How To Sing

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There was once a time when you needed to be a musician to be able to perform in public, but with the advent of easily obtainable music backing tracks, and the need of pubs and clubs to attract new patrons, all this has changed.

And seeing ordinary people thrust into the limelight via TV shows has given us all the idea that our voices, once upon a time confined to the bathroom, is now something we should be parading in public.

It’s not as if the desire to sing in public is a new thing – a few beers have always unloosened the vocal chords, even when the only option was singing along around the pub piano.

No longer is karaoke known as the opportunity where those who absolutely, positively cannot sing a note go to prove it – today’s karaoke nights are populated by some very talented singers. Lured by singing to high-quality backing tracks, karaoke has become a respected arena for even some high profile pop stars.

But if you’re a ‘karaoke virgin’, don’t be alarmed – different venues cater for different levels of singing talent, and the spirit of karaoke means that no singer genuinely trying their best is ever given less than appreciative applause.

Most karaoke gigs are held in pubs and clubs, but are often not advertised. Unless you happen to be there on the night, chances are you’ll never know that the karaoke exists – and some karaoke nights are held only once or twice a month.

Whilst major cities will have karaoke running somewhere every night of the week, in the lesser cities karaoke may be found only late in the week and at weekends; and most major towns will have karaoke somewhere on a Friday and Saturday night.

Rural towns will often have karaoke at the weekends in the RSL or sporting club, and taxi drivers are another good source of karaoke venue information.

But the very best place to find your karaoke is on websites, and Australia’s most up-to-date list is on where2sing.com – with more than 800 venues listed nationwide.

It’s not just finding a karaoke night that matters, it’s now important to find the right type of night.

Are you a first timer looking for some free entertainment and possibly a chance to get up on stage and sing? Or are you an experienced singer who wants a filled auditorium of people to impress? Every pub and club is different, and selecting one that suits you is the key to really enjoying your night.

With the Internet being the first choice of many seeking information, websites now hold the feedback of singers who have already visited venues and are keen to share their knowledge.

One result of this is the ‘Where2sing.com National Top 10 Karaoke Venues chart’ which is taken as a benchmark of a venue’s karaoke quality.

Where2sing.com is also a sponsor of the Australian heats of the Karaoke World Championships 2007 – Australia placed 5th in 2005 but scored a victory in the men’s titles in 2006 by coming first.

And whilst there’s now even online karaoke where you can upload your singing performance to websites for others to hear and rate, nothing beats the friendship and entertainment of a live karaoke night in a pub or club.

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Many people download lyrics off from the internet today. Having done that they many times wish that they did buy the disc as even the legal downloads do not come with any lyrics to the songs that they have. Finding lyrics online is easy with the growth of the internet but intergrating them with your mp3 software might not be as easy as what many think.

With so many download services on the internet today, most companies still ignore the issue of lyrics as most uses would like to have the music with the lyrics. So how do you get your lyrics onto your mp3 player?

Just as there are many lyrics sites, there is today a huge variety of shareware developers who have created plugins for most of the devices on the market. Now you can import the lyrics into your IPod or MP3 player for most music bought on the internet. A good example is the iTunes tracker software that which connects online to retrieve your lyrics. The software not only allows you to organize the lyrics but also to save, edit and store them.

The software is very simple when reading lyrics. The progams are similiar to to the first version on Windows Player where it would read the file to extract the name of the song and the artist. What most of these software packages does is merely to connect to the internet after completing the same process and downloading the lyrics for the song that it had identified. The technology for find lyrics is not new.

Now that you have the song, what do you do with it. Most of the lyric software allows you to tag or mark the lyrics so that each time the music was played it would display the lyrics on your screen. The software varies and each is different. Some will not store the lyrics for you on a long term bases and you need to download the lyrics each time you listen tot he song. Others keep the lyrics for you on your player so each time you play it the lyrics would be displayed. Very few of these however allow you to print the lyrics when done. So they do limit the use of lyrics on your mp3 player. The shareware market is filled with lyrics readers, but most of them have very limited features as they require you to but the full version or proffessional edition of the software to make use of all the features.

