help you learn to sing with your full range (and still sound like one singer) is to slide on the word “he” from the bottom to the top of your range. Like a siren. If you can do this without the voice cracking, try it on these vowels as well. He, ha, hay, ho, hoo, hi, heh, huh.
If you find that the voice is cracking a bit, it is likely because the muscles don’t have the strength or memory to do what you’re asking them to do. Lighten up and don't push too hard. don't try to sing louder, or stronger, it may seem counter intuitive, but your voice will thank you.
Remember, the vocal cords are muscle tissue and just like any other muscle tissue in the body need to be trained in the proper way and develop the proper muscle memory in order to work “naturally’ and with ease. Repetition will develop muscle memory… but BE CAREFUL… if you practice incorrectly you cement bad habits and develop improper muscle memory. You wouldn't go into a gym on the first day and start bench pressing a bizillion lbs... no, you'd start with a lighter weight that you could control and make sure the muscles were working in the proper way.... ah ha! ... starting to see the similarities?
The saying shouldn’t be “practice make perfect” … it should be “Perfect practice makes perfect” and don’t think it permanent… just like a piano needs to be tuned or a car needs a tune up… muscles can revert back to their old patters of muscle memory… you have to be diligent about developing and maintaining proper use of those muscles…. Your lessons are like your vocal gym… if you train the muscles in the proper way, they will assist you, not hinder you, out in the real world…
Have fun and keep practicing.
(And just an aside, singers please don’t stop if your voice does happen to crack… you’re just training yourself to stop (and probably tense up) when a mistake happens! And you know what that means; what you practice, shows up on stage….)
An exercise that can help you learn to sing with your full range (and still sound like one singer) is to slide on the word “he” from the bottom to the top of your range. Like a siren. If you can do this without the voice cracking, try it on these vowels as well. He, ha, hay, ho, hoo, hi, heh, huh.
If you find that the voice is cracking a bit, it is likely because the muscles don’t have the strength or memory to do what you’re asking them to do. Lighten up and don't push too hard. don't try to sing louder, or stronger, it may seem counter intuitive, but your voice will thank you.
Remember, the vocal cords are muscle tissue and just like any other muscle tissue in the body need to be trained in the proper way and develop the proper muscle memory in order to work “naturally’ and with ease. Repetition will develop muscle memory… but BE CAREFUL… if you practice incorrectly you cement bad habits and develop improper muscle memory. You wouldn't go into a gym on the first day and start bench pressing a bizillion lbs... no, you'd start with a lighter weight that you could control and make sure the muscles were working in the proper way.... ah ha! ... starting to see the similarities?
The saying shouldn’t be “practice make perfect” … it should be “Perfect practice makes perfect” and don’t think it permanent… just like a piano needs to be tuned or a car needs a tune up… muscles can revert back to their old patters of muscle memory… you have to be diligent about developing and maintaining proper use of those muscles…. Your lessons are like your vocal gym… if you train the muscles in the proper way, they will assist you, not hinder you, out in the real world…
Have fun and keep practicing.
Monday, July 13, 2009
A good thought...
"The level of preparation is a declaration of the value we place on our performance and our audience"
Joel Weldon
Joel Weldon
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Help! It didn’t sound this way at sound check!!!!
Did you ever do a sound check… it sounded great .. you could hear everything you
needed and then WHAM… you get the show and everything has change… of course, when you ask… nothing has ever been changed…. So ask for help and if none is available, or it doesn’t get any better, or it gets worse.… here are some tips on getting thru your performance…
1.) Don’t get upset!
BUT I WANNA KILL SOMEBODY.. WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO ME….
LET IT GO!!!!
When you get upset, you over tense, over push, over sing, and exhaust your voice. This is sometimes very difficult to do, but it only makes matters worse for you technically and usually kills a remarkable performance. If you rely on technique at these times you can get thru your night, make it fun and interesting for you and your audience, learn something new about yourself, not injure your voice and give an amazing performance in spite of the conditions! Because lets face it, even in the best situations, gear goes down.
Breathe low
Expand your rib cage
Keep your shoulders relaxed
Keep your shoulders relaxed
Keep your shoulders relaxed (yes, it’s in here 3 times for a reason!!!)
Watch for tension in your neck and shoulders… this restricts the throat and can be deadly for a singer…
Keep your face and jaw relaxed.
Relax your eyebrows… (oh just go ahead and try it…)
Make sure you lower body is working for you.
Keep your abdomen engaged and use your legs and butt to support those notes.. Don’t push the notes out with the throat… use your body… those muscles are much stronger and have better endurance than vocal muscles.
