Learn How To Be A Better Performer

Imagine yourself standing on a beautifully decorated stage, with all the lights and stuff. And with crowds so large, they have to get up on each other just to see you perform. People are screaming your name, waving banners and posters with pictures of your face printed on them. Sounds great, doesn't it? Well, I'm here to tell you that it isn't impossible for you to achieve that vision. With the right passion and constant practice, you're sure to get there. But I'm also here to tell you that when you do get up to that point of your career, there's a huge possibility for you to freeze up and forget your lyrics or displease the crowd because of a poor performance.

A live singing performance is the ultimate test for all the technical skills a singer has learned from all his practice sessions. A singer must possess the right attitude towards performing, as well as inherit important habits that would aid him in his performance.

Here are three things you have to keep in mind if you want to be a good singer and performer:

1.) An amazing voice is useless if you don't possess good articulation and enunciation skills. Singing without pronouncing the lyrics correctly generally kills the whole song. For people who aren't used to singing in different accents, this skill would be a tricky one to learn. Articulation is also important because it enormously affects the tone displacement of your voice, and could also affect the way your voice resonates around your head or chest. There are many exercises on how to develop this skill. One of them is to practice reading aloud. It sounds really basic, but it works.

2.) Loosening up your jaw before every performance is a must. Most singers don't realize how tense their jaws are before they sing, and that could usually result to a disruption in their vocal tones. Remember to always stretch out you jaw muscles before singing.

3.) One of the most important things to get rid of when performing is stage fright. An effective way to eliminate stage fright is to plan out your song before performing so you won't have to stop and think about your next move in the middle of your performance. Experience is also an important factor in performing. As you play at more gigs, you gain more experience and lessen the chances of falling into stage fright.

There are many resources on the web that offer quality singing tips. In order to find the best singing tips and learn expert advice on how to sing, research about the page author's experience as well as his competency in the field of music and singing. This way, you know you are not being deceived into getting a lot from them and yield minimal to no results.

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Are Voice Overs Better Off Working at McDonald's?

A voice over told me recently that she got an enquiry for a local radio station jobby. She quoted ?100 (which is fair quote for a local station IMHO). And then the radio station replies "eh, how about ?16.50 instead?" So she ended up doing the job for ?16.50. I think this is a prime example of when it's OK to turn down work. Why?

Number 1 - it doesn't look good dropping your rates so dramatically, as it discredits your original quote.

Number 2 - you can't work for ?16.50, you'll be out of business in no time. At those rates you're better off working at McD's as they pay ?5 per hour, but at least they give you 8 hours a day, every day.

Number 3 - remember that radio stations get paid to sell ad space, and not to produce radio ads. They make their money by selling ad space to companies, so to sweeten the deal, they often throw in the production for free. As such, they are normally on a very tight production budget since they are not getting paid to produce work (the production in this case is a business expense). You on the other hand, being a voice over, are being paid to produce work. That's your livelihood. You can't make a living charging 16.50 per job.

I'm not saying you can't get a good "cheap gig." I also know a number of VOs who do tons of work at that price for radio stations. The difference is that they get a high volume of these gigs, and they are quick and easy to knock out. So if people want that price, they gotta buy in bulk. Voice overs could consider selling a pack of 10 or 20 gigs at a discounted rate, so that you guarantee yourself the volume.

Of course there is always going to be some VO willing to do a once-off job for 16 pounds, that's OK, let them have it. But it's important to walk away from those jobs, because they just drive the price down for VOs everywhere. It's a race to the bottom and everyone loses. If more people say no to those McDonald's rates (yes, you will actually be better off working at McDonald's at those rates) it means that companies will have to try harder to find a VO at that price, which means it will cost them more time and effort... more time and effort means more money. Which means... ta-da! The rates go up! Spread the word.

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