Lyrics can be download or view online for most applications. Happy singing!

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As the mother of a two year old, I am always looking for activities that encourage learning and development. I find that most of the activities we do together that result in learning are purely by coincidence and luck – not by any skill or training I have.

As of late, my son has shown a real passion for music. He has even begun to differentiate between styles of music he likes and dislikes – his preferences are Contemporary Christian and Country, of course those both fall behind any song done by The Wiggles. But I digress. The point is, he is drawn to music and feels the need to express himself in many ways when he hears it.

For example, he has learned different dance moves from the television characters on his favorite programs, as well as from good old mom and dad. He recreates those moves into his own little dance routine whenever he hears a song he likes – even in the car. He is using his creativity and memory to express himself, which I believe is helping build his character. He also tries to sing – well, more like hum – but again, this is another form of expression and he is increasing his vocabulary by wanting to say the right words. He claps to the music and tries his best to keep a rhythm. These are all amazing skills that he is learning and using in his own individual way. This is such a breakthrough age where children begin to graduate from simply imitating to combining what they know in ways to interact with the world around them.

These activities are encouraging many facets of development: physical (clapping, stomping, other dance motions) social (a way for him to interact with those around him) cognitive (he is bridging pathways from what he’s learned to how he wants to use the information to express his own personality); emotional (a definite sense of pride accompanies all forms of learning in children).

If your child enjoys music, you can encourage them by making music readily available for them without having to spend a fortune. I would guess they already have toys that make music. A lot of books play music as well. Even just turning on the radio throughout the day and finding a station that is suitable for you both can be a very rewarding experience. Whether your child is hearing music on the television, radio, or directly from an instrument you are playing, he/she has so many opportunities for learning. Capture those moments and make the most of them!

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In the world of the music business, there are truly singers who sing and singers who don’t, along with talent booking agents who book and those that couldn’t sell cotton candy at the circus. Is it drive, talent or a mystical combination of “factors” that create singers and talent booking agents, or is it yet the pure unexplainable? Let’s look at some factors in this article as singers, looking to further their careers, try to find suitable representation.

As a former talent booking agent with the William Morris Agency, I can tell you that there are many factors that determine both effective agents and marketable singers and artists. While there are many explainable factors, there certainly is the element of luck, the right place at the right time and the “Who knows, it just happened,” phenomenon. Let’s start with what we can determine and hopefully you will gain some insight into what effective booking agents look like and your securing one of them.

To begin with, there are many caliber of booking agents out there. As I’ve outlined in a previous article on booking talent, that you can find at ReelMusician, there are the order taking agents who book mainly headline acts, the agent who started in some agency somewhere and who branches out starting their own agency booking more of the “has been” acts and the lowest, but not always the least on the totem pole agents. These agents are usually friends of the artist or a manager looking to push their act before a major record deal signing, etc.

With each agent level comes a different approach. The order taking agent, with the larger well known talent agencies, isn’t going to be interested in your act unless there is interest and ongoing courting from a major record label. These agents take the “baby” acts and use leverage, with promoters who want the headline act, into a must take the baby act as well deal – And most promoters don’t have a problem and understand that this is part of the deal when playing in the big boys club. Unless you have a record deal or are very appealing and are drawing some interest from the labels or a big time manager, you won’t find yourself behind the desk of one of these agents. If you are trying to approach the agent at the top of the pyramid, you must recognize that image, packaging, appeal, and your knowing and talking the game to a tee, and not in artsy fartsy language, is going to be key.

I recommend that you really have your act together and don’t even begin to bother these individuals, not that they’re necessarily the best agents in the game, but certainly have more power and influence from position alone, before approaching them. Your artist bio, pictures, artist demos have to look like there label ready. And before that, you really need to have a manager and a manager working on securing an agent on your behalf.

Again, many more articles on this and other topics can be found at ReelMusician. So, unless you really have your act together, with management in place, don’t bother wasting yours or the agent’s time.

