Vocal Care Saves Vocal Wear
Caring for your voice is a very important aspect of singing. No matter how much vocal training you do, if you damage your vocal cords your singing will not be all it can be. What follows is a number of things not to do to your voice and it is especially directed to those who are very serious about their singing or who wish to be professional singers.
While no one can eliminate yelling from his or her life completely, do it as little as possible. Yelling strains and hurts the vocal cords. Just think about the last time you went to a rock concert or a hockey game and came home with a hoarse voice at the end of the night. Would you be able to sing after that?
Stay away from smoke, because it burns the cilia that line your lungs. This can eventually cause you to be short of breath which will affect the quality of your singing. Nicotine is also a drug, which alters your metal state and may make it difficult for you to express the feeling the words in your songs are intended to convey. If you smoke, then you may want to consider looking for ways of stopping that addiction. It also means that you need to stay away from second hand smoke as much as possible.
In addition to the above, be mindful of the following. Do not let any doctor perform surgery on your vocal cords because you may never sing again. The way we regularly speak wears out our vocal cords, so on the day of a performance it is important to talk less than you normally would talk. Gargle with half a teaspoon each of baking soda and salt rather than just salt because salt is too abrasive. Stay away from a lot of dust. Do not sing your loudest for an extended period of time, do not sing out of your range, and do not do more than three performances (one hour or more in length) per week. Finally, stay away from the wrong singing techniques as they can ruin your voice.
Taking a day off per week is good to rest your voice. If you have a sore throat, then eat apples and/or pears or drink their juice.
This list is full of a lot of do not's and very few do's, and this may seem discouraging. Most of these things are generally beneficial to your health anyway and most are very simple to accomplish. The next time you run into any of these situations, just assess the importance of the situation relative to the possible effect it may have on your singing. For example, your oldest daughter is getting married and there will be smoking that night at the celebration. Do you skip the wedding? Probably not. If you are singing on the club scene it will be very difficult to stay away from second-hand smoke as well, but these gigs may be your bread and butter.
Take each situation as it arises and evaluate. Most importantly, listen to your instinct because it will never steer you wrong.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Listened to Any Good Audiobooks Lately?
Listened to Any Good Audiobooks Lately?
Well-written and entertaining books have long been a way to relax and enjoy or to learn something new. But the main problem with reading books the old-fashioned way is that you have to sit and concentrate with the bulk of the book spread out before you.
Audiobooks have revolutionized the way we read books and has also increased the number of books that we’re “reading.” New and advanced technology has brought us into the age of being able to listen while we’re doing just about anything.
Tiny devices that we can fit into our purses or pockets carry huge volumes of information that we can listen to at any time. We don’t have to limit our enjoyment of these devices to music any longer – audio books are being snatched off the shelves in record volume.
Publishers are enlisting celebrities to read their best sellers and that only increases their desirability. Familiar faces are linked to familiar voices and sales of audio books are going through the roof.
One proponent of audio books timed listening to books as opposed to reading them. She states that listening to 30 audio books took her approximately four hours per book. If she had stopped to read the written versions of the books, it would have taken her 120 hours – or three weeks of eight-hour days.
Absorption of the books can be accomplished while exercising, driving or doing chores around the house. Any time that you find yourself in an unproductive situation, an audiobook can help to augment the time that would ordinarily be wasted.
You can listen to a good book when your eyes are too tired to read one. Just switch on the audio book and let your mind soar. It’s a great relaxation and stress relieving tool.
Audio books are also a good way to introduce your child to reading. They will never take the place of sitting in a parent’s lap and listening to the words while looking at the pictures -- but listening to good children’s books that are interlaced with sound effects, accents and music can make reading fun and inspiring to a child.
Listening to good audio books can help us learn, entertain us and inspire us. They appeal to every sense – except smell – and publishers may be working on that even as you’re reading this article.
Well-written and entertaining books have long been a way to relax and enjoy or to learn something new. But the main problem with reading books the old-fashioned way is that you have to sit and concentrate with the bulk of the book spread out before you.
Audiobooks have revolutionized the way we read books and has also increased the number of books that we’re “reading.” New and advanced technology has brought us into the age of being able to listen while we’re doing just about anything.
Tiny devices that we can fit into our purses or pockets carry huge volumes of information that we can listen to at any time. We don’t have to limit our enjoyment of these devices to music any longer – audio books are being snatched off the shelves in record volume.
Publishers are enlisting celebrities to read their best sellers and that only increases their desirability. Familiar faces are linked to familiar voices and sales of audio books are going through the roof.
One proponent of audio books timed listening to books as opposed to reading them. She states that listening to 30 audio books took her approximately four hours per book. If she had stopped to read the written versions of the books, it would have taken her 120 hours – or three weeks of eight-hour days.
Absorption of the books can be accomplished while exercising, driving or doing chores around the house. Any time that you find yourself in an unproductive situation, an audiobook can help to augment the time that would ordinarily be wasted.
You can listen to a good book when your eyes are too tired to read one. Just switch on the audio book and let your mind soar. It’s a great relaxation and stress relieving tool.
Audio books are also a good way to introduce your child to reading. They will never take the place of sitting in a parent’s lap and listening to the words while looking at the pictures -- but listening to good children’s books that are interlaced with sound effects, accents and music can make reading fun and inspiring to a child.
