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Preparing for your Performance

1706 - Aug 2021

1. WHAT ARE YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SINGERS SO THAT THEY CAN BE PREPARED TO PERFORM?

I’m someone who likes to be very prepared for being on stage. I like to lay out a plan for my singers depending on what they are going to be singing and how ready they need to be. That is very important to me to have them feel prepared and it is one of the first recommendations that I give to a student who is about to have a performance. They need to have a plan to work towards the performance. For some it is already their job, and for others it may be their very first time performing. They still need a plan. And that plan is not one size fits all. It has to dance and change to accommodate all the multiple factors that live performance is.

Some people show up for lessons and they need something right away. The performance is soon and they need help now. Others have time and want to prepare and get ready slowly. It is always different. You just never know. 

Usually, a singer will arrive at my door wanting to sound better so that they can go and sing and do a good job. There are so many different kinds of singers and such a wide variety of music to be sung that it may seem hard to address this to a general audience. However, there are some very common practices that work for most singers to help them be ready and do their very best. Once they have an organized approach to the day of the performance, it is so much easier to relax and do a good job.

2. WHAT IS THE VERY FIRST THING THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO HELP SOMEONE PREPARE FOR PERFORMING?

The very first thing is to find out how much they already know about performing and how much information they might still need. Then after that, we have to begin the work to get their voice ready as well as prepare them to be successful. 

Another thing that really matters is how much singing this performance will be for them. You will prepare quite differently depending on the amount of singing that is required and if you are the lead singer, the star of the show, a soloist with one to three songs or the only one singing for two hours, an on and on. Sometimes you have time to get ready and sometimes a singer just got the job and they need to get ready right away.

First, it is really important to make an accurate assessment of the starting place each performer and what the finished performance is going to look like.

3. DOES EVERYONE PREPARE IN THE SAME WAY OR IS IT DIFFERENT FOR EVERYONE?

There are some things that are very much the same and then there are things one person may need that another will not need. To answer that more fully, I’d like to revisit one of the earlier podcasts for a moment. 

In the third podcast that we did, we spoke at length about how a singer warms up their voice for a practice routine. That same process is very much a part of performance preparation. It just has to be adjusted to the circumstances of the moment. Sometimes we have to do a fast version of it and sometimes we have ample preparation time. This is, of course, why it is so useful for a singer to establish a routine or a ritual around their daily work for their voice. Just as a little recap, I’d like to mention a few of the things we said:

• We had spoken about the various physical exercises such as doing aerobic exercise early in the day. 

• I also had suggested that singers would highly benefit from doing certain kinds of stretches and breath work as well. 

• It is also a good thing to learn how to incorporate strength training into your weekly schedule. 

In addition, we also talked about some basic speech and singing exercises that are very targeted before singing either for a class, a rehearsal, the recording process and, of course, the performance. Hopefully, a singer will have organized some sort of routine a while before they go on a stage and begin performing. Everyone is different and the demands of a certain situation will always be different, so it helps to get organized.

4. THERE ARE SO MANY CHOICES, HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO FIRST?

Well, of course, first, you must make sure that you know your material. You have either written your own songs or you are singing songs from another writer and you will have made these songs a part of you. If you are doing your own show or you are in a show, you first learn the material so that you do not need the music or the lyrics and that sets you free. 

You either get a coach and/or a voice teacher, or you can go online and use the resources that you find there. In fact, there are so many resources these days for finding that information. On every platform there is someone giving advice. You can literally find an almost unlimited amount of information. The problem is, however, how do you know when to do what? I like things to be organized so I would say, first things first. Try to figure out what works for yourself. What makes you feel ready?

Assuming that you have done all your studying and vocalizing and all the things a singer does from day to day, and that you know your material, then you begin with a good night’s sleep. Sleep is a singer’s best friend so get as much as you reasonably can. There is much debate about how much sleep a person needs. A working performer always needs more sleep than they think. You need your strength and energy for performing. Proper sleep is essential to a great performance.

Once you wake up, I recommend doing deep long breaths even before you get out of bed. I do that in the morning to allow my body to wake up in a relaxed way. Once you have brushed your teeth and taken care of your body’s needs, I like to begin the day with gentle stretching. Quite a while before the performance, you will want to have done some kind of exercise to get your blood going and move your muscles. On a performance day, do not start doing exercises that are new to you. Being prepared also includes having enough energy to do a performance later that day, so balance is necessary. Don’t overdo it. Pace yourself and go easy. Move and get aerobic.

This is most important if the gig is in the evening. Starting early gives you plenty of wiggle room to see what you really need that day. It can be a very long day until the performance starts and you don’t want to wear yourself out early.

5. SHOULD YOU WARM UP YOUR VOICE EARLY IN THE DAY OR WAIT UNTIL LATER?

If you have a performance in the evening, it is a good practice to warm up your voice for a longer amount earlier and then warm up again for a short session later on closer to the gig. Of course, it always depends on how much singing you have to do.

