As a professional singer, I have performed on stage and taught voice for 19 years, and decided I'd share what I've learned with the Steemit community through offering this contest!
What is the Singers of Steemit Contest?
- - A way for aspiring singers to receive professional feedback and improve their vocal technique
- - A way to get more exposure on Steemit (and upvotes!)
What's the prize?
***One winner will be selected on Friday, July 28 to receive their choice of a free 30-minute Skype lesson from me, or 10 SBD!!!***
Unlike other contests, the winner of Singers of Steemit will not simply be selected based on who I think sings the best, but rather based on the person I think has the most hidden potential - so who is doing some things well but may need a little direction to help spring them forward to the next level.
Why have a Singers of Steemit Contest?
I'm passionate about singing. While my genre of choice is opera, I can also sing and teach in many other styles. So don't feel obligated to sing something operatic - do whatever you love!
My philosophy is that singing most styles of music require the same sets of muscles to be strong and working together well. I have helped many students unlock their voices so that they can sing with confidence and ease, and to make their own sound - not anyone else's (including mine).
But it took me years to figure out just how to get these muscles strengthened properly and how to help others do the same. I know how difficult it is to find these answers, so I want to share what I can with the Steemit community!
How do I enter?
- 1. Make a video of yourself singing in the style of your choice, a cappella
- -Be sure to say these words at the beginning of the video: "Singers of Steemit Week 1"
- -Only one entry per week
- -Please do not use any reverb or effects on your voice
- -If you would like feedback on something specific, feel free to mention it in your post and I will be sure to address it
- 2. Post your video on your steemit page and reply to this post with your link. Tag your video with #singersofsteemit so it's easier for everyone to find.
- 3. Upvote this post and support your fellow contestants by listening and upvoting
- 4. Deadline is Friday, July 28 at 3:00pm, CST. Results will be posted that evening, (Time TBD, depending on how many entries. :) )
Now for those of you a little worried about the "feedback" aspect, let me explain a few things:
I know what it's like to be unsure of your voice. Every sound you make is one that I've made myself or I've heard before - and I know how to help. So I will never say anything in a way that would embarrass you or make you feel bad. I will be honest - just not in a Simon Cowell sort of way - and I will always tell you what you're doing well ;)
If you have any questions, please let me know! Let's make this contest something that will take off and give the singers on Steemit more exposure and upvotes!
Hi @morodiene,
Sponsoring a music contest with a skype voice lesson for a prize is a great idea. I really like your idea to focus on hidden potential, too.
We have shared this post on the Steemit's Best Classical Music Facebook page and in our latest post, Steemit's Best Classical Music Roundup [Issue #9].
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Thank you, @classical-music! I hope more people decide to take advantage of this - there's always more to learn and ways to improve!
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Note: I added one clarification under the "What's the prize" section to describe the criteria I'm using for picking the winner.
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If you are intimidated by having your feedback made public, just mention that you'd rather have it via email and provide your email addy in your post.
The purpose of the feedback is to help, not draw attention to flaws that we *all* have. :)
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wonderful project. I will support and enter. great job
:)
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Great! I can't wait to hear you :)
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What a great contest! Hopefully @vocalists-trail will see it and maybe resteem!
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Thanks for the support! It's good to not only have contestants but those that will support them :)
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Congratulations! This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by negativer from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, theprophet0, and someguy123. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows and creating a social network. Please find us in the Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel. It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.
If you like what we're doing please upvote this comment so we can continue to build the community account that's supporting all members.
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A cappella would be interesting for me, or it could be a train wreck...I'm not sure which one.
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I know it's tricky, but that's the way I can hear your voice best. I'm not really going to judge you on "staying in tune" (since most of the time not singing in tune has more to do with a technical issue in the voice than anything else), but pick a song that doesn't change keys or is fairly straightforward and that can help.
And you can do as many takes as you need to before submitting :)
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More than one take may be needed... LOL
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Looks good to me. You're a great singer and a great teacher. I wouldn't mind those 10 SBD at all.
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I think sending it to you would be a conflict of interest :P
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Sounds fun! Looks like I'll be making a video soon! 😝
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Awesome! Looking forward to it.
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Love this idea! Now I must think about songs!
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Just have fun with it :)
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Here is my week one submission! https://steemit.com/music/@inkatieskitchen/singers-of-steemit-week-1-o-mio-babbino-caro
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I love this.
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Grate contest! I have been singing in a choir for a long time and I´m learnig to play the piano now as well as I have been composing a bit for piano and choir. But I have been dealing with a problem of being raspy in my vocals for the past 2 years. I loose my voice and get totally raspy after every choir practice these days. It didnt use to be like that before. Could be because of my medical steroid use through the years (becaus of MS). But I don´t let it stop me from singing as I enjoy it and it´s so healing to sing even if you don´t have the best quality of voice. Maybe I will participate in this competition for fun ;)
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Singing to the point of raspiness or hoarseness usually means you sang for too long, but steroids can definitely cause a problem in singing. However, if the muscles are strengthened properly you may be able to build up a bit more endurance.
If you are able to tell during choir practice when your voice is about to go, then maybe you can just whisper the words for the rest of the time and practice mentally (Maybe even let your choir director know so they don't think you're slacking).
That's very cool about composing! I also compose for choir and piano (a bit - haven't spent much time on it lately). I'd love to hear what you've written!
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Thank you for that comment . I think the raspyness after choir practices is also because of me singing to load. I usually have a few ladys hanging on my shoulders trying to follow me as they don´t have as good ear or don´t read the sheets as well. So yes maby it´s because I sing to load for to long time. One of my teachers also told me that I should try to speak higher. She felt that I was sinking a bit down to the throat while speaking. But somhow I am also raspy when I wake up each day and sometimes it gets better later in the day and sometimes not. But I´m originally in fine arts and did a lot of performances back in the days so my first composing was composed as a performance. It has a lot of spoken text and then sung veres in between (5 womens voices and piano) That was also before I started to learn the piano. But somehow I managed to play it and record it to a demo. Then after I started my piano lessons almost two years ago I have composed few other piano songs but they are still without lyrics. But you can check out my demo of my song/performance The Astronat on soundcloud if you are interested. It´s just a demo like said before and all voices sung by me. I´m better at the piano today as I am practicing for the second degree now. I´m going a bit fast in the piano lessons as I practice a lot :) https://soundcloud.com/maria-petursdottir/geimfarinn-demo-the-astronat-demo
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Awesome! I will definitely check out your compositions!
As for the singing too loud thing, it is actually better for the voice to singing a comfortable loud (but not your absolute loudest) than it is to sing softly. This is because singing softly is often not done correctly and is harder to maintain well. Singing at a comfortable loud volume is actually easier to do well - if the proper singing muscles are engaged.
Regarding your speaking voice, I hate to be contradictory to your teacher, but speaking higher in pitch doesn't help. Speak at the pitches you are most comfortable with. If you ever listen to any of the old great operatic sopranos speak, like Maria Callas in this interview below , notice she's not talking high in the voice, yet she was a dramatic coloratura - a very high soprano. This is typical:
Raspiness in the morning is normal and again, could be made a bit worse by the steroids. But I never like singing in the morning LOL!
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Hahahaha! Well, I´m so glad you contradicted one of my choir teachers there :D As it is very difficult to always try to monitor how you speak. That´s maybe for trans people but not for me :) It´s very interesting to listen to Maria Callas speak. She has a dark speaking voice and she goes from low to high but yes mainly shes down there even thoug she sings very high :)
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