As recently as 10 years ago, you could still hope to "get discovered" and "get signed" by a record label.  This meant that if you showed enough promise and potential to look like a good investment, a record label might decide to invest in you, develop you, promote you, record you, market you, and help the world become aware of you, in the hopes that you would be a good financial investment for them.  This happened to a member of my band in the early 2000's.  But during his period signed with a major label, he saw the model changing before his eyes.  He was in one of the last bands to benefit from this model.  In fact, while he was on Atlantic's roster, they dropped 50 of the 52 bands they had signed and were developing.  His band was one of the two they kept.

In this brave new world of music where no one is quite sure how to make money any more, the "get signed - get discovered" method has been replaced by the do-it-yourself method.  Yes, if you get to the top levels of American Idol or a similar show, you can still take something of a shortcut.  But for most artists, the process is now reversed.  You now have to develop your show and your fanbase before a label shows interest.  And once you have a good show and a good fanbase, many artists feel they don't need a label any more!

So how do you do this?  How do you learn stage skills?  How do you learn to develop your show so that you can grow that fanbase?  There aren't a lot of people teaching these skills now.

Well, you've probably seen my references to Tom Jackson Productions and Onstage Success.  But if you've checked out the Live Music Producers you can hire for one-on-one work, you might also have seen that you're looking at hundreds or thousands of dollars for just a day or half-day of their time.  And, if you don't already have some stage fundamentals down anyway, you're wasting your money by hiring them. 

Here are three options for you, depending on where you are in your stage experience and your geographic location:

1) For beginning and intermediate performers, worldwide:  Next week, Onstage Success is going to roll out an online Live Music Academy study program.  No matter where in the world you live, you can work via Skype or in person with me, with one of only two other remote teachers (in Pennsylvania or Australia), or with one of their consultants in Nashville, to learn the fundamentals of the stage and how to design your show for maximum impact on your audience.  They highly recommend that you go through this program before hiring a live music producer directly, because you'll get so much more out of the time and money you spend with the live music producer.  If you would like me to contact you when this program is rolled out, let me know.  Several of my students are already signed up and we are beginning now.

2) Also for beginning and intermediate performers, in Colorado:  On February 25, one of Onstage Success' Live Music Producers is coming to Lafayette, CO to teach an overview of both stage fundamentals and live music production.  Now, of course in one day there's not enough time to teach, let alone have you absorb, all the fundamental stage skills.  But you can get an idea of what they are and how they are used.  And you can learn - and see in real time - what it's like to work with a Live Music Producer, to decide whether this might be something you want to do with your band.  There will also be a chance for you to learn from and connect with a representative of Rockstar Mindset and the aforementioned signed & touring musician.

3) For experienced performers:  Hire one of the Live Music Producers from Onstage Success.  You can either go to Nashville or you can fly them to your band's location.  If you are in Colorado, you can also take advantage of the fact that Lang Bliss will already be here around Feb. 25, so you don't have to pay for his travel.

One of the biggest keys to singing well is to use your diaphragm for support.  But since we've been using the diaphragm unconsciously our whole lives, how do we learn to use it consciously?

Well, lately I've been loving a specific vocal exercise from Jeanne Deva's singing program, The Contemporary Vocalist.  This exercise helps you figure out how to control your breath using the diaphragm rather than getting counterproductive control by squeezing muscles in your throat.

Here's what it sounds like: 

The key to this exercise is in the attack of the staccato notes.  On one hand, you may be tempted to start them with an "H" sound.  Don't do that.  On the other hand, you may find yourself wanting to start them with a glottal stop.  Don't do that, either.  (A glottal stop is what you do when your cords are closed, and you let pressure build up behind them and they suddenly blow open.  You say it in the middle of the expressions "uh-uh" and "uh-oh.")  Instead, keep your vocal cords relaxed and open, and gently and precisely control the flow of air from your body.  It may feel like your belly.  Doesn't matter too much how you think of it, as long as the control is coming from your body rather than your throat.

This exercise is great regardless of whether you sing in a classical style or not.  Many rock and pop singers I work with try to find compression and control by tightening their throats.  That doesn't work well, as they are usually well aware, and can cause damage.  So this exercise helps them figure out how to, in a sense, "move" the compression and support they want, from the throat down into the body.  You may want to put your hand above your belly button and check to feel that there is muscular movement there.

