tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10196516354904850812024-03-07T02:29:31.515-08:00I Feel Like SingingNotes about singing, songwriting, performing, vocal coaching, and the intersection of art, soul and commerce. My site at www.susananders.com has more about me, my vocal coaching and my music, and has many singing tips and instructional methods.Susan Andershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07283907103881885278noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019651635490485081.post-14383542065988306232020-11-17T08:14:00.003-08:002020-11-17T08:14:55.006-08:00 Singing During the Pandemic<p> Sorry for my delay posting this: here is information about singing and the Covid-19 virus from last spring. Unfortunately most of this info is still very relevant:<br /> <br /> I hope you are all safe and healthy during these scary times. I’m including a lot of advice here for how to keep singing safely as we make our way through the Covid-19 pandemic. <br /><br /> The bad news for singers: we continue to learn more about the virus daily, but experts agree that the virus is spread via saliva droplets. Singing can project those droplets much farther than the recommended 6 feet of distance we’ve been told to keep:<br /> <br /> “Singers are at high risk for transmission for COVID-19... Because singers are vocal athletes and they engage in diaphragmatic breathing, they can actually generate much more aerosols which can spread further.”<br />Phillip C. Song, MD, Mass. Eye and Ear<br /><br /> “And at this juncture, we don't want people doing voice lessons, even standing eight-and-a-half feet apart," William Schaffner, professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center<br /><br /> But we need to keep singing! Read on for some ideas about how you can safely keep singing.</p><p>YOUR SINGING REGIMEN</p><p> Now is a great time to consistently warm up, sing through your repertoire, learn new songs, write songs, build your accompaniment skills, work on related skills like sight-singing. Figure out your goals and how much time you can realistically devote to a singing practice. Set reasonable goals and don’t overdo it to prevent burnout: leave time for rest, these are stressful times. <br /> Many are sheltering with others and have to figure out how to practice without disturbing your family or housemates. Some of my students are singing in closets where the sound is muffled, or in rooms far from others. Or they just agree on a time where their families or housemates won't mind if they sing. <br /> Though standing when singing is preferable you can always go sit in a car to practice. <br /></p><p>ONLINE SINGING LESSONS<br /></p><p> Skype [my favorite], Zoom, Google Chat, all these work for online singing lessons. All online platforms have a slight lag, which means teachers can’t accompany you. Your deejay skills will improve during this time because you will need to play your own tracks while singing for your teacher, whether those are karaoke tracks or tracks your teacher has recorded and sent to you. If possible play your tracks on a different device than what you use for Skyping. Have all of your tracks organized in a folder or iTunes playlist, one for your warmups and one for your song tracks.<br /> The pandemic has hurt our economy and many can’t afford singing lessons right now, but want to continue learning. Many teachers will meet with you for one lesson instead of many and work out a study plan--I’ve done this for several students this year. There are also many singing tutorials on Youtube you can work through. Just make sure to use common sense as you try different methods: remember that if it hurts to sing it’s not good for you. <br /><br /></p><p>SINGING WITH OTHERS<br /></p> Sadly, that lag on all of the online platforms makes practicing online with others in real time near impossible. Platforms like JamKazam are touted as not having a lag and are worth trying, but I’ve seen posts in musician forums that say the lag exists there as well. One of my students just got her MA in recording technology and she tells me that inventing an online platform with no lag is all anyone in her department talks about! For now your best bet might be recording your vocals and sharing with other singers, who then add their vocals. The <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/acapella-from-picplaypost/id924635678" target="_blank">Acappella app</a> is free and easy to use for this, and there are others out there as well.<br /><p> Here’s an article that goes over <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/arts/coronavirus-sing-duets-over-the-internet.html" target="_blank">more ways to sing with others.</a><br /> <br /> If you need help with harmonies or want to up your harmonizing skills while sheltering check out my <a href="https://www.susananders.com/sing-harmonies-app" target="_blank">Sing Harmonies app</a>, or <a href="https://www.susananders.com/harmony-singing-by-ear" target="_blank">Harmony Singing by Ear</a> [sigh: the cover reminds me of when we didn't need to socially distance].</p><p>GIGS<br /></p><p>Lastly, if your area has reopened and live music is happening:<br /> <br />Audience members: stay out of the front row! Remember how far those droplets can project.<br /> <br />Performers: bring your own mic to your gig. Distance yourself from any other musicians on stage. Whenever possible do outdoor gigs instead.<br /><br /><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Susan Anders
http://www.susananders.com</div>Susan Andershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07283907103881885278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019651635490485081.post-41961111155839529772020-11-16T20:02:00.000-08:002020-11-17T08:18:26.212-08:00What If You Don't Feel Like Singing? It has been a rough year for many singers during the pandemic. I hope you have stayed healthy and have found ways to keep singing. I’ve been very impressed by my students this year. Some have really used their extra stay-at-home time to double-down on practicing. Some have been working on sets of songs in preparation for when we’re all free to go to concerts again. Some have been live-streaming to stay in touch with their fans. And one go-getter student gigged steadily from the summer until now, all at outside/distanced shows. <br /><p> But some of us have been too challenged by 2020 to do much besides scrape by and watch too much TV. I have singer friends who haven’t sung in months. If this sounds like you don’t let your lack of singing or practicing get you down. It’s enough right now to just get through the pandemic, you don’t have to do more than that. Singing will still be there when you feel like singing again.</p><p><br /> If you don’t feel like singing but you really want to get or keep your voice going, try the baby steps approach: </p><p>1. Once a day sing a song, any song, a cappella. <br />2. If songs feel too emotional set a timer for 5-10 minutes and sing some of your warmups. Just a small bit of singing can help you retain your vocal strength and technique, and since endorphins are released when we sing it might also brighten your mood.<br />3. Forget songs and warmups: just make some sounds. They might be out-of-tune, silly, sing-songy, or weird. Just let yourself vocalize in some way. Do it in the shower if you’re worried about others hearing you. <br /> I have done all of the above at various times this year!<br /><br /> If you are like my singer friend who completely stopped singing last spring but are now ready to bring your voice back, go slowly as you let your vocal cords and singing habits reawaken. Sing small-range songs. Perhaps only do the earlier, easier parts of your warmup. You may need to pay more attention to breathing and facial resonance for awhile. If you can do lip trills (also called lip rolls or motorboating) and/or tongue rolls do a lot of them: loose ones, or over scales or songs. I show you these starting at 2:54 of my video <a href="https://www.susananders.com/video-singing-tips" target="_blank">“Singing When You’re Sick”</a>.<br /> If you’re really feeling rusty or having difficulties bringing your voice back, my method <a href="https://www.susananders.com/vocal-recovery-warmup" target="_blank">The Vocal Recovery Warmup</a> can help. It includes several warmups of varying levels of difficulty, plus lots of instruction. One of my students, who sings professionally, still uses the last set of exercises as his daily warmup. Make sure to read the pdf guidebook that comes with the download, the audio lessons can be used alone but using them in tandem with the book is much more effective.<br /><br /> I hope we all get to sing with each other and for each other, IN PERSON, in 2021!<br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Susan Anders
http://www.susananders.com</div>Susan Andershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07283907103881885278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019651635490485081.post-22516442924306422832019-02-15T12:32:00.004-08:002019-02-15T12:34:25.923-08:00Advice for My Young Voice Student Who is Seeking a Music CareerA talented young singer who studies with me sent me some questions for a homework assignment. Here are my answers:<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Question 1:
What would advice would you give your younger self about pursuing music?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">1] Practice,
practice, and then practice some more. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">2] Study
music business as well as music.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">3] Start a
database of everyone you meet: fans, musicians, music business people, anyone
remotely connected to you and your music. You will be amazed ten years later
who ends up helping you. I got my first distribution deal because a friend from
college chatted up a music distributor on a flight to Los Angeles.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">4] It’s not
all about you—be a fan of other musicians and help them out on their journey. </span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Question 2:
As a vocalist, I’ve always been confused and fascinated when singers such as Beyoncé,
Katy Perry, Bob Dylan, etc. refer to “selling their souls”, to the music
industry. Since you’ve been through the industry, what really does that mean?
