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Your guide to making the most of your audition and achieving your dream 1
Dare to Dream
It all looks so intimidating: the lights, stage, cameras, studio audience, television audience, judges. Oh, the judges! They nitpick every little thing. Simon! How do the contestants on TVs biggest singing shows manage the pressure, rise above the competition, and make it into rarified air? The dirty little secret is that they each started as regular Joes or Janes, just like the rest of us. They dreamt of the big time, which gave them the drive to work hard and prepare themselves. A poised vocal performance is not something you are merely born withraw talent is a small part of the equation. Rather, it is something you can achieve with training, practice, and coaching. Keep Reading... Inside you will learn more about breathing with your diaphragm, warming up your vocal chords, increasing your range, improving your technique, and maximizing your opportunity to perform.
Master the fundamentals of singing to get the most out of the musical instrument that is your body
The Diaphragm
The thoracic diaphragm is a large muscle that sits just below the lungs at the bottom of the rib cage. It acts as a pump to expand and contract the lungs during the breathing process. Professional-level singers train the diaphragm to control the flow of air to the vocal chords to produce notes and tones. They know that, if they were to use the small muscles in the throat to control breathing, their vocal chords would incur undue stress.
Next, try lip rolls. Imagine you are trying to make bubbles underwater, or imitating an angry bull. You will need relaxed lips and diaphragmatic breathing to make your lips move freely while making a brbrbr sound. Again, spend some time with this exercise and resist any temptation to rush it. Lastly, we want to use scale singing to begin the transition from making silly noises to producing notes and actually singing. Go through different notes in a relatively easy range, maintaining awareness as to how your vocal chords feel. As they start to feel warmed up, 2002 Kelly Clarkson slowly expand the range of notes. Eventually, you will want to reach both the high and low 2003 Ruben Studdard ends of your known vocal range. 2004 Fantasia Barrino
American Idol Winners
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Carrie Underwood Taylor Hicks Jordin Sparks David Cook Kris Allen Lee DeWyze Scott McCreary Phillip Phillips Your Name Here
In televised competitions, contestants must sing a variety of songs to test their overall mettle. If, after honing your singing fundamentals, you want to increase your range, there are steps you can take to increase your vocal range. Find a piano or keyboard and establish the notes at the highest end of your range. Without forcing anything, play the next higher note and attempt to repeat it with your voice. If that works, try one or two more. Repeat the same practice on the lower end of the range. It is important to balance range exercises at both ends of the comfortable range.
Vocal Resonators
Chest Tracheal Tree Larynx Pharynx Oral Cavity Nasal Cavity Sinuses
Singing Falsetto
Falsetto means false voice in Italian, referring to the fact that it is not really your normal voice, but one that is outside of your normal vocal register. When you force the air up from the diaphragm, concentrate on not forcing the throat muscles. The goal is to make your vocal chords vibrate on their outer edges. The sound vibrates on your head and not on your chest: if you place your hand on your chest, you shouldnt feel it vibrate.
Singing Vibrato
To learn how to get a regular, pulsating change of pitch, a good drill is to sing one note that is easy for you while pumping with your hand at a location right under your ribs and immediately above your belly button. Once you get used to this feeling, you can train your diaphragm to sing this way on command.
Show Time!
Preparing Your Act
When choosing a song, consider the fit between what you sing well and what the audience will respond to. Magic happens when a singer is able to bond with the crowd, and the song is an important ingredient to the mix. Also, dont underestimate the importance of stagecraft. Your clothes, hair, movement, and stage presence all factor into how you market yourself to the crowd. Before the performance is the best time to test a new hairdo or shirt and solicit feedback, particularly from people you dont know who can provide an unbiased assessment.
Do your best to stay in a positive frame of mind. Thinking negatively drains energy and leads to stage fright. Conversely, positive thoughts lead to confidence and help you engage with the audience. Use your sense of humor as a guide. It is also important to talk as little as possible prior to your performance, in order to maintain the freshness of your voice. Keep your focus on good posture and proper breathing. Perform vocal warm-ups first thing after waking up. Then silently rest your chords all day until another warm up session just prior to the show. From a dietary standpoint, certain foods and drinks can hinder your act, while others can help it. Avoid dairy products, coffee, spicy foods, citrus fruits, carbonated drinks, icy cold foods, and large amounts of alcohol and junk food. Hot tea or hard candy can help your voice. Never eat less than one hour prior to a performance, and stick to fish, vegetables, fruit, rice, meat, and clear liquids.
All images used in this document are licensed under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license. Photo credits go to the following Flickr users: Freedom to Marry, kwalk628, mtanne, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, serena_in_VA, thomaswanhoff. The photos are for illustrative purposes only. None of the artists pictured endorse this guide or this website in any way.
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