The Internal SINGING ROOM

I get asked all of the time "how can i learn to sing just like you?". Well, firstly, i would like to think that you'd like to sing great just like YOU. But that's another topic. One of my biggest secrets is something i've created over the years that only i can tap into. It's kind of like a place. It's very real, and it has a profound effect on my singing sound and my physical experience. It's like an internal room. We all have them. We build them out of our life's experiences, "headspaces" we go to, sometimes productive, sometimes destructive. So over the years i have built inside my head my SINGING ROOM, a place which i step into whenever i sing. Why do i use it? Well, it just kind of evolved out of the need to remember all of the things i needed to think about in order to sing well. The thing was that i could NEVER remember a whole list of things and then sing well, plus think about the lyrics, and then feel the story. Impossible for me. But what i did find was that if i put myself in a certain frame of mind i could achieve things without thinking about how i was doing them. Getting started Building your own room takes time, but there are some easy first steps. Next time you feel you're doing something "right", make a note of your feelings, and choose an object you feel naturally drawn to in the room and keep doing that right thing whilst staring at it. You have now "attached" an experience to your object. Now close your eyes and picture that object in your mind. The next step is to turn and face somewhere else in the room where you can't see that object. Now with eyes open, picture that object and sing your feelings of doing it "right" with that object in mind. Familiar and unique objects will work best (rather than a school chair or some other boring thing), because we need to feel a sense of warmth and endearment to it. You can keep building your room with objects, and pretty soon a specific "room" will evolve in your head where the objects become less important, and the feelings take over. Happy building!

How you GET THERE

As a music mentor i'm often asked "how long 'til i get there?". Funny how we're always keen to know about this an idea of a destination. "Are we there yet?"...drive's parents CRAZY (speaking from experience).

To ask this question is not unlike asking "how long until i'm wise?". It's a tough one to answer. The reality is that the only destination that exists is in your own mind. "There" is not an end point. It's not like a road trip where, after much travelling, you arrive at your cabin and get to put your feet up and just sit and do nothing for a few weeks. Once you arrive at your pre-conceived "there" you will see it as being a "here", with a different "there" you are travelling to.

Here and there both have a single purpose in your mind, to inspire you to move forward. To go from your idea of NOW, and work towards achieving things you perceive to be in the future...your THERE.

Once you realise that you will be always working towards a THERE it can be a bit disheartening. However, then comes the opportunity to grow a little wiser, and realise that it's the journey that's important, and IT is the thing that you must revel in, and enjoy, and soak up...not some unreachable final destination. You will always have a THERE you are headed towards, but the secret is to enjoy the NOW, and grow within it. THEN you will move forward without even trying, in an effortless and empowering glide, with a song in your heart, and a beat in your feet.

Singing from the CORE

What drives us to sing?

What is it about the human voice that makes every other sound pale in comparrison?

May be it has something to do with our inbuilt programming of vocal communication that we NEED to participate in. Humans have had this need throughout all of history...the need to listen to each other and share information.

Some information can't be expressed through speech alone. Some of it goes beyond mere words. The voice has a special quality...to express what words cannot. To share an inner perspective, an INNER VOICE.

This is the magic of singing. This is the extraordinary world of the voice. We yearn to hear it, we need to listen, and we can't help but want to know more. When a singer sings, part of the world stops still, in silent wait, opening up to interpret the information and process it's meaning within themselves. We cant help ourselves. We were born to it. It goes beyond what we "want" or what we think we "like".

So next time you sing in front of anyone, remember that your voice is reaching beyond their mind. It's stiring something instinctual within. It might not be perfect (it never is), and you yourself might cringe at times, but if you feel it coming from within your core, you already know something is resonating with theirs.

