Thursday, 01 May 2008

• Being Heard In Bars and Clubs

  Anyone who likes to party has strained their voice when trying to talk over loud music. I still do when I don’t warm up.

  When starting out in this game I would push my voice to the limits. I thought it was normal to barely be able to talk at the end of the night.

  I’d only get about a solid 30-minutes before my voice would need soothing from ice cubes. After a long period of this I decided on getting some help.

  I read ebooks and watched videos on how to project your voice. They would say to breath into your gut and use all your breath. That’s true, but there’s more too it for the introvert like myself.

  Before getting into this game I’d rarely use my voice for more than daily conversation. Subconsciously, as well as consciously, I wasn’t built to project my voice for extended periods of time. It wasn’t until I went to a vocal teacher where I would learn techniques tailored to my voice and body.

  One area that hindered my ability to project my voice was the love of a 6-pack. Having a 6-pack hinders your voice as your abdominal muscles are tight. Your abdominal area needs to be relaxed in order to take in air required to project. Why do you think fat guys like the late Luciano Pavarotti are great Opera singers?

  Now I’m able to project my voice without much conscious effort. One thing that’s mandatory for loud clubs is warming up. If I don’t warm up then there is a high chance that I’ll be hurting at the end of the night.

  If you have trouble getting your voice heard over the loud dance music then I recommend going to see a vocal trainer. I just went for a couple classes, enough for me to recognize what I’m doing wrong and determine the answers.

  If you can’t afford a vocal coach then here are 6 tips for you:

  • 1. Warm it up. In a club you are using your voice in the extreme. When a weight lifter is about to life 700 lbs he doesn’t just jump in and lift it. He warms up and stretches. You need to warm up and stretch your vocal cords. Get a bunch of music that has low tones and high tones and sing or hum to it. Many stage performers will warm up for an hour before performing. Now you don’t have to warm up that long, though it wouldn’t hurt.

  • 2. Keep your head up. By lowering/lifting your head you collapse/outstretch your throat. This causes discomfort and doesn’t allow the maximum flow of air through your throat. If you have to look down/up then take a step back so you just have to use your eyes to see them.

  • 3. Breathe from your gut. Your gut can hold lots of air. This will give you all the air you need to talk.

  • 4. Use the air you have. Do not hold back on the air you have. Just let it out.

  • 5. Breathe. Don’t strain out the last ounce of air you have. When you’re talking and you feel your air reserves getting low, stop, breathe, and continue talking.

  • 6. Relax. When you tense up it means that you’re fighting against what you want to do. You want to project, don’t fight it. Let it go and let it flow.

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