Benefits to Preparing For Competitions, NATS Auditions, Masterclasses

 There are so many things that you can do with your singing to help you develop into the most confident and best singer that you can be.  Competitions, NATS Auditions, auditions for solos, auditions for shows, Studio Masterclasses, Studio Voice Recitals.  Summer Programs.  The list is long. Why should you do these and what should you do?  Your singing teacher can best guide you as to which opportunities you should participate in.

If you are a beginner, maybe stick with performing in your studio's recital. Or audition for a solo in your school's choral concert or talent show. Sing for your family and friends.  Maybe you aspire to be in the school musical theater productions.  Practice auditioning by singing for fellow students.

If you have been taking lessons for a while, maybe you should consider auditioning for a competition or participate in a Masterclass with another singing teacher or professional singer.  Take part in the local NATS auditions. If you are preparing college auditions or to attend a summer program, perform in many places.

Preparation for singing in front of others has many benefits. You can learn so much from performing for others. Yes, PERFORM.  Make that audition a performance and it may take you far.  You learn about yourself and how you react to real performance pressures.  Do you crumple under the pressure of nerves?  You learn from other master teachers and singing teachers when you participate in Maser Teacher Audition Workshops such as Master Teacher Workshop for NATS.

Make sure you are well prepared and go the next step.  Most areas have a local NATS or AMTA conference or audition workshop annually which you can compete or participate in and get adjudicated by other singing teachers and professionals.  Sing for your local Classical Singer Magazine auditions.  Like NATS, it has both a classical singing and musical theater competition. At the higher levels, you are competing to win both in name and monetary compensation.

Your teacher can help you prepare and decide if you are ready to do these competitions or advise on local scholarship competitions.  The idea is to get out there and sing.

What better way to get feedback about your singing and performance?  In your voice studio you get the input from your teacher which is so valuable, but doesn't add the performance dimension.  You get adjudication notes from others and it is another way to get comfortable singing in front of others. It prepares you better for that next step.

Master Teacher classes are also often offered at these events. These give you another performance experience and a chance to put feedback into action with another teacher or coach.  It is with an audience, but another chance to improve your next audition!  Do you research to see what is out there and your teacher can guide you as to which opportunities are best for you!

More Reasons Why?

Discipline and focused study.
Perfecting a piece, attention to detail.
Stage Presence.
Practice performing.
Learn how you react to performance pressure.
Accept constructive criticism.
Use it to improve your singing and stage presence.
The more you do something, the better you become.

Keep on singing!  Next up, why do that Summer Program?

Master Teacher Class for Musical Theater and Classical Singing

I recently attended the Greater Philadelphia NATS Chapter’s first event, Spring Audition Workshop with Master Teachers Robert Edwin and Valery Ryvkin.  I was very inspired both as a teacher and a singer.  Every time I attend a workshop or masterclass, I look forward to gleaning new insights and motivation.  This inspiration comes from what the clinicians have to say and from the singers and music itself. 

When listening to the singers for the first time, I first enjoy the performance itself.  Listening to the work, the artistry, and the passion of singing is always fun.  It is wonderful to hear new music and/or be reminded of a good song for one’s current students.  As a singer, it is a great experience to perform songs many times.  This enables one to continue to make each song in your repertoire as good as it possibly can be for your next audition or performance!  I am then excited to hear how each master teacher will work with the singer and how the singing may change in that next 20 minutes. 

The new or slightly rephrased information we hear from the master teacher helps us to continue to educate both our students and ourselves as teachers.  When technique is addressed using slightly different terminology by another teacher, it brings a new twist that can be applied in the studio or practice room.  There may be many similar concepts that I have addressed in lessons or new and different ones.  By using different terminology or imagery, it may help a student truly grasp the concept that I have already addressed or a new twist to really drive it home.   

For example, Valery Ryvkin talked about  ‘savoring the words by bringing out the beginning of the words’ in a German piece.  When the student then applied the technique, we could truly hear the difference.  The singer really understood the meaning of the words and therefore delivered the phrase with much more passion.  I continually address understanding the meaning of the text (especially in a foreign language) and knowing what each word means to use word emphasis in the phrasing.  Saying the word emphasizing the initial consonants and then singing it had the desired effect when singing.