2.) Use your technique
Keep your throat open
Keep your good posture
Keep your placement up front and feel it….
3.) Try singing the song a different way…
This might be a great time to practice your conversational singing. Maybe instead of trying desperately to hold that low note out even though you can’t hear it… try being more conversational with it. Say it. It’s about telling the story. Singers usually sing too much anyway. Try to tell your audience the story and sing more when you can hear.
You and your audience will still have a good time if you just don’t freak out. Adjust what your doing and have fun anyway!!!
needed and then WHAM… you get the show and everything has change… of course, when you ask… nothing has ever been changed…. So ask for help and if none is available, or it doesn’t get any better, or it gets worse.… here are some tips on getting thru your performance…
1.) Don’t get upset!
BUT I WANNA KILL SOMEBODY.. WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO ME….
LET IT GO!!!!
When you get upset, you over tense, over push, over sing, and exhaust your voice. This is sometimes very difficult to do, but it only makes matters worse for you technically and usually kills a remarkable performance. If you rely on technique at these times you can get thru your night, make it fun and interesting for you and your audience, learn something new about yourself, not injure your voice and give an amazing performance in spite of the conditions! Because lets face it, even in the best situations, gear goes down.
Breathe low
Expand your rib cage
Keep your shoulders relaxed
Keep your shoulders relaxed
Keep your shoulders relaxed (yes, it’s in here 3 times for a reason!!!)
Watch for tension in your neck and shoulders… this restricts the throat and can be deadly for a singer…
Keep your face and jaw relaxed.
Relax your eyebrows… (oh just go ahead and try it…)
Make sure you lower body is working for you.
Keep your abdomen engaged and use your legs and butt to support those notes.. Don’t push the notes out with the throat… use your body… those muscles are much stronger and have better endurance than vocal muscles.
2.) Use your technique
Keep your throat open
Keep your good posture
Keep your placement up front and feel it….
3.) Try singing the song a different way…
This might be a great time to practice your conversational singing. Maybe instead of trying desperately to hold that low note out even though you can’t hear it… try being more conversational with it. Say it. It’s about telling the story. Singers usually sing too much anyway. Try to tell your audience the story and sing more when you can hear.
You and your audience will still have a good time if you just don’t freak out. Adjust what your doing and have fun anyway!!!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
another breathing exercise...
Breathing is the foundation of all good singing... so learn to breathe like a singer!
REMEMBER – Exhalation must be 3-4 times longer than inhalation, so do not force the air out.
1. Sit down but sit up straight, relaxed.
2. Breath in, preferably through the nose.
3. Purse lips slightly (as if to whistle).
4. Breath out slowly through pursed lips.
5. Do not force the air out.
Practice this procedure 4-5 times a day initially to get the correct breathing pattern. You should utilize pursed lip breathing when you are experiencing shortness of breath either at rest or with exertion, or if you feel nervous or apprehensive.
IMPORTANT – You may experience a light-headed feeling while doing pursed lip breathing. This indicates that you are over ventilating yourself and you should breathe more slowly.
REMEMBER – Exhalation must be 3-4 times longer than inhalation, so do not force the air out.
1. Sit down but sit up straight, relaxed.
2. Breath in, preferably through the nose.
3. Purse lips slightly (as if to whistle).
4. Breath out slowly through pursed lips.
5. Do not force the air out.
Practice this procedure 4-5 times a day initially to get the correct breathing pattern. You should utilize pursed lip breathing when you are experiencing shortness of breath either at rest or with exertion, or if you feel nervous or apprehensive.
IMPORTANT – You may experience a light-headed feeling while doing pursed lip breathing. This indicates that you are over ventilating yourself and you should breathe more slowly.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
As you think, so shall you be...
As you think, so shall you be..
I’ll relate this to singing I promise… And I’ll even make an singing exercise out of it! If you haven’t guessed by now, my teaching methods can be, well…. “outside the box.” For me, anything is fair game when it comes to learning and growing.
I’m teaching a few groups of young students at a summer camp for the next few weeks and what hit me as I was teaching was how many negative things some of them have to say.. about singing.. about what they can and can’t do.. about life in general… some of the things they didn’t even have to speak out loud.. I can read it in their body language… a heavy sigh, a roll of the eyes.. looking away … If we start talking to ourselves this way from these very young ages, no wonder we have difficulty getting what we want from life… or what you can do when you sing… Teach yourself to speak positively and give our youth the same gift.