While singing in this particular band, she takes on the persona of a rockstar-type diva.  She's high-energy and edgy.  She takes risks, both vocally and with her performance.  She rocks out and she gives her all, often ending up nearly out of breath because she's been moving so much.  In short, she has attitude and confidence, and you can see it in her moves and eyes, and hear it in her voice.

BUT... between songs, she sometimes slips a little back into the down-to-earth, modest person she is in "real," offstage life.  Her bandmate said it feels jarring and confusing, and detracts from the power of who she is while she sings.  

Of course it does!

So - Who are you while you sing?  Are you a rockstar?  Are you an earthy singer-songwriter?  A big-band funkmaster?  A diva with attitude?  Whoever you have chosen to be, realize that even if this is not "THE" real you, this is A REAL PART of you.  And the entire time you are on stage, you have to embrace that persona.

If you are a singer-songwriter who believes this doesn't apply to you because you don't put on a persona when you perform, think again.  You are all kinds of different people at different times.  You show one side of yourself while you're grocery shopping and buying gas... Another side of yourself at a job interview... Another side of yourself to your family at the holidays... another side of yourself to your significant other while on vacation... and so on.  

If you choose to be an authentic, heartfelt singer-songwriter while performing, then you need to carry that consistent personality across your set, including between songs.  How jarring would it be if you showed your earthy singer-songwriter self during your songs, but then between songs slipped back into the reserved persona you use to interact with your boss at work?  Or if you let slip a bit of arrogance because you believed that was what the stage called for?

So, if you are a rockstar, be a rockstar - all the time you're on stage, including between songs.  Don't worry about leaving aside the other parts of your personality for a while.  This is your job.

If this isn't natural to you, two of the best things you can do to get comfortable with it are detailed in the e-book available HERE (which you may have received already when you signed up for this newsletter).  These are "Role Play" and "Bring In Your Best Self."  Both require a bit of visualization.  And both may take a little time for you to develop fully, but can also result in immediate changes as well.

Singing is acting, so continue your job as actor until you exit the stage.

Yes - I do think it sounds kind of weird if you try to imitate someone else's voice exactly.  You don't have the same instrument, personality, history, etc.  But sometimes the song sounds just a little better if you tilt the way you sing to reference the original song.  (For example, if you're covering Paramore, you might emphasize your consonants a little more than usual.  If you're covering Duffy, Adele, or Amy Winehouse, you might see whether you can find the "retro" / edgy head voice quality in your own voice.  If you're covering something Chris Cornell sings, you might want to make sure you're solid on your high power notes, and can add a little grit here and there.)

But all that's beside the point.  The point is, you can learn a lot by comparing your voice to another singer's voice at an extremely fine level.  

In my last round of doing this, I learned about using vowel shapes to make a song more interesting.

It's easiest to just show you an example.

Here's a bit of the Maroon 5 song, Harder to Breathe.  The first track has flat vowels - where the vowel shapes from syllable to syllable don't vary that much.  In the second track, I take advantage of SOME of the vowel shapes to make the lines more interesting.

Create a playlist at MixPod.com

If you want to apply this concept to your own singing:  

- First, identify what the actual, pure vowel sounds are for EACH AND EVERY syllable in a line.  Everything.  This includes words like "in" and "and," and it includes two-vowel diphthongs such as in the word "I", and the unstressed syllables of words.  (A good voice coach can help you out.)  Here's an example:

"How dare you say..."

AA-OO (diphthong)  -  EH  -  OOH  -  AA-EE (diphthong) 

"that my behavior's..."

A (as in "cat")  -  AH-EE (diphthong)  -  EE  -  EH-EE (diphthong)  - <schwa>

"unacceptable"

UH  - A (as in "cat")  -  EH -  UH -  <schwa>

- Second, sing the line v-e-r-y  s-l-o-w-l-y, expressing every single vowel purely.  Take no shortcuts.

- Finally, choose which vowels you want to take advantage of.  You'll sound a bit weird if you go enunciating every single vowel in every single syllable.  But I've become a fan lately of making sure to sing pure "ooh" sounds, like in "you".  "OO" is a vowel sound that often gets a little squished, but it offers so much resonance when you just take advantage of it!  

