How can I have such a title?  Well, I actually believe it to be true.  I recently wrote a blog about competition and how it you need to ignore them, and I still believe that.  Please read the old post if your interest : What to do about your singing competition?

What I am referring to is sharing the limelight with another singer who is similar to you in a  small group such as a school, church, or community etc…  it is not ideal.

Here’s an example, being that I myself am an opera singer and voice teacher when I meet people I usually get one of two reactions:

1. Wow, I never met someone who sings opera that is so cool how did you get into that…., or I’ve been looking for (know someone who is) a voice teacher. or reaction number

2.  Oh yeah, we have an opera singer at our church, temple, school – she’s awesome, maybe you know her… or

Cool there is a great voice teacher that all the students go to you should see their recitals, amazing…

The ideal reaction obviously is always #2.  The number one reaction (while manageable) means that your  novelty has all ready been spoken for and you are stepping on someone else’s turf.  Which means your opportunities there are all ready being named for someone else.  So for you to go after them, is a bit of a war.

A further example is that I recently moved to a new location.  The schools around here all seem to be connected to previously established teachers.  The congregations have their soloists, and my new friends have their own piano and voice teachers.  I am not letting that shoot me down nor am I pushing to get in professionally with this new crowd.

There is always some where else. I went and found an exclusive gated community and represented myself there to their recreational class schedule.  They immediately accepted me and gave me the freedom to create my own class schedule due to my experience and product line.

I was lucky.  This community had an acting teacher, and a commercial teacher, but just happened to NOT YET have their own voice teacher.  So suddenly I will be the novelty in that community.  I skipped over the area I moved to not wanting to impose or deal with the competition and found my own TURF but a couple miles away.

Becoming the community voice teacher will place me as the GO TO for private vocal students there.  Which is exactly what I was looking for WITHOUT stepping on other teachers or having to push myself in.

Overtime naturally I am sure that I will develop a reputation and be sought out in my own community, but rather then deal with the uphill battle of “convincing people that I Too am worth checking out“, I found my OWN place to be “special”.

This is kind of an odd post, but I am always trying to bring you the honest word for this singing business. If you keep auditioning for a particular theater that all ready has a star in your fach (voice type), then go audition one town over.  This goes for any type of singer.  You need to be as original to the people around you as possible.

If you try and join an improv group that has a funny curly haired chubby Jewish girl, and you to fit that description, your chances are probably shot- the role has been filled, as good as you may be.  Go audition for the theater 10 minutes away that doesn’t have a girl like you instead.

Now certain towns have more opportunities than others.  You need to be where the opportunities are of course, I am not telling everyone to move out to remote areas just to be the only one of your kind.   I am talking about something more specific- your personal community.  It is something for you to think about.  It could be the difference in getting called for roles rather than having to audition for them.

Ariella Vaccarino

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written by Ariella Vaccarino creator of  Voice Lessons To Go(singing lessons on CD) and author of  Vocalize!

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