During a performance is not the time to be doing a playback in your head of every step you are taking both good and bad.  While performing it is your job as a singer to be in the moment, not judging the moment.

You can always record yourself and sit down and do a good judge later, and I highly do recommend that. (Sit and watch or listen, use your teachers ears, or use my ears for feedback-AFTER the performance.)

You can actually see singers judge themselves on stage.  They are listening rather than emoting and being.  Don’t be caught doing that because it is obvious to the audience and will pull them out of your performance.

Singing is such a leap to experience anyway  for the audience, watching someone standing and singing words for 3 minutes is odd if you think about it.  And that is the key, you don’t want to let the audience have a moment to think about it.  They need to experience the moment just as you are experiencing it.

If you are real and in it, they will be.

So you can’t stop and judge because then we loose the 100% commitment.  We we need nothing less than full commitment of you the singet in the audience to remove ourselves from the strangeness of the singing phenomenon so we can enjoy it for what it is.

Use your time warming up and practicing at your piano or in your room to analyze your every note.  Let your teacher give you critique during lessons.  Use my Vocal Assessment service if you would like to get feedback on what you should be working on from me.

But after that.  When the performance time comes whether it be an audtition or for an audience let go of ALL judgement and just sing the thing. You will be SO MUCH BETTER AND PROFESSIONAL FOR IT!

Ariella Vaccarino

Thank you for subscribing to my blogs!  I am working hard to bring you great content and free singing advice.  Please take a moment to spread the words via the social book marking links below to help me build my readership.  Thank you!

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

Want a professional opinion of how you sound?  Sign up for myVocal Assessment. Then send me a link or mp3 of you singing (audio/or audio visual) with your questions and I will get back to you with my feedback right away.

Check out my instructional videos on my YOUTUBE Channel:

http://www.youtube.com/voicelessonstogo

Listen to my Weekly Podcasts on Itunes:

My Itunes Podcast

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We as singers will ALL encounter people that do NOT like us in our business.  Even worse we will ALL encounter bad people in our singing business who will try to sabotage our careers; tell us the wrong call times, spread nasty rumors to directors about us, give us the worst songs to sing, the latest time slots for auditions, say mean things to us before we have to perform or even worse- during performing(I have a horrible story for that one which I’ll tell in a bit).

This point of this blog is this:

We will ALL encounter people who do NOT like us in our business, bad people even.

(Did she just say that again?)- Yes, I did.  I want it to sink in.  As soon as you accept it as a part of your singing career the easier it will be for you NOT to allow these people to cripple you emotionally when they cross your path.

They are probably unhappy people who feel threatened by what you have going on.  So take it as a compliment.  If you are threatening them with your talent, you must be good.

There is not too much for me to say here.  It is just a warning or reminder about the people you will be encountering along your path.  Try and divorce yourself from the drama of it.  Let them be the drama, you be the professional.

As for the story regarding having bad people say bad things to me WHILE performing.  I was in a show years ago, and one of the characters did not like me because I was offended by the graphic statements he  used to say all the time in rehearsal and had told him, (I was 16 doing the rest of the cast was much older).  Perhaps I was a bit to righteous at that age, but I thought it was ok to stand up for yourself, as long as you were polite about it.

Anyway, he went from loving me, to HATING me (amazing how some people can turn so fast like that).  He decided in a very immature way to remind me regularly how much her HATED me.  We had a table scene in our show where we would all sit and eat and sing our respective lines and then freeze.  While frozen he would quietly say AWEFUL things to me while looking at me every night.  Then he would continue his lines to the audience then freeze and say terrible things to me again while staring at me with a smile.  It was unbelievably awful as I think of it now.   The whole show for me was extremely difficult because of him.  Once he decided not to like me, he made sure to tell everyone bad things about me.  -A nice cozy warm loving experience it WAS NOT for me.

The sad truth is, I lost it one night back stage after all the abuse.  I screamed that I hated him on the top of my lungs and kicked him with all my might in his butt like a psycho.  My shoes were very soft china doll shoes and as a result, I BROKE MY TOE!!!!  Right there in between acts.  I never let on to anyone fear my pride- the pain was insane.  I continued the run with a broken toe still being verbally abused every show.