You gotta jump in to swim

You can't learn to swim by poking your toes in the water, and the same goes for learning how to sing. You just have to jump in. Yeah, i know just like the rest of you that having lessons is not as easy as you first might have thought. It's work, and for some people, singing in front of their teacher feels a bit like taking off all of your clothes and saying "well, here i am!". But, if you didn't really want to do it, if you thought it was a waste of time, you wouldn't be there. There's something inside you which drives you to be there every lesson, and as confronting as it feels, you come back again for more next lesson. So, what is it? It's the secret singer inside of you. It's the singer whom you bring out when you're alone at home, when you know no-one can hear you. The singer who isn't shy or worried about making mistakes. If your internal singer makes a mistake, well they just move on. Then they retrace their steps and try a new approach. i can guarantee you that it's THAT singer your teacher wants to work with. It's THAT singer who can make the real changes to improve your craft, and make it more rewarding for you. And it's THAT singer who has the potential to do great things. So what if you're naturally a quiet and reserved person. Everyone, take your inner, secret singer out, and at least let them have a go during your lessons. smiles to you all, Tania

"on the first day of xmas..."

Amidst the hustle & bustle of presents, parties, concerts and late nights, comes the very real issue of vocal health and wellbeing. Remind yourself that you’ll be carrying your voice way past the New Year... Christmas can be a busy time of the year when you’re a musician. Even if you’re not a professional musician, it’s often a time of year when your voice can be at it’s most vulnerable.

From xmas drinks to festive treats, binge eating and LOADS of xmas indulgence, your body can take a hammering. Then there’s carol rehearsals, candlelight performances, and those constant requests by friends and family for you to entertain them with your song (“hey, you have singing lessons. Give us a song then!”).

So, what to do? If you have a lot of rehearsing and performing, it’s imperative that you keep up your vocal health. Be aware of your weaknesses, and resist the urge to sing-til-you-drop. Have rest days where you don’t sing a note, and warm up well before you do. Remember the fundamentals of good vocal health, and stick to your limits. Don’t be pressured into singing to breaking point, no matter what.

As for those well-meaning requests, if you don’t want to stand in the spotlight, the easiest things to say is “Maybe later...we’ll see how we go”. You can bet your bottom dollar that constant excuses will wear thin, whereas a seemingly slight deferral can be and easily accepted polite refusal (they’ll probably forget they asked anyway).

And if you DO decide to warble to your xmas mates, try and at least do a little warm-up before you launch straight into an Ave Maria. You are the only guardian your voice has. Be the angel it needs this festive season.

PUSH

I want to talk a bit about Forcing or Attacking the voice (Sometimes referred to as “hard glottal” or “aspirate attack”).

I find a lot of younger singers suffer this habit, often times not wanting to change. The idea they have is that in forcing the voice, it will be louder, and more mature sounding. Also, many singers “push” their voice in the top of their lower register to avoid singing in their top register, because they dont like their high voice sounding “airy” or soft. However, this phenomenon of the body "lightening" the voice is actually a wonderful defense mechanism against injuring the voice through forcing it, and can be changed by making the dedicated effort to stop forcing and changing to good technique.

In my experience, this can be one of the most challenging things to change, but the reality is that you will only damage your voice if you continue to "push". PUSHING AND FORCING YOUR VOICE MAY CAUSE PERMANENT DAMAGE!

• Difficulty with register transition

As I mentioned above, some singers will push in order to avoid dealing with the transition from low to high voice. There are several problems which can result. Firstly, there are only so many notes one can push to, before invariably having to jump to the next register. Secondly, serious and sometimes permanent injury can result from doing this. Learning how to deal with the bodies natural defenses and shaping sound to make singing easier and more efficient takes time, an understanding of what’s involved, and patience with a sound that you may not be happy with in the short term, but will change over time. If you keep at it, and not try to avoid it, have good guidance and can work through the frustration, you will come out the other end with a fabulous skill.

• THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO DO IS TO STOP DAMAGINGING YOUR VOICE

Keep working at it!

