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The Fear of Fright

The one thing that you do not want to do is to be afraid on stage.

When you are “up there” before your audience, everything is magnified. Some of us have sweaty palms, cotton mouth, shaky knees, shaky voice and others bothers, I will not name.

Here are a few pointers that will help you relax and be the performer that is totally in touch with your own greatness.

First, remember to hydrate and oxygenate. Drink plenty water and fill your nostrils with deep breaths. This will calm the “butterflies” in your stomach

Second, relieve yourself in the restroom. Wash and dry your hands, check your clothing making sure that there’s no tissue stuck to your shoes or hanging from your clothes. Stand in the mirror, give your self a little pep talk or say a prayer.

Third, walk confidently on stage and focus on a left, center and right spot in the back of the room right above the heads of the audience and visit those spots randomly as you sing.

Imagine saying to them how honored and happy you are for the chance to make an impression on them while you perform.

Finally, always be gracious and thankful for the feedback whether there’s applause or silence. It is a blessing to show your own authentic self and allow yourself a chance to grow as an artist.

Relaxation and appreciation are the two doors to singing and artistic success. Be brave and believe!

Featured

Things We Text

While waiting on my young voice student to arrive home and prepare to for her online voice class, I get a call from her mother driving her that she had just been rear-end by another driver.

Earlier she said that they were driving home to get to the voice lesson. I sent a text message that said “drive carefully” and sat down at the piano and waited for them to call when they arrived home.

I get a text back that she and her daughter, my student, had just had an accident and were on their way to the hospital. I felt terrible that I had sent the text right before the accident occurred.

Did I text that into existence? Just being courteous–or was I? (Daunt_Daunt_Daunt_Daunt___) Could the mere mention of something catastrophic spin it into existence? I wonder, am I over-thinking this?

However, I know how it is driving kids to auditions, casting calls, dance, acting and singing lesson and sports. It can certainly be “uber-stressful” and dangerous driving back and forth to these events. Ignore the text messages while you are driving and be safe out there y’all.

Focus on Passion

Passion is that fire of desire that burns within us that always pushes us forward. It is not easy to describe but it clearer to understand when it is felt.

The other day as I was going through my usual routine, I felt a sudden surge of excitement. I did not know exactly what it was, but something just was exciting right out of the blue. Has this ever happened to you or am I alone in this? I tried to capture in my mind what it was but it escaped me. I took a short mental inventory of what it could be and came up empty. Guess what I did then?

I just latched on to the memory and was just grateful that I was in a good place mentally to experience that slight burst of hopefulness and exhilaration.

So the next time you feel a sudden excitement and you cannot attach anything to it, go write a song, sing a song or just give the world a smile.

You, the Mic and a Spotlight

Music is such a universal expression. There is a chord that binds every heart in the world. I remember when I went to see Bobby McFerrin in concert. All that he needed to “wow” the crowd was these three things: himself, the mic and the spotlight. I have never had as much fun at a concert as I did that evening.

I realized that you must find that confidence in yourself to trust. It can be difficult but it can be done. In our lives, we must own every one of our failures and every one of our successes. These become the voices in our head that haunt us when we perform before an audience. Trust or confidence comes when we are prepared to dare and not compare the two.

The “Mic” as we singers call it or microphone to others is the conduit or the channel to our audience. This is our connection. Ever notice that when were young and if see a microphone, we always wanted to say something in it and hear ourselves “out loud”? You are fortunate if you have never lost that curiosity or have never separated yourself from that child-likeness. Sadly, some of us lose that along the way as life plays its game on us. This is never meant to hurt us. We all want to succeed at anything that we do. Singing is just such an innate experience and sometimes we have to be shielded from the insults and onslaughts of others who really don’t understand the joy and satisfaction that singing in the “mic” brings.

The spotlights make everything so personal. Shakespeare once wrote that “the whole world is a stage”. The spotlight follows you everywhere on stage that you go. If you’ve ever been there, the light is so bright on you that you cannot see the audience. However, you can feel that there is something out there beyond the floor lights-an energy that encourages you to dare to be loud and courageous. Sometimes you just don’t realize that everyone in the audience wants to have the courage that you have. Every mistake that you will make, someone in the audience can relate and is pulling for you to come through and sing your best. That is something that you can trust is true.

Yes, you need yourself, the mic and the spotlight but most importantly, you need an audience that cheers and pushes you to be the best singer that you can be. Please know that I am that person for you. I can relate to your mistakes because I have made many, I know your struggle. I am that audience of one beyond the spotlight. Sing on.

Who I am and Why I’m Here

We start out our lives full of great expectations, dreams and promise. You reach out into the world and grasp for your fair share of what your life has to offer.

Reality soon sets in. As you grow up, you look around for what make you uniquely you. Soon we realize your real challenges when we come in contact with teachers.

I am a passionate, teacher. I love to teach music-especially vocal music. I am an igniter, a spark watcher and an observer of flames and flashes of brilliance. I want to bring your singing and experience to life. This is what my blog is about. It’s ’bout that life- the singer’s life.

This blog will look at the life of singers through the eyes of one who understands and have lived through much of it. In it I will share some insights, opinions and discoveries as I work with singers in my online studio space.

I hope to see you on the page.

Blessings,