Blog Post #108 - The BEST Cyber Monday Deal - It's FREE!!!


         Welcome to the Holiday Season! Unfortunately, accompanying the Season, OFTEN, is stress and fatigue, not unlike being in a show, going to rehearsals, or even the audition process. Here, for your listening, “dancing”, singing, and hopefully, your emotional pleasure, are 5 EASY activities to DE-STRESS, and YES, ENERGIZE your Season, AND your performing.
5 Ways to Survive Holiday Stress and Help Your Singing/Acting and Performing:
1.   BREATHE! My advice to you is while you’re stopped at a traffic signal or standing in line at a store checkout, “Count to 10, and Do it Again”. I’ve talked about this before but I can’t emphasize enough how incredibly effective this technique can be. I used it to have one daughter, when I have to have MRIs, and when I don’t want to “Lose My Cool” and YELL at someone. I like to close my eyes but that’s not mandatory (especially if you’re driving)! Inhale to a count of 10, SLOWLY, and then, exhale SLOWLY, again, to a count of 10. The slower you breathe, the more productive and powerful this will be. After you’ve done this about 5 times, you will feel yourself MARKEDLY calmer. You’ve oxygenated your blood, lowered your blood pressure, and helped yourself possibly even ENJOY what you’re doing!
2.   PLAY MUSIC AND SING WITH IT! Yes, EVEN AT THE MALL. One of the POSITIVE results of cell phones, iPods, and blue tooth devices is that NO ONE will think it’s strange if you walk around talking or singing to yourself, and I GUARANTEE that doing this will relax you, and put you in a better mood. At the Holidays, stores play Christmas music. Even if you’re not Christian, you can enjoy songs like “White Christmas” or “Rudolf, the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, so TAKE ADVANTAGE of the opportunity!
3.   Sit Down Every 30-60 minutes, and REPEAT the First Two Exercises Above. Better than a Starbucks or the best Dark Chocolate Brownie is MUSIC and CLEAN AIR! Hey, I LOVE Peppermint Hot Chocolates and a great Brownie BUT not as much as I love to sing, and savor a fabulous performance of one of my favorite songs. Music is very healing, I don’t care WHO you are!
4.   Instead of Stressing Over What to Buy for Cousin Sam for Secret Santa, Calm Yourself by Thinking of THREE Things you ENJOY about this time of year, or about yourself, or even about Cousin Sam. Force a little POSITIVE thought into a less-than-fun situation and environment. Distracting yourself with a little affirmative thinking will almost always yield a cool idea, in this case for what to purchase for your “Unique” family member.
5.   EVERYDAY:
-       Perform ONE “Random Act of Kindness” for someone
-       Say “Hello”, “Good Morning”, or “Have a Nice Day” to, AT LEAST TWO people you don’t know
-       Hug THREE people, and I mean a REAL Hug
-       Smile at FOUR people, especially old people or children
-       Finally, Laugh FIVE times, even if it’s at your terrible parking job, and something silly you said or did.
Don’t take life SOOOO seriously! Dealing with stress is an essential component for performance, so get in a little practice during your Holiday shopping, traffic, parties, performances, and cooking. ENJOY the Holidays! Soon, we’ll start a whole new year with new possibilities, and fresh “Slates”.
         Thanks SO much for reading; sorry I haven’t posted in a while but be on the lookout for new posts very soon. I have a couple of wonderful, professional friends who have agreed to contribute practical, insightful posts about acting and voiceover auditioning, so watch for those very soon. Until then, please send me ANY comments, questions, or suggestions. If you have questions about me or my lessons, check out my website at www.SingitForward.net. I value each and every one of you, and look forward to seeing and hearing from you anytime you’re ready. Thanks for being a part of “Sing it Forward’s” Blog. Happy Holidays and remember, Sing it Forward!!!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Basic Music Theory - 1st Post - Notes, Rests, and Note Particulars

Image
          It is really important for a singer, even an amazingly gifted singer, to understand basic Music Theory.    That doesn’t mean you have to be any kind of virtuoso or study music theory for dozens of years but it does mean you need to study some fundamental or elemental aspects of theoretical concepts.   Your first “basic” lesson is below.   Stay tuned for more “installments” in the future.   Here goes: •             NOTES AND RESTS - Melodies in music are represented through patterns of “Notes” and “Rests”.   Here is a chart of the most common types of Notes and Rests: The Quarter Note is, by far, the most common type of Note and Rest but each of these notes and rests are important, universal, and frequently-occurring.   You DO need to know, however, that the values you see here CAN change, depending on the Time Signature (s...
Read more

Vocal Quirks - Why do I Sometimes Yawn, Hiccup, Burp, or Crack?

When we begin singing, sometimes the very strangest things can happen. You may start yawning or burping or getting the hiccups or even hear your voice crack.   Why do these things happen, especially when you first begin singing?   Let’s explore some ideas…             Why Would Singing Make Me Yawn?   So, it’s true confession time.   I have always been told and believed that we yawn because our brains tell our lungs we need more Oxygen and so, initiate a deeper inhalation.   The yawn DOES cause a deeper breath and it IS a great way to practice deeper, voluntary breathing.   However, evidently the REAL reason we yawn is still for the brain but it is actually a “thermoregulating device”, which is to say the swift intake of air acts to normalize the temperature of your brain in the same way you might use a fan to automatically come on in your garage, if the temperature reaches a cer...
Read more

Basic Music Theory - #3 - Rhythms and Putting it All Together

Image
So, here is the last installment in this beginning set of Music Theory posts.   I know I’ve covered an awful lot in these last 3 posts but I promise you, if you’ll devote a little consistent time to learning it, the benefits you’ll receive will far outweigh your small time investment.   These key components of Music Theory make up the essential underpinnings of composed music.   The next set of Music Theory posts will cover different types of Chords, Scales, and Chord Progressions but until then, enjoy these amazing pillars of Music Theory and send me any questions you still have once you’re done.   Here you go: •             RHYTHMS AND TEMPOS - I try to explain the “Beat” of music or the “Rhythm” like our own heartbeat.   It is a regular, constant “pulse” (literally).   Most of the time this “Beat” or “Pulse” is what you dance to, tap your foot to, or clap along with. ...
Read more