For those interested in seeing Europe without the constant, hectic bustle of tourism, relaxing cruises on the Rhine River have proven to be a hit. In addition to a never-ending opportunity to learn to speak German, here is a list of several fun activities to partake in during a Rhine River cruise: Allstate: This town includes a medieval castle, a parish church dating to 1794, a historical museum, and numerous delicious restaurants. Glattfelden: Situated on the River Glatt just above its junction with the Rhine, this town is the hometown of Swiss writer Gottfried Keller and is frequently referred to in his novel “Der grüne Heinrich.” Over an old stone bridge is the nearby old town of Eglisau. Rheinfelden: A little town of 7,000 inhabitants situated on the left bank of the river, Rheinfelden is home to a popular salt-water spa, ancient walls and towers, the Fricktaler Museum, and St. Martin’s Church, which dates back to the 15th century. German Beer: Germans produce the best beer in th
So you have decided that you would like to sing, and sound better than you do now? Well this is a great place to start to gather information on being taught how to sing. We all (or at least most of us) enjoy singing as we go about our daily tasks, or even joining in with the karaoke on a Friday night.But have you ever had the desire to learn to sing properly? Perhaps even to aim to sing in front of an audience? Going for singing lessons is great, you'll get so much more out of your voice by training it properly. One of the important things that you will learn in singing lessons by professionals such as Brett Manning, or through a learn to sing class, is proper breathe control. Without knowing this, you can't expect to get very far.
Learning To Sing In Preparation For A Singing Career.If you plan on singing professionally, regardless of style and genre, you'll need some vocal training. It's true that there are a lot of self-taught singers out there doing just fine without ever taking a single lesson but I can tell you from living and breathing singing since my teens and working in the music business that it's definitely the exception and not the rule.
A lot of times, even great self-taught vocalists are sent to take singing lessons in preparation for recording and touring because unless you know how to use your voice properly, it's going to disappear on you and maybe even get seriously damaged. A lot of pop and rock singers especially seem to feel that it's somehow selling out or compromising your "sound" by getting vocal lessons but almost any professional musician will tell you that more music education only HELPS your chances at becoming successful.
You'll also probably be surprised to know that some of your favorite singers took or currently take voice lessons. Brandon Boyd of Incubus comes to mind as an incredibly powerful singer who was good before he took lessons but now he's just incredibly solid, in tune and relaxed and guess what...his sound is still the same! If you're still in high school, join the choir or the band. Playing an instrument always helps your singing because it improves your ear and general musicianship. But who do you go to for voice lessons? You'll find the most competent vocal coach at a university or college that has a music program.
You love singing along with your favorite singers and bands, but sometimes you find yourself straining to hit a high note or singing out of tune and think "whoa" that sounded like crap!" You chuckle at yourself for a minute but then realize that you actually genuinely love to sing and you'd like to learn to do it better.Usually, what you'd do is go find yourself a singing teacher and take a few voice lessons. The problem is, that vocal coaching is really expensive (Like $40+ an hour). Plus, it can be hard to find quality instruction from a competent teacher, which is a big deal because bad vocal habits get engrained in muscle memory and are very hard to unlearn.
But how does a 'non-singer learn to sing. Well it's down to three main elements: training, technique and above all else practice. Don't think for one moment that professional singers walk on stage and start singing. They don't, they've all got their favourite warm up routines, most of them will clear their throats and give it a good wash by drinking a large glass of water. Nothing more. Watch a singer on stage and see how often he takes a sip of water, water is oil for the vocal chords and when they are not on stage they practise constantly.
OK but how do I learn to sing. Well for me the key lies in breath control, if you can't control your breath then you'll not be able to sing properly. It's logical, think about it: the wind coming through your mouth is what pushes out the sound, if it is not coming at a clear consistent rate then the sound (song) will be all broken up.
Most of them anyway... Expect to run into some really unsavory people. But that's with any industry. As you take voice lessons and/or sing your gigs, keep continually educating yourself on all the different aspects of music: music history, music theory, aural theory, orchestration, arranging, harmony, etc. Essentially, you've just gotta keep working your butt off and growing and more and more opportunities will come your way. Remember, you're your own number 1 teacher. Even a great vocal coach who's your friend and mentor and an amazing singer and teacher can NOT replace your own drive and desire so be careful of emotional dependency, transference and vicarious living through your teach.
Even if you take voice lessons weekly, it's good to go visit another teacher and get another perspective. Working with high quality singing software programs will also put you way ahead of the curve. Sing With Freedom is great for increasing your range and relaxation while Singorama is a fantastic musicianship course. Learning To Sing As A Hobby If you've read the first section, your probably thinking...crap, I've gotta go through all that when learning to sing? Well, no.
That's only if you want to do it professionally. But if you just love singing and want to be a better singer, learning singing is going to be a lot less time consuming for you. Of course, I still recommend that you take voice lessons once a week or so because it'll hold you accountable and keep you on track and progressing, whereas if you were left to your own devices you'd probably let your singing stagnate.