And as a vocalist, if I ever did get a record deal, is that something I’d have
to face?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I think it means that they gave up
something very important to them in order to further their career. Sometimes
they had to compromise their music and not do what they really wanted to do
musically, sometimes they had to ignore their personal lives to tour and record
and move ahead, and in the worst cases they actually had to offer sexual favors
in order to get the deal—this happened to a friend of mine. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Artists now are much more
business-savvy and informed than they were when I was a young artist, so they have a decent idea of what’s in store when they pursue a music career. The Me Too movement has
made it more difficult for music business people to sexually exploit artists.
But artists need to stay aware and informed-- read everything you can about the music
business as well as reading about the journeys of other artists and how they
made strides and overcame obstacles early on. </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Also, learning time management and
stress management techniques is critical, so you don’t burn out or feel like you've lost your soul. </span></span><br />
</div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Question 3:
What is probably the best decade of music, (60’s, 70’s, 80’s, so on,), to refer
to as an artist? Or to get inspiration from? </span><br />
</div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>I like the
50s, 60s and 70s:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The 50s beatniks
brought poetry to music in the 60s, and the hippie movement of the 60s brought
an experimental atmosphere to music: tempo and key changes in songs were
accepted, unusual chord progressions and melodies were welcomed. This combined
with the great melodies from the Beatles and the Motown artists and writers and
many others made for some wonderful music. In the late 60s and throughout the
70s the singer-songwriter movement brought deeper lyrics from artists like Joni
Mitchell and Jackson Browne. </span></div>
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</style><div class="blogger-post-footer">Susan Anders
http://www.susananders.com</div>Susan Andershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07283907103881885278noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019651635490485081.post-52746909770049456832018-07-27T10:24:00.000-07:002018-07-27T10:24:11.955-07:00My Visit to a Physical Therapist for Singers Chances are if you’ve gone to a vocal coach you’ve been told that you had tension in your throat that was affecting your voice. That’s what I was told at my first voice lesson, and that’s what I frequently tell singers when I first work with them. Throat tension is a common problem for singers that can affect tone, pitch, range, and endurance. There are many things you can do on your own or with a coach to ease the tension and free up your voice. But sometimes those methods aren’t enough. <br /> I worked with a singer who sounded great and got the lead in several musicals, but she developed intense pain on the right side of her neck when she sang for a long time. Another singer I worked with had so much tension in her throat and shoulders that she couldn’t sustain a note, no matter how big a breath she took. Another singer could not get his vocal strength back after an illness, despite time and traditional <a href="https://www.susananders.com/vocal-recovery-warmup" target="_blank">vocal therapy</a> (which includes breathing and resonance work). I suspected that these singers needed to see someone who could work deeply in the muscles that were contributing to their problems. <br /> Strong vocal technique, like good breath support and resonation, are vital to a singer. But sometimes technique isn’t enough. That’s when visit to a <a href="http://news.vumc.org/2014/11/13/physical-therapy-helps-ease-vocal-muscle-imbalances/" target="_blank">physical therapist who specializes in working with singers</a> can be helpful. Think about it: singers are like athletes, using their bodies and vocal cords in complex and demanding ways. Athletes see physical therapists regularly, so why shouldn’t singers?<br /> Gena Thurston is a physical therapist who loves working with singers and performers. In her Chicago practice she has worked with numerous singers including cast members from Hamilton and Book of Mormon. She’s growing a new practice in her hometown of Nashville, so she invited me in for a complementary session so I could see what she does. While I’m not experiencing any vocal problems, I’m well aware of tension in my face, neck, and shoulders that I’m sure are not helping me sing. I’d heard of miraculous results from working with a PT for vocal issues, and I was curious what Gena would do.<br /> Here was the status of my voice and body pre-session: I’d been playing a lot of guitar recently, which puts unequal strain on the neck and shoulders. I slumped through most of my childhood and have spent my entire adult life trying to remember to sit or stand up straight. Like most people who have had their wisdom teeth pulled, I have TMJ and frequent jaw tension. The day of my session I’d slept poorly and was feeling a bit zombie-like. <br /> Gena had me lay on my back and started working on my neck, explaining what she was doing as she went. She found tension in all my usual spots, plus a lot more tension on the left side of my neck, jaw, and face than on the right. That’s the kind of imbalance that can lead to irregular closure of the vocal folds, which can cause problems. It felt like Gena was giving me a very detailed neck and shoulder massage. The difference between what she did and a regular massage was the specificity: she found and worked on muscles I didn’t know I had in my neck, shoulders, and jaw. She worked near my glottis (where the vocal folds are housed) and just under my jaw near the hyoid bone, a prime spot for muscle tension in singers. Towards the end of the hour (which flew by and felt like fifteen minutes) she worked on my jaw joint from the inside of my mouth. The pain from that was very intense--if I’d known any state secrets I would have given them up easily. But afterward my jaw felt looser.<br /> With my permission Gena also used <a href="https://www.practicalpainmanagement.com/pain/spine/dry-needling-offers-relief-chronic-low-back-pain" target="_blank">dry needles</a> on my trapezius muscles. These are longer than acupuncture needles and only go in for a second or two, unlike acupuncture needles that are usually left in for 10-30 minutes. Gena said my trapezius muscles would be sore for the rest of the day and they were, but that the muscle release from dry needles can be long lasting. When the needle went into my right muscle there was a weird popping feeling that she said was a good thing, since it signals a deeper muscle release. The following day I noticed that that right shoulder did indeed feel more relaxed than my left shoulder. <br /> After my session my jaw muscles were as relaxed as they had been in years. I headed for Trader Joe’s to shop and found that I didn’t want to smile at anyone and lose the loose feeling in my jaw. It also felt easier to stand up straight. I felt very relaxed and a little spacey. As I drove home I sang and it felt easy--not much different than the day before, but there was a subtle difference. <br /> The next day some of my jaw tension was back, but overall my neck, jaw, and shoulders felt pretty good, better than before my session with Gena. I’ve had massages where it seemed that the beneficial results disappeared as I drove home. This deeper work appeared to have a more lasting effect. I sang that day and my voice still felt good. Again, there were no earth-shaking vocal results, but I felt a noticeable ease in singing.<br /><br /> I didn’t have any dramatic results from my session with Gena, unlike a singer friend in Los Angeles who added several notes to his range after doing similar work with a physical therapist there. But I didn’t have any vocal problems when I saw her, so I couldn’t experience firsthand the healing properties of her work. Plus, I’m sure it takes more than a few sessions to really see benefits. Gena said she always gives her clients homework and exercises to speed the healing. She said clients who do their homework rarely need to see her more than once a week. <br /> The vocal-oriented physical therapy that Gena does could help many singers. Learning and maintaining proper technique is still essential, and singers in need of vocal therapy still need to go through that process to bring their voices back. But if muscle tension has contributed to or exacerbated any vocal problems, this kind of deep muscle work will accelerate improvement, and may very well be the missing link if a singer isn’t improving. Doctors at some vocal therapy clinics like The Vanderbilt Voice Clinic have realized this and now include deep muscle work as an option for patients.<br /> As Gena worked on me I thought of several singers I’d worked with who I suspected would benefit from seeing her. If you are experiencing long or short term vocal problems, or feel that your voice is stuck, this kind of work could be worth exploring. Make sure to see a licensed physical therapist, and make sure they’ve had special training for working with vocalists. <div class="blogger-post-footer">Susan Anders