For example, if you only have one song to sing, you actually want to warm up a lot. You will only have about 3-4 minutes on stage to sing a song and you want to sing like you are already there. If you warm up alot, you will come on sounding like you have been singing for a while and it will be so much better.

If, on the other hand, you are in a show and you are going to sing many songs for a long time, you might want to only warm up for about under a half hour. You have to pace yourself so that you don’t run out of energy before the end of the show. Get your voice just to the point of being ready and not too far beyond that. That is why warming up early is good because you might have lots to do and you will know where your voice is on a given day and how much more it will need. You get to know your voice by being with it regularly. Starting early in the day allows it to rest afterwards and to assimilate the practice session. In this way, you learn to read the signals as to what it will need later on in any given day. This way you also know how much you will need to do closer to the show.

6. HOW DO YOU PLAN YOUR MEALS FOR A SINGING PERFORMANCE?

Well, after the early breath work, maybe some meditation practice, a workout and a shower 

and once you have completed the first vocal warm up, you can now have some food. However, this is a very particularly challenging subject. Many people have no idea what to eat. Some students I have had have been very interested in studying and trying different eating plans, others, not so much. Basically, a singer is an athlete and eating like an athlete is recommended. 

And that is where the individuality of a singer comes in and it really is important to know your body and what it needs. Unless you have the ability to have care by the kind of professionals that athletes have or you are able to get the advice of a nutritionist or a practitioner who knows about diet and nutrition, it means that you are going to have to start learning and studying. Again, there is a multitude of information available, but this is where you really have to study yourself and find people who know, so that you can have the correct eating plan for yourself. 

7. IS THERE A BASIC EATING PLAN THAT ANYONE CAN FOLLOW?

A basic nutritional approach is to have a balance of protein, carbohydrate and a bit of fat at your meals. You also need a balanced amount of fluids. That is also a big issue for a performer. You cannot sing when you are dehydrated.

On the day of the performance, I believe that the amount of food should be enough to nourish and not too much as to overburden your system. Usually you need light protein the day of a performance and plenty of liquids. 

If you are vegetarian, and you do not eat animal protein, make sure you get enough B12 and get your proteins through a balanced diet. Again, this is a vast subject that is different for everyone.

I believe that, through trial and error, you can find a good plan. I also believe in doing good research. There are some very notable nutritionists that have published many books and there are many resources so that you are not just poking in the dark. Gary Null is a very well known and trusted writer and has written many many books on the subject of nutrition and his work collects the research of many others and distills it for the everyday person. I would highly recommend his writings. 

I personally try to always eat any dense proteins in the early part of the day. The rule for a singer is that you can safely sing once the food has left your stomach. Otherwise, you can have the food come back up and that is a nightmare for a singer. So, whatever you have, eat it with enough time to digest it so it is not in your stomach for the beginning of the performance. 

Spread out your meals so that you are not eating too close to the performance. After the performance, you also have to give yourself enough time to digest the food you may really need at that time. If you have eaten more of your food in the early day, then at night you can eat more lightly and after you can have broth or something light that will digest easily and quickly. 

8. DO YOU HAVE TO VOCALIZE ONCE AGAIN AFTER YOU HAVE EATEN?

Yes, after you have waited enough time so that the food is well on its way, you can do a shorter version of a vocal workout. You may have some mucus and some reactions to the food you had, so it is good practice to sing a bit to make sure it is all processed out of your mouth and that you can again breathe fully once your stomach is more empty. This vocalizing should be short and light. It is just to get the voice active again. Any heavier singing should have already been finished earlier in the day. Also, leave a bit of time between that second vocal workout and the performance. You will want to give your muscles a rest afterwards. This rest allows for the muscles to be restored with oxygen and get replenished.

9. WOULD THIS ALSO BE A GOOD TIME TO STRETCH OR EXERCISE AGAIN?

Yes, it is an ideal time to do a little stretching.That is a great way to center yourself and to concentrate and still your mind.Sometimes you have had a busy day and you need time to collect yourself. Some people need to be alone, some do not. I personally love stretching and would always take a moment to stretch so I can feel agile and ready. For the female performer who has to get their hair and make-up done as well, they will need to plan their time accordingly. It is not always easy to fit in all these things and really is a full time job. Likewise, an actor, male or female, who has to get into a costume, has to strategically plan when to do all these things. Anything that will pump you up without tiring or disturbing you will be fine. Just don’t overdo it. 

10. DO YOU HAVE OTHER HELP AND HINTS?

Yes! Here is a checklist that is very useful:

• Drink only room temperature drinks before you sing.

• Make sure you drink fluids far enough from the show so you will last until the break or until your performance is finished.

• Check to see if your back is loose or tight and stretch if it is not flexible.

• Gently tug on your tongue to see if it has tightened and give it a little stretch.

• If the place you are singing in is dry, bring along a facial steamer and steam to get moisture.

• Limit you’re talking the day of a performance. 

• Bring along a massager just in case you get tight; they come in very handy for a quick massage.

• Keep your back warm in between sets or acts of plays. Always stay warm so you don’t get tight before the next session.