I remember my somewhat progressive choir director (she was hot, too) telling me that "singing is singing" and I was like "pfft, not it isn't. There's right singing and wrong singing, my opera singing books told me so!" Man, what a jackass I was! Pardon the language, but it illustrates how easy it is to drink the "my way is better than your way" kool aid.The point is, she was right. Singing IS singing. But with that said, every singer needs to learn how to sing in tune, how to sing high notes with ease, how to keep their body relaxed, how to listen, etc., regardless of your favorite style of singing. These are just fundamentals.After leaving my singing career, I began to see singing education more objectively and democratically and now I realize that the modern singer can and should add as much as possible to their singing toolbox and even the best teacher in the world will be wrong sometimes and it's good to consult with other sources. One person can't know it all, especially when it comes to something as incredibly rich and complex as singing.
Learning To Sing In Preparation For A Singing Career.If you plan on singing professionally, regardless of style and genre, you'll need some vocal training. It's true that there are a lot of self-taught singers out there doing just fine without ever taking a single lesson but I can tell you from living and breathing singing since my teens and working in the music business that it's definitely the exception and not the rule.
A lot of times, even great self-taught vocalists are sent to take singing lessons in preparation for recording and touring because unless you know how to use your voice properly, it's going to disappear on you and maybe even get seriously damaged. A lot of pop and rock singers especially seem to feel that it's somehow selling out or compromising your "sound" by getting vocal lessons but almost any professional musician will tell you that more music education only HELPS your chances at becoming successful.
You'll also probably be surprised to know that some of your favorite singers took or currently take voice lessons. Brandon Boyd of Incubus comes to mind as an incredibly powerful singer who was good before he took lessons but now he's just incredibly solid, in tune and relaxed and guess what...his sound is still the same! If you're still in high school, join the choir or the band. Playing an instrument always helps your singing because it improves your ear and general musicianship. But who do you go to for voice lessons? You'll find the most competent vocal coach at a university or college that has a music program.
You love singing along with your favorite singers and bands, but sometimes you find yourself straining to hit a high note or singing out of tune and think "whoa" that sounded like crap!" You chuckle at yourself for a minute but then realize that you actually genuinely love to sing and you'd like to learn to do it better.Usually, what you'd do is go find yourself a singing teacher and take a few voice lessons. The problem is, that vocal coaching is really expensive (Like $40+ an hour). Plus, it can be hard to find quality instruction from a competent teacher, which is a big deal because bad vocal habits get engrained in muscle memory and are very hard to unlearn.
But how does a 'non-singer learn to sing. Well it's down to three main elements: training, technique and above all else practice. Don't think for one moment that professional singers walk on stage and start singing. They don't, they've all got their favourite warm up routines, most of them will clear their throats and give it a good wash by drinking a large glass of water. Nothing more. Watch a singer on stage and see how often he takes a sip of water, water is oil for the vocal chords and when they are not on stage they practise constantly.
OK but how do I learn to sing. Well for me the key lies in breath control, if you can't control your breath then you'll not be able to sing properly. It's logical, think about it: the wind coming through your mouth is what pushes out the sound, if it is not coming at a clear consistent rate then the sound (song) will be all broken up.
Most of them anyway... Expect to run into some really unsavory people. But that's with any industry. As you take voice lessons and/or sing your gigs, keep continually educating yourself on all the different aspects of music: music history, music theory, aural theory, orchestration, arranging, harmony, etc. Essentially, you've just gotta keep working your butt off and growing and more and more opportunities will come your way. Remember, you're your own number 1 teacher. Even a great vocal coach who's your friend and mentor and an amazing singer and teacher can NOT replace your own drive and desire so be careful of emotional dependency, transference and vicarious living through your teach.
Even if you take voice lessons weekly, it's good to go visit another teacher and get another perspective. Working with high quality singing software programs will also put you way ahead of the curve. Sing With Freedom is great for increasing your range and relaxation while Singorama is a fantastic musicianship course. Learning To Sing As A Hobby If you've read the first section, your probably thinking...crap, I've gotta go through all that when learning to sing? Well, no.
That's only if you want to do it professionally. But if you just love singing and want to be a better singer, learning singing is going to be a lot less time consuming for you. Of course, I still recommend that you take voice lessons once a week or so because it'll hold you accountable and keep you on track and progressing, whereas if you were left to your own devices you'd probably let your singing stagnate.
I remember my somewhat progressive choir director (she was hot, too) telling me that "singing is singing" and I was like "pfft, not it isn't. There's right singing and wrong singing, my opera singing books told me so!" Man, what a jackass I was! Pardon the language, but it illustrates how easy it is to drink the "my way is better than your way" kool aid.The point is, she was right. Singing IS singing. But with that said, every singer needs to learn how to sing in tune, how to sing high notes with ease, how to keep their body relaxed, how to listen, etc., regardless of your favorite style of singing. These are just fundamentals.After leaving my singing career, I began to see singing education more objectively and democratically and now I realize that the modern singer can and should add as much as possible to their singing toolbox and even the best teacher in the world will be wrong sometimes and it's good to consult with other sources. One person can't know it all, especially when it comes to something as incredibly rich and complex as singing.