All we really have to do is to be ourselves, who we truly are, when singing. Very often though, the ego tells us that we’re not enough, so we put on our singing hat and ‘walk in’ to a performance that isn’t coming from a true place. When we’re coming from spirit, it feels easy and fun and we’re not judging ourselves, when the ego’s taken over, we feel exposed and wrong and quite often over compensate, freeze up or implode through lack of confidence.
focusing the note
Here’s a quick, easy way to think of focusing note in the mouth: imagine that there’s a stake though the tongue, pulling it down, and that the air is coming up from the diaphragm, traveling over the top of the roof of the mouth and then hitting the front top row of teeth. Try to remember to keep the focus on the diaphragm, and not the mouth, as you do this.
focusing the breath
Singing’s all about feeling and expressing our feelings, and the breath is the stuff the song is made from. We take our first and last breaths on this earth, and it connects us to the places in our body that we sing from. When we sing we’re literally molding the breath with our emotion.
singing: our power is our vulnerability
Singing’s all about showing our feelings, and risking being vulnerable in front of others. And it only works when we’re truthful about our feelings. So there’s an obvious catch 22 here. We need to be vulnerable to move an audience, and we do this through the heart (feelings) and emotions (diaphragm) and instinct (sacral point).
good voice, bad voice
It’s very tempting, when singing, to want to only show our best side to an audience. Actually, it would probably be more accurate to say ‘imperative’ as far as the ego is concerned. Making an ass of ourselves is our greatest fear and the tripwire that we’re aware of a lot of the time.
singing – narcissism or self-expression?
There are always two sides to every coin, and in the case of singing, our egos quite often tell us that we’re showing off, and don’t deserve to be on stage. This can be a learnt childhood response, a dreadful performing experience, or even just the thought of it.
practicing a new song: the basics
The best way to approach a new song is from the ground up, like you’re building a house. Start with the basics and then get more specific.
releasing the diaphragm – part 1
First of all, it helps to have a basic knowledge of music and rhythm to ad-lib, and/or improvise. Ad-libbing is, basically, “playing around with the tune”, using licks, riffs and scales (and/or whatever comes to mind) usually in a dramatic or emotional part of a song.
throat problems
I had a ghastly flu virus a couple of years ago that quickly went down to my throat and vocal cords, making them behave very strangely indeed.