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How
to Become a Recording Artist
Your
Singing Voice
The
first thing to remember here is that you don’t have
to have to be a Patti Labelle or a Mariah
Carey in order to have a career as a singer. Those
two have an enormous vocal range and dead-on technical
ability, but there are also people like Madonna
and Janet Jackson, who don’t have the same technical
ability or range but have had long and successful careers.
The
important thing is not to measure yourself in terms
of other people, but to make the best of the abilities
that you have.
The
best way to improve your singing voice is to take voice
lessons from a vocal coach. There is a science
to singing and techniques that have been developed using
that science — things like methods of proper breathing,
placement of your voice, hearing and pitch, how to extend
your range, and how to keep from damaging your vocal
cords. A good vocal coach puts these techniques
into action to help you get the most from your singing
voice.
When
to Get a Vocal Coach
Since
it’s likely that your record company will pay
to have you work with a vocal coach once you’ve been
signed, making the decision to invest in vocal coaching
now depends on a couple factors.
The
first factor to consider is whether or not your voice
is capable of handling the demands of your type of music.
There is a big difference between the vocal requirements
for a gospel singer and the vocal requirements
for a rapper.
If
you’re having difficulty meeting the vocal demands for
your style of music, you should invest in some voice
lessons. Other good reasons to take voice lessons
now:
- You
have serious problems with your pitch (singing
flat or sharp often)
- You
have an extremely limited range
- You
notice that your voice gets fatigued quickly
(signs of vocal fatigue: your voice cracks, your throat
feels strained, your natural vocal range diminishes,
you get hoarse)
- You
think you are tone-deaf
Tone-deafness
is an inability to accurately reproduce a note of music.
People who are tone deaf always sing off-key, no
matter how hard they try. Tone deafness is not very
common; what is common is a tendency for singers to go
a bit flat or sharp sometimes (instead of all the time).
A vocal teacher can tell you if you are actually clinically
tone-deaf. Most likely you are not and simply need
to work on improving your hearing and pitch. Voice
lessons can help tremendously – part of the process is
learning how to hear and reproduce notes accurately with
your voice.
How
to Find a Vocal Coach
The
best way to find a good vocal coach is through word-of-mouth
within the music community. Other singers are
the best sources for reliable information on who’s good.
Talk to singers active in your local scene, call universities
with music programs and music instruction schools in
your area, contact music industry organizations, check
with choir members from your local churches.
The
top vocal coaches in the music business can be expensive
($100/hour and up), but it is possible to find reasonably
priced voice lessons – music instruction schools
and lesser-known private instructors are your
best bet.
One
important thing to remember about voice lessons and
vocal coaches: there are quite a few different methods
and techniques that can be used for voice training.
The method used depends on the teacher. To get
the most bang for your buck, monitor yourself closely.
Is your voice getting stronger? Is your vocal range
getting wider? Are you getting better at consistently
singing on key? If several months go by and you
aren’t seeing any improvement in your problem areas,
you may need to switch teachers.
This article is an excerpt from
the fabjob.com How to Become a Recording Artist. Visit
www.fabjob.com
for information.
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