This may sound tedious at first, but once you get the concept, you can choose to apply it without thinking much.  Have fun!

There are a lot of quick-fix techniques in this mini e-book, which you might already have.  But I've learned another couple of tricks recently.

First trick:  exhale at least twice as slowly as you inhale, for a few breaths.

Just try it.  It has an immediate calming feeling.  Thanks to bassist Doug Johns for mentioning this tip at a bass clinic recently.

Second trick:  place your hands on your head.  OK, this one needs a bit more explanation. Last week, I was so amped up (and nervous) for some things going on this weekend, that my mind was in constant motion.  When I would stop and try to be calm, or even try to sleep, it felt almost like lightning bolts constantly shooting out of my head.  A friend of mine suggested trying to gently place both hands on the top of my head to tame the energy.  I was surprised to feel that it actually worked.  This is one of those that I think might work if you are sensitive to energy, or just give it some faith, but won't work if the idea sounds like new-age bogus to you.

Third trick:  get a massage.  Maybe next time you have a big gig you know you're going to be nervous about, schedule a massage with someone you know and trust earlier in the day.  What better excuse to treat yourself to a massage?

That girl is me.  And that audition was only about seven years ago.

So this week, I'm just reminding you that before you learn how to do something, it may seem like a huge mountain to climb.  It may seem like you will never have enough time to tackle it.  

But once you learn something new, you look back and say, "Oh! That wasn't so hard after all..."

...

An adult student of mine emailed me about a year ago, telling me about how he had gone to an open mic night and gotten completely derailed by nerves.  Now, just a year later, he has a promo DVD and a full cover repertoire, and is playing out regularly as a solo act, looking to land a weekly gig at a local pub.

...

A young student of mine was struggling with pitch issues.  We worked on scales, arpeggios, and clean and accurate pitch entrances during part of each lesson for about a year.  Then, out of the blue one day, she starting singing on pitch all the time, effortlessly.

...

Three years ago, I had never written a song in my life.  I thought I simply was not a songwriter; didn't have the ability.  Now, I have written perhaps 50 or 75 songs.

... 

A 20-something male student could not bridge the break between his chest and head voice.  But after a year of lessons, suddenly one day he started being able to.  And in each lesson from then on, the bridge got a little stronger and a little more consistent.

...

Two year ago I didn't even know how to use GarageBand.  (Well, I wasn't a Mac user, either.)  Now I record in Logic.  I'm no expert, but... it's just not that hard to learn enough basics to do what I need to do.

...

So, whether you are facing learning to play a musical instrument, how to use social media, how to do home recording, how to mix, how to sing, or how to write songs, here are two things to remember:

1) Learning the basics is often enough, at least for a while.  Yes, it takes a LONG time to become an expert at something.  But it takes a lot less time to just learn enough for whatever your purposes are.  For example, it didn't take me a long time to learn to play basic bass for a rock band.  Sure, it'll take a lot longer before I am a funk or jazz bass player, but in the meantime, I'm having fun.

2) Everything seems more difficult before you begin.  Looking at Logic's interface was intimidating at first.  But now I know which few controls I need to pay attention to, and it seems much simpler.   That mountain is not as big as it seems.

Just dive in and start.

What have you learned that seemed intimidating at first, but didn't seem so hard once you got started? 

Just a few quick pieces of advice for anyone going to their first conference... or thinking about it:

Try all sizes of conferences.  Go to tiny ones such as the FilmMusikTage for film music in Halle, Germany (about 40 people), small ones such as the Durango Songwriters' Expo in Colorado (about 200 people), and large ones such as the Taxi rally in LA (several thousand people).  

Bigger is not necessarily better; you get different things out of different sizes of conference.  Small conferences targeted toward specific interests tend to help you create much stronger bonds with the other participants.  And small conferences can often afford you much greater access to the speakers and panelists.  Large conferences offer much wider networking opportunities and often many more sessions and educational opportunities, but the connections made there can be fleeting if not nurtured, just because there are so many of them.

Try different locations of conferences.  Through a music conference in Germany in 2010, I met a German-based composer, who then was my key to meeting several other collaborators around the world.  Get outside your geographic circle.

