Everyone loves to sing in the shower, in the car, while cleaning at home alone, but it’s another matter entirely to get up on stage in front of a crowd and spill your soul in a song. These singing tips will help beat stage fright:

1. Be prepared.

Nothing will substitute for the time you spend in voice lessons and practicing your repertoire to ensure that each phrase is firmly committed to memory and that technically difficult sections become second nature. When you “own” your performance piece, you are free to let loose and have fun because you will not need to worry about forgetting a section or stumbling through a challenging passage.

2. Do not aim for perfection.

Mistakes happen. If you fumble on stage, just pick up and keep going; chances are half the audience won’t even notice, and if they do they will forget by the end of the song if you continue. Do not let yourself get upset, whether still on stage or in the wings after your performance, if you make a mistake. After all, nobody is perfect! Simply be acknowledge that you gave it your all–what more can you ask of yourself?

3. Know that your audience is supportive.

The people in the audience did not come to the performance to laugh at you or criticize you; they came for an evening of entertainment. They know it’s difficult to get up on stage (that’s why they’re watching you instead of doing it themselves!), and they want you to succeed. Be grateful they came to see you (if there’s no one in the audience, you might as well be in the shower, right?). Give them a welcoming smile as you enter and think, “Hello! It’s wonderful to see you here tonight–thank you for coming!” Accept their applause as their vote of confidence in you, and afterwards accept the cheers with a gracious bow. Interacting with the audience in this way, rather than trying to ignore them, will enhance your performance experience.

4. Take a moment of quiet time before you go on stage to breathe deeply and focus your full attention on the song. Do not let the whirl of backstage activities affect your inner calm.

5. Fake it.

If you feel nervous, pretend you are a confident, very talented singer who loves to be in front of a crowd. After enough pretending, that is who you will become!

6. Remember why you love to sing.

Perhaps you’ve chosen a song that especially moves you that you want to share with the audience. Perhaps you love the freedom you feel when you open your mouth and belt. Perhaps there are some feelings inside of you that you cannot express without music. Whatever the case, carry your love of music and singing with you to the stage, and the song will carry you through the performance.

Though performing in front of an audience seems intimidating, these tips will help you become a Singing Success!

Tags: Singing Performance, singing success, singing tips

This entry was posted on Monday, May 25th, 2009 at 3:37 pm and is filed under Singing Performance, singing tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.