http://www.susananders.com</div>Susan Andershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07283907103881885278noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019651635490485081.post-72769627350505213552017-05-05T14:09:00.001-07:002017-05-05T14:09:53.968-07:00Singing and Emotions<br /> I made a new friend last year, and I gushed a little when I met her and learned that she was a singer I’d been listening to for years on my iTunes playlist. She plain and simple has a gorgeous voice. But when I met her she’d been having some vocal problems, and she learned at the Vanderbilt Voice Clinic that her chronic hoarseness was from muscular tension. Plus, she’d been compensating to get a vocal sound out for some time, exacerbating the problem. (Vocal compensating is when you tighten your throat and/or nearby muscles to produce a sound when your voice is weak, fatigued, stressed, or healing from a cold or allergies). The origin of her problem was not years and years of bad vocal technique, she was a good singer who knew how to take care of her voice. But she had recently spent a few years taking care of her terminally ill mother, and the stress of care-giving and then the grief after her mother passed took a toll on her voice.<br /> Another friend of mine is a very well-trained professional singer with a supple voice and a huge range: he can easily sing higher that I can. But after his best friend died suddenly he lost his voice. I tried everything I could think of to get sound out of him, but nothing worked. The trauma of his friend’s sudden death had sapped his vocal strength. It took a year for him to get his voice completely back. <br /> Many of us have experienced the feel-good surge of endorphins we get while singing. And many of us have experienced performance anxiety, when nerves seem to dismantle all of our singing technique. So we know how singing can improve our emotional state, and we know how our emotions can affect our singing. What I’m writing about is different: it’s how emotional trauma, whether short or long-term, can affect your voice. It’s an element that many singers don’t think about if they are experiencing vocal problems. We’re more likely to think “My support isn’t good lately, I just need to breathe deeper and stand up straight,” or “I’m getting hoarse easily these days, I need to warm up more and stop all dairy”. But sometimes going the voice technique route doesn’t help, and if so you might want to ask yourself if you’ve experienced an emotional trauma recently or in the past. <br /> I’ve sent students to mental health professionals when I suspected that grief, trauma, or plain old everyday stress was inhibiting their ability to sing freely. I’ve also sent them to vocal therapists and vocal massage therapists. There are many effective ways to address the effects of emotional stress on the singing voice. <br /> In many cases singing can help you heal emotionally if you’re in touch with your emotions. How many of us have sung our way out of a bad mood? I know I have. But singing can also help with stronger emotions like grief. A student of mine had only been studying with me for a few weeks when her husband of many years suddenly died. Though I thought she’d take some time off of her studies, she returned to lessons with me right after his memorial. She told me that lessons and subsequent home practice sessions were helping her cope and move through her grief. In her case singing was what she needed to process her emotions. Singing can be a powerful way to get in touch with emotions, and singing can help you release them. The deep breathing we do as singers can trigger the release of deep emotions. I always have a box of tissues nearby for students!<br /> Singing and our emotions are deeply entwined. If emotions arise as you sing let them come up and out. And if you you suspect that buried emotions are blocking your voice in some way please consult a professional.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Susan Anders
http://www.susananders.com</div>Susan Andershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07283907103881885278noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019651635490485081.post-52186007961823496242016-11-23T11:03:00.001-08:002016-11-23T11:03:28.448-08:00Improving Your Pitch Accuracy/Singing in Tune It’s very easy to tense up the tongue, jaw, and/or throat when you’re fine-tuning your pitch accuracy: you may end up with better intonation but also a pinched tone, and possibly vocal fatigue. Here’s a method that can help: <br />
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1] Work with Hearfones so you can hear yourself as well as the track or instrument to which you are tuning. A mic and headphones will work, too. More info on Hearfones is <a href="http://www.hearfones.com/" target="_blank">on their site</a>, but they are usually cheaper at <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hearfones-N261-Adjustable-Headset-Multicolor/dp/B0042SRFS6" target="_blank">Amazon</a>.<br />
<br /> 2] Massage the sides of your neck and perhaps your shoulders and jaw as you sing. DO NOT directly massage your larynx (behind your Adam’s Apple), that area is too delicate. It can be tricky to fit your fingers around the Hearfones but it can be done. You can also try swaying as you sing to stay relaxed. <br />
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3] Work with some kind of track or instrument when you’re doing this kind of work, not a cappella. It’s too easy to stray from the key when singing a cappella.<br /><br />4] Record yourself periodically to fine-tune your vocal more.<br />
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For most singers singing in tune is an ongoing project, not something you work on for awhile and then you are set for life.<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Susan Anders
http://www.susananders.com</div>Susan Andershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07283907103881885278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019651635490485081.post-26802023322817264322016-09-08T13:26:00.000-07:002016-09-08T13:26:29.260-07:00<b>More Tips on Performing</b><br />
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This last August I played several shows in California. Some of my friends are touring singer-songwriters who regularly do shows, but I’m not one of them; sometimes many months can go by in-between shows. Occasional performers like me can be more prone to stage fright. One show was in my hometown of Berkeley and looked to have friends in the audience I’d known as far back as first grade. I knew I’d be nervous, and I hadn’t performed in a year, and that made me more nervous. I had to prepare for possible performance anxiety in as many ways as I could. So while rehearsing I used every trick I already knew about preparing for a show: those methods are <a href="http://www.susananders.com/article-3-stage-fright-tips" target="_blank">all listed here</a> and detailed further in my book <a href="http://www.susananders.com/singing-live-performing-guidebook" target="_blank">Singing Live</a>. If nerves hit me onstage I can usually sing through it, but I make stupid guitar mistakes and get distracted, and I don’t give my best possible performance. <br /> The first show of the tour was good, not great: I played and sang decently and connected with the audience, but there was definitely room for improvement on all fronts. The rest of the shows were better, but I continued to learn (or re-learn!) ways to improve. So here are a few more things about performing that I remembered on this last tour, which included shows at clubs, house concerts, and coffeehouses:<br /><br /><b>Don’t schedule the hometown show first</b><br /> <br /> It’s common at smaller shows to meet and chat with audience members beforehand, but this particular show was packed with people I hadn’t seen in twenty years, along with friends I’ve known since childhood. It was a “Susan this is your life” crazy party and I was rushing around saying hello right up to walking on stage. Not a great way to get centered before performing, and I felt a bit scattered.<br /><br /><b>Wear layers to take off (or put on) if necessary</b><br /><br /> This first show was in a venue with no ventilation or AC, it was sold-out, and it was 90 degrees onstage. Enough said!<br /><br /><b>Keep warming up before each and every show</b><br /><br /> You’d think I’d know this one. I’m good about warming up regularly at home, but travel during the tour made this hard to do. We raced into town right before our last show. I thought after warming up and performing throughout the tour that I could get away with not warming up just one time, and I paid the price: on three different high notes that are usually easy for me my voice simply wouldn’t do what it usually can do, and cracked. In retrospect I realize my voice was fairly tired by the end of the tour, and I should have warmed up and babied it a whole lot more for that last show. Here’s what fatigued my voice the most:<br /><br /><b>Avoid noisy restaurants and parties in-between shows</b><br /><br /> A student’s friend recently had dinner with Paul Simon, so I told her to ask Paul how he kept his voice in shape on tour. Among Paul Simon’s tricks: he gets 10+ hours of sleep a night, he drinks very little alcohol, and he avoids loud restaurants and dinner parties while on tour. <br /> I was meeting a lot of friends for meals in-between shows, and more than one time I requested that we switch to a less noisy restaurant. Talking loudly in noisy places can wipe out your voice. Even though I was careful I could still feel the fatigue from so much visiting. If your voice is tiring during visits, ask questions and let your friends do most of the talking.<br /><br /><b>Don’t start with a slow song</b><br /><br /> I always like to start with an up-tempo, higher energy song--it gets the ball rolling, and I can channel any nerves into singing it. I save slower songs that require more vocal control for later. But a friend did a set before mine at one show, and she asked me to sing a duet with her during her set. As a result the first thing I sang onstage that evening was a slow ballad, and it took a lot of concentration to pull it off. <br /><br /><b>Don’t start with a low song</b><br /><br /> Many singers notice that their vocal range shifts up in performance, due to adrenaline: high notes are much easier, low notes are harder. I’ve known this about myself for years, but I ignored it when planning my set! The first song of my set started with some very low notes that were a breeze to sing at rehearsal, but difficult to sing in performance: this didn’t make for a strong start. I should have put that song later in the set when I was more relaxed. I raised the key of another song for the same reason and it was much easier to sing.<br /><br /><b>Be willing to move or dump songs</b><br /><br /> I like to build a set of songs carefully so that the pacing is good. Then I tend to stick with the same set throughout a tour. But I noticed during the first two shows that the audience was not connecting with one particular song, so I dropped it from the set and inserted another one. The result was a much stronger set. <br /><br /> I hope these tips are helpful. If you are currently preparing for a show or tour: rehearse more than you think you should, avoid noisy restaurants, get as much sleep as possible, and break a leg! <div class="blogger-post-footer">Susan Anders
