Stress and Your Schedule! How Do You Manage Physical and Mental Health to Keep Singing?

The world continues to whirl around and you want to get off!  How can you manage your stress and find time to keep practicing?  First take time to explore what helps you relax. Map out time to do just that.  Take care of yourself physically and the mental health will soon follow.  Physical conditioning in moderation is a benefit to both the act of singing and the mental focus needed for performing and dedication to singing.  Find a way to relax and your singing voice will improve when you practice.  

Some general advice on how to best take care of yourself as a singer can be found at  http://bit.ly/PXIRSk.  A routine of taking care of yourself both mentally and physically can make a huge difference in how you deal with the rigors of singing in general and keep you practicing for that next performance.

Spend some time figuring out what re-routes you when you are in a bad mood. Do you like to go for a run?  Do you sip a cup of tea?  Do you call a friend to talk it over? Do you write it out in a journal identifying what went wrong?  This will help you re-organize you mentally to be able to focus on your success again.

Take the time to explore what works for you and set a routine for yourself to maximize your singing potential.  Find someone (a good teacher and a friend) to help you and support you in your quest.  Time spent on physical attention and mental re-focus will make you a more balanced individual set for success.  Follow the advice of others in taking care of yourself, but ultimately you learn what works for you to make you the best singer you can be! 

Once you have mapped out what physical activity will help you relieve stress, schedule in time to practice to keep yourself on the right track!  Organizing all of the things you have to do is much easier after you have gotten rid of the excess stress in your body with a good workout or journal session.  Then you can get back to the important things!  Sing on!

NATS Auditions, Competitions, and Auditions for School Musical Theater Auditions! How to Prepare!

There are so many opportunities to audition or compete in the singing world this time of year!  Local NATS Chapters are hosting their Student Auditions, competitions for scholarships are starting, and many folks will be having auditions for school musicals soon.  What are the best things that you can do to prepare?  Prepare yourself and your materials!

For NATS auditions and other competitions:

- Select your repertoire early and in accordance with the requirements indicated.  Decide on repertoire with your teachers' guidance.

- Make sure that you have made all deadlines for registration EARLY.  Carefully check if you are to bring originals only.

-After registration, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

- Work technique, breathing, and phrasing.

- Analyze lyrics of each song thoroughly so you know what you are really saying and can communicate it to the audience (judges).

- MEMORIZE, MEMORIZE, MEMORIZE

- Decide if you are using the house accompanist or your own.  If you are bringing your own accompanist, set aside time to practice with them.

- Carefully select your audition attire and practice in the shoes you will be wearing (it really affects your posture!)

-"Perform" for someone in your family or good friend.  This way you know how you will react to an audience and how they will react to your performance!

-Break a leg and make sure you warm up before you get to your auditions!

For Musical Theater Production Auditions at School or Otherwise:

- Find out the audition selections or requirements as soon as possible and start practicing.  Often times music directors select a song from the production that they will use for auditions.  Sometimes they give you a choice.  Be prepared either way.

- Follow all the steps above, knowing that you will be auditioning with the house accompanist.  

- Break a leg and make sure you warm up before you get to your auditions!

Take Care of Your Body, Take Care of Your Instrument

Take care of your body, it is your instrument as a singer!  

As the fall rapidly creeps along, so too do the problems of allergies (thank you falling leaves) and colds (thank you all of us being together and sharing our germs).  It is so important to take care of your body as a singer at the first sign of a sniffle. You can stop it from getting worse with some preventive measures.



It may be allergies.  If you are prone to fall allergies due to the falling leaves, mold, ragweed, start taking your allergy medicine. Wash your hair before you go to bed or regularly change your pillowcases so you don't sleep in the allergens.  

It could also be the start of a cold.  If it has been going on for a few days, it may have started as allergies and gone to a cold.  Go to bed earlier and drink some more O.J.  

You may be feeling some stress since the school year schedule is in full swing! Stop and pay attention!  The best thing you can do is respond to what your body is telling you! What are some specifics?

10 Top Things to Take Care of Yourself and Your Singing Voice 

1.       Good Hygiene- Wash your hands and don't touch your face

2.       Drink 8-10 glasses of water (or non-caffeinated beverage) a day

3.      SLEEP  at least 8 hours every night!

4.       Exercise 3-5 times a week to keep up your immune system 

5.       Reduce Medicines - Use nasal saline spray first, medicines last, but take allergy medicines

6.       Sing Well - good posture, breath support, and sing in correct range       

7.       Speak Well - Support your speech as if you are singing, minimize talking, don’t

          yell over loud noise!

8.       Practice Everything in Moderation (Singing and Speaking and Activity Level)

9.       Pay attention to your body signals.  If it doesn't feel good, don't do it!  

10.   Find time for a little relaxation and de-stressing time!

     Your body knows what it is saying.  If you take care of it and listen to it, you can make it through the allergies and stress and not get sick thus preserving your wonderful singing voice!  Keep singing! 

What Can You Learn in Singing Lessons in an Independent Voice Studio?

Why should you take voice lessons in a private voice studio?  Can’t everyone sing? 

Almost anyone who can speak can learn to sing, but most people don’t use their voices to their full potential. Voice lessons teach singers how to control their breath and find vocal resonance to create a fuller, healthier, and more beautiful sound. Lessons also teach general musical skills and build more confident singers.  The average singing student needs weekly guidance to establish a solid technique.  Through solid technique you can find the capabilities of your singing voice, not merely imitating those that you hear on recordings.

