Singing Tips #1: The Deep Breath

Day to day, most of us breathe as deep as our chest. As long as our lungs get their fill we're content with this. However, to sing properly and with ease, there is a proper way to breathe that will not only help you develop more control the breathhing itself, but help you support the voice that is inside of you. It will also affect how you sing, project, sound, and will ultimately enable you todo those melismas and other singing techniches that you so badly want to emulate.

Another benefit of this deep breathing, is relaxation. Which helps with stage fright, anxiety, stress, and over all confidence!

That said, the first things you need to know about breathing:

1. Stand up straight, arms by your side. Exhale all of the air in your belly.
2. While counting to ten in your head, take a slow, deep breath in to your belly. Fill it up with air. Think of it as being pregnant with air. This is what you want to see. What can help you achieve this, and help you see whether you're doing it properly is standing in front of the mirror and placing both hands on the sides of your belly [without force] while doing the breathing. If you're doing it properly you should see your hands expand with your belly. You really need to see your belly expand, and almost feel it pulling on the inside. This is telling you that you are, in fact, filling up the right area.
3. Hold the breath for another ten seconds.
4. Release the air as you count to ten again.
5. Repeat another three times, but don't go overboard. You might get dizzy or light headed, so take it slow. If counting to ten is too much for you, start with five and work your way up! Remember, there's no rush, and certainly no standard speed at which people learn to sing, breathe, or anything for that matter. Take your time and do what is right for you! Everything will work out in time!

Control over your breathing is very important, and this will help you a lot later one. Think of it as the foundation on which your skill will be relying on.

And as everything else, practice, practice, practice! It doesn't matter how good you think you are, or how much you're fed up of doing silly elementary exercises! I can't stress enough how important it is to keep the basics a priority if you really want to develop your skill.

If you have any questions, comments, concerns...anything at all, please don't hesitate to send me a message or a comment! I'm happy to answer any questions you may have!

-Sarah :)

Laura Mary [Singer]

Name: Laura Mary
Age: 18
Where from: Canada
What she does: Singer

I fell upon Laura Mary while searching for 'The Last Song I'm Wasting On You' by rock group Evanescence and her cover of said song came up. It always amazes me when people dare cover Evanescence- it's not an easy task and one with some pretty high expectations. As I am a singer myself and they are my favourite band, I tend to judge Evanescence covers harshly. Naturally, I had to check it out and see how she did. No one compares to Amy Lee, that goes without saying, however I have to say Laura Mary surprised me.

Her voice is beautiful and flows nicely with the style of piano ballads Evanescence/Amy Lee put out and for someone who claims to not be taking voice lessons, it's very nicely developed. Her technique seems well rounded and she's got a beautiful, rich tone to her voice. One of the key aspects in Evanescence songs, I think, is the high notes Amy can flawlessly touch, and Laura reaches them, and then some.

She's very naturally talented, Canadian [I guess I'm biased that way, hehe] and seems to be an easy going girl with a bright future ahead of her. I think she deserves to be promoted [hence this posting] and I look forward to hearing more of what she has to offer!

To check her out [and please do!]:

Laura Mary's YouTube

Return from short hiatus!

Hey guys & gals!

So it's been over a month since our last post- for that I am very sorry. Finals and, you know, life were happening and some things needed to be sorted out. But, we're back and going to go through some minor changes, but for the most part things will remain mostly what we are right now- a blog to keep you in the know about upcoming/underrated talent.

Hope you haven't been turned off by our short hiatus, and we look forward to hearing any questions/comments you have for us!

Again, very sorry for the hiatus! Thanks again for your ongoing support, we appreciate it!

-The Music