Sing with Confidence: Helpful singing tips for vocalists

Feeling nervous about an upcoming performance? It’s a completely normal feeling! Getting used to being in the spotlight takes time. Learn how to sing with confidence using the tips in this article. 

How often do you listen to your favorite bands and pop stars and imagine yourself in their place, singing to an adoring crowd? Lots of people dream of unleashing their inner rock/pop star, but few actually take the bold step of doing so in real life. It takes a lot of courage to learn how to sing and, whether you’re an experienced performing artist or planning your on-stage debut, it’s always helpful to practice a few tips and tricks that will help make your performance the best it can be. 


1) Be Patient--Give Yourself a Minute
It’s natural to get nervous or feel overwhelming anxiety before you perform. This simply means that you care about what you’re about to do! The problem is, anxiety tricks your body into a fight or flight state—your heart beats faster, your breath quickens, and your muscles tense up.

When this happens, find a quiet place, close your eyes, and take a slow, deep breath. Hold it in for 10 seconds and then let it out. Repeat 2-3 times until your heart rate slows. A shorter version of this is helpful on stage, too. Take a second before your song starts (your audience won’t mind a 5-second delay) to center yourself and it will make *all* the difference.


2) Practice Often and Be Technically Prepared
Think of practicing as an insurance policy for you voice--the more you practice, the more you know your voice. The more you know your voice, the more confident you are singing in any situation. Preparation is the backbone of self-confidence.

Well ahead of your performance, think about your strengths and weaknesses, and work with your voice teacher to create a plan so that you feel fully prepared. Fumbling around with your instrument? Practice your piano or guitar parts until they become muscle memory. Worried about forgetting lyrics? Hand write them over and over until you don’t have to think about them. Not feeling vocally consistent? Break down the issue with your instructor in lessons leading up to the performance. Feeling like your song just isn’t clicking? Workshop them with a mentor or fellow musician. At North Main Music, we host Performance Workshops a couple of weeks before our student concerts, to give performers an opportunity to test out their song ahead of time and get valuable feedback from the workshop facilitators and attendees. 

Most importantly, be sure to warm up your voice on performance day!


3) Take Risks
You may have heard the quote, “If you can dream it, you can do it.” When applied to singing, the same rings true!

We often hear this voice in our head when we first start singing that sounds much different than the voice that actually comes out. When applying the building blocks in practicing scales, exercises, and simple tones and in mastering them one step at a time, we then feel comfortable enough to take risks in the creation and formulation of new exercises. If you hear something in your head, but don’t know exactly how to create the sounds, try anyway. 
Taking risks in singing means stepping into uncharted waters of sound and testing all of the different sounds available to you. This can be as simple as humming a line to your favorite song out loud.

Every great singer has to know how to hit the “bad” notes a few times before they understand what it means to hit the “good” ones. In the end, confidence in singing comes from knowing both the “good” notes and the “bad” notes and how to move more fluidly and comfortably between all of them. The truth is, you will never know unless you try and it takes more courage to try than not to. Having the courage to take risks will build confidence in knowing your voice.’’


4) Remember Your “Why” 
Connect with your song and your purpose, and the audience will feel you. Whether it’s a cover song or an original, we must remember the emotion, experience, or memory that brought us to the song in the first place. As singers, we’re often performing the same song over and over. It’s easy to fall into a routine and go through the motions, but your audience will see right through this. There’s nothing worse than watching a performance and the singer is clearly just phoning it in. No matter how many times you’ve sung a song, dig deep each time and remember *why* you wrote these words or *why* you were drawn to this particular song. Find that emotion and use it to express yourself—That is your job as a singer.


5) Enjoy Yourself
For one song, you’ve got 2 to 4 minutes on stage, so make the most of it! If you spend the entire time rushing through, or focused on what could go wrong, you’ll miss the magic. Be present for these moments, enjoy being on stage and connecting with your music and your audience. This is what being a musician is all about!

When it comes to voice lessons, it takes patience, practice, and a little bit of risk-taking! Ultimately, you are the captain of your own ship. Learning how to sing is an art and a balance of all of the above tips and advice. With the combination of all of them, you will find yourself well on your way to singing even more vibrantly and confidently in no time.
Want to put these tips to the test? Then sign up to sing at our next Student Concert! Talk to your instructor or stop by the front desk to learn more.



This article was inspired by and adapted from this article on takelessons.com and this one on songbirdsf.com.https://songbirdsf.com/five-tips-for-singing-in-front-of-a-crowd/ 


Photo credit: Doug Guarino

Finding The Right Teacher For Your Music-Loving Kid

How do you match your child with someone competent, trustworthy, and inspiring?

Once your child has zeroed in on the instrument they would like to learn, the next step is to find a teacher. For many families, that means scouting about for a good private music school and instructor — which can be a challenge on many levels. Asking friends and parents of your child's peers for recommendations is a natural first step, but it doesn't have to be your only method. There are other ways to evaluate if a teacher is likely a good fit for your child and if they can help plug your kid into your local music scene.

