Tag Archives: singing

Singing with Passion

18 Thursday Jul 2024

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Music is an emotion that you can hear. Many people think that a good singer simply memorizes lyrics to a song and sings notes without going off key. It’s not that simple. People can sing the same song with the same musical arrangement and the results will be completely different.

There are many factors to singing and one very important one is singing with passion. When you sing with passion, feeling and emotion, you reach a level of connection with your audience. Songs are not only made up of words. They are also made up of sounds and power and people relate to each one when they listen to music. Singing with emotion is important for the success of any performance. It will stir up feelings and allow your audience to have an emotional response to each song you sing.

Singing is communication. When you sing a song, you are telling a story. You are delivering a message to your audience. How you deliver that message will determine how they identify with the lyrics, feel your emotion and have a reaction to your singing. A vocalist who can intermingle with the emotions of a song will sound much more intense and passionate than one who makes no attempt to emotionally connect with a song. You need to connect to the song in order to connect with the audience.

All songs you sing will have transitionary moments of silence. These pauses add depth to your performance. Emphasize these moments with feeling. Capture the emotions and express them. Facial expressions will also enhance a particular mood of a song and add dynamics as well as connecting the audience to the song.

Always read your audience and engage with them. Stage presence is important. Look at your audience and make eye contact. This is essential in order to sing with emotion. Simply smile when you make eye contact. It lets your audience know that you are having a great time. Energy is contagious. When you have a great time, they will too.

Energy is a must. Your body language is just as important as your vocals in order to convey the energy and emotion of a song to your audience. If you are singing in a venue where there really isn’t much room to move around, always use hand gestures and facial expressions to enhance your performance and show emotion. A good stage presence is important as your presence on stage allows the audience to see your confidence in your ability. Energetic performances are memorable in the greatest way whereas watching a vocalist on stage with planted feet and not moving, would be memorable as a horrific performance. Move the best you can in the space you can, just be sure to move!

Vibrato is not only incredibly effective but also soulful and allows more emotion and expression to your vocals. When you slightly alter or vibrate the pitch of a note that you are sustaining, it is powerful! It actually happens naturally in order to ease the tension on your vocal cords but you can also train yourself to have even more control when you learn to sing from your diaphragm. It is important to use vibrato sparingly to stir up emotion. If you use it too often, it will lose the ability to stir up feelings in your audience.

Dynamic balance is very effective to express the emotion of a song. When you go from loud to quiet and quiet to loud, it is is much more effective than singing loudly for the entire song. Controlling dynamics allows you to sing with emotion and have that connection with your audience. When you implement varying the tone and volume of your vocals, you capture attention and draw people in to your performance. Remember different feelings have different tones and sounds. Reflect and convey the message of the song using the appropriate dynamics.

It is important to capture the feel, passion and emotion of each song you sing, whether it be a love song or a pop/rock song. Always tell a story and give emotion to each and every word. This will put you way above the singers who simply belt out lyrics.

When you are authentic and you allow yourself to be vulnerable you will always leave your audience with a memorable performance.

How to Become a Better Singer

30 Sunday Jun 2024

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One of the greatest ways to get a crowd going is with great music. Sure, DJ’s are great but there is nothing like hearing a live band. I am the lead singer in my band, Daze of Dari, and it is so rewarding when I see people smiling, dancing and having a great time.

A good singer possesses the ability to affect others by transporting them to another place and even by reaching their soul. Here are some tips to being a better singer:

Always be authentic. Be vulnerable and bear your soul through your voice. When you express yourself genuinely, you connect with the crowd.

Make the song your own. Just because you didn’t write the song and you aren’t the artist everyone is used to hearing, it doesn’t mean you can’t put your own spin on it and give it your own personal vibe. Never lose your own identity of who you are as a singer. Don’t be afraid to push any musical boundary and add your own flair to each song. Always tell a story. Be expressive every single time you sing with every word you sing.

By incorporating your own dynamics such as changing the volume, the intensity or the style, you connect with the audience because you will be conveying your own emotion to the song. Even different phrasing and interpretive choices will add to expression. It will create a captivating and more memorable performance. Authenticity goes a very long way.

Monitor your voice. Most singers perform in different locations, circumstances and situations. Many have careers and a life outside of singing. Singers should always be aware of how they use their voice each day. A singer’s voice is their instrument and needs to be protected so it’s strong enough to handle singing for hours at a gig.

Take vocal lessons. Think of a singer as an athlete. Athletes train and so should singers. Vocal coaches offer exercises to prepare vocals in order to target sound and texture. You will learn your range, develop control, flexibility and technique. Different styles need different coaching. For example, if you want to sing rock/pop music, you can learn to sing with a brassy, edgy quality.

Always warm up. I know that it sometimes seems like there is no time because we are constantly running from one thing to the next. By taking the time to do warm-up exercises, you will help your voice transition from your speaking to your singing range. We don’t speak and sing in the same range so it’s important to take time to warm up so that you are more easily able to reach various pitches and notes without straining or harming your voice.

Develop breath control. Breath control is fundamental for singing. It allows you to sustain long notes, control dynamics and give a powerful performance. It gives you more control over your voice and improves your overall technique.

Proper posture is crucial for optimal performance. Stand up straight, relax your shoulders and be sure that your neck and head are aligned with your spine. Having proper posture will allow your breath to flow, improve lung capacity and will enhance your vocal resonance. Try not to slouch or tense your muscles as doing so will restrict your vocal range and have a negative affect on your vocal quality.