The next level down the agent totem pole will be not only be easier to gain access to, but easier to gain representation from. The middle line agents are hard working agents who make their bread and butter on the older, end of the product or market shelf life acts. These acts, because of name recognition, can make these agents a significant income. You will have to prove to this agent that you will not take up any more time than any other act that they are promoting. Why should they spend all of their time trying to book your act with nothing or little in return? This is a key question. Ask yourself, as an agent, what do I get out of this? – Phone bills and mailing costs or am I going to see a valid positive cash flow return on all of my time expended on this act? I want you to think about that question and reflect. This alone will help you not only relate, converse knowing their difficulties in booking, but ultimately help you secure a booking agent.

In the game of booking, you as an artist have to have something more than “hip and cool” and a “new” artist sound, but you have to be able to present to the seller, that being your agent, that he or she has something of value to sell with minimal headaches. You can’t possibly begin to imagine how hard it is to book some acts – when you start booking your own shows, with vested interest I might ad, you begin to touch on the realities of the agent’s day to day barrage of booking complexities. So begin to compile a mental list of positive booking attributes that you or your band can bring to the table.

As you look at either contemplating a manager, or a serious friend who wants a try at booking and management of your act, try to be reasonable in your business relationships. I’ve said it before, that everyone wants to be a star, but nobody wants to help pay for it. For the most part, artists just expect that booking agents and managers will pick up the exhaustive phone, mailing and press kit bills. You might inquire, if you are really serious about securing a business team, about helping out with some of the initial start-up costs trying to land your act on the map. It takes a tremendous amount of energy and money and just your willingness to help out alone, will tell a manager or booking agent that you are serious and not just “takers.” This alone, even if they decline the financial help, may be the key in determining the start of a successful relationship.

In closing, in order for you to succeed, you must remain in front of the masses and this is done not so much musically, but in your day to attitude and business focus and with your professional and well laid out blueprint for success. Feel free to contact us at the contact numbers that follow.

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The most popular music today either has someone rapping about the hood, or someone rocking out without much singing talent. It seems that lately the art of singing has been lost in making music. I know that this sounds impossible, but more and more popular songs are being put out on the radio by people that can not sing very well at all. What happened to the Stings, the Celine Dions and the Stevie Wonders of the world? Now we are left with Jay Z, Britney Spears, and Korn. Even though many poor singers are getting most of the playing time on the radio, there is a singer out there that can sing very well and has become very popular over the last five years. The singer’s name is Josh Groban.

Josh Groban has always loved music since he was a small child, and he started singing while in the seventh grade. Groban was very happy singing and acting when he was in middle school and then high school, but his grades began to slip, so he took some time off to get his grades back up. When he graduated from high school he was accepted into the Carnegie Mellon Theater department where he studied music and theater. He only stayed in college for one year, because he was signed to a recording contract by a friend of his vocal coach, David Foster.

Josh Groban learned from his classical music teachings when he was young, and he also looked up to and learned from many musicians as well. Some of these other musicians were Radiohead, Paul Simon, Sting, Peter Gabriel, and Bjork. As you can see from his wide variety of influences, Josh Groban brings a perfect blend of smooth popular and classical music. If you like to listen to very melodic and sweet sounding music, complimented by a very strong and powerful voice, then Josh Groban is the perfect music for you. Josh’s popularity has skyrocketed through the roof over the past few years, so look for many more great things from this young singer/actor.

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The first step in voice training is awareness. I have heard some colleagues say that unless one has a specific speech problem, voice training is something solely for singers and perhaps actors. In summary, voice training is, most importantly, getting the performer to think outside the box. I learned how important breath control acquired through voice training is in music. So, how do you know if one on one voice training is for you, and how do you find a coach suited for your voice. In some cases formal voice training is valuable. Voice training is tedious. Proper voice training is essential so that you can learn to utilize this natural instrument without damaging it. Classical voice training is a plus factor.

