I have been on a long journey with my voice. And it has not been an easy one.
Many people who’ve shared a similar path would have quit by now.
But I am here to tell you that it is the best journey in the world for me to have taken.
Now, at this stage of my journey, there are TEN SUPER IMPORTANT THINGS which I want to share with you that I deliberately did before my recent BIG audition that helped me and that can help you too, if an audition is to be your next step as well.
It seems to be a normal thing to feel you are too old once you hit thirty years of age in the singing world because there are “age limits” that the industry imposes. These limits can be both actual age-discriminatory hiring practices as well as artificial limits that we accept when we ourselves have begun to believe that at “it’s too late for me at this age”.
But should these age limits stop you?
My answer to that is a resounding NO.
#1. With voice, age is truly just a number.
#2. It takes time for “a voice to really find itself”.
#3. It also takes time for a person to “find themselves” and to attain self-acceptance, too.
#4. Once a singer has both really “found their voice” and “found themselves” through self-acceptance, you are never too old for singing opportunities.
#5. Keep on going because the only way you can be absolutely sure to fail (at any age) is to quit.
There is big thought out in the world of singing that singers need to sing high, even if you are a lower voice. Gotta get that high note. Such a mentality had me sent down the wrong path vocally from the time I was twelve years old until I was 36 when I crashed and burned with vocal nodules caused by singing out of my range. Here are the 3 reasons why trying to sing higher can really harm your voice.
31 years later from my start in NYC as a YAP at The Metropolitan Opera and here I sit again in NYC looking out the window on Broadway, this time singing the right stuff as a Contralto. I’m still in the game. My vocal journey has been long but I have stayed in the game
What is Box breathing?
I daily implement what I feel is the most important breath exercise for singers.
Box breathing is also known as square breathing. Many people use it including US Navy SEALS, people in high stress jobs, artists, athletes, business people, and many others in all walks of life.
The FOUR BIG BENEFITS of Box Breathing
The Six Simple Steps for Box breathing
Popular opinion holds that Belting is not so good for the voice, or can even be damaging. “Belting will hurt or ruin your voice!” they warn. I disagree…