http://www.susananders.com</div>Susan Andershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07283907103881885278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019651635490485081.post-73101038846436215352013-03-24T14:43:00.000-07:002013-03-24T14:43:07.485-07:00What I Learned About Singing at Zumba Class<br />When I was living in Santa Cruz during college there was a fabulous afro-cuban dance class downtown, with live drummers. Over a hundred people would show up for an hour of hip-swaying, butt-shaking tribal dance. I’m not a trained dancer and I could never get the moves down, but since I love to dance it was still loads of fun. Going to a Zumba class at my local Nashville gym once or twice a week is as close as I can get now to recreating those Santa Cruz days. The music isn’t live, but the dance moves from different cultures and the array of music from around the world still can make for a great time. The teacher can make or break a class, however. A good Zumba teacher knows lots of routines and can convey them easily, can keep everyone moving, and will look like they’re having fun all the while.<br /><br />When my beloved Zumba teacher of several years switched careers, two different teachers took over her Tuesday and Thursday classes. I went to Marie’s class on Thursday and it was awful: she was clearly new to teaching Zumba and her inexperience showed. She only knew 25 minutes worth of dance routines, so we had to do the same clunky dances twice during the hour. She kept stopping to look at her notes during the routines. The music she chose was too disco-y. I tried her class a couple of times, then gave up and avoided it. That only left one other class I could take, Annie’s class on Tuesdays. She was a trained dancer and knew her stuff. I joined her class and stayed with it for several months.<br /><br />As the months rolled on the classes became less and less fun. I realized that we always did the same routines, and that the moves seemed more militaristic than hip-swaying/African/Latin/Cuban-ish. Annie moved well, but she never looked like she was having any fun. She often looked liked she’d rather be at the movies with her boyfriend. <br /><br />Other people were voting with their feet, and Annie’s class size was steadily shrinking. I skipped it one week due to another commitment, and in desperation for exercise (this was in the dead of winter) I returned to Marie’s Thursday class. Holy moly, what a difference! She not only had collected a huge variety of music and learned a bunch of routines, she not only had learned how to signal us new fun moves as we all danced, but she exuded enthusiasm all the while. She clearly was having a blast teaching the class. She’d scamper up and dance with different students, and made sure she knew everyone’s name. New students of any level were welcomed with enthusiasm. She even played the quick “Jeopardy” theme twice during the hour, so we could all get water--no teacher had ever thought to add water break music to their mix. Everything about the class said “Whoever you are, come have some fun!” As I danced away I was filled with the sheer joy of dancing, something I hadn’t felt for many months.<br /><br />So what does this have to do with singing? <br /><br />1) Don’t pigeonhole someone with an initial judgement. I gave a few lessons to someone years ago and pegged her early on as someone who needed lots of help-- and even then would probably never improve much. She disappeared for a year and then returned, telling me that during the year she’d been working with the recordings I’d made for her of our few lessons. She not only sounded fantastic, but she got a record deal six months later. I learned not to make hard and fast predictions about how quickly or how much a singer might improve. Wish I’d thought not to judge Marie so quickly as well!<br /><br />2) Don’t pigeonhole yourself with a judgment about your singing. Just as with athletics, singing is partly mental. If you decide that you’ll never sing high (or powerfully, or in tune, or well enough to go pro, or whatever), you may be setting yourself up to fail. <br /><br />3) The joy factor is vital. Most people study voice or pursue careers as singers because they love to sing. Singing is one of the great joys of life. It engages you physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. If singing has been no fun for you lately, figure out why and make some changes. Recently I realized I’d been singing the same practice songs for way too long. I recorded some new practice songs and voila`, suddenly I was having fun again. <br /><br /><br />Now you know where I’ll be on Thursdays at 5:30.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Susan Anders
http://www.susananders.com</div>Susan Andershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07283907103881885278noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019651635490485081.post-11939097990312571562012-11-07T14:18:00.001-08:002012-11-07T14:18:23.168-08:00Sometimes Dreams Come TrueAnyone who has every tried to get anywhere in the music business knows that getting a record deal or having your song cut is like winning the lottery--it’s next to impossible. So it’s wonderful to see someone who is talented and deserving actually get somewhere in this occasionally heartless biz. <br /> I met <a href="http://www.kelleighbannen.com/" target="_blank">Kelleigh Bannen</a> a few years ago in Barbara Cloyd’s <a href="http://www.barbaracloyd.com/workshops.htm" target="_blank">Pitch to Publishers</a> songwriting workshop. I liked her immediately--she was very pretty and friendly, and appeared to have a brain. During the workshop she played a song live and in my humble opinion I thought she had a great voice, but she needed to strengthen her guitar and performance chops. After the workshop we wrote a few songs together, including one I liked so much that I recorded it for my album <a href="http://www.susananders.com/swimmer.cfm" target="_blank">Swimmer</a>. While writing we hung out a bit and talked a lot about her career path. She was totally open to any feedback I had, and was very focused on doing anything she could to improve as an artist. <br /> Though she was clearly talented, she was one of hundreds, if not thousands of talented artists trying to get somewhere in Nashville. So during the couple of years Kelleigh worked her butt off and did the following:<br />• Worked on her guitar playing.<br />• Gigged whenever possible.<br />• Took even more singing lessons, though she’d been studying since she was a teen.<br />• Recorded and released an album on her own.<br />• Followed every lead possible to meet with industry people.<br />• In an effort to stand out in the crowd, she organized and did a “90 Gigs in 90 Days” tour. If you booked her to play in your closet, she did it. As her website says, she did it “In honor of my little brother who passed away after a long battle with addiction.” (Just in case you think her life has been a bed of roses.)<br />• Because of the tour she got a meeting with producer Paul Worley, who proceeded to mentor her, sign her to his publishing company, and then set her up with a bunch of high profile songwriters.<br />• Spent almost every waking minute for many months writing with different songwriters, proving to Paul she had staying power.<br />• Recorded with Paul, who then got her a deal with Capitol Records.<br />• Knowing that getting a deal was not the end of the story but one more rung in the ladder, she then did everything she could to prove to the label that she was worthy. She gigged, kept practicing, and kept writing. <br /><br /> Last fall I took a student of mine to see Kelleigh play, and saw how she had transformed herself through sheer hard work. She had retained her smarts, sense of humor and friendliness, but the non-stop writing, practicing and gigging had paid off. Her voice was better than ever, her guitar playing was confident, her songs were powerful, and her performing was completely professional and passionate. She exuded star quality and charisma, but in a very open, down-to earth way.<br /> Signing with a label doesn’t mean that you’ll ever release a thing. Some artists sign with labels like Capitol and then spin their wheels for years, recording and gigging, until finally the label lets them go. Two years after she signed her deal, Kelleigh’s first single came out. She debuted at the Grand Old Opry last week, and posted on Facebook a picture she took from onstage at another gig with the comment “This is what 25,000 people looks like!”. <br /> We chatted this week about how to keep one’s voice strong with the demands of multiple radio meet-and-greets and a demanding tour schedule. She’s on her way, and she deserves to do well. Rock on, Kelleigh!<div class="blogger-post-footer">Susan Anders
