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0:00/5:24
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Big Yellow Taxi 3:080:00/3:08
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At Last 2:270:00/2:27
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Minor Swing 3:210:00/3:21
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0:00/3:57
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Nearness of You 2:360:00/2:36
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0:00/5:15
10 TIPS TOWARD SINGING SUCCESS:
Essentials for Surviving and Thriving as a Singer in Today’s Music World
By Susannah Martin, Vocalist & Teacher
Learn how to succeed as a professional singer in your local market.
Gain the respect of your fellow musicians and the adoration of your fans and get gigs!
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Strive to Be a Whole Singer
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maintain great physical health, vocal health
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cultivate excellent mental/emotional health,
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learn how to move through performance anxiety
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appreciate the gift of being a musician
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cultivate authentic presence with yourself and with your audience
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Educate yourself on your genre(s) of music
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Read, watch educational videos, etc on the history, style & prominent artists
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Create a listening library of prominent artists/bands, analyze, compare
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Listen to the vocals & analyze the style, but ALSO listen to the instruments and what they are doing to create the style, make it unique and great
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Find out who’s current and who’s up and coming and why
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Learn essential music theory
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Basic piano, treble and bass clefs
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Piano sight-reading, sight-singing
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Rhythm, values, meters, tempos and keeping time
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Chords, triads and extensions
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Scales- major, minor, blues, pentatonic
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Transcribing and transposing
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How to write charts – creating the map for musicians
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Improve your vocal technique
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posture
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breath management, abdominal support
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mask area, “inner smile”
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diction, lips and tongue
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singing through and balancing your registers
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Find your own voice and style
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If you have a distinctive sound or style already, capitalize on it and cultivate it
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Also, mimic a variety of other artists to learn what makes “their style”
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blend styles of other artists to create fused styles, experiment
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sing a cover tune in a different style than you’re used to
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record yourself, listen and decide what you like, don’t like
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Organize your charts and band books
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Create a binder for each band member (or have at least 3)
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Number your songs, create an index by alpha and number & style/tempo
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Transpose songs into the key best suited for your voice that is also relatively easy for musicians to read (Bb, C, D, F & G, Gm, Am, Bm, Dm, Em are best, then A, Eb, E)
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Get help from musicians to make sure the “changes” (chords) are good
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Create a lyric binder (alpha) for yourself of popular songs with keys indicate
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Check out live music in the area, learn about and support other artists
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weekly entertainment publications, websites
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connect, network and “join the club”
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be gracious, supportive and humble
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Find outlets for amateur live singing
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practice singing at karaoke bars, work on singing production, interpretation
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and stage presence
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get together with friends and jam
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Go to jam sessions and open mics
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As a rule, don’t invite yourself up on the stage or ask to sit in
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unless it is a prescribed jam session or open mic
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or you can tell that the musicians would welcome your asking
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it’s fine to introduce yourself as a musician/singer to the band
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but if it’s someone else’s gig, it’s better to wait to be asked to join
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Learn how to impress the band and lead them
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bring your songlist and keys
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learn your tempos
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learn how to count off a song
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how to discuss and decide on Intros/Endings
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know the arrangement, when to come in, when not to sing, when to let the musicians solo
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what to do if you get lost during the song
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stage etiquette and attitude
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rapport with musicians, audience and venue
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Invest in a good sound system & learn how to use it
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mixer – 4 channels at least, powered or unpowered (need amp)
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speakers – 10-12 in. and stands, monitor as well
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reverb, learn how to use it
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microphone – good vocal mic (Shure, E-Voice, Sennheiser, etc.)
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stands, cords
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Good Marketing
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professional promotional materials ( demos, brochures, biz cards)
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a compelling internet presence (website, Reverbnation, youtube, FB & other social networking sites,etc.)
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media, press releases, psa’s (public service announcements), posters
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venues, booking agents and managers
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mailing lists, correspondence with fans, email campaigns, newsletters
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recordings, sell/promo CDs, or sell online, digital download, etc.
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'relationship' marketing with your fans & your audience
Copyright 2010 Susannah Martin
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