Go with the intention to make friendly connections, not to get things from people.  It's just the first rule of networking!  It may be tempting to try to land some huge opportunity - a manager, a job, a connection, a song placement - but it's not going to happen before the relationship is established.  Just focus on relationships, good conversation, and listening to other people.  Save the relentless self-promotion.  Still... you do want to be able to promote when appropriate, so...

Bring light promo.  Definitely bring business cards.  And have your elevator pitch ready:  what are you about, in ten seconds or less?

To CD or not to CD?  In my opinion, you don't really need to do a dedicated run of professional demo CDs these days, but if you recently released an album, bring it to pass out.  If not, you might consider at least burning some CDs to give to those connections that look really promising.  Download cards are even better: professional, but much less to carry.  

Prep your website before you go.  Have current samples of your music up on your website before you go.SoundCloud just released an HTML5 music player which DOES play on iPads and iPhones, so you might want to try that.  Their previous Flash-based player was not accessible on i-Devices.

Here are some music conferences you might want to check out:

January: Cannes, France - MIDEM - I've heard this one is great, and huge.  Haven't been to it.  Sounds very educational and focused on figuring out the new music model.

February: Durango Songwriters' Expo winter conference, which in winter is not in Durango but near Santa Barbara, CA. Have heard great things about it from Taxi rally participants.

March: Austin, TX - SXSW - I learned recently there are also a few days dedicated to film music before all the craziness of live bands starts.

March:  Miami, FL - Winter Music Festival - Haven't been, but I'd sure like to go to Florida in winter, and this is a good excuse...

June:  New Music Seminar, NYC

July: Kauai, Hawaii music festival / songwriter conference - Have heard great things about this one, too.  Good people attending, and a small conference so that you can make good personal connections.

November:  Los Angeles, CA - Taxi Rally - Very large but very fun.  Tons of great seminars - hard to choose among the 10 different seminars always going on at the same time!

October: Nashville, TN - Tom Jackson singer/songwriter bootcamp - For live performers, not for those who are strictly recording artists or composers.  Great stuff though.

If you do, well, there's nothing inherently wrong with that.  You might find something that really resonates with you.  And I'll grant there's merit in breaking new ground.  But if you are stuck in your writing - as I have been at times - because you feel you aren't writing anything "new" or "different" enough, here's a different perspective to keep in mind.

Check out this quote from a book called Free Play:  Improvisation in Life and Art by Stephen Nachmanovich:

“If we self-consciously try to be original, we can wander in the opposite direction, going for a distinctive voice that confuses originality with newness.  Originality does not mean being unlike the past or present; it means being the origin, acting out of your own center.  Out of your spontaneous heart you may do something reminiscent of the very old, and it will be original because it will be yours.  Because you are the unique product of evolution, culture, environment, fate, and your own quirky history, what is obvious and humdrum to you is guaranteed to be thoroughly original. 

Paradoxically, the more you are yourself, the more universal your message.  As you develop and individuate more deeply, you break through into deeper layers of the collective consciousness and the collective unconsciousness.”

...

I found myself writing much more profusely when I stopped "trying" to be creative and different, and just let songs come out, even if they were two-chord songs or three-chord songs or standard-pop-structure songs... or whatever.  It's the songs that I let come out as they wanted, rather than the songs I tried to shape while they were born, that ended being the best ones in the end.  And it's the songs I wrote from my own experience and feelings that ended up being the most universal, accessible songs.

Some other quotes from Free Play are here.  Happy writing.

(c) 2011 Adrienne Osborn

Adrienne Osborn is a vocalist and performance coach based in Colorado.   For more free articles and tips, visit http://PerformanceHigh.net.

Not to be catty, but it seems like sometimes people use their open mic slots to simply play as long as they possibly can, without regard to whether what they play is actually interesting to the audience.  If each person gets a 20-minute slot, they play for 20 minutes.  If each person gets three songs, they play threeee looooong sooooongs.  And the audience, although supportive, consists of other people just waiting their turn to do the same.  What a drag!

If you're really new to the stage and you're using the open mic night to just get stage time, fine.  I can understand simply maximizing your time.  But otherwise, why not use the open mic night to convert a fan or two?  Sell a CD or two?  Or at least try out different song arrangements and presentations to see which way goes over best?

