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 :)

Time Flies

I've recently come across the stats of this blog and wonder why I ever stopped posting here. I think it had something to do with a lack of time and a lot of stuff going on that made it difficult to up-keep the blog to its standard.

Now that I have time and lots of it, I figure I can start blogging again. I genuinely enjoy doing this, and music is one of the most important things to me. I love being able to spot talent and promote it!

Anyways, the point is I will be posting again!

Yay!

So stay tuned and keep checking back for new and interesting talent!

It remains that if you come across someone you think is worthy of getting promoted, please don't hesitate to send me their details, any social networking or music site they might have! I will be happy to check them out and give them a shout out!

Thank you!

-The Music :)

Kaila Picard [Singer]

Name: Kaila Picard
From: Montreal, QC, Canada
What she does: Singer/Songwriter

I love finding new music and talent, especially when it's local. There's something about locals that keeps me grounded, in a way. Reminds me that anyone can make it if hey want it bad enough. Kaila Picard is a talented singer who has been working very hard for a long time She studied Jazz Performance in college and is currently working on her music career with hopes of becoming a distinguished artist.

In my time following her progress, I've been able to see her grow and develop into her own. I've seen her in bands, groups and lately more often solo. I must say, each stage [no pun intended] presented a different style of music and performance altogether, but her solo work thus far has been much more definitive and representative of Kaila as a person and artist.

Though sweetly corny at times, her lyrics are true to life and relateable on many levels. The songs out out delve into the pit of emotions that she carries around with her, from dealing with long distance relationships in her song 'I Can't' to diving into new experiences blind, as told in 'The Unknown' and more with with we can easily identify with.

Kaila's jazz training is evident in her vocal footwork and fancy runs. Like many Jazz greats, Kaila does not over use the vocal acrobats and keeps a very balanced a mature structure to her songs, which is refreshing lately. I really can't stand hearing singers go over teh top with the songs- simple and poised makes for sophisticated music, which, in my opinion, is what keeps an artist down to earth and timeless. I'm not much of a fan of Diva's; if you're good enough to show it, you don't need to. It almost comes across as having something to prove, which is a turn off for me.

Kaila has recently filmed her first music video and I'm looking forward to seeing what is coming from this Montreal artist!

You can find Kaila's music at the following links:

YouTube
Facebook
ReverbNation

Because finding a place to live isn't easy!

Finding an apartment is never an easy task- let alone trying to find an apartment outside of my locality. Luckily, I've come across a useful tool that not only lets me narrow down my state and city preferences, but also enables me to compare all of the apartment candidates I am willing to consider side by side. Not only this, but it lets me compare several states altogether, which makes it easier for me to see what my options are, where, and what is most convenient for my lifestyle and goals.

Amongst numerous candidates, I've found one particular apartment that suits me and what I am looking for.

This beautiful apartment in Denver, CO is not only within fair distance from school, but it offers a variety of amenities that make student life easier (and more bearable, really). Amongst all the stress and chaos that takes place in a semester, it's nice to have everything you need in one place. This apartment, called the Axis At Nine Mile Station is walking distance from public transportation, which makes it easier to, you know, actually get to class, let alone on time. When I need some me-time, I can walk on over to the sports court, or have some friends over and make use of the grilling barbecues in order to celebrate passing that exam by a hairline (We all have our close calls!). Another benefit, I have to say, is the ample closet space. Being a girl, I have a lot of clothing and shoes, and this makes it easier for me to keep them organized. Additionally, It gives me room to hide those passed-by-a-hairline exams!

My favourite part, however, is the beautiful view I have of the mountains. Nothing is more grounding than seeing such natural beauties right in front of you, it's magical, it's breathtaking and that, my friends, is about 80% of the reason I would like to relocate to Denver, CO. The city will always be a a part of me and I don't want to leave that behind. Having access to these mountains and other pieces of nature that encompass the city at such an accessible and convenient distance is absolutely amazing. Denver is the perfect mix; the wine and cheese, the hydrogen and oxygen that is both necessary and delicious.

