Feb

Music Lessons for Valentine’s Day

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Stuck on what to get your loved one for Valentine’s Day?

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and everyone buys the typical flowers, chocolate and jewelry. Music lessons may be the perfect gift for your significant other who loves to sing in the shower, or your son who plays the air guitar along to the radio. Valentine’s Day is the day to give gifts to show people they are special to you, and music lessons could be that perfect gift.

This Valentine’s Day, show your loved ones that you think outside the box and give them the gift of music!

Music lessons with Lesson Match are easy and convenient because our instructors come to your home on your time. To have a Valentine’s Day gift card sent to that special someone, or to schedule music lessons, contact Lesson Match. Our Lesson Coordinator does all the work, so you just need to let us know when you’re available and what lesson you want to learn, and we take care of the rest.

This year give a Valentine’s Day gift that will stay with someone for a lifetime!

Feb

10 Foods and Drinks Not to Consume Before a Vocal Performance

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Eating before a performance (not right before) is definitely necessary. You don’t want to be on stage hungry under hot bright lights and get lightheaded.

However, there are definitely a few food and drinks to avoid a few hours (or the day) before a performance.

1. Milk! Milk tops the list of drinks to not consume before a performance because milk is thick. Milk causes phlegm and mucus in your throat, which will lead to coughing and clearing your throat while on stage.

2. Carbonated beverages. Stick clear of carbonation right before a performance because carbonation fills your stomach with air and irritates it. Most singers stick with water before, during and after a performance.

3. Citrus fruit or juices. Citrus fruit is highly acidic which can not only cause un upset stomach, but will dry your throat out. Have you ever had orange juice when you had a sore throat and felt the burn? That is definitely not good for vocal cords.

4. Anything ice-cold. Most people know that heat expands and cold contracts and this goes for your body too. If you drink a glass of ice water right before a performance, it can constrict your throat making it difficult to sing and have a great performance.

5. Spicy foods. Spicy foods are a throat and stomach irritants.

6. Alcohol. Alcohol dehydrates your body and your throat. You wont be able to perform to the best of your abilities if you’re dehydrated. That’s why performers always have water with them during a performance.

7. Heavy food. Heavy foods are ones that make you feel full, like high carbohydrate fobs because they will make breathing techniques more difficult to do.

8. Caffeinated drinks. Caffeine dries out your throat and mouth and should be avoided before a performance.

9. Peanut butter or any other dry foods. Like I said above, hydration is vital to a great singing performance. Peanut butter and crackers are dry foods and will only dry out your mouth and throat.

10. You know your body, so stay away from food that irritate, dehydrate or upset your throat and body.

For more tips on a great vocal performance, contact Lesson Match.

Feb

Benefits Of In Home Music Lessons

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Parents interested in signing their children up for music lessons, may have a difficult decision to make as to whether or not to travel to a studio for lessons or to have in home music lessons.

Here are some of the benefits of in home music lessons.

1. Probably the most obvious benefit is convenience. It’s incredibly convenient to have an instructor come to your home for a half hour (or however long the lesson is) to teach a lesson and then leave. In home music lessons can be squeezed in right after school before homework, or between homework and dinner, the possibilities are ended. In home music lessons are ideal for busy parents that don’t have the time to waste 20+ minutes driving to and from lessons.

2. Parents can become involved. Typically in a studio, the student and teacher are the only people in the room. With in home music lessons, parents can observe and learn tips to help their child practice.

3. Students retain information better when they are able to practice and have lessons in the same designated area. That way they are able to visualize the lesson and revert to that during practice time.

4. Students are always prepared for in home music lessons. Think about all the times you are rushing to get somewhere and you forget something. This happens all the time with studio lessons. Parents and students are rushing to get to the lesson and a lesson book or part of the instrument is forgotten at home. This would never happen with in home music lessons because all the materials are at the lesson area.

5. In home music lessons may seem more expensive, but are they really? Think about the time and gas money it takes to drive to the studio, drop off your student, drive around until the lesson is finished (unless you’d like to wait bored at the studio for the duration of the lesson), then drive back to the studio to pick up the student and finally drive home. In home lessons cost a little more in the beginning, but think about the gas money you’ll be saving by not having to drive anywhere (especially if you drive an SUV).