The anchor to every action is a thought…. If you want to anchor yourself to negative thoughts… I can’t hit those notes… I’m not that kind of a singer… teachers will take all my feeling away and make me sound like everybody else, so why study.. or this crowd is dead tonight, this is gonna be a rough one.… I’m not making near enough money to be here… or … this travel schedule is terrible… why am I here… I don’t need this… or I wish they’d quit telling me what to do…any of these negative things sound familiar… you will get pulled down and caught in vicious cycle of bad things happening to you…
If you keep focusing on what you don’t want… guess what you’ll get more of it, all the negative stuff will keep showing up … What you focus on you enlarge… As you think, so shall you be… You wanna miss that high note… Worry about it as it’s coming up and 9 times out of 10… you’ll miss it… Fear is a strong emotion… so when you attach fear to a thought … like I don’t think I’ll be able to hit that note… it makes it that much more powerful. And you have done it to yourself…
Here’s a way to help break that cycle and put yourself on the road to achieving all of your dreams!
Here the exercise… First take any negative thought out of your speech…and that includes you private talk to yourself and change it to a positive statement… then write down on note card or recipe card positive thoughts that inspire you… start building a whole deck full of cards… place them where you can see them each morning… mine are in my bathroom… I have a set in my office… and some in my wallet… each morning… read them … out loud… when you see them in the afternoon or evening.. read them….out loud… before you go to bed… read them… out loud…
Out loud for two reasons… one I think it helps you put more passion behind the thought.. so it will help draw it to you faster..
and two, for the singer… I want you to also notice all the consonants… notice how forward they are on your mouth, teeth, or face… if you can learn to keep the voice in the very forward placement all of the time.. you won't believe how easy singing gets... Let’s look at the one that’s in front of me right now, it says:
“Keep fresh goals in front of you”
The K and the ee force the sound forward in the mouth, the f should be made by letting the air pass over the lips, very forward.. the sh, of fresh is also forward, the g and the o in goals are or should be toward the front of the mouth, the n in the word in is forward on the teeth, another forward f and another n in the word front…. of, most people pronounce this word like ov with the v sound forward on the lips and the y in you should also pull the sound forward..
If you are supported correctly and use the consonants, like my teacher used to say, “let your consonant be your guide!” You’ll be amazed how much projection you will have and how easy singing will feel…
Remember, whatever passion or emotion you put behind a thought… that’s the future you’re building. Make sure it’s really what you want!
I’ll relate this to singing I promise… And I’ll even make an singing exercise out of it! If you haven’t guessed by now, my teaching methods can be, well…. “outside the box.” For me, anything is fair game when it comes to learning and growing.
I’m teaching a few groups of young students at a summer camp for the next few weeks and what hit me as I was teaching was how many negative things some of them have to say.. about singing.. about what they can and can’t do.. about life in general… some of the things they didn’t even have to speak out loud.. I can read it in their body language… a heavy sigh, a roll of the eyes.. looking away … If we start talking to ourselves this way from these very young ages, no wonder we have difficulty getting what we want from life… or what you can do when you sing… Teach yourself to speak positively and give our youth the same gift.
The anchor to every action is a thought…. If you want to anchor yourself to negative thoughts… I can’t hit those notes… I’m not that kind of a singer… teachers will take all my feeling away and make me sound like everybody else, so why study.. or this crowd is dead tonight, this is gonna be a rough one.… I’m not making near enough money to be here… or … this travel schedule is terrible… why am I here… I don’t need this… or I wish they’d quit telling me what to do…any of these negative things sound familiar… you will get pulled down and caught in vicious cycle of bad things happening to you…
If you keep focusing on what you don’t want… guess what you’ll get more of it, all the negative stuff will keep showing up … What you focus on you enlarge… As you think, so shall you be… You wanna miss that high note… Worry about it as it’s coming up and 9 times out of 10… you’ll miss it… Fear is a strong emotion… so when you attach fear to a thought … like I don’t think I’ll be able to hit that note… it makes it that much more powerful. And you have done it to yourself…
Here’s a way to help break that cycle and put yourself on the road to achieving all of your dreams!
