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Sunday Edition


30
Jun
2003
The Vocal Coach - July 2003


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image July is here and the summer outdoor concerts are in full swing. It is a great time to start sharing stage presence techniques. When you are on stage there are four areas that you need to consider for your program to have that clean professional look. They are your approach, appearance, program material, and confidence. So let?s get started.

Your approach to the stage says a lot about you or your group and we want to make sure that we are starting our program off with a good first impression. Remember to stay close to the stage and be ready to go when you?re introduced. Don?t make the audience or the person who is introducing you wait while you come from the back of the building. This makes you look like you are unprepared for the program. And don?t make a parade out of your entrance. Once you are introduced quickly move into place for the first song to start and greet your audience with a smile. If the stage is littered with sound equipment and cords, have a planned route to get to you position. This is especially critical when performing in a concert with several groups or artists. Think ahead.

You may not think that your appearance should have much to do with your singing but it does. What people see when you walk up on stage will affect what they think and what they hear. Proverbs 18:19 tells us it is harder to win a brother that is offended. Then in Matthew 18:6& 7 it talks about how it is better for a millstone to be tied around our neck and cast into the sea than it is to offend just one person. Here are some of the things that can offend your audience. Always dress modestly. No low cut blouses or short skirts, a short skirt always gets shorter on a stage because you are above the audience. Sleeveless dresses or blouses make you appear over exposed even though you aren?t. If you are doing an outdoor concert in the hot sun a sleeveless blouse maybe alright but never inside of a sanctuary. Your clothes and jewelry should draw attention to your face and your eyes and not to your body. Guys should dress conservatively. Wearing jeans in a concert is not a good idea but dress pants even if they are casual are better. When we dress too casual it says to your audience that they were not worth the effort. And your offerings will reflect that attitude. Clean shaven is always better that facial hair. I know that facial hair for men can be stylistic but being clean shaven will never offend anyone and is safer and appears cleaner. The last thing in this section is never neglect your spiritual or physical health because it will impact your outer appearance, both your clothing and your countenance. What is on the inside will be reflected on the outside.

Let?s move on to your program material. Always use songs that mean something to you personally. A song that is sung from your heart will naturally be full of expression and emotion. If you pick songs because they are popular or your favorite artist sang it but don?t move you then you are wasting your talent. Put some time into choosing your material. Remember to match your material to your audience. Have enough variety in your material to appeal to different listeners. You will have young children to older adults and you want to have something for all of them.

The final topic in this section is confidence. Don?t be afraid to take control of your stage. If you are fearful of being in front of an audience they will know and will be preoccupied with your performance and will miss your message. Have confidence that God is working through you and know that it is God who is really in control. When God calls you for a specific job He will equip you for it. Have faith in Him to be able to do the job.

If you are going to be in Nashville sometime in the future you can have a personalized vocal training session with me. You can email me at for more information. I would enjoy working with you one on one.

Until next month, keep singing His praises!

Marti Ledford

Reader Comments

Thanks, Marti. I also recently discovered through a friend, Vocal EZE, which is a herbal throat spray that does wonders. It's through travelwellness.com. Usually before a concert, after the soundcheck, I'll find an empty carpeted room and lie flat on my back for about 15 minutes. It seems to help relax my voice a lot! Andy


Commented by On 08/01/2003
hi marti, your going to think im nuts but i love country gospel singing and ive tryied so hard to sing good, i dont sing in front of no one cause i m ashamed i have been singing at home for 7 years in my bedroom and either my husband or son ever has said your getting better not one word i pray for the lord to show me each time i begin to sing i cant get the ringing sound it just sounds like it dose when i speak is there help or should i sell my tapes and forget it ,im 51 and dont know why god dont bless me with this i hear every other singer i cant understand what im doing wrong, is there away to hold my toung or jaw to get the ringing sound out, ive sung all night in my room i striped my voice out i gag i tryed to strain shoul i sing no higer then i talk i just dont get it, need your help bad thx for the web site love in christ linda


Commented by On 10/05/2003
I use to use Entertainers throat spray but had a sore throat one day and was turned in to Vocal-eze.Because its herbal it helped with the sore throat.And it is all natural.Which made me look at whats in Entertainers and well I am not sure if it is.Vocal-eze works for me and it tastes good.


Commented by On 03/24/2004
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