The goal of this study is to define the long-term influence of vocal hygiene education and the effectiveness of voice training. This network provides a variety of high-quality vocal coaching and voice training tools. Vocal coaching for all levels and styles – pop, rock, urban, dance, music theatre and opera. Focus on breath control and expanding vocal range. Look for “vocal stress-busters” sprinkled throughout the internet. These are short songs to sing. Respect your vocal limits. So what makes you think that you do not need vocal lessons? Everyone can sing, but it is difficult to sing well without vocal training. Voice care is important for vocal health. Even a slight change in your vocal cords can render your voice unrecognizable.

With a music tutor, the performer may see whether he/she is singing at the correct pitch and how high the musical quality of his/her voice is. You will need to train to release the full potential of your voice. You can try books on singing, speech training and voice training. If you want to try it alone then I recommend the singing programs: ‘Singing Success’ or ‘The Ultimate Voice Training for Singers’. If you are already singing professionally, then it is vital that you take up voice training to separate you from the crowd. You will need excellent, safe techniques for singing, speaking, and acting. The skill of directing the sound and holding it there during singing creates the artistry of proper voice training. Learn the same technique used by popular singing stars. A song based method for developing the singing voice. Performance training, group singing can help you project your singing voice. Start training and singing today.

Voice training is complex. To reach your full potential it takes a lot of practice. You will need to be dedicated to the art of singing. Make sure you take care of your voice and don’t over do it.

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Are you looking for a fun way to add some life to your parties? Karaoke is an activity that people of all ages really enjoy doing. Your guests will look forward to your next party once you tell them they can sing their favorite songs while they are there. There are plenty of different karaoke machines you can purchase and many of them are very affordable.

The words of the songs will be scrolling on the karaoke machine or across your TV set depending on the type of set up you have in place. A microphone allows the voice of those singing to be amplified and that is very exciting. Most karaoke machines come with several tracks from which you can choose to sing. You can also buy additional ones to give your guests more of a selection of songs.

There are some excellent software programs you can purchase to burn karaoke songs offer of the internet. This is one of the easiest and most affordable ways to increase the number of songs you have to offer to your guests. If they find something they really like they will be more likely to join in the fun.

You can have a karaoke contest at your party as well. If the party is for children you will want to have a prize ready for each child to take home just for participating. For adults and teenagers you can offer great prizes for different categories including best voice and the most original performance.

Don’t think that your karaoke machine is going to remain stored away in between parties either. Chances are your family will have so much fun with it that members will use it regularly. They may just want to have some fun or they may want to improve their sound for the next karaoke party.

Take your time to compare the various types of karaoke machines available and the music for them. You want your party to be a huge success so give guests something they will really enjoy being a party of. It is a good idea to set up the karaoke machine in advance and practice using it before your party. This way you won’t be fumbling around with the equipment and holding up the entertainment.

It helps if you have a sign up sheet where guests can write down their name and the selection of the sound they want to sing. You can print out sheets of the song titles and artists for them to review as well. You can make a spreadsheet on your computer so you can continually update it as you add new material.

Regardless of the type of party you are hosting, you can bring a smile to the face of everyone there with karaoke. Make sure you offer a wide variety of songs since everyone has their own taste in music. If karaoke night at your house becomes a regular routine you can even ask your guests if there are particular songs they would like to hear. This is a great way to have fun without spending very much money for your event.

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Fronting their own band is a dream of every beginner singer. So how can you front a band and develop your own band’s own distinctive style of music and performance? How to at the same time developing your own individually unique singing style? How are you going to be distinguished and get noticed from those thousands of bands playing only cover versions of popular music and imitating their favourite bands and lead singers?

First thing to do is to view as many DVD performances of famous singers fronting their bands from the musical genre you have chosen as the forte of your band’s music. Examine how distinctive and different they are from each other. Notice each band playing with their own style and song delivery. Take note of everyone’s body language and what signals and vibes the famous bands and singers are sending out.