Robert Edwin addressed musical theater belt by thinking wider or east-west in feel in essence taking out the weight of the belt to make your belt get higher.  I use different terminology to achieve the same goal, but this made sense to me and something I will apply.  When the singer for the master class used the technique, wow you could see the difference. 

When attending educational workshops, it is wonderful to learn new things or new ways to apply things you know as a teacher or singer.  Think outside of your box.  Use it in practice, not just inside your own head.  Robert Edwin addressed the musical theater singer and how truly versatile a singer must be in order to sing musical theater.  They must be able to sing legit, belt, pop, a myriad of styles all within the style.  While we all know the variety exists, do we know that all are able to be achieved with continual work on different parts of the voice?   Do we say that all out loud?  As a teacher, yes.  But do my students know that?  I must remind them and continually work on widening their horizons and my own education and skills to be the best teacher I can be. 

Teachers, get involved in your local NATS chapter or continual education by attending workshops or participating in online discussions.  If you live in the Greater Philadelphia area, join us!  We can always improve our own teaching skills and thus our singers accomplishments.  Singers, do as your teachers say and ‘practice, practice, practice’ and be in touch with what your body is doing each day and how it responds to that practice. 

Stay tuned next week for why YOU as a singer should do the next Audition Competition, Masterclass, Voice Recital, Workshop or Summer Program!

Sick and Singing- A big topic in these cold winter months!

Sick and singing seems to be a lot of what I am encountering with so many students that I wanted to bring up the discussion again!  Recently an article that I wrote on Sick and Singing was published in the NATS Internos, http://bit.ly/1LovK6P.  I am proud to have my article published and eager to help you all make the best decision you can about singing should you find yourself sick leading up to a performance!

A quick summary of tips:

Take care of yourself first in the hopes that you can ward off any illness.  At the first sign of illness or if you have been around others who are sick, start going to bed early, take extra Vitamin C, drink more water and of course keep washing those hands!

The weeks leading up to the big performance demand more of us mentally, physically, and time-wise. We are stressed if we are going to remember it all and do it right!  This causes our defenses to be down and more likely to catch that cold.

Take some extra time to take care of you physically (as seen above) and mentally.  Allow yourself a break from it all, but make it smart.  Do some yoga or read a good book and get extra sleep.  Make it something that relaxes you, but rests your voice.

Also, more tips can be found in other articles on this blog:  Sick but Singing....Fa la la la lah..... and Wintertime and Singing, A Double Edged Sword.

Happy singing!

An Informal Studio Recital- What it is and why should you do it? What are the benefits?

Informal Studio Recital- What is it and why?  What are the benefits?

For a few years I have been doing an “Informal Recital” for students in the winter in addition to my formal Voice Recital every spring.  I am frequently asked, “What is it? What is the benefit to having a recital without a parent audience?”  Here are the answers and why my students and I think it is a good idea!

“What is an Informal Recital?”

It is a performance opportunity for singers.  Students fine tune a song or two and bring it up to performance level.  Each singer gets to work with an accompanist and sing in a performance space different from the voice studio.  Students then sing for the other students on the recital.  No family or friends are present.  We record the performances so that the students and family and friends can view the performances later.  I put the recordings on my YouTube channel and use the recordings as a teaching tool in subsequent lessons. 

The concept is modeled on college “Studio Class” which often takes place once a week or once a month depending on the school.  Students perform for the others in the voice studio on a rotating basis.  A few times a year there is a “Studio Performance Class” in which you perform for all of the singing students once a year. 

“What is the benefit to having a recital without an audience?”

From a teachers standpoint there are many reasons this is beneficial:

-       -   It is a performance opportunity good for students for various reasons.

-       -  Good practice fine tuning and perfecting a vocal selection (or two).

-       -   A chance to work with a professional accompanist.

-       -   A good step to dealing with ‘stage fright’.

-       -   An opportunity to meet other students in the studio.

-       -   A chance to hear different music and learn from others.

-       -   Opportunity to view how you sound and appear as you perform a piece.