I went to an open mic night in Boulder last week.  I was one of the last people to play.  When I went up, there were about seven people left in the room.  But I still introduced and played my song the way I had planned.  A few days later, I got an email from someone from the other side of the country saying they had dropped in to the open mic night while they were out in Colorado for a conference:  They loved my song and wanted to know if I had a CD they could buy.

Wow.

So here are some ways to take advantage of open mic nights -

...and I don't mean just by playing as long as they'll let you play.

- Try different song arrangements on different nights.  Does the song go over better with or without a spoken introduction?  Does it feel better if you use a track behind your playing and singing, or does it feel better without?  Does it feel better if you open with a particular riff or a cappella section?  There are so many ways to perform a song, and the way you develop the feeling for what works in front of an audience is by trying things out.

Last week I played with a spoken introduction and with my rhythm section tracked, and I played piano and sang live. Next time, I am going to try a different track arrangement, and after that I may try just solo piano with no track.  I'll also try the song without a spoken introduction, or with a shorter one, and see if it still connects with people.

- Play to the vibe of the room.  That means, be open to making adjustments to your performance based on what's appropriate for the room, the crowd, and the stage.  

I saw one performer with a complex set of freaky dance moves that might have looked in place in a music video, or maybe on a stage with a full band, smoke and lights.  But it looked embarrassingly out of place in a chilled-out singer-songwriter-dominated venue on a small stage, with only a single guitarist as backup.  This artist's performance screamed a total inability to read and connect with audience. 

- Have business cards, download cards, or other promo on hand.  Fans are made one at a time, and you want to be prepared to make a connection each time there's an opportunity.

(c) 2011 Adrienne Osborn

Adrienne Osborn is a vocalist and performance coach based in Colorado.   For more free articles and tips, visit http://PerformanceHigh.net.

But because it helped my sanity, I'll share it with you.  Maybe it'll help your sanity too.

...

Being a full-time musician these days typically requires creating several income streams, which can generate a seemingly infinite to-do list.

Myself, I play three instruments and I sing.  I have been in as many as four bands at a time.  I write for music libraries with several different composers, and have other original projects going on with three or four other people.  And I teach.

...In other words, I tend to overcommit myself.

Even if you focus on one instrument and one project, it's easy to feel like you face an infinite to-do list.  You can always practice more, network more, go watch live shows, create another product, update your web site, write a new song, learn new technology, do some ear training, start a band, work on your live show, book some gigs, update your promo kit, do a photo shoot, go to a conference, follow up on contacts made at the last conference, update your bio, record a new demo, submit your music to licensing opportunities, make pitches to music industry people, review the graphic design for your album, read industry publications, listen to songs for inspiration, work on your songwriting skills, learn to mix...  [ catch your breath here ] ...Oh, right - and make some money in there somewhere, too, right?

Are you like me?  Every single week, do you start out with caffeine-fueled energy, meaning to catch up on that to-do list and maybe even get a little ahead?  And by the end of every week, do you get less done than you hoped?  

I hate looking at that to-do list and seeing that half of the items are sliding to the next week because I simply ran out of time.  

It makes me feel like I'm making no progress.

...

So, here's my simple epiphany:

The things you DON'T do will always number more than the things you DO do.  

Obvious, right?  There is literally an infinite number of things you could be doing to further your music career.  With an assistant, a virtual assistant, or a staff, you can get more things done.  But the list remains infinite.

This epiphany made me realize that there's never going to be a day when I look at the infinite to-do list and see that I've done everything.  

So, instead of creating endless to-do lists and being disappointed when we can't squeeze 150 hours of work into a week, we need to just stick to our priorities, and recognize what DOES get accomplished.

This shift of perspective helped me go from feeling frustrated about what wasn't getting done, to satisfied with what was getting done.  

...

If you feel that, in spite of your best efforts, you're always behind and never getting enough done, try looking at what you DID get done.  That's the real measure of your progress.  Not looking at the infinite number of things you DIDN'T get done.

(c) 2011 Adrienne Osborn

Adrienne Osborn is a vocalist and performance coach based in Colorado.   For more free articles and tips, visit http://PerformanceHigh.net.