Magic Sing Blog

Have you ever wondered about the techniques of professional singers while they are singing? Well, they simply follow some steps in order to create an outstanding performance. And you can also do the same thing. Here are some helpful steps from wikiHow on how to sing like a professional singer.

1. The most important thing of all is to sing whenever and wherever you can. If you love singing enough to do that you could become a professional.

2. Tell yourself you can do anything and that you sound brilliant. If you don’t believe in yourself, then why should anyone else?

3. Make sure your voice is strong before you start. Take voice lessons and exercise your voice. Your instructor can also give you a more objective view of your capabilities, and tell you whether professional singing could be an option for you.

4. Lose your shyness. Don’t try and hide the fact you are singing — be loud.

5. Lead others. When you are singing with other people, take charge of the song; don’t go down to their level.

6. Make sure you sing from your diaphragm.

7. When you sing your vowels, open your mouth so it is long. If you feel like you’re practically smiling when you sing, you might sound kind of nasal-y.

8. Stand up straight, but not too straight. Stand like you normally would, and relax your shoulders. If your shoulders are tense, it could be difficult to breathe correctly.

9. Have a teacher or a friend who knows how to read music help you. It seems odd, but sometimes singers need help remembering to breathe, or they’ll run out of breath. If they remind you to breathe in between each phrase, you won’t run out.

10. Practice! We all know practice makes perfect (or as close to perfect as we’ll get). If you keep singing the same songs over and over again experimenting with dynamics, you’ll sound great. Little things like that make a huge difference in your overall performance.

The stated steps above are just some of the many things that you need to consider to become a certified singer. But if you take karaoke singing as a hobby only, just be yourself and have fun.

I have seen so many talented young singers on television, some of whom are less than twelve years old! There’s this one child singer I heard on the news, a Filipina singer, who was seen on YouTube by a staff of Ellen DeGeneres’ show and invited her to fly all the way from Manila to sing in Ellen’s show. I’ve heard she has also perfomed in Oprah. Wow. And she’s only a kid.

Is is common for parents to enroll their children in different activities during summer breaks, and because of these the talents of the kids are uncovered. Some become good singers or dancers or musicians because they were trained early. When it comes to singing there three categories of a child singer fall under.

Category One includes children for whom singing is but one activity to which they are exposed along with other disciplines such as mathematics, science, history, language, physical education, art, dance, and spirituality. For them, gaining an appreciation of and experience in the recreational joy of singing may be sufficient. Venues where this exposure occurs include home, school, and places of worship.

Category Two includes children for whom singing is a recreational activity they wish to pursue more intensely. These children may express an interest in private voice lessons to improve basic vocal techniques and develop repertoire. Venues include select choirs and choruses, and solo opportunities in school, clubs, sporting events, and places of worship.

Category three includes children for whom singing is a professional or pre-professional activity that subjects their vocal technique, performance skills, and repertoire to highly critical evaluation and scrutiny. For these chidlren to deal successfully with the added physical and emotional demands a singing career requires, formal voice training should be considered a necessity. Venues include opera, music theater, recording, pageants, film, radio, and television.

Singing is a regular and usual pursuit of interest for a great number of children. It is good to encourage children how to sing. Like any other activity where children are involved in, like sports or art or music, singing can be accomplished on many levels from recreational to professional. Still, at all levels there should be suitable and trained teachers capable and eager to help child singers reach their destinations on their musical journeys. (:

I came across the website of American Academy of Teachers of Singing and I found out that since 1922, the year of its founding, the academy has been actively writing and disseminating papers on all subjects pertaining to the teaching of singing. Their articles would be very helpful to already singers and those who want to have a career in singing.

I’d like to share what they have to recommend about auditions for the singer which may be very helpful to those hopeful aspirants.

APPLY FOR AN AUDITION ONLY WHEN READY

Generally speaking, no singers should either apply for or make auditions unless their own mature consideration and that of their teachers indicate that they are ready. Being ready means being adequately advanced vocally, musically, interpretatively, and artistically.

Singers should not allow themselves to be influenced by parents, friends or others who may encourage them to enter an audition before being fully prepared. Being heard too soon may be dangerous because many organizations keep records of their auditions. A poor rating and an unfavorable impression may jeopardize subsequent chances. On the other hand, singers who are prepared should not avoid auditions, because they will profit from the many values presented by such a test of their ability.

PREPARE THOROUGHLY FOR EVERY AUDITION

After deciding to enter an audition, singers should carefully study the demands in the special field to which the audition leads and prepare thoroughly in order to satisfy these demands in every detail. If application forms must be submitted, it is important to see that they are completed exactly as requested by the sponsor of the audition.

The material selected for performance should be suitable to the type of audition. Songs or arias should be thoroughly familiar to the singer and should have been sung previously, preferably in public. The material chosen should be well within the singer’s present abilities, and show the singer’s strengths. Whether one song or a full recital program is being offered, ALL MATERIAL MUST BE MEMORIZED. It is of utmost importance to have the assistance of an excellent accompanist; and to have sufficient rehearsal.