At the conclusion of my January Informal Recital, I polled my students to see what they liked and learned from their experience.  Here is a list of the top things:

What Students Like:

-       Listening to all the other voices

-       Less pressure without a full audience or performing in a less intimidating environment

-       Getting to know and meet the other singers

-       Listening to the other songs that people sang

-       Having another opportunity to perform in front of others

-       Getting to hear songs I may want to do later

-       The formality of the ‘informal’ recital- almost like it was for a full audience but not

What Students Learned:

-       Memorizing the lyrics well and early on is very important

-       I need to spend more time really understanding and knowing my lyrics to communicate the song

-       Practicing low breathing before singing and truly planning out where I am going to breathe is   important (Breathing technique)

-        Posture and how to stand is important to performing (stage presence)

-        Everyone gets nervous, but there is no need to get so stressed about performing

-        Stress or nerves in performing affect your breath

-        Use facial expressions and show the meaning of the song through your body language.  It can       make a huge difference.

-         You don’t have to move your hands tremendously or walk around to show expression

-         Watching others helped me observe singing technique in others (and SEE what is addressed in lessons) to help better apply it to myself

-          I learned about different styles of songs and singing

-          Sing louder (we sound louder to ourselves than to others in the room)

-          Go slower mentally when singing to stay in control

This is just a summary of the things that students can learn from the Informal Recital experience.  There were also many specific things students addressed about their own performances and what they would do differently or want to improve upon.

Time permitting, we would take the time to work through or restart a couple songs if the student is not happy with how they performed or forgot lyrics.  Feedback from the other performers afterwards might be useful too.  Although time constraints sometimes prevent us from doing this, watching the videos afterwards allow us to evaluate ourselves and see and hear what others see.  We do not see or hear ourselves as others do, so we learn a great deal from viewing ourselves singing in addition to watching and listening to others (both live and on video).  Overall, the Informal Recital platform is an active way to encourage students to perfect their craft of singing, performance, and stage presence.

Simply the Voice: How do you sing at a recital or just standing still? Use interpretation of the text....

The Simplicity of the Voice

Sometimes it is daunting to think about just standing there and singing.  Without costumes or staging, just singing, we have to get comfortable communicating what we are singing. “What am I supposed to do?”, I sometimes hear from my students.  “Communicate what you are saying in the song”, is often my reply.  “??????? “, is the response.  

Express YOUR interpretation of the text. The beauty is in the music and the delivery.

Imagine you don’t understand any of the words that someone was saying to you in a conversation.  You would be lost, right?  This is what happens when we as singers don’t understand what we are saying when we sing.  It could be a foreign language or our native tongue, but if we don’t understand the meaning of the text, how can we communicate through the music? 

Spend time analyzing exactly what the poet is saying and how the composer set the text.  If the text is in a foreign language, do a word by word translation (google translate will do if need be), and put it in terms you can understand and relate to.  16^th century Italian arias can be re-termed in a way that a 16 year old can relate to.  An oversimplified version of a love aria: “I love someone and it hurts me so much because he is far away from me” can become “I have a crush on a guy and I just can’t stop thinking about him, but I know he doesn’t even notice that I am alive.”

Write poetry out on a piece of paper in paragraph form.  Analyze each phrase.  What does it really mean?  If you don’t know a work, look it up.  Is there symbolism or is it clear cut?  Put it in terms you can relate to (simplify it) so you can communicate it.

Once you have analyze it and know what poet is saying, look at how the composer sets the words to music.  Where are there dynamic changes?  Where are the goals of phrases?  Is there interplay between the voice and accompaniment? Look at the poets and composers intentions and the history of their lives.  Look at the history to enhance the meaning.  Then relate it to you and your life. 

The more details you absorb from life, the more context you give you performances- Deborah Domanski.  The more you feel the emotion of text, the more you communicate it and the more the audience feels and hears the authenticity of emotion. 