What we hear while we’re singing just isn’t true, so we are always dependent on someone we trust to take the role of our ‘outside ears’. Renee Fleming 

We don't always hear ourselves as others hear us.  Think about when you hear yourself speaking on your voicemail greeting.  It sounds different, right?  The same is true with our singing voice.  

In a private voice studio, the student gets guidance on their own individual voice, not the overall sound of the choir. This individualized attention helps develop the voice in a unique and powerful way.  Together teacher and singer explore a variety of styles of music based on what the teacher hears in the potential of the voice, students' interests and how the voice starts developing.  There is so much music out there than many of us have never heard!  There are also many styles of music which we particularly like which may or may not be suited to our voice type and range.  Exploring your voice from a solo standpoint can help you find your potential and uncover beautiful things!

What about the fun of the choral experience, singing with others?

Add to your choral singing with voice lessons and keep having fun in choir!  Other opportunities arise too which give you more confidence and enhanced singing skills.  In an independent voice studio, the singer not only gets access to a voice teacher and vocal coach, but to the camaraderie of belonging to a group of people who enjoy singing.  Most voice studios provide opportunities to perform musical repertoire one or two times a year.  Some also give the opportunity to work on the repertoire in front of and with others in the studio (please see more information on my studio at www.susanandersbrizick.com).  With more opportunities to share music with others, a student has a higher drive to perfect the craft of singing, builds a higher confidence level in their singing and themselves, and the better music we create!

Why Take Singing Lessons this Fall?

With the return to school this September, there are so many opportunities to start so many things!  A great supplement to musical activities at school is taking singing lessons!  Why?

Do you love to sing? Are you singing in choir at school?  Do you want to become a better singer?  Do you want to find the courage to audition for a select choral group or a solo for the Holiday Concert?  the musical theater production at school?  Do you want to get the lead in the next musical theater production in your high school?   Do you want to learn to sing better because that is something that you have always wanted to do and never had the time?  Do you want to sing back- up vocals in a band or sing better karaoke?  Do you want to become an opera singer?  Do you want to sing without others asking you to stop? The singing opportunities are endless.  All of these things can and should be the reason to look into taking singing lessons!

Find a teacher who meets your singing needs.  All singers need to learn solid technique to achieve their goals and to truly enjoy the beautiful music their voice can create.  Not everyone has the same goals or the same instrument.  It is the job of both the student and teacher to explore and expand upon the music that exists within each individual voice.  Establish good technique with an educated professional and discover what your voice can do.  What new direction might you discover?

After you live with that for a while, explore the wonders of your singing voice and work together with a voice teacher to shape your voice lesson experience.

Read this article,  Why Should I Take Private Voice Lessons?, and reach out to find yourself a voice teacher!  

Summer Musical Theater!

I just had a fabulous summer program full of Musical Theater Repertoire!  It was a tough program for sure, but all rose to the occasion! What proof that doing a summer program is so worthwhile!  I watched timid singers grow by leaps and bounds in confidence, hard repertoire was mastered such as Astonishing! from Little Women and Defying Gravity from Wicked, friendships bloomed between those who already knew each other and brand new friendships formed.




Why is the concentrated format of a summer program so beneficial?

-The concentration of longer lessons for just a few weeks makes everyone work harder.
- Much practice must happen in between lessons to master technique (breathing, phrases, and pitches) and to advance to the next phase of the song.
- Focus on the lyrics really enhanced the understanding that we are communicating when we sing.
- Masterclass work on acting also helps emphasize expression and know we must feel the emotion of the song.
-Dance workshop made everyone more comfortable moving in general.
-Masterclass work helps make all more comfortable with one another.
- Shorter span of time between first starting a song and performing it really creates a spark to practice and make it the best it can be.
- Keeps the singing voice working.
-More focused time can be spent working on singing without extra pressures of the regular school year.

No matter the exact format, a concentrated music program is so beneficial in the summer months!  Watch these clips on YouTube to see what can happen! Astonishing from Little Women and If I Were a Bell from Guys and Dolls

Keep on Singing!

Summer Music Programs- Why should you or your child participate?

Now that Spring Break is almost behind us, most of us are focused on the next exciting milestone, SUMMER..  What are you going to do?  What is your child going to do during the summer months? 

It is a great time to work on your singing or any of the trio of talents!  Sign up to take voice lessons or a Musical Theater Singing Series, audition for a summer production, pick up dance or acting lessons. 



Why?

- You or your child have a little more free time (school is out or you have summer hours).

- There is more time to schedule something that might not fit into your school year.

- There is more time to practice.

- It can give structure to an otherwise unstructured time.

-It will keep you motivated to work on your goals.

- It will increase your chances of attaining those goals during the school year (get into a select choir, get a lead in the play, get a music scholarship for college)

- Many summer opportunities combine singing, acting, and dancing with an emphasis on one of the three.

- You can pick up something new or something that you know you need to work on.  (ie you are a dancer who know she needs to sing better in order to get the lead in the next musical).

- Summer programs are often an intensive concentration on a subject.

- It builds your confidence as a performer and a person.

-It is fun!

Give it some serious thought and sign up for something now!  Click here to find out more about summer music programs. Happy Singing!