Tag Archives: Singing

Intervals part 2: The flip side of intervals

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A while ago I did a post on musical theatre songs that relate to intervals in music: Some little memory tricks to make reading and singing intervals easier. Just incase you missed it, here’s part 1 again if you want a refresher: Reading and Recognising Intervals

So I take it you have learnt all of those!!! – But I’ve had some questions about finding the descending version of each interval. And in honesty, they can be much more difficult to wrap your head around than going up. So I’ve made a part 2 for you all!!! The flip side of intervals. A song doesn’t just go up and up and up (…  except at the end of Phantom of the Opera right sopranos?….) so it’s important to know your intervals going back the other way. Ready to give it a try? Let’s get started.

UNISONIMG_1089

Well [let’s start] at the very beginning shall we? A unison being the same way backwards and forwards, why not use this example from Sound of Music‘s “Do-Re-Mi.” (Even though I know you don’t really need one)

[Let’s start] at the very beginning…”

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Expanding Your Repertoire

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Repertoire

There’s nothing worse than looking through your repertoire and realising you don’t have anything you need. Like those days you just have nothing to wear right? You want to have a great repertoire available to you for auditions and performances but you just don’t know where to start. There are so many options out there and so much you can work through – its a matter of knowing where to look. Here are some good places to look for new songs.

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Practice Techniques To Bust the Nerves

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Stage

There really is truth to the saying don’t practise ’til you get it right, practise ’til you can’t get it wrong. When it comes to practising a piece you are performing or even auditioning (which lets face it – is sometimes more scary than a performance) it’s really important to have your work down. Here are some of my tricks for being ready.

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Getting Started when it seems Impossible

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GettingStarted

You know those days where you have a thousand things to do but you just can’t seem to get started on any of them? They are the most frustrating and confidence breaking days and it just seems like there is nowhere to turn. You know that feeling when you have no idea where to start… and it all just seems far, far, far too difficult… and impossible… and scary…. and really just too much… and it seems a much better idea to give up, curl into a ball and watch Netflix with a blanket over your head? Well I know those days. Let me share some of the things that help me get started when it all seems too much.

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Song Choice Checklist

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songchoice

Picking a song for an audition can be the most difficult step of your preparation, and since you can’t do much until you have one you can lose a lot of time trying to decide. Ultimately, this song choice can be a huge part of how you are viewed in the room so you want to make sure you make a good decision. This choice should be about displaying your ability and that you can do the job you are applying for. Choosing an audition song is a different game to choosing a performance song for a concert or cabaret. So for me, I like to check that the song I am choosing will give me the best shot at showing what I’ve got to offer. I’ve picked up some tips over the years from experience in auditioning and from courses and workshops I’ve been involved with and I’ve compiled them below into a checklist of things I look for in a song before taking it to an audition.

For a more in depth breakdown of selection from an audition brief feel free to check out my previous post on Choosing An Audition Song.

Okay here we go:

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The Elusive Breath

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breathjpg

You’ve heard it a million times – To sing your best you have to breathe. Well yes we all breathe don’t we so we are breathing. So what we really need to figure out is the best way or rather how to breathe effectively. And there are lots of tricks to make sure you are breathing your very best to support your singing and lots of practise required to solidify them and variations on methods within this- but I thought I’d throw in some of my favourite breathing tips that help me.

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Surviving Flu Season for Singers

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SurvivingFlu

Winter can be absolutely disastrous for a singer. If the change of season and cold night air isn’t enough, the strike of the flu can leave you and your voice in pretty bad shape. The fatigue that follows can also be really rough and it can take over a month to get your voice all the way back. There are lots of ways to work your way through but these are my top ten. Hope they help!

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Singing past Stress

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Time

Ever had one of those days where everything goes wrong? You’re running late. The traffic is crazy. You feel like you are at the centre of stress city and the whole world is imploding around you. We’ve all been there: Your body is tight, your throat is dry, and you want nothing more than to go home and collapse in a ball. Instead, you have 2 hours before you are expected to sing what is surely to be the most difficult song you have had to do all week… What now?

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