In today’s episode,Tara chats about the challenges and strengths of being a singer/performer who is introverted. She chats from her own experience of being an introvert, as well as from working with other introverts.

These might be things introverts struggle with:

• Performance anxiety
• Networking and self/promotion
• Trying to balance alone time and social engagements
• Collaborating with musicians in group situations and not having their voice heard
• Dealing with the expectations of a performance from the audience to be overly charismatic
• Pacing yourself at a performance

Being introverted can also include these strengths:

• Having a heightened sense of our inner world can help us carry amazing emotions into our performance
• Having self reflection easily available where you can analyze your performance and take it to the next level
• May have a preference for intimate performances to connect deeply with people
• Loving and utilizing solace for times of creating

The Introvert Advantage book is a great resource to understand what it means to be introverted.

Check out The Singer’s Feedback Zone here:

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You can listen on Amazon Audible music, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, iHeart radio, PlayerFM, Spotify and more. If you are willing to rate and review this podcast, please do wherever you listen. Or share it to social media and tag me.

 Instagram: @tarabrueskemusic   

Facebook: @tarabmusician  

In today’s episode,Tara gives you steps  that can help you teach a voice lesson. Practical tips to help you know what to do in a weekly lesson with a voice student.

1. Get to know how your student is doing that day.
2. Have the student do some simple stretching or massage parts of their body. (Using a Gua Sha is great for this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074SL6JNN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
3. Start with warmups that are lower or in mid-range.
4. Use SOVT’s for early warmups in the lesson.
5. Don’t use exercises that go too quickly or are on the ends of their range—high or low.
6. Watch/observe what is going on in their physical body—face, head, shoulders, breath, neck, hips, knees, etc
7. Pick one thing in the warmup that they do well and then focus on something that they need help with that you have noticed.
8. Pick a song and then have the student sing the whole song or only just a verse and chorus.
9. Listen and watch for that portion of the song for areas of technique they do well and can improve upon. Example: resonance, breath support, pitch issues, tension in their body, lack of flexibility and more
10. 10. If you can’t find a solution for something, it’s okay to tell the student you will come back to it in another lesson. Then go do research.
11. 11. Throughout the lesson, ask them the things they are physically sensing and noticing so that they can know on their own what you see or hear.
12. 12. Be aware of if your student learns aurally, visually or is a kinesthetic learner.

You can grab your free template for teaching a voice lesson  at the Singing Hub:

https://tarab.vipmembervault.com/products/courses/view/4

You can listen on Amazon Audible music, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, iHeart radio, PlayerFM, Spotify and more. If you are willing to rate and review this podcast, please do wherever you listen. Or share it to social media and tag me.

 Instagram: @tarabrueskemusic   

Facebook: @tarabmusician  

In today’s episode,Tara talks to music fitness coach Angela McCuiston, the founder of Music Strong LLC, a business that specializes in personal fitness training for musicians! We explore her own personal journey of a music related injury and her healing as well as how she helps musicians get healthy in their body and stay healthy!  

Angela developed an injury from playing the flute (which was her instrument of study) She had strain and imbalance of certain muscles and needed to find a way to get her body healthy again without just quitting her instrument.

“You don’t throw out a soccer player when they pull a hamstring… or tell them to quit their sport…you just rehab them.”

Angela didn’t find enough resources to help her heal properly so she looked into becoming a personal trainer. 

“Up to 90% of musicians will either experience pain related playing or will have injuries.”

During a convention of flutists in Florida, people started asking Angela for help and someone asked if she would do a workshop and she did and started traveling around to universities to give them.

“Rest is NOT rehab.”

Angela sees a lot of shoulder, low back pain as well as weak core muscles. When people come to her, she starts with a movement assessment—upper and lower body— to help personalize what each individual needs.

One thing Angela uses is NeuroKinetic Therapy: This uses manual muscle testing to address the cause of pain It’s a corrective movement system that addresses dysfunctional movement patterns stored in the brain. 

Musicares—a division of the Grammy’s that helps musicians.

You can get ahold of Angela here:

https://musicstrong.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musicstrongfitness/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/musicstrong/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MusicStrongFitnessTraining

You can grab more free helps at the Singing Hub:

https://tarab.vipmembervault.com/products/courses/view/4

You can listen on Amazon Audible music, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, iHeart radio, PlayerFM, Spotify and more. If you are willing to rate and review this podcast, please do wherever you listen. Or share it to social media and tag me.

 Instagram: @tarabrueskemusic   

Facebook: @tarabmusician  

In today’s episode,Tara talks gives some very practical exercises for your warmups that will help with engaging and maintaining breath. She focuses on specific exercises to help with breath pressure and the speed of the airflow!

Vocal warmups to help you get and maintain great breath:

1. Put your back in a sitting position against the wall and take some nose breaths. Slow arpeggio of a lip buzz and pay attention to your body while sitting against the wall.
2. Use a vowel that’s easy for you and then use one note and gradually crescendo—get louder. Then do the opposite—decrescendo and get quieter using one note.
3. Use staccato and legato back to back. Using a ha 1-1-1-1-1-2-3-4-5-5-5-5-5-4-3-2-1.   Then use an “ah” doing a half scale up and down.
4. Using melisma—doing it quickly: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. Start with a pause on 1 and then at the top on 8 and then back on the last note. Sing legato.
5. Use vvv (a fricative) and slide 1-5-1. Pay attention to the breath pressure that you are sending.

