Posts Tagged ‘Sing’

What Does It Mean To Sing Like A Professional?

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

(From Merriam-Webster OnLine)

Professional- (noun) participating for gain or livelihood in an activity or field of endeavor often engaged in by amateurs.

Here’s another, from Dictionary.com

Professional- An expert player, as of golf or tennis, serving as a teacher, consultant, performer, or contestant; pro.

People have different definitions of what it means to be a professional singer. Some think they are a professional once they are earning money singing in a band or are hired to sing at different events. Others believe you are a professional ONLY after completing an extensive academic education.

I think a good way to go about it is to make the decision for yourself on what it would take for you personally to consider yourself professional, and work towards your goals with appropriate education. You may have different opinions than others on what exactly the word means.

If you require a formal academic education, enroll in school and go get it. If you want to front a band or get a record deal and don’t want the formal education, take the appropriate lessons that work for YOU, and go do it!

Elisha Rae
www.sing-like-a-pro.com

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Free weekly singing tips | No Comments »

New YouTube Video, How To Sing With Vibrato!

Thursday, May 21st, 2009

Hi Singers!

Sing Like A Pro has a new YouTube video up, teaching you How To Sing Vibrato! You can check it out at this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KuYiFP69Wc

Hope you enjoy it! Leave a comment and forward it to your friends if you do!

Elisha

www.sing-like-a-pro.com

Tags: , ,
Posted in Free weekly singing tips | 2 Comments »

A Lesson On Stage Presence!

Monday, April 27th, 2009
Connect with your audience! If you’re the singer, chances are you’re fronting your band, or leading your performance if you’re a solo act. Make sure you’re making eye contact and singing directly to specific members of the audience. An easy way to do this is to pick some people close to the front row… sing “to” them… look at them, pretend you’re in love with them, SING to them!

Engaging your audience this way is FANTASTIC for building a following of people to your performances. If you give your audience special attention, they’ll remember you and come back for more.

More great tips and techniques in the Sing Like A Pro vocal e-book, visit www.sing-like-a-pro.com for more information today!

Elisha

Singing Instructor
www.sing-like-a-pro.com

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Free weekly singing tips | No Comments »

A Tip On Warming Up For A Performance!

Saturday, February 28th, 2009

Here’s a great warm up tip for when you’re about to perform!  Shortly before you go onstage, find a quiet place where you can be alone, and do some deep breathing exercises. Practice the proper breathing posture and breathe in slowly ten times. Then, practice a simple five tone scale for a few minutes, starting at the bottom of your range going all the way up to the top, then back down to the bottom using any of the vowel sounds, A, E, I, O, or U.

Then, sing the first verse and maybe the chorus of each song in your set that you’re about to sing.  This helps to get them fresh in your head and get you mentally prepared to sing them! If you have band mates or other people that you have to sing with, get them to do it with you so it simulates the actual performance.

My band played a great show on the road last night and when I was warming up, one of my band mates came and started singing the songs with me in the back room… I felt MUCH more relaxed and calm going onstage as a result!

There are more warm up tips in the Sing Like A Pro e-book, go to www.sing-like-a-pro.com for more details!

Elisha

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Free weekly singing tips | No Comments »

How To Sing Higher, Part 2!

Tuesday, February 10th, 2009

Here’s another tip you can use to help you get in to your high notes easier… it’s really easy, just lift up your face!

Lift your eyebrows up, open your eyes bright, lift your cheeks up and keep them there. It’s a really old technique; teachers have been teaching it forever. . I remember seeing a concert once where I noticed the singer doing this… it makes it easier to hit the notes.

And that’s my little quick-ee tip for today. :)

The really juicy info is in the Sing Like A Pro e-book, found at www.sing-like-a-pro.com You can learn how to increase your vocal range by several notes, some even report an entire octave after using the techniques taught there.

Cheers!

Elisha

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Free weekly singing tips | No Comments »

Does Alcohol Help You Sing Better?

Monday, January 19th, 2009

Does alcohol help you sing better?

This is a question that I get asked from time to time. Lots of singers that I know are in bands that play in bars or lounges, where alcohol flows freely and the question comes up- “Can alcohol help you sing better?”

Technically speaking, the short answer is NO. Alcohol does not help a singer sing better. It actually just ends up making your performance look sloppy, and no one wants to look like that!!

I can understand why people ask this question though, it’s because alcohol often relaxes a person when feeling uptight. The idea behind this is that it will ease a singer’s stage fright, making them more comfortable to sing on stage and therefore, able to perform better.

