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  Omay 1:52 am on December 6, 2013 Permalink | Reply  

  Steps in Singing Pop Music 

  Beautiful pop voices are awesome. When singers take the stage, they need not bring any props or do any outrageous dance moves as their voices will carry the show. You might wonder how you could develop such levels of vocal strength and richness. There are a few easy things that you can do starting today so your voice achieves star quality.

  Begin by drinking half one gallon of water daily as singers need to be greatly hydrated. Water serves to think the mucus on the vocal chords. By the time you begin drinking that much water, you’ll feel more agile in terms of voice. It is very hard to drink that much at once, and as such, it makes sense to have a bottle of water along. Take a sip each time you feel the need to do so.

  Get yourself ready to practice by loosening up the shoulders and neck. Do so by rolling the head in a circular motion a few times. Have your lips and jaw loosened by exaggerating your lip motions while you say loud and look repeatedly and pretending to chew some gum. Repeat these steps until you feel that you have loosened up.

  Look for some vocal exercises through different sources available to you. There are several resources that you can use in searching for vocal exercises. Focus on those warm-ups which target belting, tone, and vibrato. Avoid belting unless you have done enough practice and are capable of doing it without strain.

  These exercises have to be practiced a few times. These will, at first, sound hilarious, and you might laugh until such time that you get truly used to doing them. In fact, you might not even believe that even the best singers have to make those funny sounds to succeed in their careers. You might want to practice when nobody is at home. You can also practice in the car if you need to. Such exercises have to be done fifteen minutes or thirty minutes daily.

  Once you are finished with your everyday warm-ups, get a lyric sheet or sheet music. You can find lyric sheets by a simple search using a search engine. Once you find song lyrics which you think are correct, you can have the sheet printed out.

  Then you can practice singing. You may sing along with or without a recording of that song. Avoid singing while you are listening to music using your earphones, as you will be unable to hear yourself. Once you have practiced a few times, you can then record yourself singing.

  Then once the recording is done, listen to it. You might be surprised that you actually sound that way. If you think your singing is bad, take note of the aspects of your singing which have to be improved on.

  More practice is needed to become better in the art of singing pop music. Practicing for fifteen minutes allows your voice to become stronger and your voice tone to be brighter.

   

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  Omay 1:49 am on December 6, 2013 Permalink | Reply  

  The Characteristics of Good Songs 

  If you are aspiring to become a songwriter or singer, ensure that you have knowledge of putting everything together by having an understanding of the different parts of a song as well as the way in which these are arranged. When already capable of doing this, you can have everything musical combined into a full song. The result of this is something catchy and something which everybody wants to remember. Having knowledge of what it really takes to create a nice song leads to success as somebody who writes songs.

  Keep in mind that songs are not made equally. In fact, the division among songs is according to the kind of music that you are writing as well as the genre which you are making use of. Each has particular sounds, rhythms, lyrics, and instrumentation which tie everything to create the best possible song.

  Many of these have basis on intricate theories which work to make the best music. Having knowledge of your genre as well as the theories which are part of it will first ensure your ability to maximize the song.

  A song’s significance starts with the ability of putting the right lyrics together if you happen to be writing in any genre. The lyrics serve to keep the song together, acting as the glue. When writing some lyrics, make sure of looking at them from various angles. You may use every angle as you write the song. An angle that you can consider is the telling of a story using lyrics. Another is taking consideration of the thoughts or emotions behind the story.

  Regardless of the angle which you start to write lyrics with, you have to keep in mind the manner in which lyrics will form the song. You will, most likely, start with a verse before the chorus. The verse would always have different lyrics. However, the chorus repeats. In the song chorus, you will want to ensure the presence of a hook line. A hook line is a memorable sentence which ties things together and often is repeated.

  When the lyrics are already in place, you have to arrange all the pieces so it will correctly fit together. If you will move through other music pieces, note that the lyrics not only serve to keep things moving. There also is an identification of different kinds of instruments which work to support your song.

  Make an arrangement which includes low, medium, as well as high sets of instruments. The instruments have to support each other as well as the lyrics. You would also want instruments to have everything kept in motion.

  Once you have tied instruments and lyrics, the result is an effective song. This occurs through some layers of music which work.

  Keep in mind that what actually makes a song good is if it really comes from you and the point you want to point out. If you actually want a song that is good, study your genre as well as musical theory.

   
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  Omay 1:46 am on December 6, 2013 Permalink | Reply  

  How Singers Sing While Recording 

  With the boom of technology, equipment for home recording has become simpler and not too costly, meaning that even garage bands can make studio-quality albums. Vocals can prove to be very difficult to record. But learning some simple steps and the right way of singing for the best sound to be achieved ensures great recording in less takes.

  A singer should take some time to get the headphone mix right, adding some reverb, ensuring that the volume is just right, and having his sitting or maybe standing position adjusted to a specific distance away from the microphone. Headset mix is helpful so they can sing better while they are recording their song, since it can add special effects and boost confidence.

  They also have to choose a good microphone. Otherwise, even the best vocals will sound weak and hollow. They need not spend much to get a good microphone. This is because versatile microphones only cost hundreds of dollars. Others, however, wish to get fancy and spend a lot on one microphone.

  The microphones then has to be equipped with pop shields. These help in softening the harsh-sounding parts of the human voice. These do not cost much and the additional cost is just worth it. This is because it will eliminate recording flaws. It also prevents any unexpected pops in the headphones of the singers, which can prove to be distracting.