Use warmups to pay attention to what is going on with many parts of your singing from your breath to your mouth to your tongue to your jaw and more…

You can get The Singing Straw here:

https://singingstraw.com/discount/tarab10?ref=tarab10

Use code for 10 % discount: tarab10

You can listen on Amazon Audible music, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, iHeart radio, PlayerFM Stitcher, Spotify and more. If you are willing to rate and review this podcast, please do wherever you listen. Or share it to social media and tag me.

 Instagram: @tarabrueskemusic   

Facebook: @tarabmusician  

In today’s episode,Tara talks gives some very solid and practical tips to help you memorize songs for your shows, whether a few songs or many! 

You can get the singing straw here:

https://singingstraw.com/discount/tarab10?ref=tarab10

Use code for discount: tarab10

The article on people’s capability to memorize:

https://www.lpm.org/news/2018-01-25/how-many-songs-can-our-brains-actually-remember#:~:text=The%20short%20answer%3A%20no.,at%20the%20University%20of%20Louisville.

“Your brain has an almost unlimited capacity for memory. It can actually store about 2.5 petabytes of memory…which is a million gigabytes!”

“If your brain was a smartphone on which you downloaded TV shows, it could record 300 years of continuous TV before running out of space.”

Dr. Emily Mason (University of Louisville)

Some practical tips to memorize songs:

1. Finding a story in the song.
2. Look at specific images—are their descriptions of things in the lyrics?
3. Does anything repeat itself?
4. Looking for those things that repeat but have subtle changes of words.
5. Analyze the form of the song.
6. Look at the lyrics in front of you as you listen to the song.
7. Speaking the lyrics out loud.
8. Starting with looking at songs and finding the ones which have the most lyrics in a song—start with the hardest one.
9. From Lenora Green-Turner (classical artist) said that she writes out the text or doodles pictures. She also puts translations side by side (where there are other languages) to see what feelings she needs to put in the song.
10. Look for rhymes in the words.
11. For the music part, record yourself singing and compare to original melody recording.
12. On the lyric sheets, writing in the note name or draw dots in the direction of the notes.
13. Repetition. Listen everywhere to the song so it gets ingrained in your head.
14. Create a plan. Set deadlines backwards so you know when you need to have EVERYTHING memorized.

You can listen on Amazon Audible music, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, iHeart radio, PlayerFM Stitcher, Spotify and more. If you are willing to rate and review this podcast, please do wherever you listen. Or share it to social media and tag me.

 Instagram: @tarabrueskemusic   

Facebook: @tarabmusician

In today’s episode,Tara talks about the difficulties of doing followups and ways to make them easier to do so that you actually book the gig!

You can get the singing straw here:

https://singingstraw.com/discount/tarab10?ref=tarab10

Use code for discount: tarab10

“When people do a follow up one time and they don’t hear back from somebody, they assume they are already being rejected. They assume it’s a ‘no’.”

Mistakes often made:

• Not contacting enough times 
• Doing it too often
• Not thinking about that you need to “build the relationship”

Tips to help the followup process:

• Keep a record of when you make contact
• Try different ways of contacting someone
• Research the place or event to find common ground
• Do the follow up every 3-4 weeks
• “Follow up till you get a firm yes or a firm no”
• Be respectful in your way of contacting them
• Offer a question to them that gets them engaged back with you

“The biggest thing in doing followups is to be consistent and persevering.”

For more booking helps:

https://tarab.vipmembervault.com/products/courses/view/10

You can listen on Amazon Audible music, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, iHeart radio, PlayerFM Stitcher, Spotify and more. If you are willing to rate and review this podcast, please do wherever you listen. Or share it to social media and tag me.

 Instagram: @tarabrueskemusic   

Facebook: @tarabmusician  

In today’s episode, Tara interviews two long time professional singers and gets the low down on the ups and downs of being a professional singer!

Both Lisa and Jana grew up in musical families and had singers they looked up to like Linda Ronstadt, Chaka Khan, Sheena Easton, Donny and Marie Osmond and more!

They met each other through the Rupert’s Orchestra in town in Minneapolis. With mutual respect between both of them, they went on to work with other amazing professionals like Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, as well as Fleetwood Mac, Don Henley, Prince and more!

(In response to nerves before a show.)

• “It’s never easy. I don’t get nervous but I’m very awake and excited! “ Lisa Keith Bernard
• “I get very excited and very very nervous for the first couple of songs…I’m letting myself relax a little bit and by the second or third song I see the audience—there’s something about seeing the audience and cracking a joke that relaxes me and I feel more at home on stage.” Jana Anderson
• “There’s an anticipation that I feel on show day…I think it gets easier the more people that you are with because others can fill in the gaps.” Tara B
• “We have the blessing of being close friends…our faith binds us first….and music and family and friends second.” Jana Anderson

As pro singers, we have all faced at one time or another of someone asking us if we have “real jobs”. There is so much we have to do to educate others as professional musicians.

