Showing posts with label Importance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Importance. Show all posts

Friday, July 1, 2011

Singing Tips - The Importance of Uniqueness in Your Voice

Lately, there have been a lot of new discoveries in the music and entertainment industry. New artists have been coming with a lot of potential before them. The problem I see though with these new artists is that there are a number of them that come with a familiar sound. By this I mean they mimic the voice and the style of their idolized artist. I've heard a bunch trying to sound like Whitney Houston or Brian McKnight or whoever.

In music, the ability to mimic different voices is a sign of being a good singer. But in entertainment, what's important is not merely singing ability but also marketability. There are thousands of singers in the world but only a very few are salable or marketable. Mimicking another singer's voice will not benefit, if not decrease, your marketability as a singer.

You cannot be a popular without a producer financing you and a manager taking care of your career. Producers and managers are never free. They are also in need of cash. With that being said, they will not employ a singer who cannot generate money for them. They need a singer who can attract crowds during concerts, gather a good fan base, and congregate a number of buyers of their album or any promoted product.

On the other side of the coin, audiences and buyers need an artist that has something new to offer. A new voice or a new style or even a new genre! The masses don't need another Whitney Houston or another Celine Dion. They need something with originality. This is the reason why artists such as Adele are getting increasing attention these days.

If you desire to be successful in your pursuit of a professional singing career, you should first find your own voice. Here are tips on how to do that.

1. Focus on a specific type of audience. You cannot expect to please everybody. You must have a specific market where you are selling yourself. Different groups have different taste in music. Groups can be categorized by age - teenagers, pre-teens, oldies, young adults, or children. They can also be by gender - male, female, or even from the gay community. You must have at least one specific target group that you want to sell yourself to. Focus on what this group likes and adjust your craft to their taste.

2. Research on other styles. All singers have a preferred genre to listen to. Their preferred music is also usually the music they like to sing. In order to explore more on your musicality, listen to other genre and try them out. You might be surprised that you're better at another genre - one that you least prefer listening to.

3. Modify your style. Play with your vocals and put a trademark sound. You can modify it by either putting more vibrato to it. If you already are good with vibrato, try putting your vibrato at the end of each phrase you sing instead of all throughout. You can experiment on mix and matching the different styles that you've researched on.

4. Present a unique character. A singer is not only known for his or her voice but also his or her character. Present a character that will make you memorable. You can be a punk on your appearance but be charitable in public. Or you can be angelic in appearance and vocal technique but have a diva attitude on stage. Even negative characters can make good publicity if it's really worth noticing. Remember, bad publicity is still publicity. Why do you think Britney got so many media reviews? Of course, the good characters are the most loved but nonetheless, it's not love that producers are after, it's your ability to gather crowds to yourself.

5. Have a trademark fashion style. By this I do not mean going crazy on your fashion sense. No. You don't need to be extravagant nor weird. You simply have to have something that is trademark on you that people will remember you when they see that object. It may be a scarf, or a special hat, or neckties, or certain shoes, or certain makeup style, or even a consistency in the color you wear. It should be something that every time people see you, you wear it. They will associate that object to your name in the long run.

These simple tips are sure to give you a name for yourself as you pursue stardom. Until then, good luck!

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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Saturday, June 25, 2011

The Importance Of Microphone Selection In The Recording Studio

This article is part of a series that aims to help independent musicians make the most of their time in the recording studio. Whenever you're in the studio it's important to be prepared so you can get the best product, while saving time and money. The topic of this article is Microphone Selection. How important is the type of microphone you select to the final recording? This is a very good question and an area which causes a lot of confusion for many. People who have been in the studio a number of times have probably noticed the fact that there are numerous microphones used to record different voices and instruments.

For any kind of live music recording, the microphone will play a huge part in the recording process. In the old days a few large studios would spend a huge amount of money on microphones and they would use them for a very long time. The reality is, that in the last 10 to 20 years we have seen a huge interest in manufacturers who are making microphones for the home and project studio market that are relatively inexpensive (under $1000) that make fantastic recordings.

The main point to take away from this is not the dollar amount spent on a microphone but how well suited that microphone is to the voice or instrument being recorded. Understanding that comes from recording a lot of music and seeing how those recordings bear out in the mixing and mastering process. Ideally you want to have access to a small variety of microphones to be able to test what works best for every separate situation. You may also want to use multi-microphone recording where you use more than one microphone to record an instrument.

Your producer or engineer's understanding of what type of microphone is being used where it is positioned and how it reacts to the sound being recorded is very important. There is an art and science to microphone use in the recording studio. Although much can be done in the mixing and mastering stages of the music production work flow, these pre-production aspects matter a great deal. It is important to not forget the importance of all the different stages as they all play a role in the final product. Microphone selection and use is one such stage. In essence, microphone selection is very important but not necessarily for the reasons you may first think.

Andrew Yankiwski is a professional audio engineer and owner of Precursor Productions, an Online Mastering Studios.

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