How Can I Get Over My Performance Anxiety?

VocalCoachKen — Sat, 11 Jun 2022 19:02:22 +0000

Are you wondering how to get over performance anxiety while singing? If so, you have come to the right place.

There are several techniques you can employ that will help you get over this mental barrier and get the best performance possible.

In this article, we’ll cover some of them including pre-performance rituals, deep breathing exercises, and redirecting negative thoughts.

Once finished, you may also enjoy this article – How to Sing with Confidence

Redirecting Negative Thoughts

If you’re a singer and you suffer from performance anxiety, you’re not alone. Performing in front of an audience can be terrifying, but this mostly comes from a deep desire to be liked and accepted.

This was once a really big deal back hundreds of years ago. If the pack didn’t accept you, they wouldn’t protect you and you wouldn’t have as high of a likelihood to survive.

Fortunately, a bad performance today won’t lead to death, but it may feel like it sometimes. Haha.

That said, virtually all performers get that bit of nervous energy right before they go on stage. But instead of being crippled by this, try using it to your advantage.

Instead of having that nervous energy feed your negative thoughts, why not have it build your positive thoughts.

Get excited about your performance. Visualize yourself performing well, and the audience responding well to it.

The more your turn this negative into a positive, the more ready you’ll be.

Deep Breathing Exercises

If you have performance anxiety, deep breathing exercises are an excellent way to calm yourself.

Breathing deeply not only calms your body, it calms the mind. Plus, as a singer, it has the added benefit of carving a good path of proper breathing for our performance.

When you do this, your mind is prepared to sing, and you will not be weighed down by the anxiety you feel.

It’s a proven fact that deep breathing exercises can help you get over performance anxiety while singing. So give it a try and see if it helps you!

Pre-Performance Rituals

Pre-performance rituals have the effect of reducing anxiety and helping you to maintain order in an otherwise chaotic situation.

I think half the reason why this helps is it gives your mind something to focus on and helps you get in the zone.

However, this is not a quick fix, and it is unlikely to improve your performance. In fact, your performance will only improve when you can perform your pre-performance rituals regularly.

But, you can start thinking about what this might look like for you now. The goal of this ritual is to keep you in a “ready to perform” head space.

For me, I might listen to certain music that calms my mind, then an inspiring song before I go out on stage. I might stretch, and visualize the performance going the way I want. I may even jump up and down, trying to work more energy into my body.

But that’s me. The question is, what would help you be ready to go out on stage?

In Conclusion…

The more your turn this negative into a positive, practice deep breathing, and get comfortable with your pre-performance ritual, the more ready you’ll be to perform.

That said, each of these ideas takes practice. And the only way to practice it is to perform more.

So get out there and try these techniques and see how they work.

What’s the Difference Between Chest Voice, Head Voice, & Falsetto?

VocalCoachKen — Sat, 28 May 2022 17:26:43 +0000

We had a great question in a past Q&A – Is there a physical difference in the vocal cords between chest voice, head voice, and falsetto?

Coach Ken answers this question will in the video and uses a few hand motions to demonstrate that difference.

So, watch the video above to learn the difference in head voice, chest voice, & falsetto.

You can learn more about the difference between head voice and falsetto in this how to sing article (there are audio examples).

Is it possible to sing the correct notes, but still sound bad?

VocalCoachKen — Sat, 21 May 2022 19:29:09 +0000

Have you ever asked yourself why you oftentimes hit all the notes, but your singing still sounds bad? Well, you are not alone.

It is a common problem amongst aspiring singers, especially those who are recording themselves singing for the very first time.

Listening to and hearing your own voice played back can be an awkward experience and one that real singers often get familiar with over time.

However, you might be interested to understand that there are unique reasons why your singing still sounds bad even though you hit all the notes.

Why do I sound bad?

Let’s consider the common concerns and determine how to enhance them:

Lack of Control

Remember that control is about the breath and is one of the crucial elements of good singing. Work on that before anything else.

You want to create a down and outward expansion as you inhale, and resist letting that expansion collapse as you exhale.

This will offer enough air to support the sound, and do so consistently over time.

Just imagine a blown-up balloon. When you pinch the top of it, the air stays in, right?

You can release the air out gradually by slowly easing the grip.

but if you let go totally, the air comes whooshing out in one go.

Having control in singing is like a slow release of grip on that balloon.

However, it’s a bit challenging to create that habit in your body. So, you’ll need to practice.

Picking the Wrong Repertoire

This is the easiest fix of all. It could simply be that you’re singing songs that aren’t a good fit for you.

Not everyone is meant to sing every style of music. So it can be helpful to try experimenting with different genres.

Play around with enough different types of music, and you’ll eventually discover a type of music where you voice truly shines!

It is also a smart idea to stick to music written for your type of voice and vocal range.

Straining and Pushing

Straining or pushing is a bad strategy for increasing range or power. Like anything, these elements develop with the right training.

Do not be tempted to rush the process and force your voice in any way.

If you feel sore and hoarse after singing, you are doing it wrong.

Singing Notes Out of Your Range

This can apply to the lower register. However, the main culprit for painful notes is the very top of the range.