Let us take a look at some of these singers and bands. Take Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones for example. See how he pouts his lips and struts on stage cockily exuding sensual visuals and confident charisma at the same time. Those body language became his characteristics and singing charisma. In the advertisement world,it is called image branding.

If someone were to name you some popular singers, you will immediately associate a clear mental picture of that singer during a performance. That is how powerful your body language and distinctive branding can be. In otherwords, be different from the crowd by developing your own style of singing and performance.

Just try it. Close your eyes and when someone mentions to you these names, what do you see in your mental picture? Elvis Presley, Boy George, Bono of U2, Kate Bush, Cindy Lauper, Michael Jackson and even The Village People. Get the picture? (pun not intended, grin)

So, you must develop your own distinctive style of singing and stage performance to get noticed and create a brand for your band.

Learn from those excellent singers fronting their own bands. Learn from them how they keep time and rythym when they move on stage? Which action and movement during their performances that drew audience reactions? How do these singers whip their fans into a frenzy? What are the facial expressions at every stage of a song? How do they tell an emotional story from the lyrics of the songs that get people moved?

Learn and borrow some traits from these singers, and then develop them further with your own unique singing style blended in.

Once you have developed your personal distinctive singing style, the next step is to rehearse with your band. Your band must know what you want and this must be communicated before every rehearsal and reinforced. Things like when you want to bring the song into a climax, when to bring it down to tug at audience heartstrings, when to pause to create a dramatic impact…etc

Invest a little moeny in your band by buying some good music sheets so that the band can play together as a team with the same music sheets and scores.If you leave your band members to play by ear, all the band members will interpret the songs in their own way and you would have lost alot of time and energy to get the band to play tightly together.

Therefore you need to work closely with your band members since as a lead singer, you are probably the band leader as well. You then must insist that the band play the keys that you are comfortable to sing in, stick to the musical arrangements and follow the effects of the songs you want to portray.

Once this is done, rehearse until the band and you are inseparable components of the song, then you are there! You are now ready to front a good band as a lead singer, get recognized as a singer and band leader of distinction.

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Once a year, millions of Americans gather in front of their televisions to learn who will be the next American Idol. 9.9 million viewers watched the very first American Idol episode in 2002. By the end of that first season, more than 22 million viewers sat down to watch Kelly Clarkson be crowned the first American Idol. As season five came to an end, 36 million viewers were on hand to watch Taylor Hicks be crowned the season five winner.

Some commentators believe that Idol ratings are high, because people like watching train wrecks. In the same way that traffic jams are caused by drivers “rubber necking” to see a traffic accident, many people believe that American Idol’s charm is the fact that viewers can see hopeful performers get sliced and diced by Simon Cowell and the other American Idol judges, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson.

However, if that were the case, American Idol ratings would be strong out of the gate and then slowly taper off until the final performances are done. But, it does not work that way. With the lone exception of season four, more viewers have tuned in for the season finales than the season premieres.

So, the phenomenal success of American Idol cannot be attributed to harsh criticisms offered by the judges. American Idol has something more. Simon once told a contestant, “If this were a paid concert, this is the point I’d leave.” If people were watching American Idol to hear Cowell’s famous sarcasm, then the fun would be over once the final twelve were selected.

What Makes American Idol So Successful?

Any person who can successfully answer that question should be able to package the Idol formula and make millions of his or her own. But, the answer to that question is not so easy to uncover.

Many people have ventured to answer this question and to package their own American Idol spin-off programs. To date, no one has been able to create his or her own version of this winning formula.

7 Common Reasons Given For The Success Of American Idol:

The American Dream – Millions of people want to be rich and famous. When they look on their television screens and see people following their dreams of success in the music industry, they are energized to cheer for the contestants.

The Personal Drama – Viewers are taken into the lives of the contestants. This enables the viewer to form personal attachments with the individual performers and to root for the people they would like to win the show.

Viewer Participation – Simon, Paula and Randy are not left in charge of the hen house. Instead, American Idol allows their viewers to participate in the selection process.