If it is a text you cannot relate to, research the history and try it from that angle or personal experience as best you can.  i.e. The sadness of losing a lover or anger of him leaving you for another is hard for a 15 year old to relate to.  Change the angle slightly.  The sadness and anger you feel because a guy you have a crush on is now dating your best friend is easier for a 15 year old to grasp.  It may not be 100% what the poet says, but it taps into the emotion of the person singing.  The feeling of loss or anger can then become authentic.

Convey your emotions through your facial expressions and occasional body movement when you are performing in a concert.  Remember you are communicating words and emotions so you will move a little bit, but there is no need to map out true acting and blocking.  After all, there is no space often.  This doesn't mean you don’t communicate the meaning of the words.  We were given music to communicate in a different form.  Authenticate the poet and composer’s intentions and add your individual interpretations to make YOUR best performance of a vocal selection.  

Hopefully this helps make you more comfortable with 'just singing'!  Read on next week about my students learning experience of singing in a studio voice recital.

2015 New Year's Singing Resolutions- Time to Revise?

2015 New Year’s Resolutions- Now that we are a couple of weeks in, how are yours going?  Did you slip a little?  Be patient with yourself and try to get back on track.  Were your goals realistic?  Not so much?  Revise them and get back on track or simplify them!  Take it easy on yourself, but make some adjustments now to help yourself to be successful!

Here are some ideas:

Resolutions for singing in 2015

Practice 3-4 times per week and workout 3-4 times per week.  That is something good for your singing voice everyday of the week!  Map it out.  Which days work for you to each and at what time of day?  Does it work to exercise on Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning and sing Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday?  Then pick which one you do on Sunday (or both!).

Map out what to practice.  Find a focus for each day.  The more structure, sometimes the better.

For Example:

Monday workout:  Yoga before school.

Tuesday practice: Text of “Song A”, Dynamics and Vowels of “Song B”, Pitches of new song.

Wednesday workout: Cardio and weights before work

Thursday practice:  Review vowel work of “Song B”, Solidify pitches of new song and add words, Sing through “Song A” to find meaning in text

Friday workout: Yoga before school and walk after school

Saturday practice:  Review all 3 songs and start to work on interpretation of “Song B”

Sunday: Rest OR sing or workout if feel like it

Add drink more water (a goal of 8 glasses of water a day or 4 large bottles is ideal).  Find a place to put it that is accessible.  Also, place healthy snacks in key places.  Think your drawer or closet at work or an extra bottle of water and a healthy snack in your backpack for school.

Plan out a sleep schedule.  I know, you think I am crazy with all of the work that has piled up and homework teachers are giving.  Vow to go to bed 15 minutes earlier than normal for 3 or 4 nights.  Try to then go to sleep another 15 minutes earlier.  By the end of the week, you are gaining 30 minutes per night.  If you keep that up for a week, it is 3 ½ extra hours of sleep.  Before you know it, you are getting 8-9 hours of sleep a night.  What a way to help your body fight off getting sick and your mind to work at it’s maximum potential.

If you take care of you, you take care of your voice to be the best singer YOU can be!

New Years Resolutions: New Singer, New You!

As we enter the seasonal New Year Resolution window, I find myself making new resolutions for my singing, teaching, and personal life.  Make the resolutions realistic and attainable.  Maybe you just need to get more organized or take more time for you to be more effective in your practice. Make your own tree of resolutions that can grow throughout the year.  What can you resolve to do to make yourself a better singer, better, student, better teacher, better you?  A few things always pop to mind for me:

1. Make a committed schedule of practicing.

2. Establish a focus to each practice session.

3. Set goals for singing for myself (and my student).

4. Make a timeline to achieve those goals.

5. Sing just for the sake of singing a few times a week.

6. Workout (cardio and/or yoga) 3-5 times per week.  Do what suits you and your mind.

7. Drink lots of water and try to get 8 hours of sleep per night.

8. Take 10 minutes a day (or more if you can) to do something for yourself.

9. Tell people in your life how much they mean to you and take the time to say "Thank you" or "I love you."

10.  Breathe when it seems too much and regroup.  It will all work out.

This may seem like a long list.  They are little attainable goals.  I think I can make them work.  Take what you like, disregard what you do not.   Regardless, do your best to make 2015 a happy, prosperous, and wonderful year!

Share some of your resolutions too!