I see a lot of frustration in the singing studio.

Singers who are angry that they can't nail this technique or allow their voice to do X, Y, Z.

They beat themselves up, give up for a while and then realise that singing is a part of who they are.

The question I ask them is "How badly do you want it?" and guess what everyone says - VERY BADLY.

And what are you doing to get there? NOT A HELLOVA LOT.

 

This may sound harsh (it kinda is) but if you're wanting to get yourself out there as an artist and share your music with the world, you need to push yourself WAY out of your comfort zone.

You need to live and breathe your art.

You need to find out exactly what ingredients are missing and practice with laser focus.

Singing in the shower isn't this type of practice.

Singing in the car on the way to work isn't this type of practice.

Mumbling through your exercises simply just to move onto working on your songs isn't this type of practice.

If you're just wanting to sound in tune and have a bit of fun, then HECK YES you can get away with this type of practice.

If you're not wanting huge mind-blowing changes in your tone, then be my guest and sing while doing the dishes.

But if you're wanting to really level up with your voice, you need to shift your mindset, baby.

 

GET INSPIRED

I titled this post How to Think More Like Beyoncé because I used to constantly see the quote "You have as many hours in the day as Beyoncé" crop up everywhere I turn.

It's powerful because it's absolutely true.

Queen B is killing it. Even if you're not a fan of her music, you must admit she's a musical powerhouse.

She manages herself, assembles her team, has the creative direction all mapped out in her mind and still finds the time to rehearse, record, learn dance routines and be a mother and wife.

Yes, she's a workaholic, has a lot of help and is a perfectionist and we may not all want to work that hard but we all have dreams that we're not fulfilling and we moan about our lack of time when really it's a lack of motivation and planning.

Her music is a huge priority in her life. She definitely lives and breathes her art.

She knows who she is and what she wants and she damn well goes after it. Hard.

 

GET CLARITY

What do you really want your voice to do for you?

Is it to pleasantly surprise people at karaoke parties or are you wanting to perform live gigs?

Do you want to be a recording artist or do you simply want to sing at your own wedding?

This will tell you how dedicated you'll need to be and how much work it'll take to reach your goals.

 

DO THE INNER WORK

Figure out what scares you about your dream. What is keeping you "playing it safe"? Why are you watching TV instead of practicing?

Then remove the blocks my dear. My book The Moderately Tortured Artist talks you through fear, doubt, stage fright, motivation and low self confidence.

It's tough work and can be very confronting but it's necessary so that you can move forward. I

t'll give you more ideas on who you are as an artist and what music you want (or NEED) to share with the world.

 

TAKE ACTION

Take baby steps. Don't overwhelm yourself, but figure out what results you want and take major action.

Something I learned about daily goal setting was to ask the question "What would make me proud?" when looking at daily actions you can take. Just start with one.

Maybe it's that you sit down for some deep practice and go over and over one line that you're struggling with.

Maybe it's that you take a dance class to give yourself some confidence when moving on stage.

Perhaps it's scheduling a lesson with a vocal coach or writing part of an original song.

 Whatever it is for you, go get ‘em tiger!