Common Misconceptions About Becoming a Singer

From the outside things can appear much different than they actually are, and this is especially true for aspiring singers. Award shows like the Grammys, and the MTV awards only show the rewards of a successful singing career. Many of the performers there have worked hard to achieve that level of success. Most of the time, good luck goes a long way. Here are some common misconceptions made by aspiring singers:

I Don't Need Vocal Lesson: The voice is an instrument. Any singer or songstress must practice with that instrument before attempting to get signed to any record label. A saxophone player makes his instrument his best friend in order to fine tune those skills. Practice makes perfect, and time with your voice can only improve your chances of success. Many talented people try out for American Idol, only to get rejected because they just needed some more practice. Vocal lessons are easy to find, and can truly benefit an aspiring singer.

My Good Looks Will Carry My Voice: Do you remember Milli Vanilli? They were a pop duo in the 1980s to the early 1990s. On February 21st, 1990, Milli Vanilli won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist. Then, during a live performance, the vocals that were supposed to be live began to skip, as the duo tried to continue the performance without singing. It became obvious that the wonderful vocals that got them a Best New Artist award were not theirs, and they had never been. The group never recovered from the backlash, and was forced to give back their Grammy. The two attractive young men were good looking, but were vocally insufficient. Talent is needed, not simply good looks.

YouTube is all I need: Oh Justin Bieber, how you have influenced the youth! Bieber's fame was a mixture of luck and exposure. He developed an internet following large enough to catch the eye of Usher Raymond, a truly talent vocalist. Bieber's luck is not transferable, which means most of us will have to do much more work to get a record deal. YouTube is a great outlet for feedback, but the website does not hand out record deals to every user with a bit of talent. Use social media to promote yourself, but try not to put all of your eggs in one basket.

I Don't Need to Dance: Yes, there are many singers that stand in one place on stage while using facial expressions to boost their performance. Those singers are not performers. A true performer is able to own the stage while singing. Dancing is not always necessary for everyone, but it does boost a singers following. If Chris Brown didn't dance as well as he does, his performances would not be as memorable. For more references on the topic, see the late great Michael Jackson.

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Ear Training Tips For Becoming A Better Guitarist

If you want to be a good musician, it's not enough to be good in playing the guitar or bass. You may handle all the techniques but if you cannot recognize more complex musical sounds by ear alone you will never be really good. The ability to play by ear, to jam with other musicians and to learn new material depends on your ear training. If nobody told you what this means then you have probably never trained by the book. Serious ear training is a must in developing your ability to improve your musicianship, to recognize and correctly identify musical sounds such as pitches, intervals, chords, scales, melodies and rhythms. Having a good musical ear will make you a better singer, and you will not feel weakness when someone in the group suddenly starts throwing in chord substitutions. Thus, if you want to take this seriously, follow our ear training tips:

The most important step is to learn how to read notes.

The syllable system is based on a 8-note major scale like this:
do re me fa sol la si do
C D E F G A B C

Practice singing the syllables as you play the notes on a guitar are absolutely necessary, try skipping notes and finally try it all over again without playing, just singing.

Work with another musician; take turns in playing intervals, chords, rhythms, scales and melodies. The listener has to identify what has just been played in a blind test and try not to get bored easily. Once you have done those exercises, you are ready to move on to the next thing.

Use a software package that generates random sequences within specified parameters. This is the ideal way of ear training but it can be a little too expensive so you should search for free trial downloads that are simple to install and run and that are offering you the possibility to train your ear at any level you like.

Record yourself playing various random chords, scales, melodies etc. and when you have a true collection of them you can randomly play them back and attempt to identify what is being played.

Take a memory test combined with a test of identifying musical sounds by ear alone.

Do what Julie Andrews does in the Sound of Music: use solfeggio (like the song from the movie, "Do-Re-Mi" - "Doe, a deer, a female deer, ray, a drop of golden sun...") and do not sing "nah, nah," for each note because it's tougher for your ear to distinguish the intervals.

Use personal mnemonic devices: for instance, a song may begin with the interval of a Major 3rd (1-3) and the first three notes are scale degrees 1-3-5 so find songs that you know very well and that start with the major and perfect intervals such as the already known M6 "My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean" or P8 "Somewhere Over the Rainbow".