The big city is where I grew up, thus will always remain a part of me. Lately I've been getting an itch to move away to study; broaden my horizons and experiences to elsewhere than where I've been my entire life without leaving the big city feel behind. At the same time, I would love to be in a place laden with natural splendour, somewhere with less city smells, less concrete and more grass to lay on and watch the clouds go by. Don't get me wrong, I love the city, love the thrill of crossing a busy boulevard and as fond as I am about the smell of gasoline at 8:00AM, I wouldn't mind an afternoon hike or a beautiful view to satisfy my hankering for a natural encounter.

This is why I have chosen the Axis Nine Mile apartment; it's got everything I could want. The only thing that could make it better would be it having a library. It would be awfully convenient to have such easy access to books those nights where I need to get away from homework or have some time to kill. Additionally, I would love for it to have a rock climbing wall, seeing as it is a sport I regularly practice, but with those wonderful mountains and raw climbing destinations so close by it's not so bad. Overall, however, it is a wonderful find I am quite fond of.

You can check out my pad by clicking HERE!

New Beginnings

Well, it's been a while since my last post. A lot of changes have taken place, such as new living location and arrangements, new job, a bit of a paradigm shift in many areas of life in general.

Life throws curve-balls at you; sometimes full of opportunity and sometimes they're laced with concrete and run into your face. It's up to you to do what you need to do to make the most of them, and see the good they have to offer. For me, it was about marking the end of a long standing relationship, put my big-girl pants on and move on with life. Since, I've learned a lot about myself and what my aspirations and goals are, and am generally happier than I was. That's not to say that I wasn't happy, just that I felt trapped in a cycle I didn't want to be in and was too afraid to make the changes necessary to move ahead.

Anyways, I'm back, and I will do my best to post regularly and keep up with the copious amounts of talent that the internet holds.

Hopefully I haven't lost too much of a following, but, alas, I guess I deserve it.

Here's to new beginnings and wonderful times :)

-The Music

PS. I've recently decided to start working on my music more seriously, so you may be hearing from myself every now and then! ;)

The CO [Band]

Name: The CO
Where from: Nashville, USA

I personally think there is an excessive amount of self-proclaimed pop/rock bands out there and find it difficult to try and find new music in the genre when there's so much to listen to. I found The CO by going through some of Tyler Ward's videos. I wanted to see if I missed anything, seeing as I've become something of a fangirl, and I fell upon a collaboration done by Tyler Ward & The CO...of course, I had to see what they were all about.

At first listen the band reminds me a lot of a generic and slightly more pop-sounding combination of Kings of Leon and, at times, Muse. After a few more listens, however, started falling into their own and I've found a soft spot for their music. Though it can come across as generic and nothing special, everything that pulls the band apart from everything else is, for one, their lyrics, in addition to their vocalists beautiful and melodious rockstar voice. Everything together starts to sound like a cocktail of great bands put together, which is awesome.

Their song entitled '3 AM' is reminiscent of an Incubus/Muse/Kings of Leon lovechild. I am more than okay with that. In fact, it's just about everything I've dreamed of in terms of collaborations. This is no substitute for those three bands to come together as one, but it's a fair alternative until I can get my fantasies fulfilled.

Of course, it's not a band without a song about love losing touch. Their song "Might Be Leavin'" is perhaps the token love-lost track. Though formulated, I can't say it's a bad song nor can I say it's anything but real. Everyone goes through heartache and everyone's got something to say about it. It also wouldn't be a rock band without a song about making mistakes and wanting to start over- "Permanent Mistake" fills those shoes and then some.

It's not that I'm bashing the generics the band has to offer, just that it is what it is. I enjoy their music very much and think you should take a few minutes to check them out. I think they're worth the time and deserve to be put out there, so go see what you're missing!

Here's where you can check out The CO:

YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
The CO Official Website

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