{"id":12273,"date":"2013-11-20T17:25:36","date_gmt":"2013-11-20T21:25:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/noelborthwick.com\/cakewalk\/?p=12273"},"modified":"2013-11-20T17:25:36","modified_gmt":"2013-11-20T21:25:36","slug":"singing-tips-dont-tax-your-voice-before-a-vocal-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/noelborthwick.com\/cakewalk\/2013\/11\/20\/singing-tips-dont-tax-your-voice-before-a-vocal-performance\/","title":{"rendered":"Singing Tips \u2013 Don\u2019t Tax Your Voice Before a Vocal Performance"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post originally appeared on Disc Makers’ blog<\/span><\/a>. Reprinted with permission.
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Resting before a vocal performance is key, but environmental things, like being in a place where the decibel level is too high, can adversely affect your capacity to sing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What makes a great vocal performance? There are many answers to that, and they don\u2019t all require being the most technically gifted singer with a five-octave range. Confidence, charisma, and the right repertoire are among the many subjective elements that go into any great performance \u2013 live or when recording vocals in a studio \u2013 in addition to having chops as a singer.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Synthesis\u2019 is this fancy word we throw around in our college,\u201d says Daniel Ebbers, Associate Professor of Voice at the Conservatory of Music of the University of the Pacific<\/a>, \u201cand I do think it\u2019s an important thing. We study all these things individually, but it\u2019s the synthesis, a command of your vocal instrument, a command of the stage, a command of the language and the language you use \u2013 all these things synthesized together make a great vocal performance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, much of what helps a performer reach the point where all these elements come together is preparation, practice, and experience. A good vocal warm up, and general vocal care, can help ensure peak vocal performance.<\/p>\n


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Vocal Performance Preparation<\/strong><\/p>\n

When preparing for a vocal performance or studio date, \u201cthe obvious thing to do is rest,\u201d recommends Ebbers. \u201cBut there are environmental things you might not be aware of or consider an issue, like being in a place where the decibel level is much higher than you think it is. In order to compete with the sound, you have to strain your voice to speak louder to be heard or understood. Many times, people are unaware that they\u2019re in such an environment, because there are so many noisy places in our world, and we\u2019ve come to accept them and adjust. But when you\u2019re a singer, you have to be more aware of these environmental conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re playing club dates, bars, or parties, the quality of your performance and your vocal health can be severely impacted in the hours leading up to your set by talking and socializing before you get on stage. \u201cDon\u2019t go screaming at a football game or tax your voice before a performance or session, even if it\u2019s two weeks before a session,\u201d says vocalist, studio owner<\/a>, and producer Jon Marc Weiss. \u201cThat can take its toll on your throat and vocal chords and can really mess you up. Keep in mind that you need to keep your voice in tip-top shape so that when you\u2019re called on, you can perform.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not just the days and hours leading up to a given night\u2019s performance that you need to consider, especially if you are singing in a stage production or any performance ensemble that requires nightly or continuous performances. \u201cVery often, after a performance there\u2019s a party, a reception or something,\u201d cautions Ebbers, \u201cand many famous singers will say, \u2018I\u2019d love to come, but I can\u2019t, it\u2019s not possible.\u2019 It\u2019s all common sense stuff that revolves around rest and awareness of your instrument.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll instruments are subject to environmental conditions \u2013 humidity, heat, all sorts of things. But instrumentalists get to put their instrument in a case and walk away, or put it in a room that\u2019s ideally suited to make it sound good. As vocalists, we have to take our instrument everywhere, and there\u2019s this intersection of our lives and this instrument. So there are all sorts of things you need to pay attention to that other instrumentalists don\u2019t have to. But good health is good singing, and whatever you can do to keep yourself healthy is important. Every person is different, and every voice has it\u2019s own limitations and set of things it can tolerate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Disc Makers sets the standard for CD and DVD manufacturing for independent musicians and filmmakers. They also offer post-production services to tune up your project, distribution packages to help you sell your finished product, and promotional materials to help spread the word. Echoes, Disc Makers’ blog, focuses on everything that matters to the independent musician, from recording tips, marketing advice, music business info, performance pointers, and more.
\n<\/em>http:\/\/www.discmakers.com\/<\/a>
\nhttp:\/\/blog.discmakers.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post originally appeared on Disc Makers’ blog. Reprinted with permission. Resting before a vocal performance is key, but environmental things, like being in a place where the decibel level is too high, can adversely affect your capacity to sing. What makes a great vocal performance? There are many answers to that, and they don\u2019t … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Singing Tips \u2013 Don\u2019t Tax Your Voice Before a Vocal Performance”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1591,1],"tags":[301,2083,62,162],"class_list":["post-12273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-guest-blogger","category-uncategorized","tag-performance","tag-singing","tag-tips","tag-vocals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/noelborthwick.com\/cakewalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/noelborthwick.com\/cakewalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/noelborthwick.com\/cakewalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noelborthwick.com\/cakewalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noelborthwick.com\/cakewalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12273"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/noelborthwick.com\/cakewalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12273\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/noelborthwick.com\/cakewalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noelborthwick.com\/cakewalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noelborthwick.com\/cakewalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}