http://www.susananders.com</div>Susan Andershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07283907103881885278noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019651635490485081.post-22269491336123969612012-08-25T09:41:00.000-07:002012-08-25T09:41:05.311-07:00Inspiration for a Wimpy Voice<br />
I fell off the practicing wagon while on vacation, then once home promptly got the summer cold everyone seems to have had lately. Then my voice finally came limping back, and it was time to rebuild strength. I knew what would happen the first few days: it would feel like I hadn’t sung for years and I’d cringe at my vocal wimpyness. I’d feel like a beginning singer, a charlatan, an imposter. Then gradually, if I could tolerate my sound and keep practicing, my voice would get stronger, I’d get over the initial weak voice hump and I’d feel like practicing and singing regularly again. But I was resisting moving through the hump. I needed inspiration.<br />
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Last night, while researching a project online, I listened to several master singers singing wonderful songs. Some were songs and performances everyone knows, but I hadn’t heard them for awhile. By the fifth song I was revved up and ready to practice. Maybe that’s the mark of an extraordinary singer and a wonderful song: they not only move you, they make you want to sing.<br />
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Here are the songs and performances that got to me, in case you’re looking for inspiration. If you’re short on time just listen to Sam Cooke, that should do it:<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-X9JkM9Bgo" target="_blank">Sam Cooke: A Change Is Gonna Come</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SIX-Qp6v4k" target="_blank">Eva Cassidy: True Colours </a><br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HRa4X07jdE" target="_blank">Judy Garland: Over The Rainbow</a><br />
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More <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_DKWlrA24k" target="_blank">Over The Rainbow: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfbirC70xf0" target="_blank">Let Him Fly: Patti Griffin</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuWPseegaKw" target="_blank">Marc Broussard: Home</a><br />
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If you've found or rediscovered songs and performances that inspire you, feel free to post them in the comments section below.<br />
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Susan Anders
http://www.susananders.com</div>Susan Andershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07283907103881885278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019651635490485081.post-31228757657445686782012-07-31T10:50:00.000-07:002012-07-31T10:50:13.050-07:00Shout-out to NSAISome large organizations drive me insane with their bureaucracy and their ability to hire employees that just don’t care about making any kind of effort. But there’s an organization here in Nashville that’s the exact opposite: <a href="http://www.nashvillesongwriters.com/">Nashville Songwriter’s Association International</a> (NSAI). The people that work at NSAI are ethical, hard-working, talented, and always thinking about what they can do for their members. I’ve been a member since I moved to Nashville in 2002, and have watched them expand their membership and offerings hugely during that time. As a songwriter, I’ve learned a ton from their workshops, one-on-one mentoring, and networking opportunities. As a teacher, they’ve helped me expand my network of students: I’ve given workshops for NSAI in several states, and I regularly teach at their annual <a href="http://members.nashvillesongwriters.com/news.php?viewStory=1366">Songposium</a> (more on that later). They just interviewed and filmed me for the online educational video section of their site, and since once again I was impressed by them I thought it was time to sing their praises in my blog.<br />
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By the way, they don’t just cater to country music writers and singer-songwriters. No, really. They just connected me with a possible co-writer, a true rocker who just opened for Rick Springfield. I’ve met hip-hop producers at NSAI functions. We’re talking all styles here.<br />
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It’s completely worth joining NSAI even if you don’t live in Nashville. Their online resources for members are formidable, and their song evaluation service alone is worth the membership cost. Plus, there are numerous regional wings of NSAI where you can find a community of songwriters closer to you. <br />
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In recent years NSAI has made an effort to find and get publishing and/or recording deals for well over 250 of their members. So they don’t just educate, they mentor, guide and help their members make connections. In case you haven’t noticed, the music industry has gone through epic changes this century, and NSAI keeps working to find ways for songwriters to roll with the punches. They are also fighting the good fight against illegal downloading, which has decimated the incomes of many artists and songwriters, including me. <br />
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<a href="http://members.nashvillesongwriters.com/news.php?viewStory=1366">Songposium</a> is one of the many conferences NSAI offers each year, and it’s really great: five days of workshops with some of the top songwriters in the country, as well as workshops on music business, craft, performing, new media, and singing--the latter is where I come in, I’m teaching three workshops at Songposium in September. <br />
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If this sounds like an over-the-top fan letter, it is. It’s hard to be a singer, songwriter, or both in the current music industry climate. I’m grateful that the staff and volunteers at NSAI are working so hard to create educational and career-building opportunities, and to help songwriters stay positive and inspired.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Susan Anders
http://www.susananders.com</div>Susan Andershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07283907103881885278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019651635490485081.post-5095931669325245062012-05-09T08:00:00.002-07:002012-05-09T08:00:05.579-07:00How to Turn Vocal Cords Into Corn Flakes: Singing Vs. Air ConditioningYesterday I started warming up a very gifted student of mine and her singing sounded like her vocal cords were made of corn flakes. “You sound air-conditioned out,” I said. “Huh?” she replied. “Do you run your AC at night?” I asked. “Yes, I blast it,” she answered. “Is that a problem?”<br />
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I don’t know how she missed all my ranting about air-conditioning and what it does to the voice, but in case you have missed it too, here goes: Vocal cords like to be moist. Air-conditioning cools the air by pulling moisture out of it. Breathing air-conditioned air dries out your vocal cords. <br />
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Remember Border’s Books? I was playing a gig at the west Los Angeles Borders in the late 1990s. It was icy in there from the AC. I was wailing away when all of a sudden: no voice. Gone, just like that. It was a duo performance with my drummer pal Albe Bonacci, so I squawked a barely audible: “Drum solo!” and dove for my water bottle. Once I was hydrated my voice returned enough to finish the show. Later I read that it was zero humidity in LA that day, and the Borders AC was drying the air who knows how much more. My poor vocal cords didn’t stand a chance.<br />
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Some singers are more affected by AC than others. Before that show I’d noticed some vocal dryness from AC, but I’d never experienced just how much it can mess with the voice. <br />
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We had a very mild winter and spring here in Nashville, Tennessee, which does not portend well for the summer. On Cinco de Mayo I sat sweating in the park, watching the wonderful Fisk Jubilee Singers. It was 90 degrees at 5 PM in early May and I thought “We’re in for it this summer”. AC is necessary when it gets really hot. What’s a singer to do?<br />
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1) Ceiling fans. Some think they are bad since they can blow dust and other allergens around, but I love them. Just wipe the dust off the blades periodically.<br />
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2) Build up your tolerance for heat. When students aren’t around I keep my thermostat set at 80 degrees. No kidding. 82 at night, and that’s for my labrador's sake since she can’t take off her coat. It’s the green thing to do, too. <br />
Last summer the government of Japan requested that the country's workforce keep the thermostats in their office buildings set at 82. <br />
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3) Wear light clothing made of breathable fabric like cotton and silk.<br />
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4) Drink gobs of water, room temperature. A gallon a day at least, says Carlton Lee, the LA voice doctor I sent all my students to when I lived there. See my article on <a href="http://www.susananders.com/article1diet.cfm">what singers should eat and drink</a> for more on that.<br />
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5) If it’s really hot and you must run your AC, run a humidifier as well to put some moisture back in the air. Cool mist humidifiers won’t heat the air, but regular cheap humidifiers are often quieter, so take your pick. I use the latter.<br />