I was never hired by that organization again because of him.

All very unfair.  He was a complete jerk, (talented though).

But you know what?  There really should be no surprise.  I encountered people like him over and over again throughout my career.  They are always out there.  Just be strong, remove yourself from all of the drama.  Be a professional.

Make friends outside of your career so that you have people to talk to.  Don’t be surprised by the bad people, be prepared for them!

Now heads up, and sing well!

Ariella Vaccarino

Thank you for subscribing to my blogs!  I am working hard to bring you great content and free singing advice.  Please take a moment to spread the words via the social book marking links below to help me build my readership.  Thank you!

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

Want a professional opinion of how you sound?  Sign up for myVocal Assessment. Then send me a link or mp3 of you singing (audio/or audio visual) with your questions and I will get back to you with my feedback right away.

Check out my instructional videos on my YOUTUBE Channel:

http://www.youtube.com/voicelessonstogo

Listen to my Weekly Podcasts on Itunes:

My Itunes Podcast

Friend me on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/voicelessonstogo

Follow me on twitter:

http://www.twitter.com/voicelessons2go (I love a good retweet!)

Thank God I can sing. It allows me the ability to express my emotions through my voice using my whole body as a vessel.   I wonder what would happen to me if I couldn’t sometimes?

I don’t mean to be dramatic but it can be a borderline religious experience for me.  When I don’t do it for a while I feel all shrivelled and empty inside.  When things are really rough there is nothing like singing to release my “pain”.  I don’t mean to be Kurt Cobain about it, but it is the truth.

I don’t know how I would have gotten through my high school days without my guitar and my voice.  I used to get through all those crazy teenage emotions only by picking up my guitar and writing a song.  If my parents were driving me crazy, a guy didn’t like me, or if I was deep in a crush there was me writing a song about it and singing for hours in my room.  It truly kept me sane.

Other people have other ways to do this, for some it is religion, some dance, some yoga, some sports…  For me and most likely you if you are reading this, it is singing.  A form of expression that I can feel through my whole body.  It comes out of me like an extension of myself, and I can let it go and release it. Pretty powerful stuff.

I think people who don’t sing, might not be able to understand that a singer needs to sing.  I often feel like I was born with a 6th sense that I was made to use.  Imagine if you never tasted or heard or saw but could?  The thought of not being able to sing it is that extreme to me.

There of course are levels of singing, from alone in your room on your guitar writing a song to standing center on a stage singing a ballad in a musical.  Everyone I think who sings was born with a different level of singing that they are meant to and need to do.  Some singers feel more of a spiritual connection to it than others.

Singing is an amazing powerful gift, but it can hold us back from living on the “normal” level sometimes.  We as singers can experience such a rush through our bodies when we are really letting go that all else can feel pale compared.

That is why it is important to keep singing regularly, whether you have a pending performance or not. Regular practicing can help you maintain a balance in your “emotive self” as well as maintain and improve your voice.  My days are always better if I start them off with a singing practice.  And if I sing and workout… that is usually a great day.

I think it is important to face what singing is and means to you.  There is more to this singing then performing.  There is the physical and spiritual connection that it allows us to connect to our emotions.  They don’t talk about it in your College Vocal Program.  This is something private that you need to learn to connect with on your own.

We singers are lucky to have been given this amazing tool.  It is a gift that we have been chosen to experience.  Lucky us.

Now go sing.  You were meant to.  Do it for you.

Ariella Vaccarino

Thank you for subscribing to my blogs!  I am working hard to bring you great content and free singing advice.  Please take a moment to spread the words via the social book marking links below to help me build my readership.  Thank you!

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

Want a professional opinion of how you sound?  Sign up for my Vocal Assessment. Then send me a link or mp3 of you singing (audio/or audio visual) with your questions and I will get back to you with my feedback right away.

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So yesterday morning I had a sound check and orchestra run through for a concert I did last night.  Call time was at 10:15 am.  As you can imagine that is not ideal for the singing voice!  It reminded me of a time in my life when I used to sing at schools through L.A. Opera.  It was an educational program that brought opera to schools all over.  We had 8 a.m. assemblies to perform in sometimes!  Being that I am a coloratura soprano (the one who hits the highest notes), that was a tough morning prep.

