We often forget that casting directors WANT us to succeed at auditions! In the back of our minds we think, "They don't want me"..."They don’t like how I sound"..."I'm wasting their time." It's important to remember that casting directors DO want you to succeed because their job DEPENDS on it. They would LOVE to have too many amazing singers to choose from. This just means that their production is going to prosper since they’ve found droves of wonderful people for its success! You only have a couple minutes to show who you are and what you’ve got. Will you allow negative thoughts to take over? Or, will you walk into that room believing that your gifts and your JOY are in high demand? If you remember that you are WANTED - you’ll start to change your energy and confidence in the audition room!
Practicing Riffs SLOWLY can be embarrassing. If you’re just starting off, your Riffs will be a far cry from the rabbit-like speed of Mariah or Stevie. Should you just give up then? No way! In the proverbial tradition of being a patient tortoise - going SLOW is the best way to succeed! Fast Riffing is all about "letting go." Yet, usually when we Riff too quickly, we tighten up and attempt to “hang on” to every little note. In order to let go, your body needs to understand the required coordination first. Going at a tortoise-like pace can help your mind and vocal cords understand what needs to happen. Try your Riffs at PAINFULLY slow speeds and then gradually increase that speed each day for a week. On the 7th day, let go! The control and precision will be there! Slow and steady wins the race!
Did you know that the simple act of looking down at our phones can impact our posture? We tend to lean our heads forward by as much as 60 degrees as we scroll through a smartphone or tablet! This act of tilting forward and downward becomes a burden on the cervical spine, creating excess tension in the back of the neck. Our bodies habituate this position so quickly that straightening up can actually cause discomfort! It then becomes difficult to sustain vertical alignment while singing because the body simply isn’t used to the proper position. Ideally, phone and computer screens should be placed at eye level. If this isn’t possible, be mindful of how far you’re jutting forward. Avoid looking down or leaning forward for extended periods of time or make sure to take breaks. This subtle change will relieve the muscles in your neck and encourage ideal alignment!
Keeping a healthy and POSITIVE perspective before performing or auditioning is critical to success. While we should always strive to do our very best, it can be tempting to exaggerate the STAKES in our minds. One helpful strategy for combating performance anxiety is to recall some of your favorite memories - a late night laughing with friends, a favorite vacation, or maybe your very first concert. Be as specific as possible and take yourself to this Joyous place before taking the stage for your performance. Summoning imagery that fills your body and Spirit with positivity and peace can help alleviate pressure and nerves. Always remember that there’s MORE to your blessed Vocal Journey than any ONE single performance!
The music industry can be competitive and tough, especially as a new singer trying to get your first gig. To increase your chances of getting performance work, it can be useful to have auxiliary skills that COMPLEMENT your singing. Playing a musical instrument so that you can accompany yourself is one great skill. Dancing and acting skills can be valuable even if you don’t do Musical Theatre. Learning to sing harmonies can help with backup vocals or with singing in a choir or ensemble. You could also explore Music Theory skills, such as composing and arranging music for yourself and other artists. Even technical skills like operating a sound board or recording demos can help. Whatever the complementary skills you choose to develop, your versatility as an artist will help lead you toward success!
HEAR what you FEEL! At NYVC, we always encourage our students to record their Voice Lessons. Listening back to these recordings is an important part of understanding how what you FEEL connects to what your listeners HEAR. When you’re practicing at home, recording is an important discipline as well. Especially if you’re developing a new skill or rehearsing a song. Once you’ve finished a song or exercise, listen back objectively and evaluate what you heard. This will help you progress faster and will make you a better self-teacher. As a bonus, when you’re listening to other singers, you'll naturally begin to understand the mechanics behind how they make their sounds as well. HEAR what you FEEL!
LISTEN. Do you hear it? Music is all around you all the time! The car horns honking. The front door squeaking. The neighbor’s dog barking. The crunch of your lunch in your mouth. The cacophonic cadence of every conversation careening up and down. You don’t have to be practicing your singing to be practicing your LISTENING. Opening up your ears can be a truly spiritual and artistic experience. All the sounds that we hear are just vibrations of air. Yet, these vibrations have the power to make us think, feel, act, react, and love. Don’t limit your aural life to just your singing and music alone. Give thanks for the fact that each and every moment we can lift ourselves to Higher Vibrations. All we have to do is open up our ears and our hearts. The exact answers you’ve been praying for could be in the air right now! LISTEN.
Singing is a SPORT! It’s truly a MUSCULAR event. And, any muscular improvement requires training, workouts, personal wellness, rest, and a healthy diet. Thus, as Vocal Athletes, we must not neglect the whole of our Athleticism if we want our voices to excel. Singers are often astonished after beginning a workout program that involves cardio, stretching, weight training, dietary changes, and overall physical fitness. Almost as if by magic their VOICES improve suddenly by leaps and bounds! Why? It's because singing really is a SPORT! So, try becoming a “two-sport athlete” by getting your body AND your voice into their finest forms! See you at the gym (and in the practice room)!
Breathing Technique can certainly make you a better singer. But, it can also make you a better PERFORMER. In life, we often take a breath to create anticipation for words to come, while thinking, or for emotional or dramatic effect. In performing, you can also deliberately choose where you breathe to bring your text to life! As an exercise, try changing WHERE you breathe in a song that you’re currently working on. Observe how this alters the delivery of the text. Does it make it more believable? More interesting? How does it affect the mood of the piece? Be intentional with your breathing not just in technique practice, but also in your songwork. If you do, you’ll breathe LIFE into your performances!