• Lack of discipline is so often the underlying cause of many other difficulties. Singing well requires regular and dedicated time allocated almost every day. Just like an athlete needs to train often and regularly, so too does singer if they are to achieve any long-term benefits. Singing well can’t be achieved simply by knowing what to in theory.
• Lack of discipline can have many factors associated with it. Sometimes it is simply a lack of motivation. Try regularly recording yourself (and keeping the recordings), and you will hear your progress. Also by keeping a voice journal, you might be able to notice changes in attitude and take the opportunity to kick-start things with a whole new repertoire, joining a new music group, or attending a musical retreat.
• Be aware, too, that it is quite normal to come up against “brick walls” from time to time. Many singers have regular black spots where they don’t feel they are progressing.

How to choose a Singing Teacher

Choosing your singing teacher is just as important as choosing a diving instructor. You need to build a relationship of trust, honesty, and productivity. It needs to be a team effort, where everyone is listening and sharing the journey, which will go through many highs and lows. It is up to you to decide which teacher you prefer. You should be able to make a fair choice from having a conversation over the phone. Ask questions. Not just about their skills, but try to find out how they tick. Here are some great questions to start with:

• How do you teach?
• what can i expect in during lessons?
• What do you expect from your students?
• can you help me with goal setting?

You should ultimately find someone who is passionate about the craft, and has a personality you can get on with. Remember too, great singers aren't always good teachers, so that perfect performer you saw on saturday night might not be the one for you.

Another thing to bear in mind is what else your teacher can offer you. If you would like to do live performing you would benefit greatly from a teacher who regularly performs themselves. If you want to learn more about the industry, a teacher who is in the industry is very handy.

Unfortunately there are many people who call themselves teachers who shame us all. These people primarily see teaching as a way to make a quick buck, and, can you believe it, that some of them aren't even singers at all. Qualifications don't tell you much. Some very highly qualified teachers HATE teaching, but do it to get cash whilst they're waiting for their BIG BREAK. They are not happy people generally, and you should be able to get a feel for where they are coming from in your discussions, and during your first few lessons.

How much practice?

• One of the first things i tell my students when they begin is that they must be able to commit at least 3 hours a week practice to experience progress. Following this, i also let them know that this means around 30 mins a day, not a 3 hour cram session the night before!
• This is important, because you are gradually changing your body, so it's no different from doing any other kind of physical exercise. You need to start with short and regular seiions, and build from there.
• It's also important not to overdo it in the beginning, when a singer will often have "bad" habits to break. Learning how to become aware and recognise potentially damaging vocal habits, takes time, so screaming out vocal exercises for an hour a day and screwing up your voice is NOT going to get you far.
• As you become more experience and recognise what NOT to do, a half hour might not be enough. professional singers will often warm up for an hour or more before they even go on stage and start their performance, so you get where this is going.
• You need at least 3 hours committment time that you SCHEDULE in to your weekly routine. Mark it in your diary so you do it, and stick to achieving that 3 hours, slowly working your way up. You'll be really happy with the results.

Singers health Issues

As a singer you need to be pro-active in dealing with your health, particularly during times of the year when you can be very vulnerable to illness. To maximise your power over this part of your health, you need to address three main categories;

• Prevention
• Cure
• Assistance

• Prevention: You need to do more than just eat a healthy diet and get enough water to seriously address prevention. Prevention should be your main strategy against illness. It won’t always stop you from getting sick, but it can help you have a very speedy recovery in the event that you are ill.

• Cure: Getting sick is enevitable, but there is plenty you can do to aid your recovery and speed up the process. If you have a preventative regime in place, your chances of fast recovery are very high.

• Assistance: Essentially, if you can get by, it’s best not to take cold and flu medications, as many can dry out the vocal folds. Plus, your body sends you pain messages for a reason. It’s letting you know that whatever is hurting needs to stop, revive and rest. Pain killers are great unless they take away your caution along with your pain. Avoid them if you can. Having said that, there are very good reasons to take medications when you have a persistant cough in particular. Constant or violent coughing can damage the vocal folds when they are at their most vulnerable.

How long will it take?

