Tag Archives: practice
5 terrific tips for 2017
Hi there! Only a couple more days to 2017.
Eeeek! I cannot believe how fast this last month has flown and we are almost at the beginning of a new year.
I hope you have all had an absolutely fabulous 2016 and are excited about 2017. I have been doing a lot of thinking recently and am trying to get planned for next year. I am notorious for just floating along and when I have a great idea I just do it. However this can be a very dangerous way to live as there is always a great rush to get it done, I’m not planned and I often don’t do things as well as I would like. Being prepared and organized helps things to flow better and a lot more can be achieved.
So my first terrific tip is:
1. Plan ahead.
Start thinking ahead now. What would you like to achieve vocally in 2017? Analyze what it is (make sure you are specific) that you would like to improve/achieve next year. Write it down, plan it out. Do you need to work on your breathing? Would you like to extend your vocal range? By how much? When? What will you need to do to fulfill your dream?
2. Organize a practice time you can stick to every day.
Part of the reason we don’t have the success we would like is that we fail to practice. There is no getting around this, if you want to succeed you have to put in the work. Work out a time that you able to set aside each day to work on your skills. Then stick to it.
For some more tips and ideas on better singing practice, click on the link below.
click here for tips on singing practice
3. Have singing lessons.
This is important thing to do. There are many articles and videos on line about how to sing better, but none of these offer something very important. That is feedback. It is vital to have a mentor that can work with you to analyze and then work with you to improve your singing voice. I know when working with students that I am constantly asking questions and guiding them to hear what a good voice should sound like, tweaking and adjusting constantly. If you don’t have any feedback, how do you know if what you are doing is correct? To have lessons one on one with Mary at Singing Strong click here to register.
4. Listen to lots of music
Make sure you are always listening to good music. Think about the artists you like and listen to them. LOTS! There are plenty of ways to listen to music. You tube, Pandora and spotify are just a couple of examples of places you can listen to your favourite music. Take some time to analyze what your artists are doing that makes them a good singer.
This is my favourite song at the moment and a song I definitely want to learn.
Think about what styles of music you like and then:
5. Choose repertoire
Decide the songs you would like to learn in 2017. Think carefully about the style of music and level of difficulty. Aim to find at least 5 songs you could work on. Plan out the year as to which month each song will be learned by. Remember it takes time for the body to get used to how you sing a song. I always say allow 6 months for a song to feel right.
Do these 5 things and you are well on your way to singing success in 2017.
Want to get 2017 off to a great start?
Singing Strong is offering a Summer Singing Intensive from Monday 9th January to Friday 13th January 2017.
Five days one on one with Mary for an hour each day. You can do this with Mary in her Traralgon Studio or on line.
There are only a few places left.
Work on vocal technique, performance skills as well as learn a song in 5 days!
Newsletter Term 4 2016
Can you believe we have reached the last term for 2016??
Singing Strong studio had a huge Term 3.
Students continued working hard during lessons, working on technique and learning new repertoire. This was quite a challenge for some as there were so many activities on this term.
A large number of students were involved in various Eisteddfods achieving great success.
I held a workshop about preparing for Eisteddfods and performing. This was very well attended and the masterclass that was held was very worthwhile.
We ended the term with a dinner dance held at the Premier Function Centre. This was a terrific end to the term. It was fantastic to see student up on stage performing with a live band. The night was so much fun!
You can read all the details about these events and more by clicking here.
I have been adding some interesting articles on my BLOG. The latest is about organizing a practice space at home and getting into a practice routine. Good revision before starting a new term. You can read it here.
Term 4 will be fast and furious.
1) CD production
I had said last term we would be making a cd. This will be done in term 4.
Last year we made a Christmas cd but this year we will be making a cd of various songs. Students need to choose the song they love to sing and then we will make a recording of it. It can be any song, but would you please let me know what you would like to sing asap so that I can create a list.
2) AMEB Exams
There are a number of students completing AMEB exams at various levels this term and we wish them well with their studies.
3) End of Term Workshop
I will be holding a workshop day on Saturday 10th December. This will be broken up into 3 sessions, each for one hour.
10am: 1st session will be for all primary school students.
