JPF Home Page Forums Musician Gear and Techniques Microphone and Vocalist Forum How do you let loose?

I have always had the same problem as you. Lately I have been doing better by paying attention to some of the things I mention below.

I agree with the idea of getting a voice teacher. Find one that has a good reputation, who has plenty of students (and therefore won't be tempted to prolong your lessons unnecssarily.) All the techniques in the world are not going to help you unless you have some foundation for confidence. A good teacher can help you build that. Once you are convinced you will feel more able to exude that confidence in your singing.

It is important to support and energize your notes more with proper breath control. Even the softest notes have to be supported well.

You do have to be careful when it comes to self critique. Even the best singers could probably tell you where they could have done better. I think people listen more to phrases than individual notes, so perhaps work on the song, a phrase at a time and avoid thinking of them as a bunch of individual notes next to each other.

Try recording yourself and then play it back with the lyrics or sheet music in front of you and underline the places where you thought you did well. Then look at the places that are left and work at those. Find out why and where the notes didn't combine as well as the others. Perhaps you needed to sneak in a little extra air here or there. Perhaps you needed to slow down or speed up etc. Perhaps you just needed to relax your throat and open up your mouth a little more. Work on the notes in context of the phrases.

Listen to some good artists who are singing the same songs. How did they make the song their own? It's all in the phrasing. Listen to woodwind players. Our voices are very much like woodwind instruments, the ones with reeds in particular like the oboe. Remember that the sound is caused by air passing by and vibrating the vocal chords. Don't think of it as originating in your throat. It happens along the way.

As was mentioned before, you need to enjoy your singing. If you listen to some of the singers of the 30s and 40s who sang with the Big Bands and also some blues and jazz singers, you may notice that some practically make love to the song. There are no throw away notes. No getting to the "good" part. Every part is a good part. They sound like they are enjoying every moment of it. If there are passages you are afraid of, work on them and make them your own. Give yourself permission to enjoy them. Give yourself permission to believe that others will enjoy them too. Ham it up. Have a good time. You can always tone it down later if necessary.

I just recently worked on the Star Spangled Banner and taught both my students grades 1-6 and my self to sing it fairly well. Once I figured out the breathing and taught that to the kids, it wasn't so daunting. Even on the high notes. We sang it at our Veteran's Day assembly. The kids had learned to enjoy it and they have been asking to sing it as a reward song. Can you imagine? Begging to sing the Star Spangled Banner?

Anyway, these things have been helpful to me. Here's a little anecdote you may find amusing. At the beginning of our Star Spangled Banner lesson, I asked the kids (3rd or 4th grade) to tell me the name of our national anthem.
Brains working. Nothing. Then suddenly, "Ooh, ooh!" and a little boy's hand was waving at me.
The answer?

The Star Strangled Banner.