Stage Fright

Stage fright is nothing more than a fear of being humiliated in front of many people. This is a very common thing for most people.Public speaking is a gift that many people believe they were born without. Some people can deliver with ease and some people have to work hard in order to manage stage fright. Some of the most famous people in the world have been terrified of being onstage. Famous singer Barbara Streisand spent years in horror trying to deal with her own stage fright and still deals with it today.

There is nothing that you can not do when you train your mind to understand why it happens and learn how best to deal with the problem. You can learn to manage stage fright and its various complications. Most people will feel a bit of stage fright when they appear in front of any audience for the first time. There are always adjustments that need to be made when you are performing in front of people, especially those that you do not know. One must learn to train their mind to not think about the crowd being in front of you. This can be something very difficult, especially for the very young performer but in time you will learn to interact with the crowd without losing the concentration that you so badly need to perform like this.

Do I look at the Audience?

One of the best tips to manage stage fright is to not maintain any kind of eye contact with the crowd. This is something that will change over time as you begin to feel comfortable with your abilities and can look people in the eye as you perform. To do this you need to pick an object or area out and above the heads of the audience and continue to look at that point while you are performing. This gives the audience the impression that you are looking at them when you are really looking over them to avoid stage fright.

Start with an easy song

Start you performance with a piece that is relatively easy and you can do without thinking about it. Something that is in your vocal range and you do not have to worry about forgetting a part of it or making mistakes or missing a high note. Save the hard stuff for later when you are warmed up and comfortable.. This will allow you to manage stage fright by getting the first piece out of the way, so to speak and gain some calmness in your demeanor. If the audience reacts favorably, you will feel much better about yourself and can go on with increased confidence. Build upon small successes to manage stage fright.

Was I Born to Perform?

Some say that people were never meant to perform in front of others. While this may or may not be true but all of us feel the need to gain approval from others and this is why stage fright is such a demon. Learn how to manage stage fright and you will enjoy performing all the more.

One of the best tips to include in your arsenal of best singing practices in learning harmony singing is to sing along with recordings. DVD, cds whatever. At first choose singing that has only two parts, a lead and a harmony or “backup”. Usually this is something like the Everly Brothers or bluegrass or country music. It is easy to hear two parts and not so easy to pick out a part from 3 parts. Now choose whether you want to sing the lead or the harmony and try to match the notes they are singing. Then turn off the recording and see if you can remember it without the music.Then back to the music and so forth. I was just doing this while washing the dishes so I was prompted to write about it. I listen to Ricky Skaggs and Tony Rice singing bluegrass together on two instruments and two voices so it is perfect. Plus I love the music. I am a big roots music fan.One of the best secrets to learning any kind of music or technique is to find ways to do it all the time. have fun.

If you are going to play at a show, or play for a family member, or whatever the case may be, if you want to be good you must have confidence. How do you do this? One of the best methods that worked for me in my music career is a pattern of thinking that I like to call, “The stage is yours.” When you play for someone, whether you’re playing for 3 people or 300 people, you have to remember one thing.

how to sing

They are there for one reason, and that reason is to see you. You already have your fanfare; because they are sitting down to listen to you. The stage is yours. You have every right to use it which ever way you want to, in order to give them what they came for.   Being timid about your ability is natural, but needs to stop at some point.

If you think that your not a musician because you only know five chords, then remember this; You know five more chords than almost any body else around you. You will never get better, if you don’t think you’re good to begin with. When you perform, give your music attitude that will leave your audience starving for more. Don’t be shy, because this is extremely noticeable to the people on the outside watching you.

While learning to be confident be sure that you don’t become over confident. This is also extremely important. Nobody likes an arrogant performer that is full of themselves, as it is unappealing. Acknowledge your skill, but don’t try to rub it in. You will make people angry, and no one will listen to the music, because they don’t respect the artist.

There is a fine line between being humble, and being cocky, and you don’t want to find yourself on the wrong side of the fence.

So when you get ready to perform, tell yourself the stage is yours, I’m going to show them who I am, and when I’m finished, more people will know my name. Remember that the audience isn’t there to judge you; they are there to enjoy you. If you don’t take yourself seriously, no one else will.