I came up with a routine from that that really helped me get through it which I would love to share with you.  Try and hit as many of the steps as you can.  This routine is ideal, but I do realize that we can not always reach our ideals.  So do your best with it.

So how do you prepare yourself for an early morning singing performance, audition, or rehearsal?

Here are 15 steps to try follow when preparing for an early sing:

1.  Wake up early.  Not only do you need time to get ready, practice, and prepare, your body needs time to wake up and get itself going so that it can be there for you to do these things well.  Give yourself an extra hour or so.  (I know it might be painfully early, but especially if you are going to be singing high notes, you need to get yourself out of bed.)  It is important to somehow convince your body that it is not to early to get everything moving required to sing.

2.  Take a hot shower.  It will help wake up your brain as well as your body.  The warmth of the water on your muscles will help to start getting the blood going.  You will need these muscles to support your voice so that you can sing well.  So you need to wake them up!

3. Do yawn sighs really gently in the shower, humm a bit sing very gentle warm ups. Nothing serious.  Just make easy singing sounds.  Continue doing this during your morning routine, keep them light.

4. Slow stretching.  Again, you want to wake up the muscles of the body.

5. Breathing exercises, I have great ones on my first v.1 of Voice Lessons To Go- Vocalize and Breath.   This will open up your ribs, get your abdominal muscles working and make space for your resonance.

6. Physical exercise.  If you can get on a bike, take a walk, do a yoga tape, or even dance to some favorite tunes, even 10-15 minutes will make a great difference.  This will invigorate your muscles and activate them to “alert” mode  so that you will be prepped when you are singing.

7. Eat.  Singing takes energy.  Feed your body.

8. Drink something warm.  I like to drink a tea called “Throat Coat” before I sing.  An herbal tea is a great warmer and soother for the chords.  I keep one going all morning.

9. Get dressed. Give your body a few minutes to digest before your practicing begins.

10. Warm up your voice.  Take it nice and slow.  At this point your voice should be a bit warm from your humms, and yawn sighs.  Start easy on your vocal warm up.  Voice Lessons To Go is perfect for this.  You may not have complete resonance when you are singing at first if your body is not totally awake so take it easy.  Don’t push, let your voice come in naturally as your warm ups progress.  Do a nice slow long warm up if you can so that your voice really wakes up in a healthy non intrusive way.

11. Walk away and finish getting ready.  (That’s right, I didn’t say practice your music yet).  Give your voice a little time to settle down from the warm up while you are arranging your stuff, putting make up on, getting directions…whatever.

12. When everything is done and prepared sit down and practice your stuff. Make sure that you really sing through everything well so you don’t feel that you have loose ends on your way over to where you have to sing.  I always like to make sure that on my high notes I am warmed up higher than required of me that day so that if my voice settles by the time I have to sing, I have extended my range stretch in the practice past the point necessary.  This helps me to feel more confident when I walk in to sing.

Do not over sing or strain.  This is not the time to practice new exercises, and repertoire, range broadening, or stamina building.  You need to save to good stuff for your actual performance.

13. After you practice.  Be quiet.  Go get yourself to where you are going.  Spend your time thinking about the words, staging, and rhythm on your drive or walk over.  Your body by now should be really warmed up.  Keep a warm drink with you for the event. I also like Glycine drops to help keep the voice moist.

14.  Once you arrive and before you actually begin singing, do a few breathing exercises, stretches, and something physical such as jogging in place for a minute or two to prep the body for your sing.

15. Don’t forget to bring in an excellent attitude even though it is early morning.  Say your good mornings with a smile, everyone is suffering with the call time, be the one to help people through it rather than the one complaining about it.  Everybody will appreciate your good energy.

Happy singing!

Ariella Vaccarino

Thank you for subscribing to my blogs!  I am working hard to bring you great content and free singing advice.  Please take a moment to spread the words via the social book marking links below to help me build my readership.  Thank you!

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

Want a professional opinion of how you sound?  Sign up for myVocal Assessment. Then send me a link or mp3 of you singing (audio/or audio visual) with your questions and I will get back to you with my feedback right away.