First, determine the range of notes you can comfortably sing and stick within those for the time being.

The more you develop your vocal technique, the more you’ll like see your range increase.

But what do you do if you have a song that you want to sing that’s too high?

In that case, you can transpose it, or drop the key if needed.

You Must Sing with Emotion

Music is emotion that you can hear. If your song lacks feeling, then it will be boring for your listeners.

So make sure that when you sing, you’re getting the feel across to your listener.

Learning to Sing with Emotion is a process, but it’s definitely worth putting the time into mastering it.

Well, I hope this helps!

I’d also like to invite you to join our Sing Fam Community. Here, you can ask questions, join live Q&As, & access exclusive warm ups & trainings on our app.

Hope to see you around!

~ Vocal Coach Ken Taylor

Ps – Do you think your singing vocals sound bad? Have you been able to enhance your singing? How did you do it? Feel free to share in the comments section below.

Why Do I Sing High Notes Out of Tune?

VocalCoachKen — Fri, 06 May 2022 21:19:17 +0000

Why Do I Sing Out of Tune on Higher Notes, but My Low Notes Are Fine?

Have you ever wondered why your high notes always seem to be a little bit off-key, while your low notes sound just fine? You’re not alone! Many singers struggle with this issue.

Let’s explore some normal causes of pitch discrepancies in singers, and provide some tips for how to correct them.

Let’s discuss a few things that can cause higher pitches to be out of tune.

Higher notes are generally harder for most people.

Singing high notes requires your voice to be more balanced than low notes. Most people either work a bit harder when singing high notes or shy away altogether. Both of these options can lead to less than favorable singing, as well as pitch issues.

However, when we return to our lower range, we’re usually closer to the pitches that we use to speak, making singing accurately in this pitch range much easier.

Usually, the cause of off-pitch high notes is tension.

Tension is a common enemy of good singing. When we sing high notes, the vocal cords are stretched thinner and must vibrate faster than when we sing lower notes. When we sing with tension, this can negatively affect the vocal cord vibrations, which can cause pitch problems.

Typically, when this happens, the pitch is pushed flat. It often feels weighty and less free because of the extra weight on the vocal cords.

Some solutions for singing high notes out of tune…

1) Drop the Jaw

Dropping the jaw helps us in a few ways. It helps us take advantage of more resonance, which can give us more sound for less effort. It also allows us to release our tongue out of the way, which is often the source of tension.

2) Narrow the Shaping of the Mouth

A wide shaping negatively affects our singing at the cord level. We need those vocal folds to come together effortlessly to sing high notes in tune, and keeping a narrow shaping in the mouth and throat makes that much more likely.

3) Relax your throat

If you feel the pressure of tension in your throat, you’re working too hard. It’s that simple. This extra weight on the voice can help push high notes off-pitch. So, try to sing those higher notes with more of a speech level pressure and you’ll be much more likely to sing them on pitch.

4) Bring head voice down.

This is a great way to warm up your voice if you are the type of singer that pulls weight up as they sing. Instead of starting in chest voice and trying to take a full sound upward, start off singing head voice, and try to take that lighter feel down. This can really help balance your voice if you’re used to carrying too much weight up.

Want to sing high notes more easily? Check out our how to sing high notes article.

Another interesting point about singing high notes in tune shared in the video…

The higher you sing, the more space there is in-between the notes. So, it can be more difficult to sing with accuracy the higher we go.

This is why it’s easier for male barbershop quartets to be in tune than a ladies group (if you’d like to understand this concept better, learn more about hertz and how they work pitch).

In Summary…

There are several reasons why people can have difficulty singing high notes. One of the most common is tension. But that can easily be overcome when you follow the steps mentioned in this article.

Alright all, I hope this helps! Want to join in the conversation? Ask your own singing questions for free by joining our Sing Fam community. Find out more here.

How Do I Break the Habit of Using My Neck Muscles While Singing?

VocalCoachKen — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 22:47:08 +0000

Hi Coach – I love your you tube videos. They’ve been very helpful. I’ve been singing for a very long time. I have develop some bad habits. How do I break the habit of engaging my neck muscles. I’m African American and culturally we use EVERY muscle in our bodies to sing :) ~ Lynn

Hey Lynn,

I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the videos. I’d shift the idea of using every “muscle” in the body to sing, to utilizing your body as a whole to sing. Think of it as an energy or as resonance. If you’re tensing your muscles, you’ll inevitably cut off your voice, where as if you’re utilizing energy from your whole body, and allowing your sound to resonate throughout, then you’ll find much more freedom in your sound.

When it comes to specifically getting rid of that tension, it’s a factor of becoming aware of when you’re engaging the muscles in the neck and then consciously choosing to relax them. This can be easier said than done, and it’s certianly a process (not something that’ll happen overnight). You’ll have to make it a habit in singing for a while to identify when you’re tensing the muscles in your neck, stop and let them release, and then continue singing in that relaxed fashion.

Here’s an article that describes this a bit more

I hope this helps, and best of luck getting rid of that tension and along your vocal journey.

~ Vocal Coach Ken Taylor