Here the exercise… First take any negative thought out of your speech…and that includes you private talk to yourself and change it to a positive statement… then write down on note card or recipe card positive thoughts that inspire you… start building a whole deck full of cards… place them where you can see them each morning… mine are in my bathroom… I have a set in my office… and some in my wallet… each morning… read them … out loud… when you see them in the afternoon or evening.. read them….out loud… before you go to bed… read them… out loud…
Out loud for two reasons… one I think it helps you put more passion behind the thought.. so it will help draw it to you faster..
and two, for the singer… I want you to also notice all the consonants… notice how forward they are on your mouth, teeth, or face… if you can learn to keep the voice in the very forward placement all of the time.. you won't believe how easy singing gets... Let’s look at the one that’s in front of me right now, it says:
“Keep fresh goals in front of you”
The K and the ee force the sound forward in the mouth, the f should be made by letting the air pass over the lips, very forward.. the sh, of fresh is also forward, the g and the o in goals are or should be toward the front of the mouth, the n in the word in is forward on the teeth, another forward f and another n in the word front…. of, most people pronounce this word like ov with the v sound forward on the lips and the y in you should also pull the sound forward..
If you are supported correctly and use the consonants, like my teacher used to say, “let your consonant be your guide!” You’ll be amazed how much projection you will have and how easy singing will feel…
Remember, whatever passion or emotion you put behind a thought… that’s the future you’re building. Make sure it’s really what you want!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
So you wanna be great..
According to Herb Kelleher, founder of Southwest Airlines, “if you want to be successful, change your practices not your principles…”
Okay how I relate that to singing is really simple…. A couple of thoughts..
If you take voice lessons, you don’t have to change who you are or how you sound…. A good voice coach should be looking to make it easier for you to sound like you, they should help you find things you may not have known you could do, they should strengthen what’s great in your voice naturally and help you unlearn any bad habits you may have picked up along the way. In other words they should make you sound like a better YOU! So if that’s changing you.. lets hear it for change… But if you really don’t want to study there are a lot of things you can be rehearsing on your own that will help you become more successful as an artist and performer.
Whether you study or not, no one can do it for you. Teachers can only take you part of the way. If you want the training, technique and rehearsal to pay off, you have to put the time in. No matter how disciplined we are, we all need a little nudge every now and then to put more time into our practice, so here it is..
Let me say that again.: YOU have to put the time in!
Schedule your practice time like a job, a gig, a workout, a vacation, school; what ever you have to do, make your practice time is as important and SCHEDULE YOURSELF IN!
If you don’t make yourself a priority, who will? And don’t you think whether you are prepared, I mean really prepared, will be apparent to your audience? If you are under prepared, they see it, if you’re nervous they feel it. By-the-way if you are overly prepared it really helps cut down on some of the nerves. Wouldn't you like to have performances that are easy and fun, instead of stressful and terrifying. You deserve that, and you can make it happen!
Set aside time each day for some kind of practice or something that will improve your voice, your body, your show, or how you presentation. It will make you feel great and sing with more confidence. I heard Donna Summer on Larry King talking about Michael Jackson and the thing she said that struck me the most was that he strove for perfection and raised the bar for everyone else. She said he brought everybody’s game up… What a great thing to have someone say about you. Be a leader on stage, raise the bar for everyone around you. Be prepared. Give yourself that gift!
Okay how I relate that to singing is really simple…. A couple of thoughts..
If you take voice lessons, you don’t have to change who you are or how you sound…. A good voice coach should be looking to make it easier for you to sound like you, they should help you find things you may not have known you could do, they should strengthen what’s great in your voice naturally and help you unlearn any bad habits you may have picked up along the way. In other words they should make you sound like a better YOU! So if that’s changing you.. lets hear it for change… But if you really don’t want to study there are a lot of things you can be rehearsing on your own that will help you become more successful as an artist and performer.
Whether you study or not, no one can do it for you. Teachers can only take you part of the way. If you want the training, technique and rehearsal to pay off, you have to put the time in. No matter how disciplined we are, we all need a little nudge every now and then to put more time into our practice, so here it is..
Let me say that again.: YOU have to put the time in!
Schedule your practice time like a job, a gig, a workout, a vacation, school; what ever you have to do, make your practice time is as important and SCHEDULE YOURSELF IN!
If you don’t make yourself a priority, who will? And don’t you think whether you are prepared, I mean really prepared, will be apparent to your audience? If you are under prepared, they see it, if you’re nervous they feel it. By-the-way if you are overly prepared it really helps cut down on some of the nerves. Wouldn't you like to have performances that are easy and fun, instead of stressful and terrifying. You deserve that, and you can make it happen!
Set aside time each day for some kind of practice or something that will improve your voice, your body, your show, or how you presentation. It will make you feel great and sing with more confidence. I heard Donna Summer on Larry King talking about Michael Jackson and the thing she said that struck me the most was that he strove for perfection and raised the bar for everyone else. She said he brought everybody’s game up… What a great thing to have someone say about you. Be a leader on stage, raise the bar for everyone around you. Be prepared. Give yourself that gift!
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