NOTES FROM A COACH
CHAPTER FIVE

USING VISUAL IMAGES!

• USING VISUAL IMAGES!
• Letting Go of the Past
• YOUR " WORST" SINGING MOMENT
• YOUR " PERFECT" SINGING MOMENT

USING VISUAL IMAGES:

Ever had a nightmare vision of failure and frustration in one of those nasty dreams we sometimes have to work out our anxiety over performing?

The microphone is broken and we have to sing for a huge auditorium that can't hear us. The band is playing some song we don't know and we're forced to fake it in front of the big record executives. You all have your own version of this nightmare and it's a truly reasonable response to the demands you are placing upon your pyche! Asking yourself to show up at a certain time and place and be not only be in good voice and pitch and dressed cute but emotionally available to the material and confident of yourself all at the same time. Phew.

Most successfull singers have a really relaxed internal centre that seems to keep them in a peaceful state no matter how crazy things get. But what is thier secret? How can one stay calm in the face of so much pressure?

A good way to create a sense of peacefullness inside is by holding A VISUAL IMAGE in your head that is really pleasurable to you.

Perhaps give yourself the image that you are singing out under the stars to a lover on some warm summer night or perhaps singing in some old hometown theatre that you loved to go to when you were younger. The important thing is to hold an image or an experience that will lift your attention up off your fears and nerves and up into the joy of singing. Try daily meditative work holding that pleasurable singing image in your head while you breathe in and out in a state of peacefullness. It will help set that intended state of being into your concioussness as well as disolve some of the experiences of failure you may have had in the past.

LETTING GO OF THE PAST:

Most of us have had some horrible experience early in our singing lives that has stayed with us throughout the years. Perhaps it was your parents response to your singing in the car on a family trip or some choir teacher who made you feel small for not doing a part perfectly. When we are young and our voicesare inexperienced we don't always hit the notes correctly to say the least. But when grown-ups belittle us sometimes even during the very act of singing it can be especially painful and embarassing. After all the pure joy and boundless enthusiasm of a young singer isn't about pitch or perfection but more
about the discovery of something wonderfull that we are just discovering we love to do.

So many students have told me they never tried singing again after being told they weren't any good at it by their family or by well meaning educators. I myself remember a certain music teacher who, when I bounded into her class at age 13, thrilled about the invitation to join some band, was then told "Well then Micah you'd best learn how to sing first hadn't you?" Learn to sing? But singing was my whole life, my whole spirit, my whole reason for living! And she was telling me I didn't know how to do it yet and that I had something to learn before I could even try to do it? Something was wrong with that picture for me then and it still is now. I always encourage child singers to go for it with gusto and tell their parents to worry about the specifics of technique a little deeper into the experience of singing. Why kill all that joy just to hit all the notes perfectly?

YOUR "WORST" SINGING MOMENT

I sometimes work with a meditation that asks my students to put themselves back in that situation of their worst singing experience just so they can experience the feelings that came up for them back when things went horribly wrong.

What is the body sensation that goes along with that embarassment? Were your knees shaky? Did you feel short of breathe? Hot flush all over your body, mabye cramps in your stomach?

Whatever those sensations were, watch for them to turn up in your present singing life and if there is even a hint of the old fear then you've probably hit on some of the roots of your stage fright and reticence to move forward in your work as a singer.

YOUR " PERFECT" SINGING MOMENT

It is really important what images you hold in your head and heart. To overcome the scars of the past that might be holding you back in the present try create a new beautiful visual image that will help sustain your joy and peace in performance!

Try imagining an imaginary "perfect" singing moment where you feel and sound GREAT! Imagine the song, the performance situation, what you would be wearing , what kind of band, who is in the audience etc. Really get into the details of the experience so you can give this imaginary experience texture and weight.

Think of yourself as creating a beautiful vision of what is possible in your singing life to replace the bad experiences you may still be holding in your body's memory and gifting yourself with something more positive to hold onto while performing.