The High Performance Singer

It took longer than expected, but I just released the first track from my new electro-pop project. Here are some things I learned... or re-learned: Getting to the final mix always takes longer than you think. And this wasn't even a "final" mix... this was just a pretty darn good basement production. When I recorded in a studio for my last CD with STAR, the mixing took a lot longer, for several reasons. For one, because we were pressing CDs and when you are going to press

One more thought this week on where confidence comes from. I think this one is be the biggest key of all of them: Who ARE you? ... Imagine you're at a party where you don't know very many people. As you have conversations with various strangers, do you try to be someone you're not, to impress them or meet some unknown expectations? Or do you not worry about impressing anyone, and be yourself? Which attitude is going to make you feel more confident? I'm a natural intro

More than one new student has contacted me this week describing issues of confidence on stage, so today I'll talk about where confidence on stage comes from, and how to get it. I wish I could snap my fingers and help people feel confident. I'm sure they wish I could, too! And there are certainly some tricks you can use to stay calm right now, in the near term, tonight, if you're fighting stage fright. But actual deep confidence takes a while to develop. Here is where I be

Do you wonder how you're ever going to connect with the right people to help you find success in your music career? Does it seem like "industry people" are in a whole different world from you, and there's no way to find them? There is more opportunity around you than you can even fathom. It is everywhere, it is surrounding you. You just need to make yourself ready for opportunities and keep your eyes open for the opportunities to come. You know the whole Six Degrees to Ke

Expanding the ribcage gives you a bigger, and unpressurized tank of air to sing with - both of which are helpful. You don't want the weight of your lifted shoulders being pulled down by gravity to put pressure on your vocal cords. Instead, you want to get a low breath of air, expanding your ribcage like an umbrella opening. Some people can do lift their ribcage without having to "learn" how, but some people can't. So here's how to expand your ribcage for singing. Imagine

By this point I've had lessons with several hundred students. And I have noticed something odd: hardly anyone has an accurate self-image when it comes to their singing abilities. At least 3/4 of my students underestimate themselves. A much smaller fraction - maybe 5% - overestimate themselves, believing they are great singers when they have, say, significant range, tone, or pitch issues. Only a small percentage of people seem to have the kind of self-critical yet confiden

What do you believe you can't do? Can you not write songs? Can you not play guitar? Can you not be the lead singer of a band? Can you not land a nightly house gig in Dubai? If you've been on my email list for a while, or you know me in person, hopefully you know that the belief you can't do something resides squarely in your own head and nowhere else. (Where else is a belief going to reside?) Even if you feel like your negative belief is justified because you tried something

There are two kinds of silence on stage. Commanding silence, and embarrassing silence. I probably don't even have to explain. You know what I'm talking about, don't you? You've experienced commanding silence. The singer is in control, but is choosing not to talk or sing. He may or may not make eye contact, but whatever he's doing, he has authority. If he's making eye contact, he is doing so with authority, not nervousness. He is savoring the sense of control as he stre

"Bop Skizzum? Why did THEY sign up for your bootcamp?" 

That's what the mother of one of my students said. Bop Skizzum is a great 7-piece Denver funk band that's been around for years, has released several albums and EPs, puts on a tight stage show, and has an incredibly dedicated fan following. The last show of theirs I went to was themed "Nerd Prom", complete with a competition for Nerd Prom King and Queen. At least half the fans dressed up as nerd prom attendees! W

You probably did, but in case you didn't already know: the old model for rockstar success is gone. 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 financ

A singer I know got some great feedback recently from a new band member. He told her that although she was an excellent performer, she was undermining herself between songs. Here's how: 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 sh

Call me dedicated, call me crazy... Often when I'm learning a new cover song that's going to be in the repertoire for a while, I record myself singing it. Then I compare myself with the original singer, WORD FOR WORD. That means: play a second or two of the original recording, then play the same couple seconds of myself singing, and see what's different in every single syllable. Yes - I do think it sounds kind of weird if you try to imitate someone else's voice exactly. Yo

This past weekend was a big gig for a lot of singers: it was a reunion gig of Guitar Villians Live Band Karaoke, with 31 singers vying for $800 in cash prizes. Each singer got to sing only one song. Can you imagine the pressure? Understandably, a lot of them were nervous. Some came to me for advice to chill out and calm down. 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. Fir

There was a girl who wanted to be in a band. She had performed singing before, but never with a live band. And she had never used a microphone in her life! She answered a few Craigslist ads and ended up trying out for a band. But in the audition, hearing her voice through the microphone totally freaked her out, and she bombed. She didn't know how she would ever get good enough to be the lead singer in a band. She thought it was too late, now that she was already in her

Most of my collaborations have been a direct or indirect result of going to music conferences. I'm at the Taxi rally again in LA this year. 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

If you write songs, do you consciously try to write songs that are new, different, unusual, distinct from the music that has come before you? Something that will stand out and be noticed because it's so creative or even weird? 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 f

Have you ever been to an open mic night? 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 th

I had an epiphany last week. It's one of those realizations that's so simple and obvious that I almost hesitate to even tell you about it. And some of you might think it's even a bit pessimistic! 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.

Several of my students are IT or biotech workers, graduate students, or office workers with high-stress jobs. Some of them have experimented with taking lessons on their lunch hour, after work, later in the evening, and on weekends. Most find that the calmer they are when they walk into the lesson, the more they get out of their lessons. So here are some things to consider when you schedule your voice lessons: - In the morning, many people find that the voice isn't as "read

Last week I went to Nashville to attend another Singer-Bands Bootcamp with Tom Jackson Productions. I came back excited about all the new things I learned and wanted to bring you a different perspective on your stage show. ... Tom Jackson talks about "majoring in the minors." That's when you put too much effort and expense into things that don't give you a proportional return - like when a singer spends more time shopping for stage clothes than learning to sing on pitch. W