For information on private in home music lessons with Lesson Match, call now!

Feb

Is Karaoke Bad for a Singing Voice?

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At one point in most people’s lives, they’ll be forced to get up at an event and sing karaoke.

For some people this is an incredibly enjoyable activity—usually for the people who either don’t care what others think or have an awesome singing voice (that’s where singing lessons come in). For other, karaoke is a terrifying experience and they would prefer to sit on the sidelines and watch (click for some performance tips). The main question people will ask about karaoke is, “how was my singing?”, most people don’t even think to ask if karaoke is bad for them?

Here are some ways to be sure karaoke does not damage your singing voice.

1. Warm up! A professional singer would never go to a gig, let alone practice, without warming up first. Performers must practice before singing or serious damage can occur to their vocal cords. If you aren’t able to warm up at the club, take a few minutes before leaving for the night and warm up your singing voice. A quick pre-outing warm up would be working on breathing techniques and then singing through some scales.

2. Keep hydrated! Drink plenty of water the day of your karaoke outing as well as at the event. Water is the best way to keep yourself hydrated and your vocal cords need the liquid to keep lubricated in order to sing. It’s fine to drink alcohol during a karaoke event, but make sure to keep a glass of water near by (remember alcohol dehydrates you).

3. Rest! Take a break between songs and listen to the other performers. Resist the urge to hoot and holler at the other performers. Yelling and even talking after a performance is not advised, as your voice needs a rest.

For more karaoke or singing tips, call Lesson Match to speak with a vocal instructor.

Jan

Practice Without Picking Up An Instrument

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Learn how to practice your instrument when you don’t have it with you! Learning an instrument and becoming a musician is as much mental as it is physical (if not more).

That means you can “practice your instrument” wherever you are.

Concepts and Techniques. In music, there are many concepts and techniques that need to be memorized, and this is possible to master without using your instrument.
•   Ear training
•   Rhythm
•   Harmony

Visualize. Whenever you’re bored or have some downtime (and you don’t have your instrument), mentally visualize your instrument and play it. Try to visualize your fingers actually pushing down the notes or plucking the guitar strings. This may sound silly, but it can be an effective technique if you’re serious about it.

Remembering to Practice. Remembering to mentally practice can be difficult, especially at first. Try to pick something you do often throughout the day (taking a drink of water, doing a specific task etc.) and use that to remind yourself to practice. If you pick one simple thing to practice (humming a note, visualizing a chord etc.) every time you hang up your phone for a week, eventually you’ll have mastered it.

Listen. Music surrounds us in our daily lives; it’s everywhere from grocery stores to elevators. Listen to the music playing and study it. Try to listen for a concept you’ve been working on or find the harmony. This will fine tune your musical ear and enhance your playing.

These simple tips get rid of any excuses you might have about how you’re too busy to practice.

Jan

Vocal Performance Tips

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Performing in front of an audience can be nerve-wracking, but the rush felt after a performance, during the applause is unbeatable. The key to a great performance is confidence.

If you’re nervous about a performance, here are a few tips to fake confidence.

1. Eye Contact. Maintaining eye contact with the audience helps the performer to appear more confident. In everyday life, when you’re nervous, it’s difficult to maintain eye contact with someone you’re nervous around. There’s also nothing worse for the audience than watching a nervous performer staring at the floor.

2. Enunciate. Do you ever listed to a song at a concert and realize you have no idea what they’re saying. It’s difficult to enunciate every word on stage, especially when you’re nervous, but the audience loves to hear lyrics. If the lyrics are audible, then by the end of the song, the audience might be singing along with you.

3. Convey Emotion. Performing in front of an audience is a lot like acting. Actors wouldn’t smile the whole time if they were acting in drama or tragedy. Similarly, if you’re performing a dark and somber song, try to convey the emotion to the audience. The best performances are the ones the audience can feel and relate to.

4. High Energy. Last summer, I went to two concerts; the first artist stood behind the microphone and sang beautifully, the second had back up dancers and was moving around as much as possible (without being distracting). While I prefer the first artist’s music on the radio, in person the second concert was much more fun. I loved the energy the artist was conveying. You could tell she was enjoying performing and fed off the audience.