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While I’m ranting, what’s up with movie theaters, restaurants, museums etc. where the thermostat is set at 62 in the summer and 72 in the winter? There I’ll be in my nice summer dress in July, shivering away. My local movie theater finally changed its ways this year, but before that I was taking my down jacket with me to summer movies. Don’t the owners of these places realize how much money they’ll save on power bills by adjusting the thermostat a bit? Not to mention conserving energy.<br />
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Okay, back to singing:<br />
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6) Warm up and do your practicing early in the day, before the heat rises and the AC kicks on.<br />
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7) Warm up and sing in the shower where it’s good and steamy.<br />
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8) If you live in humid places like Tennessee, take breaks while singing and go outside to get some moisture on your vocal cords.<br />
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Don’t think that celebrities are immune to the effects of AC. When Celine Dion had her zillion dollar concert hall built for her in Las Vegas she made sure it was humidity controlled. Plus there’s a steam room backstage for her voice. Sounds good to me!<div class="blogger-post-footer">Susan Anders
http://www.susananders.com</div>Susan Andershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07283907103881885278noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019651635490485081.post-59452809356983313072012-02-18T06:20:00.000-08:002012-02-18T06:20:00.057-08:00Lessons for Singers from Whitney HoustonAs of this writing no one knows for sure what killed Whitney Houston, though from initial reports it sounds like a lethal combination of alcohol and drugs. My heart goes out to her family and friends. In her heydey, no one in the pop/R&B world could match her. Her voice was a stunning combination of beautiful tone, strength, range, and finesse. I didn’t closely follow the ups and downs of Whitney Houston’s life, and I certainly don’t know her motivations and demons. So I hope it doesn’t seem crass that I’ve been pondering a few things that other singers might learn from her life and her passing. Here goes:<br />
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• It helps to have talented family. I’m sure she was born with tons of innate talent, but Whitney’s mother was Cissy Houston and her cousin was Dionne Warwick. I have to guess there was some serious vocal mentoring going on as she grew up. Listen to your elders. I bet Whitney did.<br />
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• Even with talent, prepare to work hard. Once she was signed to Arista by Clive Davis, Whitney worked her butt off on all aspects of performing for years before she became an “overnight” sensation in the mid-80s.<br />
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• If you hit it big, give back. Whitney gave much more to the world than her gorgeous voice. I think many of us didn’t notice that because we were busy watching her life go from glorious to melodrama. Among her many contributions: she refused to work with companies who supported apartheid in South Africa, she supported the release of Nelson Mandela, her non-profit foundation helped needy children worldwide, and her Bodyguard movie helped pave the way for greater acceptance of interracial relationships.<br />
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• Respect your instrument. As her drug and marital troubles mounted, Whitney let her voice go and lost her beautiful upper register. If you are blessed with an incredible voice, take good care of it. If you heard Bonnie Raitt on this year’s Grammies, you heard how good a singer can still sound at age 62. Bonnie also had substance abuse problems, then got clean and now sounds as good as ever.<br />
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• Want longevity? Avoid drugs and alcohol. Singers statistically live longer than regular people, perhaps because we breathe better so our organs are better oxygenated (at least that’s what I’ve read). At any rate, those longevity stats are for singers who don’t abuse drugs like poor Whitney. And Billie Holiday and Cass Elliot, and the list goes on.<br />
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Rest in peace, Whitney Houston.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Susan Anders
http://www.susananders.com</div>Susan Andershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07283907103881885278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019651635490485081.post-34056424716539151412012-01-24T08:00:00.000-08:002012-01-24T10:54:20.996-08:00How I Con Myself Into Warming UpI am as busy, lazy and and/or distracted as the next singer. But I know I sing better if I warm up. Here are ten ways I can con myself into warming up my voice.<br />
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1] <b>Location Location Location:</b> My warm up CD is always in my stereo and in my car. When I turn on the car it starts playing, and before I can think to switch to the radio I’m singing instead.<br />
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2] <b>Bribery:</b> No lunch until I’ve warmed up.<br />
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3] <b>More Bribery:</b> No working on that song I’ve started writing until I warm up.<br />
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4] <b>Even More Bribery:</b> No singing that cool song I just learned until I’ve warmed up.<br />
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5] <b>Habit:</b> I try to warm up at the same time every day.<br />
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6] <b>Schedule a Performance</b>: There is nothing like the fear of doing poorly in front of an audience to get me practicing.<br />
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7] <b>Combine It With a Mundane Task:</b> I can do simple initial warm ups while doing the dishes or watering the plants. By the time I get to the harder songs or exercises (where I need to stop and focus) momentum keeps me going.<br />
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8] <b>Competition:</b> I watch one astonishing singer or another on Youtube and it puts the fear into me of not keeping up. Even better is:<br />
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9] <b>Inspiration:</b> I watch an astonishing singer on Youtube and it makes me want to sing. But I don’t get to sing songs until I’ve warmed up (see “Bribery”)<br />
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10] <b>Motivation:</b> I read blogs like this one!<div class="blogger-post-footer">Susan Anders
http://www.susananders.com</div>Susan Andershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07283907103881885278noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019651635490485081.post-31971251706837889032011-10-26T11:20:00.000-07:002011-10-26T11:26:36.135-07:00...But My Voice Won't Let MeFor the first time since I was sixteen (when I was too young and dumb to appreciate it) I went on a vacation to Europe, specifically Paris, Tuscany and Rome. It was crazy, wonderful, and inspiring, but halfway through the trip I was laid low by the worst chest cold I’d had since I can remember, which ravaged my vocal cords and left me with less than a whisper for several days. It has now been almost three weeks and I’m just beginning to be able to croak out a couple of notes. <br />
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I’ve heard that Frank Sinatra would fall into a deep depression whenever he got sick and couldn't sing. Me, I just get thoroughly pissed off. Not being able to sing is like temporarily losing my left pinkie: I can manage without it, but I don’t feel whole. Plus, it takes awhile to build up vocal strength, and regaining that after an illness, especially a longer one like mine, takes more than a couple of days. So laryngitis and dealing with colds is on my mind. A few thoughts:<br />
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• Some singers have asked me if they should still sing when they are sick. I had a voice coach who told me that unless you have strep throat you should do your warm ups, but I think that’s insane. If it hurts to sing you should probably rest your voice if you can. If what you have is mild allergies or a head cold that is sitting in your nose and not your throat, then you can probably sing through it. It’s when the cold has irritated your cords that you could further the irritation by singing.<br />
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• If you’re sick and have a gig or rehearsal that night and the show must go on: rest your voice, drink fluids, inhale steam, hum. Unless you are really sick, the adrenaline of performing often will knock out most your cold symptoms for the duration of the gig. You can try rubbing Preparation H on your adam’s apple since it shrinks tissue and may shrink some of vocal cord inflammation.<br />
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• What do the famous singers do when they get sick and have a huge concert that night? Some get steroids shot right into their vocal cords. This reduces the swelling enough to get them through the show, but the next day there’s a slap-back effect and they lose their voice for the day. I’ve been told by someone in his inner circle that Marilyn Manson used to book his tours as a series of three days on and one day off: He’d scream through the first two days of shows, lose his voice and get a steroid shot to make it through the third day, then lose his voice the fourth day and wait for it to come back. Then the cycle would start again. This is not a plan I’d recommend!<br />
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• What about tea, honey and lemon? Honey is soothing. Citrus will dry your vocal cords. So will tea, though not as much as citrus. Theoretically, if your throat is full of crud and you figure out the right cocktail of tea and lemon that dries it out but doesn’t overly dry it, it could help. But it’s the steam in tea that really can soothe. I’d vote for herbal tea and honey just to be safe. <br />
