Archive for March, 2009:
Stage Fright
So, you want to be a rock star!
You are talented, ambitious and are willing to learn, but there is one thing which is keeping you, from showing us, your abilities. You have that dreaded stage fright that is inhibiting you from your dream.. What do you do now?
Let me start by saying that most performers or public speakers, whether they be musicians, actors, teachers or politicians, will most likely have experienced some degree of stage fright in their lifetime. Stage fright is a very natural experience and should not be the reason that keeps you from your dream.
With life experience, comes many negative reinforcements. Most will come from our parents, friends, peers, teachers and the media. The constant bombardment of ‘not measuring up’ to your sibling, peers or neighbor will take a toll on your psyche and self confidence, which in turn shows up in an inability to perform in front of a group.
Some parents will say things like, that isn’t good enough, you can do better. Little words such as these can create a huge problem in the self confidence department. If you are the type of person who has continually encountered these types of slow poisonous words, then you will probably find it very difficult to sing in public or speak in front of your classmates. You might feel numb or feel a sensation of butterflies in your stomach before any sort of public display.
If you have had more than the average negative remarks, you may have a more severe form of stage fright. You could experience severe panic attacks where you feel as if you are having a heart attack. You will feel short of breath, your heart rate will increase and you may feel dizzy, shaky or perhaps even faint. You need to know that you are completely normal. You are not a freak of nature, and most importantly, you don’t have to live with this for the rest of your life.
Being an artist means that you have to communicate with your audience via whatever medium you choose. That’s it! Learning to change the way you perceive yourself will be the beginning of your cure. In essence, change the way you think and you can conquer whatever fear it is that you have.
I can’t cure your stage fright. This is something that you will have to work on. It will take time and energy to change your nervous system’s response to your fear, but it can be done if you stick with it.
I can start you off with a few pointers however:
First, we have to understand that negative statements from your parents, siblings, teachers, peers and so forth have nothing to do with you. It’s all about them and their inability to communicate on a higher level with you. The quicker you come to this realization, the shorter your road to recovery will be.
2. Try directing your communication to one person instead of a mass. When you direct your communication to one person, especially if it is someone with whom you feel comfortable with, you will have a much easier time. If that person isn’t present, pretend that they are.
3. If there isn’t anyone around that you feel comfortable with, try making up a personality and direct your art at that fictional figure. You must believe that this fictional character is there, otherwise it will be a complete waste of time.
If all these steps are a bit too hard for you, you may want to try directing your art at yourself, and no one else. You need to have an entity for the message you are delivering, even if this entity is yourself. Remember that this is only a message that you are delivering and not a motive for you to be judged. Once you have mentally blocked yourself from being judged, you will find that a lot of the pressure will ease.
When delivering your message, you as an artist must also deliver an emotion. Look at the song, play, presentation that you are delivering and think about the emotion that the message is trying to convey, and try to illuminate the emotion. It could be humor, anger, understanding, pain or anything really. You will find that people will be more willing to listen to you, if you touch them in some way.
4. If none of these things do it for you, try pretending that you are someone else. It could be a certain singer, actor, public speaker or that extroverted classmate who’s personality you secretly admire.
These are just a few ideas on how to ease the much disdained feeling of stage fright.
Lastly, you will be much better equipped if you as an artist accept your reason for your act as a form of communication and not a motive for judgement, . Your posture will improve as will your voice. Your self-consciousness will slowly begin to dissipate and turn into a different consciousness, which ultimately will turn your stage fright into a presence on stage…
Music Business
Music Business: The Three P´s Of Singing
What does the Music business look for in a singer? If you are at all interested in breaking into the music business this might be a question that you have asked yourself endless times.
Maybe you are a budding singer and want very much to break into the music business, but don´t know how to proceed with your dream of earning a good living from doing something which you love.
Producers in the music business usually live by a simple phrase. They call it the three P´s.. Pitch, Pocket and Passion. The studio can help you with pitch and pocket, but you if lack in the passion department, then you are out of luck. Passion is something you can´t teach, you either have it or you don´t. If you don´t have passion in what you are singing, a good producer will be able to smell you a mile away, and probably will never give you a chance. If you are graced with having these three qualities as a singer, then you most likely already have a fabulous vocal ability. You should always continue to train your voice because there is always room for improvement. Cockiness isn´t a great virtue to have, you should always be willing to put in the time to train your voice. Remember that people who have had years of experience in the music business will probably know a little more than someone who is trying to break into the music business.
Now that you know what the music business wants of you as a singer, you may be asking yourself what do these three P´s mean.
Pitch:
Pitch simply means that you are singing in tune. If your voice strays from a flat to a sharp note, you will definately want to work on that. There are some simple techniques which may help you sing more in tune, and avoid pitch problems.
If you are over singing a note, or simply trying too hard, that note will probably be sharp. If you are in a studio and this is happening, try upping the volume in the monitors or headphones, and try not to override that volume. It will defeat the purpose.
If you have a tendency of singing flat notes, try lifting your eyebrows and smiling. Smiling does a lot more than just make you or others feel good, smiling helps to relax facial, cranial and neck muscles which are imperative to become a good singer.
You will also need to have a correct head position as well as the abdomen. Breathing is essential.
Pocket:
Singing in the pocket, simply means that you have correct timing of what you are singing to what the rest of the band is playing. If the instrumentalists are out of the pocket, the music will not be very good, this is also true for the singer. You as a singer are a vital instrument in your band. Try concentrating on beat one to begin your entrance into the song, and concentrate on beat two and four to stay in the pocket.
Passion:
Everyone in the audience must feel what you are singing, whether it be sad or happy or angry or any other emotion the song conveys. If you are singing a sad song and you are smiling through the entire song, you will not be very believable. Most great singers are great singers because they have great passion.
Lastly, If you really want to be a singing sensation in the music business, I would recommend that you start now. Train your voice and employ a vocal teacher if possible.
The music business is a tough business to get into, but the rewards are also many.
Make Music
If you have ever thought about making your own music but became discouraged because you aren´t very gifted in the talent department, then this article is for you. The truth is that with today´s continued advancement in computer technology, you really don´t need to be a gifted musician to make music. All you really need to make music, is a good music composition software. Some are better than others, but you can always start off with one of the many free music composition software to get you on your way to making your own music.
Music composition software usually comes with many features to help you make music easily, and without much effort. All you really need to concentrate on, is a good melody and the rest will come with time. It may take an hour, it may take a week or even longer, the key is not to give up on your quest to make music.
Most decent music composition software comes equipped with a virtual piano or guitar fingerboard and will allow you to add or delete instruments with a click of the computer button. You will also be able to change percussion beats, revise and remix any tune which you have saved. You pretty much can do anything to the piece which you so choose.
If you aren´t very creative or original, but still want to make music as a hobby, or as a ´showoff´piece to take to school. You can download a few free beats of the web and begin your music piece that way.
As you can see, anyone can make music without all the effort that was needed even as little as 10 years ago. Today´s technology gives you the opportunity to make music and sound like a gifted musician without all the effort.