Saturday, November 1, 2008

Become a Singer and Performer

By Elizabeth Schohl

If you want to present an excellent performance, you may want to know several crucial things to prepare yourself. First of all, get yourself mentally and physically prepared so that your voice is ready, your body is free of stress, and you feel mentally positive to face an audience. Memorize the words of all your songs thoroughly so you feel very confident and positive about yourself.

It doesn't hurt to allow yourself a cheat sheet to help you remember words of a song for your upcoming performance on stage. You have to memorize those words of a song thoroughly, and ideally they should be locked in your mind. Keep drinking water to keep those vocal cords moist and ready to help you sing your best and fill you with self-assurance.

Learn to listen to yourself singing through recording yourself, decide what you need to to do to build your performance skills. If you have a recording of a band or orchestra in the background, try to practice so that you sound naturally comfortable with the background music. Pinpoint parts in the music that don't sound right or natural, and keep practicing until you get it right.

Fantastic singers often possess that special something that separates them from good, yet ordinary singers. They may have the special movements, or look that makes an audience really notice and remember them. Ask others like friends or family members what they think is special about you, and how you can make the most of it to impress your audience.

There are some things that you should avoid before a performance such as straining your voice by yelling or shouting loudly. Your vocal cords can only take so much abuse before they begin to crack and then they won't work when you need them to. No matter how good a singer you are, your voice still has limits.

If you have any common sense don't even try to eat foods full of heavy spices or drink carbonated beverages before you go on stage, because you certainly don't want the audience to hear a loud burp or see you with spicy food backing your throat. Eliminate alcohol before any performance as it gives a drying effect on your vocal cords, which is not good before a performance. You want to keep your throat hydrated with some tea with lemon and honey.

Singers are often their own worst critic. Despite what a magazine or a review might say singers often take their talent and want to make it the best they can. Really good singers are often obsessed with their voices and take special care because they don't want to ruin their voice with a host of health problems.

In order to get noticed by others as a singer, start singing at weddings, parties, or even a karaoke bar where strangers listen to you sing. Another great place to get known as a singer is at your church, where people will know you because of your singing. Keep in mind that many well known singers gradually became noticed because of their participation in local plays, church performances, or theater productions. - 15359

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