Could TENSION actually be the secret to relaxation? In fact, YES! A helpful way to eliminate tension is to contract a muscle group for 10 seconds or so and then release this contraction. Sustained contractions allow muscles to release in an exaggerated way. Take a minute to contract and release muscles in your feet and legs, then your abdomen, followed by your arms and shoulders, and finally your neck and head. Do you notice any difference? Do you feel looser? Is your awareness of muscle relaxation heightened? Functional muscle tension is necessary for maintaining optimal body alignment. Yet, unwanted muscular tension hinders optimal vocal production. So, make tension the victim of its own trap! Use TENSION for newfound vocal freedom!
Remember to REWARD your singing! Singing involves muscle coordinations that only get better with practice and time. Yet, we often refuse to reward ourselves until we sound “perfect” or until we achieve something that we perceive to be a monumental accomplishment. Remember though - every time you practice or take a lesson, you're taking a step forward on your vocal journey. Every time you study a new artist, you're developing your stylistic potential. Every time you show up for an audition (even when you don’t get cast), your career is moving forward. Every time you sing to make someone else happy, you’ve given a precious gift. Don’t wait to reward yourself. Celebrate the amazing steps forward that you're making each and every day! If you do, you’ll soon remember that singing is its own reward!
Do you know what it’s like to be a sound engineer? How about a freelance bassist? A theater producer? You don’t need to be an expert in every field, but it's very helpful to know what it’s like to work in other areas of the Music Industry. Learn more about the kind of hours your colleagues work, how they're paid, and how they go about finding jobs. It will help you grow both as an artist and business person. It will also help you understand circumstances that may seem frustrating or difficult. Often these are the result of factors from another facet of the business that you didn't know about. So, learn about your colleagues! You'll be happier, more professional, and others will value the fact that you know where they're coming from!
Should the larynx be high or low? Neither. And both. Contrary to old beliefs, different larynx positions are actually a healthy and viable way to produce different vocal styles and timbres. Lower larynx positions provide a darker tone while high larynx positions enable a brighter vocal quality. However, the larynx should NOT be a pitch changer. Often a raised larynx is used to assist with singing high notes when the voice has not been developed or trained. This should be minimized as it can lead to major limitations and tensions in the voice. When developing your vocal technique, ensure that higher notes are accessible without hiking up the larynx. Once this has been achieved, if you choose to raise the larynx for stylistic purposes (like in a pop/rock tune), then feel free to raise it up! Explore all the possibilities your larynx has to offer!
Speed up your vocal progress by improving the way you LISTEN! First, make sure you RECORD your Voice Lessons and then revisit them. From there, record your PRACTICE sessions as well. How do they compare to your lesson or other recent practices? Are you addressing the nuances of your technique in each practice? Are you starting to hear the things your instructor hears? Are you noticing any consistent habits? The discipline of listening will accelerate your progress. Don’t judge yourself harshly. Instead, be objective and listen for pitch, timbre, resonance, and breath. Use your ears to listen, your heart to hear, and your soul to grow!
Your voice and body are ONE! It’s easy to REMEMBER that our body is made up of organs, muscles, tissues, blood, and many other components. Yet, it’s easy to FORGET that the voice is part of this equation. Your voice can be affected by a variety of factors, such as hydration, fatigue, humidity levels, emotional health, fitness, and overall physical well-being. The next time you are wondering about your vocal health, consider your entire body and take stock of how you’re doing physically, emotionally, and spiritually. As a singer, your top priority is to take great care of your body and voice together. After all, it’s all ONE instrument!
Letting go of TENSION is as easy as INTENTION! The tension that builds up in our bodies throughout the day often translates into vocal tension when we sing. Thankfully, you can work on eliminating vocal tension even when you aren't singing or in a practice session. It just takes intention! Stuck in traffic or in a crowd with a tense neck and shoulders? RELEASE! Do you sit at a desk all day and notice your body slumped forward for hours on end? RELEASE! Are your legs and feet tense from standing and walking around all day? RELEASE! Are you talking or shouting all day long and find your jaw, neck, and tongue are tense? RELEASE! Instead of only addressing vocal tension while singing, start thinking about it throughout the day so that you're already loose for your singing session! You can even start right now as you read this… RELEASE!
Consider the tools that artists use to create. A painter uses paint. A potter uses clay. A carpenter uses wood. So, what do singers use to create? A MULTITUDE of vocal tools! These tools include vibrato, straight tone, breathiness, rasp, larynx positions, mouth shape, tongue positions, twang, nasal resonance, volume, diction, and register shifts. And this is just to name a few! So, be creative as a Vocal Creator. Experiment, explore, and exaggerate. Take risks, take liberties, and take Joy! You’ll be surprised what amazing, unique, and soulful sounds you can make. You won’t end up with a painting, a pot, or a table. But, you’ll discover what it means to be a vocal artist with your own creative STYLE!
Do you have the STAMINA for Sustains? Try singing one pitch for as long as you can, nice and steady. Ok… GO! Keep going! You can make it! Alright, how many seconds did you last? If you lasted 30 seconds or more - WOW! Congrats! A vocal triumph! If you had trouble lasting 10 seconds or even less - you have a little work to do. Sustaining long phrases requires not only Breath Stamina, but Breath Management as well. Breath Stamina is how long you can last between breaths. Breath Management is expelling the proper amount of air at any given time during your exhale. Think of it this way: at the beginning of your exhale you have more air you need to hold back. At the end of your exhale, though, you need to let more air out. Practicing this will help you keep an even flow throughout your singing - and will give your Stamina a boost!