11.15am: 2nd session is for any secondary school students.
12.30pm: 3rd session will be for all adults.
This will be an opportunity for any students who have missed a lesson during the term to make up this time. For any students who have attended all lessons, this is a bonus session for you.
4) Performance Opportunity
Our major event for the year was held last term, however I would like to do something for the end of the year. I will be organizing some small concerts that will be held at various nursing homes in the community. I will send out dates and times soon. This will not be a huge commitment. You can choose which one you would like to be part of. It is not a compulsory activity, but I would like to see as many students participate as possible.
Please note that the last lesson for the year will be the week ending 9th December.
SINGING PRACTICE
5 Things you can do to improve your singing practice.
You can listen to this blog post here:
As singers, we all want to be able to practice regularly to improve our skills. But sometimes we are not sure about what we need to make our practice sessions worthwhile. Below you will find 5 tips to help you make the most of your practice time and achieve success.
Tip Number 1:
Make sure you have all the materials you need to practice.
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Use sheet music when practicing, not just lyrics. We are musicians and should be able to read music. The sheet music also gives important clues about things like tempo and dynamics.
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Invest in a music stand. It is important you have something to put your music on that you can stand at. You can get collapsible stands that fold away neatly. I have a manhasset music stand which is more expensive, but is really easy to use and very solid. You can click on the pictures if you want to order them online.
fold away stand Manhasset stand
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Make sure any device that you use for playing backing tracks is loud enough to sing along with. You might need to invest in some speakers if you are using an ipad or phone. Don’t practice using headphones. This is a bad habit to get into as you can’t hear yourself properly.
Headphones are great for listening to music but not so good for practice.
Tip number 2:
Have a designated place to practice.
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Have a special, clean, private ready to start in space. Having a space always ready for singing makes it much easier to get started. If you are always having to pull things out to get started, or have to practice in a space where other people are, you are less likely to get going.
Tip number 3:
Be clear about what you need to practice.
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Always have a plan about what you want to work on during the week between lessons. Make sure you have discussed with your teacher what will be required and then have some way to record what you have done. This way you can account for your practice sessions.
Tip Number 4:
Make it part of your routine. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
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Singing practice should be a part of your every day routine. Just like brushing your teeth or having a shower, we need to find time each day to practice our singing. If you start this from the beginning it is easy to reinforce. For young students, parents really need to be present in the beginning to encourage this routine. Make a time and stick to it, whether it be in the morning or afternoon. If no time is dedicated to practice, it simply will not happen.
Tip Number 5:
Warm up, then chunk it.
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Make sure you warm up well. Have a warm up routine that you can do in about 5 minutes. Here is a link to a website with some great ideas on warming up. Click here.
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Don’t try to do it all at once, break it up. Hopefully your teacher has highlighted what needs to be worked on. Focus on those small sections and get them correct, then put it all together.
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A couple of 10 minute sessions each day is much better than trying to do an hour at a time. Committing to 20 – 30 minutes each day is quite achievable – this equates to at least 3 hours practice a week.
Use these five tips you are guaranteed to have success with your singing. Remember singing is a skill and can be developed like any instrument. Your success depends on your practice!
Want to have singing lessons? To get started in your musical journey with Mary and Singing Strong please click here and fill in your details.
Mary will get in contact with you to assist you with your inquiry.
Why have a singing teacher?
I have been visiting various singing websites lately and have found many of them to have great ideas and ways to help singers.
One thing I have noticed on a couple of the websites is their claim that you don’t need to have face to face lessons to sing well, just watch my videos and you can become the greatest singer. For me this is a one way street.
My comment to this is if you don’t know what you are doing wrong, you can never know what you are doing right.
Feedback is integral to good progress. Feedback is the rocket fuel that propels the acquisition of knowledge and without it, no amount of practice or watching videos is going to get you there.
A singing teacher is not merely there to offer encouragement and assessing levels of concentration, they are also on the lookout for small technical glitches that may have escaped the attention of their student.
You can get the basics from reading material or watching videos, but I would highly recommend you seek out a singing teacher or at least a mentor who can give you appropriate feedback and guide you on your musical journey.