In life, I've met a lot of talented singers. Talent is both a God-given and an acquired skill brought about interest, family brought up and experience. Not all are talented singers with great voices,charisma and outstanding performance. But I am sad to see a lot of these great talents faded and gone. Yes, for a talent to grow, you need to nurture it. A lot of great singers commit different mistakes that diverts them from their singing career. Find out below what are these common mistakes:
Mistake #1: Assuming that talent will last forever
Reality: To be a good singer is to keep singing and learn from your own mistakes and the mistakes of others. If you stop singing, your vocal quality can degrade because it's not being used frequently. It is why professional singers will spend at least a time every week to improve their vocal performance. This includes vocalization and other singing practice.
Or if other things in life are diverting you away from singing, there are a lot of creative things to do. A good example is to join a choir and commit to it. Joining choir is a good way to practice your vocal performance skills.
Mistake #2: No career plan and not managing risk as a singer
Reality: A LOT of talented and great singers are being discouraged either by their parents or friends that they cannot support their family in the future by just singing. Or they might say that you cannot find a stable job with singing. A lot of these advices are treating singers with very low value and disrespect in the community.
This is not actually true. The fact is that if a singer has enough guts and interest in singing/music; it will guide him/her to success. Being a singer is like an entrepreneur, you need to take and manage these risks. Being not able to get a stable job in singing is only a risks, it is not a hindrance to a singer success. Even other careers do face some risk, not only in music and singing career.
Your job as a singer is to acknowledge this risk and manage it. For example, 99% of the singers cannot get a job they want (as a singer), so instead of diverting very away from your career path as a singer; think and work smart. How about taking up a music degree so that even though you cannot find a day job as a singer, you can still get a job as composer, arranger, songwriter, record producer or even a record label executive, where singing is near to your heart?
Or not only in the entertainment job sector, but what if you can start your own vocal coach business after you graduated with a music degree? It sounds nice isn't it? The truth is that a lot of singers get diverted because they lack guts, confidence, plan and support. If you do really love singing, you got to manage the risks that comes along with it.
Mistake #3: Not focusing on LOOKS
Reality: Singers should look good. No matter if you criticize as not being a good looking person or even has model looks, you really need to focus on improving your looks. Why? You are an entertainer and will be facing a lot of people during your performance. Its natural that you should look good because a lot of people will be staring at you. If you do not look good, mostly some of these people won't impress with your singing skills alone; you also need to look good on stage. If you are obese, try to lose some weight. If you are too thin, try to get some weight and get those curves right!
Mistake #4: Not being original
Reality: Trust me, to be an outstanding professional singer you need to develop your OWN voice. This is the voice where your fans and listeners will notice you if they hear you singing in the radio or in other places. Your originality is what separates you from the rest of your competitors. If you are working in your entire singing career just to be like another Mariah Carey, Celine Dion or Bono then you will not succeed. The music industry needs another unique voice just like them.
Mistake #5: Not loving music theory
Reality: Ordinary and amateur singers simply listen to a song, read the lyrics and get that microphone; then its done. Professional singers are very different. There will be a time when they are singing directly from the music sheet(solfege or sight-singing technique. Now this require you to be very good at musical theory. It is one of the reasons I pursue a music degree because I am NOT good at music, I am only good at singing. These two are different.
Also, its important that once you acquire some music theory, take advantage of it and use it to improve your singing career. You might be able to write songs better this time, or even write a complete musical instrumental piece (minus one) just for your vocals.
Mistake #6: Not having connections with the music industry
Reality: To succeed, you need a network of friends in your industry. These persons will be the one to help you attain your goal. The secret is not to be pushy and demanding. You need to make friends with them naturally just the way you make friends in schools. By making friends with them, you learn about how the music industry works. And then if you are really good, your friends can even recommend you to a recording label. A lot of successful artist are signed in this way. Just don't expect a record label deal, your objective is to know the industry.
By acknowledging these mistakes and taking actions in advance; I can guarantee you that you will soon reach your dream as a professional singer.
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