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When your voice is starting to return:<br />
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• Breathe, breathe, breathe. We all get pooped and breathe more shallowly when we’re sick, so the first thing to get back are those good, full singer’s breaths.<br />
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• Go slow. Your vocal cords have been roughed up for a chunk of time and probably are still tender. Start with easy warm ups and songs.<br />
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If you, too, have a cold, you have my sympathy. No one likes getting a cold, but singers are hit especially hard. Let’s all get and stay healthy, then let’s make a vow to wash our hands more and cover our mouths when coughing and sneezing to reduce the spread of germs. It'll help reduce the amount of grouchy sick singers pacing the earth, waiting for their voices to return.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Susan Anders
http://www.susananders.com</div>Susan Andershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07283907103881885278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019651635490485081.post-72820491680654968572011-08-08T07:52:00.000-07:002011-08-09T09:56:14.373-07:00More Thoughts on Stage FrightI recently did five shows in the space of a couple of weeks, so I got to revisit my old friend stage fright. Most of the time I did fine despite my nerves, and occasionally did more than fine. A very critical friend I've known since fourth grade, an excellent singer who never gives idle compliments, saw me sing in LA. When he told me after the show that he’d never heard me sing so well I knew I’d done a decent job. So I suppose it's possible to sing and play well <i>and</i> be super nervous. But it’s way more fun to conquer the nerves, really be inside your body during a show, and own the stage.<br />
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I’m a Nervous Nellie, as are many singers. In the nineties I had a deer-in-the-headlights goddawful bad experience on stage, from which it took me years to recover. So when students tell me about their abject terror at the idea of singing in public I’m right there with them. During the years after my horrible stage experience I explored every stage fright cure I could find, enough to put in a <a HREF="http://www.zannadiscs.com/singinglive.php">book</A>. But every time I perform I either learn something new, or relearn some points I should remember by now. Most of the following are additions to what I already put in the article I wrote about <a HREF="http://www.zannadiscs.com/stage_fright_tips.html">stage fright </A>that's posted on <a HREF="http://www.zannadiscs.com/anders.php">my site</A>. Hope they are helpful.<br />
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<b>Stay warm</b><br />
Apparently I have acclimated to Nashville’s long hot summers. I was freezing at a house concert in California in July. I was gabbing with guests outside right up until showtime and didn’t think to grab a sweater. And, to be honest, I didn’t want to cover up my outfit with a sweater. So due to vanity and stupidity I started the show freezing cold, which seemed to take what had been garden variety nerves into “Holy moly, what are the chords and lyrics?” territory. I’d be singing a line and have no idea what the next chord or lyric was, until at the last nanosecond they’d reveal themselves. Being cold is no good for the vocal cords, either. Since pre-performance nerves can make you colder, bundle up and wear scarves until you walk on stage. If the venue is icy bring a decent jacket to wear on stage-- the audience will love it when you take it off after a few songs.<br />
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<b>Take a minute (or five) to get centered right before the show</b><br />
Some of my recent shows were attended by people I hadn’t seen in several years, and I wanted to catch up with as many of them as possible. At one show I happily yacked away until the moment I was called onstage. Bad idea, resulting in bad focus that lasted for a few songs. After many years of performing I’ve developed a pre-show ritual involving yoga and visualizing that serves me well. If I’m time-crunched I can reduce it to a couple of minutes. But if I don’t take the time to get centered before I walk onstage I can spend part of the set catching up with myself. Lack of focus plus nerves are a terrible combination.<br />
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<b>When you think you can sing your songs in your sleep, practice even more</b><br />
All of the aforementioned songs for which I couldn’t remember the chords and lyrics had been very well rehearsed, or so I thought. I’m always amazed at how a bit of stage fright can give me amnesia. If I had stayed warm and taken a moment to get focused I may not have blanked out on those songs, but it sure wouldn’t have hurt to put in even more time practicing. I don’t believe that you can over-rehearse a song, you just learn it more deeply and build more muscle memory to carry you through any stage blank-outs.<br />
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<b>Put an easy song up front</b><br />
If you’re like most performers your nervousness will be worse at the start of the show. Knowing that’s true for me, I put an easy belter first on the set list. I prefer belters early on, since I can channel nervous energy into them. I save ballads that require more control for later on in the set. Partway through my mini-tour I changed things up and put a different song first, a non-belter. Bad idea, resulting in a less than strong beginning. I switched back to my belter for the rest of the shows.<br />
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<b>Assume that you’ll be nervous onstage and prepare for it</b><br />
At one show I felt perfectly calm before I went on, so I skipped my usual pre-show calming rituals. As soon as I began singing I felt the nerves descend, and though I soon worked through them I never felt like I was really in my body during the show. Develop a pre-show regimen and stick with it whether you have pre-show jitters or not. If you are happily nerve-free for any show, a pre-show regimen will still help strengthen your focus and performance.<br />
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<b>While practicing, plan for distractions</b><br />
My husband was playing a short set before me when in walked a friend he hadn’t seen in many years, sporting never-seen-before bleach blond hair. Tom laughed, promptly forgot what he was doing and actually had to stop his song mid-performance to recover. When you’re practicing for a show, audition, whatever, try to imagine sudden distractions happening so you can strengthen your focus. You can even ask friends or band members to try and distract you as you rehearse. Sounds crazy, but you never know when an old friend with new bleach blond hair will arrive during your show.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Susan Anders
http://www.susananders.com</div>Susan Andershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07283907103881885278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019651635490485081.post-51431484319754471132011-07-07T07:14:00.000-07:002011-07-07T07:14:00.429-07:00Swimming and SingingI learned early in my vocal studies that swimming and yoga are two of the best forms of exercise for singers. Whether you’re swimming or doing most yoga poses, you’re stretched out with your rib cage lifted, and you pretty much can’t help but breathe deeply. I used to run (before my knees told me to permanently stop), and back then I discovered at one point that I could breathe pretty shallowly and still run. I find it next to impossible to take a shallow breath while doing yoga or swimming.<br />
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But it’s the summer, so It’s swim-time. I swim in the winter, too, but it’s way more fun to swim when it’s hot outside and I can swim at an outdoor pool or the occasional lake, do the backstroke, and watch birds and planes fly overhead. I’m not a gifted nor a strong swimmer, just a devoted one. The bonus happens later when I sing: my breathing and posture are better, and as a result my tone is better. Everything feels easier. I almost always sound better after a quick voice warm up and a swim than after a longer vocal warm up and no swim. <br />
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Notes on singing and swimming for all you swimming singers. <br />
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1) It doesn’t really work to do them at the same time, but I’ve tried.<br />
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2) While swimming I can:<br />
a. Memorize song lyrics<br />
b. Mentally rehearse songs<br />
c. Think of clever things to say in-between songs at a show<br />
d. Write and rewrite songs<br />
e. On rare occasions: stop thinking and analyzing for once and just be<br />
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3) Fins are like having little foot motors, and they make swimming laps way more fun.<br />
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4) The only goggles that fit me and don’t leak leave welts on my face. I have to leave time for my face to recover if I have a show that night. Don’t write me about your amazing goggles, please: I’m hard to fit and went through over a dozen pairs before I found ones that worked.<br />
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5) I’m often ravenous after swimming and crave junk like jelly bears and pork chops even though I don’t eat sugar or red meat. I should bring apple or power bar to the pool with me. <br />