Friend me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/voicelessonstogo

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As I say for my business (Voice Lessons To GO) as well as for my singing, there is no use thinking about your competition. What is the point?  You really never know what it is that is going to make a judge, casting agent, or directer pick you out of an audition “line up” for the part. So don’t sweat it.

The gorgeous woman who just sang before you like a Siren may have reminded the judge of an ex-girlfriend he didn’t like.

– or-

You might be amazing but the moment they see you they know you won’t be a match for the short tenor they have to play your husband.

Because I am not only a singer/voice teacher but I am also a business woman, I may have a bit of a different perspective on all of this.  I can use my CDs as an example.  So many people have asked me – “Aren’t you worried about your competition?,  or  ”Aren’t there other voice lesson CDs out there?”  My answer has always been: “So what, there are millions of people out there, I’ll just keep doing my best at what I am doing.  There is room enough for everybody.  Everyone can have their niche.”

I don’t spend my time looking at or considering the competition.  I need to be strong enough to stand on my own as a business woman no matter how many others are around me.  I’m not sure which helped me more the entrepreneurial woman to my musician or the musician to my entrepreneurial self.  But the combo together has helped me to see the world a bit differently.  I also think I view opportunities a bit out of the box.

If I didn’t think like that, there probably would be no Voice Lessons To Go.  You might be thinking, I thought this blog was about the competition, why is she talking about herself? That is my whole point.  The competition doesn’t matter.  You are what matters. Put the energy into evolving yourself instead of thinking about the others.

Think on a grander scale as a singer beyond your single auditions.  You need to know who you are, be confident, work on being and bringing out your best, and then marketing yourself.

The competition will there no matter what- trust me.  People will like you over them and them over you no matter what. That is the business.  There are no guarantees.  But it sure will help you get that part a lot more often if you are fully realized as a singer.

Click here to view a past blog post that will give you 10 ideas to work on when becoming a complete singer: http://voicelessonstogo.com/blog/so-my-voice-isnt-fabulous-can-i-have-success-as-a-singer (don’t worry about the title, the information is what you need).

What you do need to concentrate on is how YOU can be the best singer you can be.  Work on all the areas that make you a great artist and performer. Develop the whole you and the whole package.  Then walk into your auditions with pride knowing that you are a complete performer.  If they sign you or cast you- awesome.  That is ideal but no matter the competition unless you are amazing yourself, none of it matters anyway.  Don’t sweat the competition, sweat what you can do do be your best instead.

Happy evolving!  Sing well!

Ariella Vaccarino

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

***Want a professional opinion of how you sound?  Sign up for myVocal Assessment. Then send me a link or mp3 of you singing (audio/or audio visual) with your questions and I will get back to you with my feedback right away.***

Thank you for subscribing to my blogs!  I am working hard to bring you great content and free singing advice.  Please take a moment to spread the words via the social book marking links below to help me build my readership.  Thank you!

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UGHHHHH….Pathos….You feel it in your bones when they relay their pain to you on stage.  How can you be someone who does that?  The conveyor of depth and raw emotion.  How can you make it real for your audience?  Maria Callas is my Idol for this.  She moves me theatrically more then anyone I have ever heard.

Take a moment and watch her perform this aria Vissi D’arte from Verdi’s Tosca.  The first moment you see her, before she has even opened her mouth to sing, you know that she is consumed with the emotion of the character.  You can’t even imagine that she is a character and not just unlocking her true self in front of the audience.  She is so vulnerable in her expression.  She is the ultimate conveyor of Pathos.

How can you learn from her?  Well what she was Raw.  Raw in her emotion, no matter what your genre of singing that is something you should try and tap into.  Whether you are singing about love, bliss, or heart ache.