The Music – People love the music. While individual viewers may not always appreciate songs previously sung by Barbara Streisand or Barry Manilow, they know that the next performer might be singing a song they really love to hear.

The Talent – People enjoy watching talented performers. Once the contest is narrowed to the final twelve contestants, viewers get the chance to see a live concert performed by talented artists, in every episode.

The Contest – There are only two other programs on television that beat the American Idol finale in the ratings every year. Those programs are the Super Bowl and the Academy Awards. All three programs have been designed to identify the best-of-the-best.

Short Season – American Idol runs half as long as the typical television series. Many people believe that since the show runs only half a season that it leaves viewers wanting more and anticipating the new season with greater desire.

It Is About The Talent

Many people suggest that one should have thick skin to participate in a program of this type. For some contestants, the thick skin is definitely a necessity, especially when you find yourself on the receiving end of a Cowell quip like, “What do you think we are looking for — a two-year-old who can’t sing?”

Randy Jackson was quoted, “The judges are continually surprised at how people who should know they can’t sing show up thinking they have a chance.”

The audience is often surprised too.

But, the audiences loved William Hung. He did not know how to sing and he knew it, but he enjoyed singing even if he did not have the talent. Hung was the only exception to the golden rule about talent. Hung got a recording deal and his CD sold 295,000 copies, outselling a dozen of the other Idol contestants who have gotten recording deals.

Self-Confidence Is A Requisite… Or Is It?

Many critics suggest that a contestant in American Idol should bring confidence to the competition if they want to win. But, the truth is that American Idol is as much about the making of a star as it is about locating the talent.

Standing in front of an audience of 36 million viewers and three brash judges does take some self-confidence, but confidence will not make an untalented contestant a better performer.

As season six was gearing up, a young lady named Melinda from Memphis was told by Simon Cowell, “You walk in here with no confidence and no attitude and yet you are a brilliant singer . . . You are in the top 2% of good singers this year.”

When a contestant hears words such as these, they cannot help but find in themselves the confidence to become the star they deserve to be. This is how stars are made. The judge’s help the talented find their way through the process, and those with talent learn how to be the star that America wants to hear on the radio.

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Some singers catapulted to stardom rather quickly, some sparkled, flickered a little and then faded into obscurity while most singers stayed the same for years if not forever at mediocrity level?

Why is it that most singers never make it big in their singing career, not to say becoming superstars? Well, for starters, most singers begin their career as a lounge singer, singing in small clubs and belting out cover versions of established and popular singers. They selection of songs will be dictated by their audiences and so they must cover a wide genre of songs.

At one moment, you can enjoy a Barbara Streisand ballad and then the next song will be a fast Chaka Khan number followed by latin inspired Michael Buble’s ‘Sway’. Yes, it is good to be versatile and able to sing songs of various styles and genre. In fact it is even admirable if you can sing a Celine Dione number and sounded like Celine and then a Frank Sinatra swing sounding like ol’ blue eyes himself.

However, as a famous vocal coach, Brett Manning once said, ‘I have coached dozens of young women who can now sing almost exactly like Celine Dion. But then again, who wants a counterfeit when the real Celine Dione is already available?’ This quote is taken from Brett’s article ‘How to build a successful singing voice’.

In other words, most singers just take it as part of their job to sound like the original cover versions of songs and never try to create a distinctive sound and style of their own. Now, if all singers sounded alike, how would you get noticed and recognized for who you are? How to make it big as a singer when you can only sing other people’s song and imitate other singer’s style of singing?

Let me ask you a question, how many times have you heard a song being sung and immediately able to identify the singer although you have never heard that particular song performed by the singer? Many times isn’t it? Why? Because every prolific singer’s voice and style are like their thumbprint. It is distinguishable from the rest of the pack. That is why they stand out and get noticed.

If you want your singing voice to get noticed and make it big as a singer, develop a distinctive style and voice of your own. After all, you have sung so many singer’s style that you can use these influences to develop your own and stand out from the crowd.

Till next time, happy singing.

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