IMPORTANT ESSENTIALS TO BE OBSERVED BY SINGERS AT AUDITIONS

Keep in mind that singers are seen before being heard. Singers should therefore present a good appearance from the moment the audition begins until it finishes, i.e., good posture, poise, an alert, attentive, and self-conscious manner.

Singers should dress appropriately for the type of audition being made. They should be prompt, but not upset by a lack of promptness on the part of the judges, or by any other annoyances that may occur. It is well to be on hand about ten or fifteen minutes early.
Because singers are generally allowed to choose the first song or aria, this choice should have been made in advance. It should be adhered to unless there are very compelling reasons for a last minute change. An agent or manager could interfere or override the choice of material decided on by teacher and singer, and the singer must be prepared for this.

Singers should avoid making apologies for physical or vocal condition, for lack of rehearsal with the accompanist, or for any other reason, because judges are not sympathetic to excuses. If singers are unable to do themselves justice for any reason, they should state the fact, not sing, and ask for another appointment if that can be arranged.

Judges may sometimes be prejudiced or uninformed, but singers should keep in mind that future audiences, too, may not always be intelligent, receptive, or fair. After the audition singers should not worry about the result It is well to discuss the performance with the teacher in order to extract benefit from the audition, but otherwise, time is better spent in preparing for the next audition.

I saw this cool website owned by a singing pro, and there includes practical tips for singing. Singers out there, read this!

Any tip or combination of tips can be used to improve your voice, your style, or fix a sore throat. Some of these represent ideal situations, which many certainly do not live in. Others represent the complete opposite of things you may have heard.
• Plan ahead.
• Sore throat? Try an apple or pear (or their juices).
• Don’t do anything that will hurt your voice in any way.
• When looking for a teacher, ask about his/her background in music, and whether they are willing to help you learn how to sing something other than their style of singing.
• Just because a singer sounds nice doesn’t mean s/he can sing.
• When you are learning to sing, you are doing it to find out what your voice is capable of, not someone else’s; be happy with what you have.
• To those who want to sing pop music: There is nothing wrong with learning classical.
• To those who wish to sing classical: There is nothing wrong with learning popular.
• You are not the person on the radio-don’t try to imitate them unless you are trying to learn something.
• Don’t inhale any kind of smoke at any time whatsoever.
• Reason: Smoke sticks to and burns your vocal cords.
• Don’t drink.
• Don’t do drugs.
• Don’t allow people to come at your vocal cords with sharp instruments. In other words: Don’t allow doctors to perform surgery on your vocal cords, as there is a possibility you may never sing again after this. The only way to not have vocal problems is to not do harm to your voice in the first place, a skill which isn’t taught due to lack of information.
• No more yelling.
• You can forget ice-cold drinks unless you have some sort of trauma to the throat area, i.e. tonsils removed, that sort of thing. Reason: It tightens up your vocal cords. They must be warm and loose in order for you to sing properly.
• Don’t talk too much. Reason: It wears down your vocal cords.
• Try to stay away from a lot of dust.
• Try to cough a little quieter.
• Don’t sing any song out of you range.
• No more than 3 performances per week.
• Don’t sing your loudest for extended periods of time.
• Ask as many questions of as many people as you can about singing.
• Keep away from air conditioning for at least two hours before a performance.
• Get to know and understand the organs involved in singing.
• Singing will help to cure a sore throat that is not the result of oversinging or overtalking.
• Practice as slowly and softly as possible.
• Learn every style of singing you can.
• Dairy products cause phlegm.
• Singing helps to get rid of phlegm.
• Keep a mint or hard candy handy.
• When singing, make sure you know what the song is about by knowing what all the words mean and what is going on in the music.
• If you must sing in a group, make sure you know what the other voices are doing.
• Know what the music is doing.
• Contrary to classical tradition, taking pictures is not a distraction.
• Play to the back of the crowd.
• Being hoarse in the morning does not mean you will be hoarse in the evening.
• After performing, place a warm, wet towel around your neck and do not speak for 10 minutes.
• Gargle with warm water containing 1/2 tsp each of salt and baking soda.
• Try to wear only one fabric on stage. Reason: Those lights get hot.
• Learning how to sing well takes time. There are no shortcuts.
• Try to make as little air as possible come out of your mouth when you are singing a musical phrase.
• Train your ears by playing only the first note of a musical exercise.
• Always take one day a week off.
• Unless it’s called for, always stand with good posture (this does not mean standing stiffly) when you sing. Any move you make will affect the sound you are trying to produce.
• Keep the tip of you tongue below your teeth.
• Don’t exert yourself the day before a performance.

Practice them’all helpful tips and have great fun singin’!