singing course-how to practice with instruments?

If you are practicing singing course with your instrument then stand up if they can be played standing up. If you are sitting then it’s very easy to slump and do shallow breathing. If you lose your deep inhalation when you sit, you might try doing either of the tilted posture.

If you really want to sit then raise your arms above your head which lifts your rib cage, breathe deeply and lower your arms without letting your rib cage fall. Whether you are sitting or standing, grab your instrument and strap it on.

Put your hands in position on your instrument and once again check your posture and breathing. Check whether one of your shoulders is higher than the other? Can you still breathe deeply? Can you keep your rib cage lifted?

This is when it really helps to have two breathing methods. Some guitarists find it much easier to breathe into the back and sides when there is a guitar against their stomachs.  Others use that pressure as a gentle reminder to feel their stomachs expand as they inhale.

Pianists leaning towards the keyboard may find stomach breathing easier. 

Experiment with both kinds of breathing to find out what works best for you. Again this is also a good time to experiment with shortening or lengthening your instrument strap or playing with the distance from piano stool keyboard to see if little changes help your posture and breathing.

When you start to play your instrument for real, notice if you gradually slump forward or tense up in certain places. Keep your singing posture and continue breathing deeply even though you aren’t singing yet.

Finally sing and play at the same time. Ideally you’re singing and playing techniques should be so solid that you can really focus on delivery, but is helpful to be picky now. So if possible, get in front of a mirror and sing to yourself that can nip any sneaky slumping maneuvers in the bud.

Make sure that you are in tune so tape yourself if you don’t know since the tape won’t lie. If it’s just too much to focus on both playing and singing well try one of the following. Make the playing easier, a simple chord accompaniment with no fancy licks will surely free you up.

Make the singing easier, go back to the sloppy singing you did earlier. Practice either way until you track your body into staying relaxed even when you go back to more difficult singing and playing.

Beginners or people with bad habits carved in stone may need to work on their singing and playing separately of a good chunk of time before combining the two. Others may find that a combination study plan works better.

Work on your voice and instrument both separately and together keeping the concepts of breathing, posture and relaxation in mind throughout. With enough time and practice your fingers and voice will soar effortlessly in a balance of freedom and craft.

Here are some indicators that you may need to add some strength-building exercises to your warm-up:

• You feel great after your warm up, but singing actual songs tires you out
• You’re soft-spoken
• You tire quickly if you sing at more than a soft volume
• Your sing a style of music (like rock or Broadway belting) that requires a lot of vocal strength
• Your low notes are weak or wobbly
• You can only sing songs in a small range, an octave or under.
• You’re prepping to go on tour
• you need vocal endurance so you can last through 1-4 sets
• your tone is soft or too youthful sounding.

Now you need to figure out what you may or may not need right now. Remember that your voice is affected by the environment and by the stress, so what is appropriate for you to do vocally each day is always changing.

You may be one of the lucky singers who rarely need to vary his or her regimen, but more likely you will be like most of the singers who need to make continual subtle and not so subtle adjustments. As you learn your voice more and more you will figure out how to make these adjustments so that you are always developing and maintaining your voice at the right level of intensity.

Now is making money with your singing a priority? Some styles, like folk and choir singing, rarely bring in much money. Exceptions exists, some singing positions have the potential to make money, but can take a lot of time, money and energy spent before you see a penny.

Vocalists going for a record contract are a good example of this, as are budding Broadway singers. Singing jobs might support you include jingles and session work, casuals like singing jazz, and pop standards at hotels, weddings etc.

Again there are options like live back up singing for established artists, cruise ship and theme park work, and musical theater touring companies. Educational jobs like running children’s music classes also pay, but you may end up conducting and coaching than singing.

Most of the classical singer have weekly church gigs and during the Christmas holidays also have plenty of paid caroling and choir work. You can also make some money doing club work in various styles but it’s debatable whether you can make a living with it.

So after learning about the future of your chosen singing style, perhaps you will alter your goal. In that case, go back to the original daydreaming exercise and try out your new plan to see if it feels like a worthy substitute.

Finally, review your singing course goals periodically. This is to ensure that you are still on track and also to see if your chosen goal still feels right as you grow and change. Singing is one o the joys of life. If you choose well, the process of achieving your singing goals can also be a joyous experience and if you really want to do it then please visit here.