“As musicians, we definitely have to wear many hats!” Lisa Keith Bernard

Lisa Keith Bernard:

https://www.facebook.com/LisaKeithMusic

https://www.facebook.com/spencerandlisa

Better Than You song: https://youtu.be/gYPwiW4huNc

Jana Anderson: https://www.janaandersonmusic.com/

I Honestly Love You Tribute show: https://www.facebook.com/ONJAMHITS

River Tribute show: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057579875823

Crooners: https://croonersloungemn.com/

Chanhassen Dinner Theater: https://chanhassendt.com/concertseries/

Chart House Live: https://www.charthouserestaurant.com/?view=calendar&month=11-2023

The Freight House: https://www.thefreighthouse.com/events

You can get the singing straw here:

https://singingstraw.com/discount/tarab10?ref=tarab10

Use code for discount: tarab10

You can listen on Amazon Audible music, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, iHeart radio, PlayerFM Stitcher, Spotify and more. If you are willing to rate and review this podcast, please do where you listen. Or share it to social media and tag me.

 Instagram: @tarabrueskemusic   

Facebook: @tarabmusician  

In today’s episode, Tara dives again into the biz side of singing. In this part two episode, she gives you criteria that will help you figure out what you should be charging for performances. She also shares about creating pricing tiers for different events and needs.

Criteria to set your price for performances:

• Your skillset as a musician
• Training that you have had as a musician
• Practice and rehearsal that you have done through the years and currently do
• Picking and learning songs
• Planning concert programming
• Your experience in performing
• Having and keeping up a sound system
• Set up and take down and the hauling of equipment
• Length of the performance
• Location of the gig
• Advertising for the performance

“Every really great professional I know is still practicing!”

Create pricing tiers to help your clients. Have a starting price and then add on for all the extra criteria you decide.

Want more booking help?

Here is a link to the Booking Hub, where you get more FREE booking tips. Sign up today:

https://tarab.vipmembervault.com/products/courses/view/10

Also, I’m a guest on these podcasts talking about booking:

https://tarabrueske.com/guest-on-other-podcasts

You can listen on Amazon Audible music, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, iHeart radio, PlayerFM Stitcher, Spotify and more. If you are willing to rate and review this podcast, please do where you listen. Or share it to social media and tag me.

 Instagram: @tarabrueskemusic   

Facebook: @tarabmusician  

In today’s episode, Tara dives into the biz side of singing. In this three part series, she covers aspects of booking gigs. Many who are studying voice also want places to share their gift and in this week’s part one, Tara shares what are some of the best type of venues to sing and get paid.

There are traditional gigs and non-traditional gigs. The traditional gigs tend to be places like clubs, music festivals in the summer, restaurants, theaters and weddings.

“Insanity: doing the same thing but expecting different results!”

10 great places to book:

1. Wineries
2. Breweries
3. Apple Orchards
4. County and State Fairs
5. Rodeos
6. Home parties like makeup, jewelry, clothing, health supplements, gadgets, products that are healthy for the environment, etc
7. Celebrations like 90th birthday parties, wedding anniversaries, graduations, bar mitzvah, etc
8. Art Fairs
9. Farmer’s Market
10. 10. Fundraising events for charities or non-profits.

BONUS place: Senior centers, senior living places—independent, assisted living, memory care, nursing home

Want more booking help?

Here is a link to the Booking Hub, where you get more FREE booking tips. Sign up today:

https://tarab.vipmembervault.com/products/courses/view/10

Also, I’m a guest on these podcasts talking about booking:

https://tarabrueske.com/guest-on-other-podcasts

You can listen on Amazon Audible music, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, iHeart radio, PlayerFM Stitcher, Spotify and more. If you are willing to rate and review this podcast, please do where you listen. Or share it to social media and tag me.

 Instagram: @tarabrueskemusic   

Facebook: @tarabmusician  

Today’s episode focuses on what it takes to be a professional singer. Pro singers possess many skillsets and Tara dives into many of these skills to help pro singers recognize and value all they know and have experience in. 

Here are some of the skills that many professional singers have:

1. Great technique to do all you need to with your voice.
2. Being able to sightread music.
3. Being able to improvise music.
4. Having the ability to harmonize with others, whether it’s written out via notes or you pick out the natural harmony by ear.
5. Knowing how to blend your voice with other singers, whether in a choir or group.
6. Singing in other foreign languages—knowing how to read and pronounce them.
7. Being able to pace yourself in a concert so your voice stays healthy throughout the whole show.
8. Knowing what to do for a show if you are sick.

Want some voice lessons?

Please click here for Virtual online 30 minute lessons:

Or

You can find  The Singer’s Feedback Zone here:

 https://tarab.vipmembervault.com/products/courses/view/21

Please reach out to me if you are interested via email:

[email protected]

You can listen on Amazon Audible music, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, iHeart radio, PlayerFM Stitcher, Spotify and more. If you are willing to rate and review this podcast, please do where you listen. Or share it to social media and tag me.

 Instagram: @tarabrueskemusic