Maria Callas was a Genius performer and could make anyone feel her Pathos within seconds of seeing her face.  Please enjoy Callas and learn from from her:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZXwz0gj5fY

Pathos is a term from Greek mythology.  As quoted from wikipedia “Pathos is often associated with emotional appeal. But a better equivalent might be appeal to the audience’s sympathies and imagination. An appeal to pathos causes an audience not just to respond emotionally but to identify with the writer’s point of view – to feel what the writer feels. In this sense, pathos evokes a meaning implicit in the verb ‘to suffer’ – to feel pain imaginatively. Perhaps the most common way of conveying a pathetic appeal is through narrative or story, which can turn the abstractions of logic into something palpable and present. The values, beliefs, and understandings of the writer are implicit in the story and conveyed imaginatively to the reader. Pathos thus refers to both the emotional and the imaginative impact of the message on an audience, the power with which the writer’s message moves the audience to decision or action.”

For more in depth study of the term Pathos please check out:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathos

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

Want a professional opinion of how you sound?  Sign up for my Vocal Assessment. Then send me a link or mp3 of you singing (audio/or audio visual) with your questions and I will get back to you with my feedback right away.

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Today I want to share of you one of my Idols.  Joan Sutherland was really one of the most amazing sopranos ever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ2L_B7VOWs&feature=related

I have spent many an hour listening and glowing in her vocal beauty.  She is a lyric Coloratura Soprano and really absolutely amazing.  Her instrument is a gift from God and her technique is incredible.  I have often been moved to tears when listening to her beauty.

I know that many of you are not Opera singers, but as singers we can learn from all types of singing genres.  Today when you watch this link and listen to Dame Sutherland, I want you listen and feel the line of her voice.  This is something that I always talk about in singing.  How important it is to have a beautiful line.  She is the epitome of it.

You can skip the first minute and a half of the video which is a bit cheesy 60′s Opera.  She starts to sing at about 1:30 into it by 2:30 into it you can hear this line I am talking about.  There are no single notes or syllables.  Every thought and sound is leading somewhere in her sound and voice.  Her breath control is INSANE and her sound glorious perfection.  Few can even begin to touch the line that Joan Sutherland achieved over and over again.

Just thought you might enjoy listening to one of my favorites.  Please enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ2L_B7VOWs&feature=related

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

Want a professional opinion of how you sound?  Sign up for my Vocal Assessment. Then send me a link or mp3 of you singing (audio/or audio visual) with your questions and I will get back to you with my feedback right away.

Follow me on twitter:http://www.twitter.com/singingvltg

So you can sing, you love to sing, perform, be on stage and you have talent.  Now what?  What type of music should you be singing?  What is your range?  If you are facing these questions for the first time, they can be tough ones that you may have to live with once you make them so really think them out.

As much as I would like to think that everyone can sing everything: pop, country, rock, opera, jazz etc….  I don’t.  I believe that we are all probably suited for specific styles more than others.  But, sometimes there is a clear choice that has to be made at a young age concerning what direction you are going to take your voice and that can be difficult.

I’ll give you my own story for example.  I was a girl with the biggest voice of the group from the youngest age you can imagine.  I have been told that when I was at a birthday party at age 5 and all the kids were singing Happy Birthday (myself included), all the parents just stared at me because of how much my voice was different and developed compared to the other kids.

I had an “adult” voice at a very young age.  And by adult I mean full vibrato and mature sounding.  But you couldn’t tell at age 5 that I was suited for Opera.  I could sing everything well throughout my childhood that was on the radio, (I remember a mean “Stop in the Name of Love” I used to do for anyone who would listen). I had a great belt voice as well (not that I understood what it was).

So I was always singing because I loved it.  Volunteering to stand up and sing at school, from my elementary days on.  I also would help lead religious services every time I could.  I craved it and couldn’t wait to do it.  I felt most at home when I was singing.  Not just singing by myself, but leading song, and singing for an audience and an event.

So how again, did I pick my genre?  Well, it was kind of faith for me.  My 7th grade choir teacher told my parents I was full of talent and should take voice lessons.  So I did from her.  She happened to have been an Opera Singer trained at Julliard.  (How I happened upon this in my suburban town is really amazing, talk about fate). I could take all her vocalizes up as high as her, and sounded like a young version of her.  And there it was.  I was an Opera singer.

Had my first voice teacher been a Broadway, pop, rock or Jazz artist I may have gone another direction.

