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!

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.

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.........

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...