This is true that a drink can relax your nerves, but it is NOT a good way to ease stage fright. A little bit of stage fright can be healthy, but if you have too much of it… there are OTHER things you can do to relax yourself instead of drinking!

The biggest and best possible thing you can do is to BE WELL-PREPARED! Here is what it means to be well-prepared for a performance…

· You’ve practiced the song (or set) many times before,

· You know the words by memory,

· And you know exactly when you are taking your breaths.

Being well-prepared is a much better alternative to drinking before a show! You’ll look and sound polished and professional, and you’ll even walk away without a hangover! J

More tips on easing stage fright, preparing for a show and much more to come, so check back here often for new tips, and comments from other singers! And of course, there are TONS of juicy tips and techniques in the Sing Like A Pro vocal system! Get your copy today at:

www.sing-like-a-pro.com

www.prosinginglessons.com

Take care,

Elisha

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Free weekly singing tips | 2 Comments »

Facebook comments for the “How Do You Sing When You’re Sick” note…

Monday, January 12th, 2009

Hi guys! I double this blog with my facebook page, and here are some of the comments from the “How Do You Sing When You’re Sick” note I wrote a few days ago. Some good tips here!

Dana Cote at 1:30pm January 10
Drink herbal tea with honey, and squirt a bit of lemon juice in it if you have a sore throat.
Elisha Rae Ewonchuk at 10:37pm January 10
I have a question for you Dana… what are your thoughts on Lemon tea? Some people say the citrus is really good, others not so much. Do you like it? Or peppermint tea?
Dana Cote at 2:14am January 11
Hmm I have never tried lemon tea, so I don’t know. However citrus fruit juice dries up the throat so I wouldn’t recommend that. Only a little bit of Lemon juice with tea, but not lemon juice alone. As for peppermint tea, I can’t see why not. The tea that works the best for me is green tea. It clears up the sinuses as well soothes the throat.
Josh Grummett at 1:26am January 12
I know that lemonade really helps my voice before I sing. When I was in choirs, I made a practice of drinking something lemon-y before every concert, and it worked wonders. We (men, anyway) also used to pass around Fisherman’s Friend in the back rows in case anyone needed it.
Marie Anelle McLaughlin at 1:32pm January 12
This will sound gross, but it NEVER fails when your throat is dry and scratchy….

3 tablespoons molasses to 1 tablespoon powdered ginger. Coats the throat and keeps it moist.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Free weekly singing tips | 4 Comments »

How Do You Sing When You’re Sick?

Friday, January 9th, 2009

So on New Year’s eve my band played an acoustic set at a small house party. As luck would have it, I was sick and my throat felt swollen; like it was going to close up on me.

I remember this happening last summer too- I was singing at a friend’s wedding and sure enough, that morning I felt sick as anything. Plugged up, congested, sore throat, hurt when I swallowed, the whole bit. So it got me thinking… when you’re in a bind, and you don’t have time to make yourself the usual healing concoctions, what do you do?

Here’s what I did, and despite being sick, the performances BOTH turned out great. Make sure you do these things the next time you have to perform sick, and you don’t have time to get anything ready:

1) Drink LOTS of water, all day long the day you perform
2) Speak as little as possible; and DON’T raise your voice no matter what
3) Warm your voice up shortly before you perform; sing the song you have to perform with and if you can’t hit some high notes, drop them a third, fifth or an octave, whatever fits. (Then you can still sing it without being out of key)
4) Ten minutes before you go on, suck back the STRONGEST cough drop you can find… Fisherman’s Friend and the black flavor of Halls have both worked well for me.

-You can also take Echinacia supplements, if they work for you. Truthfully, they don’t do a whole lot for me. Some people swear by them though, so use them if you like them.

-Some throat sprays work really well too, to keep the vocal cords lubed up. Entertainer’s Secret is a good one.

Then, go up and sing it like you practiced it! And if you’re well prepared, it should go just fine. The key is being well prepared.

In the Sing Like A Pro ebook there is a recipe for a drink (non-alcoholic) that has ingredients that can soothe a scratchy throat in approx. 2 minutes… I’ve used it plenty of times. It takes a couple of minutes to get it ready though, and not everyone has these ingredients handy so it’s best used when you have the time to make it.

Check it out in the Sing Like A Pro ebook, at www.sing-like-a-pro.com

Anyone else got any tips?

Elisha Rae Ewonchuk

Professional Voice Teacher
Sing Like A Pro
www.sing-like-a-pro.com

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Free weekly singing tips | No Comments »