During my time with Division, our drummer, James, liked to record a lot of our shows on video, and I’m so thankful he has. The videos we have from 2006-2009 presented pretty mediocre quality, but they provided us with great insight into elements of our live show. I spent a lot of time with my non-mic holding hand at my side. I hate watching those videos. To me, they scream average performer. I made it a goal to elevate my performance, literally.
I spoke with my vocal coach (the amazing Michael Sheppard) and I learned that lifting my game in this manner was going to help me deliver a better stage show, and to also perform better as a vocalist. Mike is a great musician and stage performer (he has won several WAMmies and was on HBO’s The Wire several times.) He had a few fantastic pointers that I have since put into practice, with effects I can actually show you. Here are a few tips we discussed:
1. Raise your hand.
Lifting your hand can be a subconscious trick to helping you hit those few troublesome notes. As a singer, do you have that note or two that you see as a challenge during your set? Raising your open hand is a good visual trick to help hit the high notes. I used to approach certain choruses and parts with hesitation. Don’t hesitate. Visualize yourself nailing it. Visualize, then vocalize.
2. Hit It Like You’re Gonna Hold It.
Don’t go after a high note like it’s just a peak to drop off of in half a breath. Hit it like you plan on staying there all day. Raising your hand actually contributes that ability. Why’s that? You’re upright. You improve your posture. You can use your full lung capacity. It’s one of the reasons you can sing better standing than sitting down.
3. Make a Visual Cue.
The other part of maintaining upright posture and therefore delivering a better, fuller vocal performance, is keeping yourself upright. Just as raising your arm is a subconscious trigger to open up and hit high notes, singers may find themselves attempting to bend over, or duck their heads when singing low. This is intuitive, but counter-productive. That posture closes off the throat, limits lung capacity, and actually makes it harder to project lower notes.
In rehearsal, I take a red push pin and push it into the wall at my eye level. That’s my cue to focus on if I’m singing low parts. If my eyes are lower than that red dot, I know I’m not open, and not delivering my best performance. I take that red dot on the road. When we play shows, I imagine that red dot just above the audiences faces. This keeps my vocal delivery open and powerful, and provides the audience with a feeling that I’m singing to them…not the floor, not the drummer, not the monitors, not the roof. Make that visual connection with your audience.
Check out the video from 2011 for a compare and contrast. This video is courtesy of Metal Chris from DC Heavy Metal.com.
That’s my compilation of tips for this post. Go out and crush!
One Love,
nK
Love Music. Love Health. Love Life.