Even if you are nervous during the performance, the audience can help you out. Try to appear confident and the audience will respond. Eventually you won’t be pretending to be confident, you actually will be.

All of our vocal instructors at Lesson Match have amazing stage presence and great performance tips.

Contact Lesson Match today to receive some great performance tips from one of our qualified voice instructors!

Nov

The Perfect After School Hobby

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Why music lessons make the perfect after school hobby.

School has already begun and children might be starting to get restless with their after school routines. Music lessons are a great way to keep kids busy and out of trouble. Tighter budgets have forced many schools to cut or severely decrease the funding for music programs. This means students may no longer have the opportunity to take music as part of their school curriculum. Music in an important part of childhood development and just because schools have cut the program does not mean children should not have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument. Lesson Match offers private in-home lessons that work during your schedule. Even if you’re a busy parent, we’ll work with you to schedule a time to bring music into your child’s life. Here are a few benefits to private music lessons.

Sports and Music
Children who play a musical instrument are shown to have better hand-eye coordination than those who do not. If your child is interested in playing sports, but does not feel like they have the motor skills necessary to play, enroll them in music lessons. Music lessons can prepare children for many other activities later in life.

Achievement
Popular after school activities for many children involve video games. Children love video games because they have a sense of accomplishment when they reach a new level or overcome an obstacle that had been evading them before. Learning to play a musical instrument can have the same effect on children. Once they master a difficult piece or technique, they will feel a similar sense of achievement to when they were playing video games.

Relaxation
School can be stressful for children and sometimes they just want to come home and relax. Music can help with their relaxation. For many people, playing an instrument is a relaxing activity, especially if they’re playing a soothing song. After a stressful day at school, children can come home and practice the techniques they learned in their music lessons and the stress will melt away.

Keep your kids busy and out of trouble after school by enrolling them in music lessons with Lesson Match.

Oct

10 More Vocal Tips

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More ways to keep your vocal cords sounding refreshed and healthy.

1. Practice slowly and daily to keep your voice in perfect shape. Practicing too much or trying to learn difficult techniques too quickly could strain your voice.

2. Drink a warm (not hot) soothing drink in the morning, like an herbal tea. Anything too hot will cause your neck and throat area to swell, which affects your vocal cords.

3. Drink lemonade to clear your throat of mucus. Lemonade is acidic and breaks down any unwanted mucus in your throat so you have a clear crisp singing voice.

4. Never hold your breath while singing. It is important to keep air moving through your body. Different breathing techniques will help you learn to keep breathing.

5. Never raise or hunch your shoulders when breathing. Instead, strengthen the muscles in your rib cage and breathe from there. This allows you to take fuller breaths and breathe longer.

6. Avoid straining and abusing your voice by knowing when to stop singing. Never sing to the point of vocal fatigue or your voice could be out of commission for a few days.

7. Make sure to get enough sleep the night before a performance. Fatigue will cause strain to your voice or will cause you to revert to bad habits in order to stay awake. Caffeine and sugary sodas dehydrate the body and should be avoided.

8. Practice singing in front of a mirror. This will help you discover any poor posture problems or bad stage habits you might have.

9. Don’t smoke, scream or talk too much, especially the day of a performance. You want to rest your vocal cords as much as possible so you don’t overuse or abuse them.

10. Always practice the basics of singing and breathing to develop your technique. While practicing the basics you might learn some new techniques to better your singing voice and performance.

Enroll in vocal lessons to keep your instrument in top shape!

Oct

Tips for a Healthy Singing Voice

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Keeping your voice healthy means keeping your body healthy.

Here are a few tips to keep your singing voice sounding its best.

Drink water.
Drink lots of water! Keeping your body hydrated is the most important thing you can do for your voice. Water helps your body create the lubrication that allows your vocal cords to function properly. Try to drink at least the recommended amount of water each day, but drink more if you can.

Quit Smoking.
Smoking removes the necessary moisture that allows your vocal cords to function properly. Smoking also reduces normal breathing capacity, so if you smoke, you may not be able to hold those notes as long.

Warm up.
Your vocal cords require a warm up before each time you sing. Singing for long periods of time can cause permanent damage. Always try to warm up for at least 10 minutes before each performance to stretch and relax your vocal cords.

