By Kyle Hoffman

Singing is a great past time that can communicate powerful emotions to large groups of people with music. The best singers however, really know how to control their voice and leave a lasting impression on the audience.

You might think of yourself as a decent singer that can hold their own in the competitive world of music, but wouldn’t you like to be better? Here are 5 fast tips for good singing that can boost your vocal reputation and have you emerge from the crowd.

1. Learn to control your soft palate.

Raising your soft palate is a way of opening up your throat to allow more air to come in, and more sound to let loose. Raise your eyebrows while you sing to feel the immediate affects of this technique.

2. Adjust your daily habits to accommodate your voice.

If you’re very serious about performing vocals, shouldn’t you do everything you can for good singing? Small things like eating less dairy, drinking more water, and getting more sleep can have such a huge impact on the quality of your voice.

3. Take constructive criticism with dignity.

Every now and then you’ll receive some criticism where someone thought you should change an aspect of your voice and you can’t fly off the handle. Make it one of your strong points to take someone else’s opinions and constructive criticism in a positive way for improvement.

4. Add variation with dynamics.

If someone were to sing an entire piece with the exact same tone and level of volume, the performance would be very boring. Mix things up and create variation by raising and lowering your volume in order to accentuate certain emotions in the song.

5. Communicate the song’s meaning.

You might have the best voice in the world, but you won’t be considered the best singer if you can’t express what the song is saying. Learn to appreciate the true intentions of the song you’re performing and showcase its emotions to your fullest.

There are a lot of great singers out there, but you can be one of them too with practice and hard work. Try out these simple but effective tips and be more confident the next time that you take the stage.

Kyle Hoffman has been a lead singer in acclaimed hardcore and rock bands for a number of years and is considered an authority figure on vocals. Learn his FREE valuable tips for vocal singing and other strategies to sing well now!

Technorati Tags: for good singing, Music, performing arts, sing, singing, to sing well, Vocals

By John Newcomb

Most people are terrified of performing in front of an audience. What we call “stage phobia” is perhaps one of the most prevalent fears that a lot of us have suffered from at one point of time (and most still continue to). We can sing, dance, act, or play a music instrument effortlessly when we are alone or in the company of a few strangers. But when we are asked to do the same in front of a large crowd, most of us tend to panic and perform well below our skill level.

If you’ve ever found yourself in a situation when you’ve had to play a musical instrument, sing, dance, or act before a crowd only to have your legs freeze and your body panic, you’ll find these three tips useful in delivering a great performance the next time you’re on stage:

1. Practice.

I know this sounds very redundant, but the amount of people who end up on stage without ever properly knowing their instrument (your voice, your guitar/piano/drums, or your feet if you dance) is simply amazing. If you’re singing a song, don’t just rehearse it once or twice; practice it dozens of times until it feels like second nature. The number of hours you put into your daily practice is what separates the professionals from the amateurs.

2. Never, ever back up.

If you miss or mess up a section of a song, or if your voice falters at a crucial chorus, don’t ever back up and try and correct your mistake. The first rule of performing on stage is to keep going on, no matter what. You might have seen online videos of professional musicians performing ever after slipping on stage and falling down. Being able to pick up and continue after a mistake is a key trait of professional performers, and one that you must try and pick up.

3. Don’t be obsessed with your technique.

Face it: some of your notes won’t sound that well, you will hit the wrong key at some point in your song, and your voice might falter at some point. Many times, a mistake while playing can make your performance appear more authentic and genuine. What’s important is to see how your performance appeared as a whole: was it a string of mistakes punctuated by a few bright moments, or was it the other way around? If it was the former, then you might want to concentrate more on your technique when you practice. If it was the latter, you are doing quite fine and shouldn’t obsess over how technically proficient you appear.

Essentially, the more you play in front of people, the more comfortable you will become. Don’t expect your first public performance to be a knockout. Give yourself time, and you will soon find that playing in front of others will start coming almost naturally to you.

Source:

John has been writing online for several years. His late blog is about picture scanners, and how you should go about buying a picture scanner

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Technorati Tags: dance, Music, performance, phobia, sing, stage fright

Here is a list of various sites that provide song media to help you learn new songs.

Free Praise And Worship
This website is for YOU. We’re working together with songwriters all over the world to build a comprehensive collection of music (Sheet Music, Chord Charts, Midi, RealAudio™, Overheads) for praise and worship. All of the songs on this site are available for you to use in worship services.

HighestPraise.Com – Praise and Worship
Praise and Worship Resources, Free Praise and Worship Music

Worship Archive
Very comprehensive site with many new and contemporary song sheets with lyrics and chords

Christian Teens.net
Large collection of Christian Hymns in MIDI format

Heavenly midis
Hymns, Praise & Worship, Spiritual, Kids Praise, Southern Gospel, Spirituals, Contemporary Christian Music, Special Music. Over 1000 Midi files

Lutheran Hymnal midis
Lutheran Hymnals, Christian Hymns, Sheet Music for Churches, Religious MP3’s & Midi’s These are the traditional songs of worship and praise from Lutheran Hymnals presented in midi, in mp3, in lyrics and in sheet music.

Praise midis
Collection of Praise Midi

Songs of Praise
Songs of Praise, a unique source of original songs and plays for your church. This site was created by Elton Smith and Gilberto Barreto in 1996, but along the way dozens of other people have contributed their efforts. Each song has a midi file and music score. Many of the songs also have MP3, WMA and RealAudio files with singing.

New Hope Music
410+ Original Scripture-Based Songs & Hymns Designed for Public Worship Gatherings, Youth Ministry and Bible Memorization All FREE to Download, Copy & Share With Others ! Scripture Based Songs to sing with your congregation

Tom Lascoe’s Praise & Worship Song Center
The goal of this ministry is to provide free praise and worship music for church worship leaders, music ministers, choir directors, and anyone interested in lifting the name of Jesus Christ in song.

Music Resources for Today’s Christian Worship
Proven guitar and keyboard-based contemporary music for Christian worship in sheet music and MIDI format (either unpublished or not widely known), made available as efficiently, effectively and freely as possible – that’s the purpose of this site.

Free Music Downloads
Gracies Cafe Top Praise Song Streams

Hillsong Lyrics and Chords
Collection of lyrics to several songs

MIDI Music for Worship
This page is a resource for the use of MIDI for worship services worldwide. More and more people are discovering the use of MIDI organs, pianos, and guitar synthesizers to provide accompaniment for learning music, choir rehersals, and even for worship services in settings where musicians cannot be present. The goal of this page is to provide tips and music files to churches setting up and maintaining MIDI systems.

Calvary Chapel Worship Resources
Songs, written music, guitar aids

Your Christian Home
Here you will find guitar chords & lyrics to your favourite praise and worship songs. The archive is constantly updated with the newest songs. Worship database, articles, message boards

Orange County Worship Fellowship
A collection of praise and worship songs, includes MP3s, PowerPoint chord charts

Technorati Tags: Christianity, Guitar, Lyrics, Music, praise, Praise and Worship, Worship