LUCK!
Someone very clever once said that luck was what occurred when preparation met opportunity. Be prepared! Make sure your vocal technique is ready when opportunity comes along.
PUNCTUALITY!
If you have a contract to start playing at a particular time, make sure you honour it. It is just not cool to be late!
PEN AND PAPER!
Always try and carry some form of writing implement with you because you never know when you will hear a song that you might like to sing and if you do not write it down you might not remember it. There are LOTS of songs in this lovely world of ours and many more get written every moment.
CARE FOR YOUR BODY!
We only get one body and it is our instrument so ... singers need to take special care of our bodies. If we are sick it is really difficult to sing! Stay healthy!
GARLIC
Stinking is good! Although socially it creates problems, fresh garlic is a fantastic way of staving off colds. Fresh garlic intake is great for singers, obviously as long as you are not allergic to it. If you don't like it, try to learn to like it. Put it into salads and salad dressings. Mash up some avocado and fresh garlic and eat it. Miso soup is another great way to injest it also. Add it to cooking whenever you can and if you really do not like it, try and just swallow some in little pieces. Wash it down with something you like to drink. (If that special someone in your life eats the garlic too, it should not be a problem!)
GOODBYE NORMAL SOCIAL LIFE!
We singers are often working when others are socialising. Personally, I would rather be doing a gig than attending a dinner party, but still, it is important to be aware. Warn friends that due to the unpredictable nature of our business, we must take gigs when they come in. I hope they are understanding.
FIND A SENSITIVE DENTIST
We singers sometimes have sensitive, or personally hypersensitive, mouths. It is important to find a good dentist sensitive to our special needs. I believe having great control of our singing apparatus, voice, mouth, jaw, makes it more difficult for me to let go and relax at the dentist. My dentist (the fabulous Dr Ish of Total Care Dentistry who studied piano and I just love that , Ph: 9387 3637) suggested a mouthblock and it really helped me. A mouthblock is a plastic device placed into the mouth to hold it open. Using one of these helped me to relax. (Now that I have been going to Dr Ish for a while, and I trust her, I find I do not need the mouthblock.) This pic below shows a few of the different shapes they come in.
If you have any queries or questions, or want to book a lesson, please do not hesitate to contact me.