Vocal resonance is the richness and depth of your voice. When you develop resonance, your voice will be fuller with more vibrancy. When you project your voice forward rather than trying to push or strain to be louder, you will enhance your vocals.

Just like warming up, you should cool down. Vocal cool-down exercises can help with recovery after singing for hours. There are various slides/glide exercises that can be found online. One of my vocal coaches taught me the Titze straw exercise. On your ride home, keep the music off and stay quiet. Your voice needs to recover.

Always pace yourself. Try to organize your setlist so that all songs that are highly vocally demanding aren’t one right after the other.

Change the key to fit your voice. If a song is too high, a semitone can make a big difference. When you have a sing-a-long song with a higher chorus, it’s very common practice for lead singers to turn the microphone toward the crowd to have them sing during the chorus. This will give you a break while you are engaging the audience.

Get your sound right. This is crucial. Vocals are not amplified and cannot compete with electronic instruments. If you overwork to be heard over the drums and electronic instruments, you can lose your voice. Be aware of both your microphone and monitor position and be sure your sound equipment is correctly adjusted. If all of these parameters are in order, you will not have to work so hard to project your voice in order to be heard. Always take time before the gig to work on sound and so a thorough sound check.

A couple of other tips are to record yourself so that you can hear your progress and practice every day

Becoming a lead singer is a journey. You will need to be patient, consistent and have an innate willingness to learn and practice. With these things, nothing can stand in your way.

    My Passion for Singing

    21 Friday Jun 2024

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    Everyone has that outlet in their life, something they do to replenish the energy of their soul. For some it can be gardening, biking, painting, etc…. for me, it’s singing.

    At every single point in my chaotic and sometimes crazy path, music has always found its way into my world. I have listened to music from a very young age. I had a vast collection of 45’s and a decent collection of LP’s. I also always walked around with a radio. Two of my favorite artists to listen to when I was younger were Olivia Newton John and The Partridge Family but I loved pretty much everything on the radio back then. 70’s music was fabulous! Music was always there for me and has always been a factor in my life.

    A passion for singing usually takes root in early childhood. For me that spark was ignited on the evening of November 4, 2022 at 9:43 p.m.

    Weeks prior to that evening, my husband and I were in our kitchen having wine and playing cards, with the music blasting. I was singing along quietly to the music and my husband looked me in the eyes and said “One of these days, I’m going to get you a microphone.” I replied with something like “Yeah right! You’ll never hear me sing!”

    Fast forward a couple of weeks ahead. It was a Friday night and my husband, my friend and I were having some wine at my home, again with the music blasting. A few drinks later, my husband brings out a karaoke machine and he was the first one to use it. He sang “Runaways” by The Killers. Now my husband is a drummer, not a singer and it wasn’t his best but he had a blast. We all did. I thought to myself “Wow, if he can do that sounding like he does, I can too!” Remember, I was a few drinks in. I got up and sang “Top of the World” by The Carpenters.

    The rest of the evening we sang, laughed and had a great time and when I woke up the next morning, I watched the videos and the reel I posted on Facebook. I received so many nice comments on the reel that I immediately knew that I wanted to do it again the following weekend. So we did. Weekend after weekend we’d have wine, blast music and sing karaoke. I was absolutely loving it and decided to take this newfound passion to the next level.

    On December 27, 2022, I had my first singing lesson. I was very nervous going and my son Joshua came with me for moral support. It was time. It was 4:00 and my vocal coach, Mike, came out to get me. It was all or nothing at this point. I could flee or I could face my fear and conquer it.

    I followed him into this little room with a piano. I remember quite vividly asking him if the walls were soundproof and he told me they weren’t. My thoughts were racing. “How am I going to do this?” “I should just forget it.” “Should I run out of this room?” After talking for a few minutes and making me feel a little more relaxed, Mike played a single note on the piano and said “Ok, sing that.” Excuse me? What? Sing that? I looked at him like he had a unicorn horn sticking out of his forehead. You mean there’s no loud music to sing to? (And there is no wine involved?) How on earth will I do this?

    With every ounce of passion deep within me and with every drop of courage I could find, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and sang that single, ever-so-important note. I did it! Next we worked on scales to find my range, which I must say was quite impressive. I thought to myself “This isn’t bad at all” and I left there feeling so damn proud of myself and I couldn’t wait for the following week’s lesson to do it again!

    Well I’m an all-or-nothing kind of person. I bought all kinds of music equipment: speakers, a microphone, a mixer. I purchased an app to practice vocals with, where you remove the vocals from tracks. I recorded myself daily and practiced every single day. I purchased and surrounded myself with music decor. I even had things custom made. I made a beautiful music room for myself.

    In May of 2023, I decided I wanted to start a cover band to play live music out in bars, clubs, festivals… wherever I could. After auditioning many musicians and dealing with so many disappointments, the vision and dream has become an amazing reality.

    I am now a lead singer and my band’s name is Daze of Dari. I have the absolute greatest bandmates. We have become family and great friends. We rehearse at a rehearsal studio every week. Our setlist is full, unique and fun and we have played out a few times and have more gigs scheduled. We play mostly in Morris County, New Jersey but we don’t limit ourselves to any single area.

    If you want to take anything away from this, it is this. Never, ever, ever give up on your dreams. I am living proof that perseverance and passion will take you wherever it is that you want to go!