In the internet age, it is fairly easy to do some research on your new potential teacher. At North Main Music, each of our instructors has a detailed bio on our website, describing their education and experience, as well as their teaching philosophy. You’re also welcome to call us to ask questions about an instructor’s background, teaching style, and their students’ successes – specifically the students that share your same level and goals.


How can I tell if a teacher is a great match for my child?

This presents a particularly tricky minefield for parents who aren't musically inclined themselves, or whose own memories of childhood lessons are occupied by boring old bats or sadistic, tough-talking taskmasters--or a combination of both. Given the perceived layers of mystery that all too often surround learning to play music, novice parents might wrongly assume that bad teaching is just the way things are supposed to be, but this is far from the truth. 

If you remember only one piece of advice when choosing a music teacher, remember this golden rule: More than degrees, titles, or awards, a teacher’s level of emotional intelligence — the awareness of their own emotions and the emotions of others–will determine their effectiveness as a teacher. Is your candidate responsive to your messages, questions, and input? Are they flexible and spontaneous? Can they balance structure and fun, and do they seem to genuinely love what they do? These are the characteristics that truly matter, and that keep a student engaged, challenged, and committed to music lessons.



The Trial Lesson

At North Main Music, we offer a trial lesson for just $32, so you can to test how the personalities of a teacher and your child mesh. During the trial lesson, you are welcome ask questions: What's the teacher's background as a musician and as an instructor? What kinds of teaching materials and music does she use? How much practice time is expected for students, and does that vary by the student's age? Will the teacher allow the student to record the lesson? (This can be a terrific practice aid, especially when it comes to remembering how something is supposed to sound.) What are the expectations for students and for their parents?

A good teacher will be a friendly, encouraging, and inspiring presence — even when a student hits rough patches. He will point out the student's weaknesses without being harsh or dismissive, suggest innovative ways to overcome challenges, and create engaging ways to tackle even rote activities like playing scales or honing fine motor skills. The instructor's age and experience might or might not be a deciding factor; oftentimes a newer teacher’s youth can help a student, especially a teenager, feel more at ease. On the other hand, another student may be more motivated and inspired by a “seasoned” musician with a great deal of experiential wisdom.

So what if you try out a teacher for a little while and you're just not sure it's a good fit? It's crucial to trust your gut. It's better to make a change sooner rather than later, especially if you feel like a teacher's experience, energy or approach just isn't right for your child. Sure, that will probably be an uncomfortable conversation, but isn't that preferable to wasting money, time and your kid's initial enthusiasm? At North Main Music, we are always open to feedback on how to make your child’s lesson experience as positive as possible, and we are happy to work with you to match your child with the best teacher for them.



“We scheduled a trial lesson! How do we prepare for it?”

Congratulations! You’ve made a great first step. Now you need to do a little preparation. First you need to find an instrument if you don’t have one. Start your research but you may not need to purchase anything just yet. Ask you new potential teacher for advice on that. We also have a comprehensive FAQ page on our website, which may answer some of your questions as you prepare for your first lesson.

And that leads to the next point – GOALS. It’s very important that you can verbalize clearly why you want to take music lessons. You’ll want to tell your new potential teacher your goals in the first lesson:

• Are you doing this just for enjoyment?
• Do you want to strengthen your skills so you can be a part of a community group? (a church choir or musical theatre troupe or band, etc.)
• Are you in middle/high school and you want to join the orchestra? star in the school musical? play in the jazz band?
• Are you considering majoring music in college?
• Do you want to start a band?
• Do you want to be the next American Idol?

Whatever your goals are, make them clear to yourself and your teacher so that, together, you can determine whether or not this teacher can help you to reach them and make the most of your learning experience.


“My kid had their trial lesson. How do I know he/she was the right teacher?”
You might not be able to answer this question after just one lesson. But here are some things to think about:

• A good teacher should be able to nurture and make you feel comfortable and good about yourself especially when you are having difficulty mastering the subject
• A good teacher should challenge you to achieve to a level that maybe you think you can’t attain.
• A good teacher should be honest with you but not in a belittling way – in a way that elevates you to a higher level.
• A good teacher listens to your desires and goals and creates a plan to achieve those goals.
• A good teacher can communicate their ideas clearly to you and when you don’t quite understand, they can come up with several different ways to communicate the same concepts until you understand (because not every student learns the same way).
• A good teacher is willing to tell you when you should find another teacher if they feel like you have achieved everything you can with them.
• A good teacher will not belittle you if you decide that it is time to move on to another teacher.

You know you are with a good teacher if you leave your lessons feeling excited about what you are doing! Of course there will always be some times that you will have a difficult lesson here and there but the right teacher will guide you through those difficult times and celebrate your success when you come through it.


Good luck on your search!

The above article was inspired by/adapted from this article on npr.org and this one on pianopower.org.