Our voices are the most fragile musical instruments you can imagine. Every day, we use our voices for much more than singing, and our bodies endure conditions and stressors that can deteriorate our voice quality, if we don’t take measures to protect it from harm.

Factors That Can Affect Your Voice
Weather conditions, second-hand smoke, noisy environments, what we eat and drink, coughing, clearing your throat, medications, allergies – the list of things that can directly or indirectly impact your voice is numerous.

You certainly can’t stay in a bubble or prevent exposure to everything that might affect your voice, but the best way to manage these individual hazards is to think of your overall health and take precautions whenever possible to protect your voice.

Protect Your Voice, Water It
The basics for your body’s health also apply to your voice. Water is a singer’s best ally, since it provides natural hydration without taking vital fluid out of your system in digestion. Staying hydrated during hot weather in summer and dry conditions in winter while indoors are especially important. Cool-mist humidifiers can keep the indoor humidity at a comfortable level in winter.
The vocal folds within your larynx are, in effect, small muscles that need to be conditioned and exercised with caution to build their strength without damage. They also need to be well lubricated. Drinking water steadily over the course of every day helps maintain the right density of water in your tissues, including your throat and this tip alone will help to protect your voice dramatically.

Steam is also healthy for the outside of the vocal folds in your throat. Some vocal experts recommend taking a hot shower or using a hot vaporizer for a few minutes twice a day to generate some much-needed moisture for your vocal chords.

Did you always want to learn to sing, but never had the time? With college and career, marriage and children, and then your kids college and careers, and their marriage and children, the years have a way of spinning away from us. Before you know it, you have gone from being a young adult to an empty nester in the blink of an eye. You and your spouse may find yourselves retired, looking at each other over the breakfast table saying, What should we do now?  You may think of hobbies you never pursued and think you might be too old to learn to sing.

Luckily the voice is unlike other muscles of the body in that it can be used with very good results well into advanced age. It would be silly to think you could be a world class athlete at middle age for the most part, but you can learn to sing with effort and the right teacher or course. I certainly can tell you that you are never too old to learn to sing.

If one of the things you or your spouse always meant to do but never got a chance to, was learn to sing, do not push that aside, thinking you are too old. You are never too old. Singing is excellent low-impact exercise. You are up and moving, getting your blood pumping a little. Singing helps to increase your stamina and strength. It improves breathing and coordination, and it helps to relieve stress. From my experience I can say that only a few minutes of singing a heartfelt song will bring joy to my soul, tears to my eyes or laughter to my face in a very short time. It is amazing.

Singing is not only great exercise; it is also a lot of fun. Taking singing lessons is such a fun thing to do that many people do not really consider it in the same category as taking an exercise class like aerobics, for example.   Aerobics and singing are actually similar in the fact that they are both very physically demanding. The difference lies in the intent behind the movement. While singing, the focus is on the body itself. The enjoyment is in the sound as you are singing and any health benefits that happen while singing are a bonus, but the joy and fun of learning to sing is the singing itself.

Singing is also very romantic. As we live our normal lives with jobs, kids and the activities of everyday life, we can lose touch with this part of ourselves and this part of our love relationship. Think back to when you and your spouse were dating.  There was probably a little singing involved, right? Believe it or not, that flirtation and fun that you shared when you were dating is still there within both of you. You just have to give it an opportunity to be expressed.

Think of how it would be if at the right time you could serenade your lover with their favorite song. If you want to re-kindle your love flame, learn to sing and you will find you are never too old for a whole lot of other things as well.

Learn to sing and you will find a great way to connect with other people and enjoy being the focus of attention for a short period of time. Going out for dinner and singing with friends is a great way to spend any evening.  Even the old family summer barbeque that you have had for years can be livened up by setting up a small singing area and some music. If you bring a guitar and just take it out of the case, you will find that people gather around and say, do you know such and such a song? This is your chance to shine.

So if you have ever thought that you would like to learn to sing, there has never been a better time to do it. Learning how to sing is something you’ll never regret and remember, you are never too old.