Opera worked for me.  I loved it and was good at it.  But there were somethings about opera that were not so satisfying.  First of all no one really knew anything about Opera, or had much interest in it.  That was always hard for me.  There is also an audience connect that you get from being a rock singer on a stage that you can’t achieve in Opera.  Also, as a creative person I was not satisfied.  Since Opera is about singing things perfectly and not writing your own thoughts and emotions into a song.

Outside of that, I loved Opera and was highly respected for pursuing the art form of it since it takes so much education and discipline.- And that “admiration” of my craft, whether people understood it or not, was always fun.

So that was my story.

So what about you?  How do you decide?  Will you have regrets on the decision you make in the future? -Probably some it may never be the perfect decision, but you can try and make the “best” decision.

Some things to consider when choosing your vocal genre:

Try and really listen to your sound and think about what kind of music is exciting to you.   And what kind of music will be exciting to you long term.

The window to “make it” as a pop, rock, or rap singer is specifically for the young while an opera or Jazz artist has more time.

Classical music takes a lot of expensive education.  With no guarantee of success at the end.

Who are you as a singer?

Are you a song writer who has something to say when you pick up your guitar or play the piano.

Do you feel most connected to music when you are singing through something religious?

Do you love to strive for perfection on a classical art form?

Does there need to be acting involved such as Broadway style for you to be satisfied?

Do you like to scream (rock singer).

Get some good opinions from people you trust.  I’d be happy to give you mine through my service Your Vocal Assessment.  Also, you can record yourself singing a few different genres you are considering and listen back.  Does one stand out to you or your family as fitting perfectly.  Are you the next Disney ingenue?

Just some things to think about for you.

Sing well people!- and don’t forget to warm up!

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

Want a professional opinion of how you sound?  Sign up for my Vocal Assessment. Then send me a link or mp3 of you singing (audio/or audio visual) with your questions and I will get back to you with my feedback right away.

Follow me on twitter:http://www.twitter.com/singingvltg

Yes, we all do and will continue to make dumb mistakes in life.  But just remember in the singing business you will always be remembered for those dumb mistakes, so try and avoid them by being professional at all points of your career.

Here are a couple of my own stupid move confessionals of mine.  Perhaps admitting them to the “public” will help free me of them!

The stupid young singer I was- (totally embarrassing to admit)

Out of college I was given a lot of work by different opera companies, I didn’t realize what a big deal that was.  I was very young to the business, during that time and I became overwhelmed by all that needed to be done.  With all my responsibilities, I pulled out of a production that I was supposed to understudy the lead in because it didn’t seem important to me and I really just didn’t want to do it with all the other work I had going on.

What I should have done was declined the offer from the beginning graciously, but I was too uncomfortable to say no.  I kept thinking I would some how deal with it.  I never even opened the score to learn the music and then pulled out just before rehearsals started claiming personal reasons.

This was sooo dumb of me, and so irresponsible. I was so self absorbed (normal for that age but…)  it was just to understudy the part so somehow I felt it was ok at the time.  That forever marked me with that company. Something I would never ever do today, but yet years later I will be remembered as a flake by them.

You must remember that your actions effect everyone around you, not just yourself.

After that last minute drop out of mine, someone was sent in a scurry to find a replacement.  And then some other poor singer had to rush and learn a part.  Totally not fair of me.  I’m sorry for that!

My senior Recital

To contrary belief, the world does NOT revolve around you

Being an Opera singer was my whole focus and world for many years.  When I was a senior at USC I had a senior recital.  This was my main event in school a full length recital that I performed with accompaniment full stage my own program etc…  This was my whole focus- lived and breathed it.

Anyway, the recital went great, and I filled the theater.  But, there were a few people at that time in my life that I had been working under regularly in the music business doing concerts, mentoring with etc…  Some of these people did not attend my concert and I was extremely hurt.  I would even say I felt betrayed by them for not attending.  As a result, I held a “childish” grudge against them, was cold and sulky when I saw them, tried to make them feel guilty etc…  HOW LAME I WAS!

These musicians were older than me and professionals with their own lives and families.  I could not comprehend them not attending my marvelous event on a Saturday night.  But in fact, it was not their responsiblitiy to be there.  I can see now, how hard it would have been for them to attend every concert of every musician that they new and that it really was not a big deal on their spectrum, even though I am sure they had wished me their best.