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One hot summer evening I was doing laps at 7 PM , enjoying the many birds soaring above me. There were many more than usual, and they kept flying closer to the pool. Suddenly one of them dive-bombed the pool, then another, then another. They avoided me, but were splashing close by. It was like a scene from the movie “The Birds”. Finally I called out to the lifeguard “Hey, what’s with these weird birds?” She said “Those aren’t birds, they’re bats. They’re diving for bugs.” Which bring me to point #6: <br />
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Watch out for bats.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Susan Anders
http://www.susananders.com</div>Susan Andershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07283907103881885278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019651635490485081.post-87474989887384793932011-06-15T15:00:00.000-07:002011-06-15T15:00:01.173-07:00Fear of Flat NotesSometimes I think that the single greatest fear a singer has is singing flat (more singers go flat than sharp when they sing out of tune.) Which is crazy, since it really is easy to sing out of tune, when you look at the forces that can pull you off pitch: lack of sleep, allergies, menstruation, no breath support, and bad sound systems, to name a few. I know all this and I don’t care: I just want to sing in tune all the time. <br />
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Maybe it’s a spiritual thing, maybe that magical locking in of voice to instrument in perfect tune is akin to living life perfectly gracefully. But life ain’t perfect and neither is my intonation. I know when I’m singing or listening to other singers that soul, heart and feel are paramount. Still, if I hit a flat note I expect the earth to open and swallow me for my sin.<br />
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Let’s talk about auto-tuned vocals. There may still be a few of you who are unaware of it-- it’s a technology by which out-of-tune vocals are fixed digitally. Sometimes you can hear that the vocal has been processed, sometimes you can’t. For awhile the overly auto-tuned sound was a fixture only in pop music, but now the overly auto-tuned sound, with that weird robot frosting on it, is everywhere. I expect to hear it on classical recordings any day now. T-pain singing Aida, anyone?<br />
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When I listen to great singers who lived before the advent of auto-tuning, singers like Marvin Gaye, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, I hear them each hit a clunker now and then. Not the end of the world. They’re still magical singers. But now the vast majority of recorded vocals we hear are processed and perfectly in tune. Our ears are used to it, and we’re starting to expect that kind of perfection from everyone. It’s not just from the Beyonces of the world being auto-tuned. That down and dirty scratchy voiced soulful indie singer-songwriter you love has probably had a few notes “fixed in the mix” as well.<br />
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Used to be that all the pitch correction happened after the vocal was recorded. Now on-board pitch correction allows someone singing live to be pitch corrected before the voice goes out through the speakers to the audience. I wonder if soon there will be a little neck implant personal pitch correction device, so we never have to worry about singing out of tune, whether we’re singing at a stadium or in the shower. I’m afraid I would rush out and get one immediately. Because I’m as obsessed with singing in tune as most singers. I freak out when I hear my recorded voice singing a flat note, and I rush to auto-tune it away before anyone else hears it. The knowledge that technology can fix my occasional out note is no comfort, it’s more like a like a slap in the face. I know that I must be a lesser human being because of my reliance on technology.<br />
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Last year an astrologer gave me a free reading to thank me for a singing method of mine that he’d gotten from the library. In the middle of the long, detailed reading, while he was telling me something about my health, he suddenly blurted out “...And you, know, just go out there and sing, and so what if you hit some flat notes, it doesn’t matter, just go do it!”<br />
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So I will heed his advice, after a reasonable amount of practicing, that is. I will go out in the world and sing, and hit some clunkers, and sing anyway.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Susan Anders
http://www.susananders.com</div>Susan Andershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07283907103881885278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019651635490485081.post-46250242936963130672011-06-01T10:07:00.000-07:002011-06-01T11:02:09.117-07:00My dog, the diva My dog Artie howls when I sing. He is very discerning. It’s only when I sing, no other singers live or recorded move him to vocalize. It’s only on certain warm up exercises and songs, but the list is long and ever-growing. He howls on Lean On Me, Over the Rainbow, The Lion Sleeps Tonight, Can’t Help Falling in Love and many other standards, plus several of my own songs including I Can’t Fix You and Finally Love. It sounds like he’s in agony and wants me to stop singing, but sometimes he wags his tail at the same time. Occasionally, if he’s feeling lazy, he’ll stay on the bed at the other end of the house and howl while I’m warming up in the kitchen. My friend Lauren says on those occasions he’s just phoning it in. But usually he trots to wherever I’m singing and starts his earsplitting caterwaul. If he hears me singing on CD he howls, too. He has great breath support: he howls from the diaphragm with impressive volume and endurance. Darn it.<br />
I adopted Artie in 2003, he started howling in 2004 and hasn’t stopped since. At first I thought he just wanted attention, so I tried an experiment. I changed the verse of one of the songs that set him off and instead sang lyrics about how great Artie is. He stopped howling for a minute and I thought I’d found the solution, but then his howling started up again. Then I changed one of my warm ups exercises so I now I sing “Artie is the best boy in the world”. That one makes him howl louder than the others. My other rescue dog Ruby just sits there listening when I sing, thank God. As soon as I stop singing Artie stops, too.<br />
I know it sounds cute, but it’s incredibly annoying and makes it very difficult to practice. I love Artie a lot, but not his howling. When the weather is warm I can put him outside, and sometimes that distracts him enough so he forgets to howl when he comes back in through the dog door. But lately he’s onto me and won’t go outside when I’m singing. I’ve tried howling along with him, giving him treats, and on a dog trainer’s recommendation, walking him around the house to distract him. He continues to howl.<br />
In frustration I contacted an animal psychic --go ahead, mock me. She told me that Artie thinks he’s a much better singer than I am and is trying to drown me out. It’s not that he thinks I’m a bad singer, just that he’s much better. So we’ve got a Black Swan situation here, my beloved dog wants to be the top diva in the house. At least I have an excuse if I hit a clunker at a gig-- it’s Artie’s fault for disrupting my concentration during rehearsals.<br />
Think I’m exaggerating? Go to my site <a HREF="http://www.zannadiscs.com/gigs_and_gossip.php">here </A> and listen to exhibit A.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Susan Anders
http://www.susananders.com</div>Susan Andershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07283907103881885278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019651635490485081.post-51581749947560325872011-05-23T14:06:00.000-07:002011-05-24T07:19:58.711-07:00I feel like singing. Well, sometimes. When I was a teenager I sang all the time. When the cute guy in algebra nodded to me I sang for joy as I walked home. When I was miserable (no nod that day) I locked myself in my room and sang my blues out, which was a joy of a kind, too. <br />
Now I’m a grown-up and I sing every day, whether I like it or not. I don’t always feel like singing, or more often I’m so busy that I don’t even know if I feel like singing. But I’m not one of those singers who was born with a fabulous voice, who chirped something out at age five and was praised to the heavens, who just “had it”. There are those singers out there, I’ve worked with many of them. The halfway decent singing voice I have now came from lots of lessons and hours of practice. If I don’t warm up and practice enough, and regularly, I lose the bit of control and tone I’ve acquired.<br />
One of my teachers, the late Judy Davis, taught me years a go that the vocal cords are a muscle, and muscles begin to atrophy after 24 hours of non-use. She said that the only time singers shouldn’t warm up is on their birthday or if they have strep throat. I don’t agree with her on that point. I think if your voice is thrashed from bad allergies or a cold or screaming at the Knicks game, and it hurts your throat to sing, you shouldn’t sing. And stop screaming at Knicks games. But if your cords are in decent shape, sing. <br />
There’s the spirit revival side of it too. Native American teachings say that to stay sound in mind, body and spirit, we should sing and dance for an hour every day. I’m still working on the dancing part. But I try to sing daily, warm ups and songs both. If I’m in a bad mood it cheers me up. If I’m in a good mood it’s a joy. If I’m feeling somewhere in-between, well, at least I’m keeping the old cords in shape for when I feel like singing for real.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Susan Anders
http://www.susananders.com</div>Susan Andershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07283907103881885278noreply@blogger.com0