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QUESTIONS ANYONE? with Vocal Expert Mark Baxter

QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR PERSONAL ROUTINE
Page numbers refer to detailed explanations in the Rock & Roll Singer Survival Manual

Q. How much sleep do singers need?
A. As much as possible. Rest is the first neglected aspect of health.

Q. Is jogging good for singers?
A. Only if you know how to jog correctly. I see many people tense up after running. Don't take it for granted and learn to do it right.

Q. What's the best exercise for singers?
A. Swimming. It combines stretching with flexing and increases your breath capacity. Read the section on non vocal exercising (page 23).

Q. Should I warm up my voice?
A. Definitely (page 154).

Q. What does a warm up do?
A. It does the same thing for singers that it does for any athlete. The muscles of the throat and larynx actually become warmer during this light activity that prepares them for singing.

Q. Do I need to warm down when I'm done?
A. Yes, especially if you're going to sing the next day.

Q. What's the difference between vocalizing and singing?
A. When you vocalize your only concern should be on form; it's when the larynx develops. When you sing the entire focus is on sound, no matter what it takes to creat it (page 49).

Q. What should I do to practice?
A. (page 49).

Q. Can singing at gigs, recordings, and rehearsals be considered practice?
A. Yes, but you should still spend time alone to work without the pressure of having to sound good. You need to allow yourself to make mistakes to grow (page 49).

Copyright © Mark Baxter. All rights reserved worldwide.

	Questions & Answers above found in Mark Baxter's: ROCK AND ROLL SINGER SURVIVAL MANUAL Tune in next time for questions about Ability & Training! Also, check out these other cool vocal training products by Vocal Expert Mark Baxter. If you are a serious singer, you can never have too many qualified teachers. These should be part of your library!
COURSES by MARK BAXTER Rock & Roll Singer Survival Manual The Singer's Toolbox DVD Secrets of Screaming Download Sing Like an Idol Download Sing Like an Idol CD

We get phone calls every day from singers asking which products are good for specific purposes. Below is this issue's featured product REFLUX EZE HERBAL SUPPLEMENT to consider keeping on hand:

Reflux Eze Herbal Supplement Alcohol Free Herbal Supplement There is nothing worse than heartburn during a singing performance. Now there is a solution...new "digestive aid" called Reflux-eze. Brought to you by the same manufacturers of the most popular vocal spray, Vocal Eze, they heard the complaints of heart-burn sufferers and took action. It comes as a 1 oz bottle of syrup and it really works! This product has been used and tested in the professional music industry by many Artists for over a year now and all of them stopped taking..."the little purple pill" Try it today!

Remember...don't wait until you really need this product to order it. Overnight shipping costs more than the product and more often than not, arrives the day after your important gig. You can't get it from your local drug store, so visit http://SingerCity.com today! Also NEVER ASSUME that UPS Next Day Air will get to you the very next day. Many companies take 24-72 hours to process your order and ship your product!

COOL STUFF FOR SINGERS
Back to Top.

SINGING WITH STYLE by: Susan Anders Jazz Vocal Warm Up, Singing Technique & Vocal Style Singing Lessons A 3 CD set with almost four hours of material that teaches good singing technique as you sing a vocal warm up using eleven jazz standards. Then Singing With Style takes you to the next step and teaches you how to stylize all of those songs with ornaments, licks, scat singing, and more. All of the essentials of good voice technique are covered, followed by extensive vocal stylizing lessons.

Songs on Singing With Style:
It Don't Mean A Thing
Stormy Monday
Baby Baby All the Time
Honeysuckle Rose
Good Morning Heartache
Ain't Misbehavin'
Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me
Our Love is Here To Stay
Cry Me a River
Lullaby of Birdland
So Nice (Summer Samba)

Format: .MP3s and .PDF (compatible with both Mac and PCs)
Delivery Method: Zipped file (206 MB)

Talent Competition Tips Part 2

Choosing the Right Song
You may have an excellent voice. But if you have not picked the right song, you have a big strike against you. It is tough to take a song that has become an “industry standard” and turn it into something uniquely different enough to give it your own signature.

Choosing a competition song must include several factors:
1) You believe in the message enough to pour your own heart and soul into it.
2) The style of the music allows you to do things with your voice that bring out the best in your tone and unique attributes.
3) It is a song that will not automatically compare you with the original artist.
4) The song permits you to take chances both emotionally and vocally.
5) The song inspires you to make certain melodic and phrasing changes from the original recording while still keeping it true to the basic song.

To accomplish all of these factors, having a vocal coach is vital. You need to have someone who is both objective as well as knowledgeable in all the facets of how to bring out the best in you and your voice.

Selling Your Song
Once you pick the right song, you need to know how to sell it; how to really bring out your voice and take the risks that will make this song the most memorable performance your judges have heard to date. You need to know how to bring out the best of yourself and put it on the line.

Most successful performers develop these skills from experience over a long period of time. However, if you work on each aspect of performance as you do your voice, you’ll be able to acquire these skills faster than by hit or miss experiences.

Have you worked on the physical presentation of your performance, videoed it, reviewed and corrected it until you can look at yourself in a video and know that it is good?

Before we analyze the various aspects of performance, let's establish some guide lines for technique.

TAKING COMMAND OF YOUR PERFORMANCE
Otherwise known as stage projection or stage presence, the ability to command your performance space is an essential ingredient to your song delivery and performance success. When you perform, if you are totally closed-in to yourself, you will not be able to emanate enough energy from the stage and into the audience to create much impact. Conversely, extroverting your attention outward to your audience can help to give you a sense of space and certainty into which you can project yourself and your communication.

Being a dynamic performer does not necessarily mean jumping all over the stage. It does mean that you fill the performance area (rather than shrink from it) and give to your audience rather than being focused on receiving from them. I'm not saying you won't get anything back, just that while singing and performing, you are placing yourself in the position of the one who puts out rather than takes in.

Of course developing a voice that you can trust and through which your emotion can flow is the other side of the coin.

May you take the stage by storm!

©2007 Jeannie Deva. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Study with Vocal Coach Jeannie Deva in the privacy of your own home!
	The Contemporary Vocalist, Vol 1. This easy and inexpensive course contains techniques designed specifically for the kinds of sounds and demands that are particular to singing Popular Music from Rock to Rap, Folk to R&B, Broadway to Blues. Packaged in an attractive plastic "travel-friendly" binder, The Contemporary Vocalist by Jeannie Deva is a fully illustrated 174-page book and four vocal exercise CDs. If you already own The Contemporary Vocalist in cassette format and would like to upgrade to CDs, contact us. ORDER NOW Volume 2 also available!
	THE DEVA METHOD WARM-UPS AND COOL-DOWNS One (1) Audio CD, 22 Tracks, 52:17 Minutes Singers should always warm-up their voice before a rehearsal or gig, But how? Here it is! Just pop this CD into your car stereo on the way to your gig or rehearsal and follow the instructions by Jeannie Deva. You will sail into the first song in your best form, with throat muscles relaxed and your voice feeling free and resonant! When you've completed singing, use this CD again for a voice saving cool-down. ORDER NOW
Jeannie Deva is an international celebrity vocal coach, clinician, recording studio vocal producer, trainer of voice teachers, author of the Contemporary Vocalist and originator of The Deva Method. She has appeared on national TV and endorses TC-Helicon and Thayer’s products for singers. For more information about her method or to find a certified Deva Method® teacher, please visit www.JeannieDeva.com. Jeannie Deva and The Deva Method are registered trademarks owned by Jeannie Deva Enterprises, Inc. and used with permission.