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Becoming A DJ

Being a DJ can look like the high life, but the best DJs are some of the hardest working people in the world. Becoming a DJ takes time, hard work, and a dash of talent and good fortune. So what makes a DJ successful, and what can you do to repeat the success of the very best DJs?

The first thing to keep in mind is that it is all about syndication. The more people you expose to your DJing skills, the more successful you're going to become. While it takes some talent to gain any success at all, you just need to be better than the lowest common denominator to gain pretty significant success. But if no one hears your music, you'll be a nobody for the rest of your life. If you don't mind that, then you can stop reading right now. If you do, then read on.

Since it is all about syndication, you need to look into all the best ways to get your content heard. Here are some of the top ways which you MUST execute in order to become successful.

1.) A Website and Podcast

Your website needs to be home base for your listeners. A website is the point where listeners can hear your music, interact with you, and interact with each other. Your website should make it as easy as possible for listeners to get involved with your music.

A podcast should be the natural extension of your business. The most successful DJs have a new set for their podcast every week. You'll want to do the same. Don't make it too often though, or else you'll find that you won't be able to keep it up. The key to success is consistency. You will have to work for at least six months to a year before you start to see any traction at all. Hang tight, though! Its coming!

2.) Playing in as Many Clubs as Possible

Clubs are where music is born. Get into the clubs and play as often as you can get booked. The more you play, the more people will hear your music. You'll have an opportunity to broadcast your name and your DJing business at most clubs. Plus if people like the set, then they'll come back to your website (which you've been working on, right?) and will learn about you and your music.

3.) Radio Broadcast Syndication

The very best DJs in the world all have a radio show. Get a contract with a local radio station and start broadcasting your set every day or once a week. Radio puts you in touch with all kinds of listeners. If your contract allows, you can turn that broadcast into your podcast as well, hitting two birds with one stone.

4.) In Store and Digital Sales

Finally, you need CDs. Get a recording and have something to sell and to give away and take full advantage of it! Release at least one CD a year and market the crap out of it at your events and on your podcast and radio show.

Do all of these things and you will find yourself a professional DJ who is living the high life you so desire. I look forward to seeing you at the top!

Jeff Wildman writes about DJing and the art of making music. Jeff has written about things from Music Creation Software to how to make hip hop beats.

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Becoming a Music Idol: Strategies to Get Yourself a Record Deal

There is arguably no industry this side of camera film and camera film development that has seen more of a massive shift in the last 10 to 15 years. than the music industry. The cause is no different than what nearly drove Kodak out of business: technological emergence altering the business models.
The first cornerstone of music as a business has always been the record companies. Prior to the advent of the internet, they served as an imperial combination of talent scout, money, power and, ultimate controller of artistic work product (music) release and dissemination. This meant that the record companies, just prior to the internet becoming mainstream, had never before seen control over who became a star and at what price.
Many would argue that this represented a golden era in the music industry. After all, the record companies were thriving under a longstanding business model. Cable, with the likes of MTV and VH1, gave yet another disbursement vehicle for advertisement, and cd's held firmly at $17.00 for years. For the artist, be it a group, band or solo act, the scoring of a record deal represented the apex and actually a necessity to effectively grow the revenue potential of their talents.
Here's the reality of the current post-internet era of the music business: getting a record deal is still the preferred method for an artist(s) to fully flourish economically, and many would argue, artistically. Not only do record companies own the most relevant channels for production and distribution, but they can guarantee an artist's minimum income. This allows the artist to focus on content creation without being spread too thin. This is especially important when an artist is first starting out.
So how do you get one of those all-important record deals these days?
1. Have great music. You aren't going to gimmick your way past the talent judges in the industry. They have heard and seen it all.
2. Have a top notch and professional demo package. Make sure it is attractive, informative and doesn't waste the recipient's time. The advancements in online technology have made this easier than ever.
3. Project professionalism in all things. A record company has many choices on who to offer a deal to. They don't need to take risks on anyone.
4. Be hyper-diligent about locating and getting exposure for your work with Artist & Repertoire reps.
5. Don't gain the reputation as a shot gun sender of demos. Show that you know your work and who will be the best fit for you. Treat it like you are interviewing your ideal choice. Trust your work and abilities and be ready to work as hard at getting a record deal as you do developing your musical content.
Maurice D Styles has many years of experience and knowledge in internet marketing and how to get a record deal. Go to our website learnthemusicindustry.com

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