  A good sleep is also something they need to have before the day of recording, and they have to ensure that the recording starts early in the afternoon. This is because the vocal chords usually take until afternoon to warm up. However, by evening, they start getting tired. The best hours for recording are around four until ten hours after getting up from bed.

  While they sing, they have to relax, ensuring that the temperature is something they are comfortable with, no distractions are around, and they need not head to the bathroom. In other words, they can just focus their energy on the singing. If they are stressed, nervous, scared, or distracted, the body becomes tense and the voice tone gets affected. Thus, they have to do everything to stay calm.

  The throats of singers or vocalists should be kept moist and ready for singing by avoiding alcohol, smoking, heavy food, and milk for around a day before the recording. It is important that they have some warm tea, cough drops, and water inside the studio so their throat feels relaxed in between takes.

  In the recording room, while they sing, they have to stay steady, not shake their heads, step back from the microphone, grip it, tap their feet, or any other kind of movement that affects recording strength or causes background noises.

  When the recording is done, the sound engineer then edits and mixes the recorded sound with the backup instruments and cleans it up, ready for release and for people to hear. Once all songs are compiled, the album is made and ready for public release.

   
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  Omay 1:44 am on December 6, 2013 Permalink | Reply  

  Social Media Advice for Singers 

  Singers and musicians have to embrace the social media guru inside them so their music as well as their names can get out there. Aspiring stars have several opportunities to get themselves discovered. Talent is, of course, the starting point. Being able to make music is never enough. You need to be great.

  Once you people have commended you for your talent, you can then either make your own website or have one created for you by a fan or by an expert web designer. This should have pictures and videos of you playing music and singing. It also needs to have information on upcoming albums, contests, gigs, and even where they can sign up for a fan email listing. Although you will post most of these on your social media channels, it is a must that you have all things in a single place. In addition, it is important that you have one place where you can send potential venue managers and music bloggers to.

  Aside from having Twitter and Facebook accounts, it is recommended that you sign up for YouTube, Instagram, and Vine. You may also consider the use of less traditional sites for artists. But of course, having accounts on these sites is never enough. You still have to do five things to create a following on social media.

  Looking for your audience is the first step. You might think that this is all about massive numbers. However, it is more about getting an audience passionate about the things you do. It is better to have a smaller group, but is proactively interacting with you and fellow fans and sharing your music. In order to do this, you must search out similar artists and knowing where their traffic originates.

  The next step is posting some meaningful and sharable content. Do not just use social media to have yourself, your brand of music, and your shows promoted. Instead, use it in developing an online community wherein music is the common denominator. Start some conversations, ask and answer some questions, and support other singers.

  Next, engage your present fans, making sure that you encourage them to tell others about you. Have an incentive system set up for your fans. Remember that success in social media has to do with engaging and giving the fans the needed tools to spread content you post to develop as well as increase your following.

  One has to remember that the social push should also happen in real life. Make contact with your fans at the place where you plan on playing. Ask everyone to tweet from there, and retweet their posts on the site right then and there. Keep in mind that social media is always about immediacy, and hence, establish that connection while fans are around.

  Posting consistently varying information is a must. In fact, musicians have to keep their presence upbeat and positive as well. The information you post may be tour dates, new projects, collaborations, and a lot of others.

   
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  Omay 1:34 am on December 6, 2013 Permalink | Reply  

  Where to Advertise Yourself and Your Music 

  Despite the fact that record labels are still dominant in music, the availability of software meant for recording as well as the power of marketing through the Internet has since allowed every independent musician to have their music released. It also allowed them to market their talent in music without the need to have a recording contract signed. It is true that major labels have the finances to allow the signed artists to get much exposure, however, they also demand much from them and even take much of the profit of an album. Being an independent musician, self-promotion consumes time and is just done at a smaller scale. However, despite not having enough financial backing, you have full control of what you release, which is rewarding in itself.

  A good tip is maintaining your presence on different social media sites. Post things regularly to announce live performances and CD releases. Also, add some audio clips as well as gig pictures to the page. Keep in mind that several sites will allow the pasting of third-party players which allow your visitors to play your music while browsing. Use such tools to your advantage through encouraging your listeners to have the code of the player posted to their own profiles.

  Call online distributors of CDs to have them stock the CDs you have. Some of them conduct sales transactions in your stead in exchange for registration fees and a part of the profit. Other sites are specific to genre and would just carry your music should it fit their niche. Hence, you should be ready for reviews before they will place your music on their sites. Its upside is that a lot of their traffic includes those from fans of this genre and hence, the chances of sales are higher.

  Have a website meant for your musical activities put together. If you are looking for some session work, add numerous audio clips which show your versatility as well as your ability. Also, ensure that the links to online sellers that are selling your album are displayed well. Update it regularly with some good content for increased traffic and interaction. Also, add sign-up forms to grow the mailing list.

  Live performances should be taken advantage of at each chance you get. Along with helping you hone your skills in singing, there is no other way of promoting your music than having it played live. Even with the increased number of people downloading, audiences often want to bring home discs as a reminder of their attendance, so ensure of having a nice-looking display box at every venue.

  Give your music to those who review music. Getting magazine coverage is hard, but never impossible for independent musicians. Instead of aspiring for magazine coverage, try to contact individual reviewers. Once you have enough levels of exposure, you might be featured on a magazine. Still, submitting your album to some independent radio stations is a great way to advertise yourself and your music.