Reduce dairy consumption.
Dairy products coat your throat and reduce your vocal range. You don’t have to completely cut out dairy products, but avoid them right before a performance.

Limit alcohol and soda.
Do not be fooled by thinking since you’re drinking a soda you’re hydrating your body; alcohol and sodas dehydrate your body. Dehydration is the worst thing for your voice. Limit your alcohol and soda consumption, but if you do need a soda or a beer, try to balance it out by drinking an extra glass of water. Just remember to always stay hydrated!

Exercise.
Exercise improves your core muscles and allows you to sing better. Exercises like yoga will improve your posture and teach you breathing techniques. Remember, a healthy body means a healthy singing voice.

Your voice is a delicate instrument, keep it healthy to ensure top performance.

Sep

How Young is too Young for Vocal Lessons

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Kids love to sing. They sing along with the radio and TV, they sing while doing chores, they even sing in the bathtub; but does that mean they should begin formal vocal lessons? As with most other instruments, there is no “right” age to begin vocal lessons. However, there are a few things to consider before enrolling your child in vocal lessons.

The voice is a diverse and delicate instrument because it’s one you cannot fix or replace if you wreck it. Young children’s voices are still developing all the way until puberty and formal vocal lessons can harm their vocal cords. Most teachers have different ideas about what age is appropriate to begin vocal lessons, but typically 12 is a good age to begin serious vocal lessons. If your child has developed younger than that, then it might be possible to find a teacher willing to take on younger students, but make sure to find a teacher that has experience teaching young children and understands that a child’s voice is delicate. When teaching younger students, teachers should be able to provide breathing instruction and teach children how not to abuse the vocal cords; but they should not work on expanding the vocal range, this can cause permanent damage to a child’s vocal cords.

Children can certainly begin vocal lessons as young as 4 and 5, but these lessons would focus more on singing with others and beginning breathing techniques. Children’s choirs are a great way to immerse young children into the world of music. Children’s choirs usually focus on children learning about their singing voices and singing songs from musicals, like Annie.

Another option to get your child started with music lessons is the piano. Piano lessons are the most popular option for young children because the piano is an easy instrument to learn theories and basics of music on. During piano lessons, most teachers will have the student sing along with the songs they’re learning.

Music lessons are a great idea for children because it teaches them about hard work and dedication. Music lessons are also shown to help children excel in school and enhance their coordination. There are many instruments that young children are capable of learning (piano and violin), but be wary when enrolling a young child in vocal lessons.

Stuck on what to get your loved one for Valentine’s Day?

This Valentine’s Day, show your loved ones that you think outside the box and give them the gift of music!

This year give a Valentine’s Day gift that will stay with someone for a lifetime!

Eating before a performance (not right before) is definitely necessary. You don’t want to be on stage hungry under hot bright lights and get lightheaded.

However, there are definitely a few food and drinks to avoid a few hours (or the day) before a performance.

For more tips on a great vocal performance, contact Lesson Match.

Parents interested in signing their children up for music lessons, may have a difficult decision to make as to whether or not to travel to a studio for lessons or to have in home music lessons.

Here are some of the benefits of in home music lessons.

For information on private in home music lessons with Lesson Match, call now!

At one point in most people’s lives, they’ll be forced to get up at an event and sing karaoke.

Here are some ways to be sure karaoke does not damage your singing voice.

For more karaoke or singing tips, call Lesson Match to speak with a vocal instructor.

That means you can “practice your instrument” wherever you are.

These simple tips get rid of any excuses you might have about how you’re too busy to practice.

If you’re nervous about a performance, here are a few tips to fake confidence.

All of our vocal instructors at Lesson Match have amazing stage presence and great performance tips.

Contact Lesson Match today to receive some great performance tips from one of our qualified voice instructors!

Why music lessons make the perfect after school hobby.

Keep your kids busy and out of trouble after school by enrolling them in music lessons with Lesson Match.

More ways to keep your vocal cords sounding refreshed and healthy.

Enroll in vocal lessons to keep your instrument in top shape!

Keeping your voice healthy means keeping your body healthy.

Here are a few tips to keep your singing voice sounding its best.

Your voice is a delicate instrument, keep it healthy to ensure top performance.

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