• "So, how long will it take?" came the question down the phoneline. If i had a dollar for every time i've heard THAT one...
• So, seriously, you really want to know how long before you're a great singer. And why not! After all, you're paying good money to a great teacher (hopefully), and you want to know about results. Of course, you know you should practice more than you do. At the end of every lesson you're fired up and commit yourself to the 3-6 hours a week you KNOW you should be doing, but every week you find yourself cramming a quick run-though in the car on your weekly pilgramage to your devoted teacher, who quickly asks the question "how did you go this week?"
• After umming and ahhing your way through something that would barely convince a fly to land on an icecream, you slowly edge your way through your lesson knowing full well that if you had actually gone through your stuff this week, you'd be feeling a whole lot better. Your teacher knows only too well that you're battling to stay afloat, but keeps things light and focused on the work at hand, guiding you to the core of your work (or lack of).
• So how long WILL it take? if i said "that's up to you", would you believe me? Seriously it IS up to you. You need to think like an athlete, which means YEARS of dedication and focus, passion and sacrifice. This need not be a dark path, but you need to make the committment and stick to it, no matter what transpires around you.
• Singing is a physical act. Once you start training, you begin to understand how physical it really is, and the difference between singing and speaking in tune. It's work, but it's as wonderful as you let it be. the journey can be inspirational, uplifting, and fun...or you can fight with yourself and it can be an uphill battle all the way.
• How long? Many great teachers would agree that it takes about 10 years to build a great singer. Technique, understanding, passion and experience all play their part. It's a physical, psychological and emotional journey frought with challenges and triumphs, and the power lies within the hands of the singer. Teachers and coaches are merely guides and mentors. Give them a break. They will never be able to turn you into a singer.
• Now, where did i put that magic wand.........

Question of the week

QU: "Do i really HAVE to practice? Can't you just tell me what to do and i'll be better?" ANS: How does an athlete improve?

Winter warm ups

Yeah Baby, it’s really cold out there, and what better time of the year to fine-tune your warm up exercises. At this time of the year you might find your voice takes a bit longer to free-up, so why not revamp some of old yep-I’m-really-over-them warm-ups and give them a new lease on life. Try singing them in different styles, changing the rhythm of them, or why not even add a few words (what singer hasn’t tried to write their own songs before?).

• And for that extra warmth, try a little physical exercise before you do your vocal warm up. Just a few star jumps will do, enough to get your blood and energy pumping!
• If you have a good coach or teacher, work with them to develop some new exercises which target specific challenges you are currently having. If you combine these with other exercises which highlight your strengths, you'll feel fresh and challenged enough to work hard and improve your technique.
• Exercises should never be boring, and going back to basics should be an enjoyable journey. We all need to do it to keep up our focus and to fine-tune our skills, and with your teacher behind you it should be a fun and revealing exercise.
• If you're new to singing, ask your teacher what specific exercises are aiming to achieve. This will help you gain more from your regular routine, and also encourage you to use your exercises as training guides in between lessons. A good teacher will give you specific exercises with certain things in mind, so always ask if they don't explain their choices.

Calling all Hairbrush Singers!!!

I think everyone would agree that the best singing happens in the bedroom, when you're so fired up and lost in the music that it transports you out of your body and onto the stage. It's real, very real, and it's only the earthings who live in your house who cant see you for the star you really are, right?!

So, what are you still doing in your bedroom? It's time to get out there and put your money where your mouth is. What is stopping you from being a singer in the real world?

Well, it's you. Because:

a/ you have no idea where or how to start

b/ you're you own worst enemy

c/ you didn't realise you have to work at it to make it work

d/no-one encouraged you, so you have no motivation

or e/ -insert reason here-

In this blog i hope to help educate, demystify and encourage anyone who is or has ever been a hairbrush singer. Advice, fun, guidance and motivation...and just maybe a bit of something else. So rise up, open that door, and expose yourself to the world! Life's too short not to share. You never know, it could be wonderful...