I should have just sent them a copy with a big smile, and left it at that with no expectations of them watching it.  It proved me to be unprofessional that I took it so personally them not being at my concert.

The truth is, not everyone is going to be your fan. Let your fans be your fans, but never pressure that out of someone.  You don’t want to come off bratty, and childish.

The better you get, and the more concerts you give, the more people will come.  You should not have to beg for it.  I probably am the opposite at this point to a fault.  I rarely let people know, (unless they are on a fan mailing list), that I am performing because I don’t want anyone to feel that pressure in our friendships to attend my concert.  I never want anyone to feel obligated.

All in all, these events happened, but they are not isolated, and I am sure there are many more I’ve done. The impression you give once stays with people.  I still encounter these people in different capacitites years later now and I always feel a bit dumb and “young” around them as a result of my dumb actions in the past even though I have had many years of experience and success in my own life.

Remember, you never know how these people will be in your life in the future and to whom they may spread these stories.  Try and keep your reputation squeaky clean.  Be professional at all times.

Do you have any sage advice on dumb acts that have stuck to you?  Come on, help our readers prevent your own mistakes by sharing them with us!  I would love to hear back from you!

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

Want to receive immediate feedback on how you are singing from me?  Sign up for my Vocal Assessment. Then send me a link or mp3 of you singing (audio/or audio visual) with your questions and I will get back to you with my advice right away.

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What about a great high note makes us so crazed?  The anticipation of it, the singing of it on point, and then the release of it done well?  I think it is all three and  it is quite a thrill.  I myself being the highest type of singer, an Operatic Soprano (called a coloratura), know this subject personally.

As a singer of those notes I will say, they are quite a thrill to sing as well, even though the pressure for perfection is strong from your listeners and there are never any guarantees.  That is probably why it is so thrilling to listen to- there is such risk to it all.

When done correctly you really get a whole body connection like no other moment in a piece, as you use your body as a vessel for an incredible note to beam out, whether you are belting chest voice or a classical singer hitting a high F.

But high notes need to be sung well or they are just miserable to listen to!  Last thing we want is to hear or see any straining on a singer that is going for the golden notes.  If when singing them you feel your larynx raising up in your throat to do so, you are not going about it correctly or healthily.

There are definitely things you can do as a singer to minimize the risk of failing at your high notes.  On singing a good high note, your body needs to lock down deep- feet, legs, and abdomin to support your vocal chords. The more powerful and alert your body the freer your sound will be.

We also need to access the resonators in our forhead, top of our head, and back of our head.  In other words, imagine that there is space all around your head that you need to be creating so that the sound can bouce into and off of it.  You don’t want to listen to a note and feel you are at the “top” of it.  Rather, you should feel like there is more room for the next note up to come.   When it is totally working for me on a piece like Queen of the Night, I feel like I can’t even tell which way the sound is coming out of my head.  Like I am singing backwards forward, and all around myself.

So think of the above combination for you high note success- grounded body and sound, tension free larxnx, and space to resonate all around your head.  When you find that “pocket” like Adam Lambert, Freddie Mercury, and Joan Sutherland, or Luciano Pavarotti- you are in high note bliss for yourself and your audience.

Remember good singing is about letting your sound release not pushing your sound out- especially on a high note.

*Big recommendation though, until you sort this out for yourself, don’t attempt the big high notes in public.  When done wrong, people can be really unforgiving!

Here are some high notes to listen to:

Pavarotti- lay down in heaven for this one.  Whether you like Opera or not, his last few notes are going to make your hair raise and your eyes well!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VATmgtmR5o4

Siobhan Magnus:  The crazy note is about 1:20 into this one and is ridiculous!! (in the best way)                                                                                        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk1nK-W0Da0

Adam Lambert:  Thank you to whom ever put this clip together couldn’t be a better example (I’ve already written by Vocal God blog on him:            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkwJURnVGxo

Happy Listening!

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

Want to receive immediate feedback on how you are singing from me?  Sign up for my Vocal Assessment. Then send me a link or mp3 of you singing (audio/or audio visual) with your questions and I will get back to you with my advice right away.

Follow me on twitter:http://www.twitter.com/singingvltg