Listening to good audio books can help us learn, entertain us and inspire us. They appeal to every sense – except smell – and publishers may be working on that even as you’re reading this article.
Increases With Audio Books
Reading Comprehension Increases With Audio Books
Love of reading and reading comprehension go hand in hand, and audio books have proven to promote increased reading activity – and advance reading comprehension, something many people struggle with on a day to day basis.
For students, audio books stimulate the imagination, help build vocabulary skills and enhance pronunciation. Also, whereas a thick-paged book might be intimidating to a student, most are familiar with computers, iPods and stereo systems - and are adept at using them. So why not give them an option that merges traditional reading enjoyment and comprehension with the high-tech universe they’re immersed in?
Audio books can quickly become a source of pleasure for the student and can mean the difference in viewing learning as a fun activity or as a necessary annoyance to be avoided at all cost. That isn’t to say audio books should replace traditional reading activities altogether, but they can contribute to the student’s education and advancement.
Students who find themselves failing in the classroom can use audio books as a source of valuable information to help them catch up and forge ahead on almost any subject by increasing their comprehension. Audio books also offer the individualized attention that will ultimately increase a student’s understanding of a subject.
Gifted students can also avail themselves of audio books to increase their knowledge of a subject or expand the volume of books they can read during a certain amount of time. With a teenager’s schedule, there’s often limited time to pursue academic activities, and audio books can be devoured on the go.
A rapid increase in language comprehension can also be obtained by the use of audio books. The connection between text and speech becomes clear with the use of audio books, helping the student to improve his reading and vocabulary skills.
Audio books are increasingly being used to help special needs students grasp the key between speech patterns and reading. Once this connection is understood by the student, he experiences a new level of self-esteem. The audio book serves as a supplement to the educational tools the student already uses to gain clarity for a topic.
The activity of reading becomes a much more joyful and useful experience when enhanced by audio books. Students can visualize more readily the actions of the words in the book and it becomes much more stimulating to the mind of the reader.
Once a student perceives audio books as an enjoyable hobby, he or she can make the transition to consuming print books on subjects they feel will entertain or educate them.
Love of reading and reading comprehension go hand in hand, and audio books have proven to promote increased reading activity – and advance reading comprehension, something many people struggle with on a day to day basis.
For students, audio books stimulate the imagination, help build vocabulary skills and enhance pronunciation. Also, whereas a thick-paged book might be intimidating to a student, most are familiar with computers, iPods and stereo systems - and are adept at using them. So why not give them an option that merges traditional reading enjoyment and comprehension with the high-tech universe they’re immersed in?
Audio books can quickly become a source of pleasure for the student and can mean the difference in viewing learning as a fun activity or as a necessary annoyance to be avoided at all cost. That isn’t to say audio books should replace traditional reading activities altogether, but they can contribute to the student’s education and advancement.
Students who find themselves failing in the classroom can use audio books as a source of valuable information to help them catch up and forge ahead on almost any subject by increasing their comprehension. Audio books also offer the individualized attention that will ultimately increase a student’s understanding of a subject.
Gifted students can also avail themselves of audio books to increase their knowledge of a subject or expand the volume of books they can read during a certain amount of time. With a teenager’s schedule, there’s often limited time to pursue academic activities, and audio books can be devoured on the go.
A rapid increase in language comprehension can also be obtained by the use of audio books. The connection between text and speech becomes clear with the use of audio books, helping the student to improve his reading and vocabulary skills.
Audio books are increasingly being used to help special needs students grasp the key between speech patterns and reading. Once this connection is understood by the student, he experiences a new level of self-esteem. The audio book serves as a supplement to the educational tools the student already uses to gain clarity for a topic.
The activity of reading becomes a much more joyful and useful experience when enhanced by audio books. Students can visualize more readily the actions of the words in the book and it becomes much more stimulating to the mind of the reader.
Once a student perceives audio books as an enjoyable hobby, he or she can make the transition to consuming print books on subjects they feel will entertain or educate them.
Digital Audio Books
Digital Audio Books Are Gaining in Popularity
Digital Audio Books aren’t just for long trips anymore. The market has taken off since the 1980s when the publishing industry began to record its best sellers. Audio book sales have steadily increased ever since that time.
Now, audiobooks are attracting even more fans because of famous narrators lending their voices to read them. You can also easily download them into computers or digital players for future use and pleasure.
The future looks bright for the digial audio book industry with digital downloading capability and celebrities who take the time to promote a favorite book or author by placing their names on the jackets and their voices on the recordings.
The Internet has been especially helpful in causing audio book sales to climb to the top of the charts. Web sites abound that offer audio books – some read by fans rather than professionals.
Since their inception, children’s audio books have been instrumental in teaching children to read. Now, these same children have grown up and are using audio books in college. It’s a way to increase the number of books they read on a subject and also increases their comprehension of the books.
Audio books have always been indispensable to the blind. Now, magazine publications are making their monthly offerings available in digital audio book format and the blind are able to subscribe to it in the same way the written version is presented.
This holiday season will see a jump in sales of iPods. It seems that almost everyone covets the little device that allows easy portability of music, computer technology and audio books.
These little gems can be taken on an early morning jog, trips across the country or a waiting room in a doctor’s office. Rather than listening to only music, you can tune in to a book on the current political situation, a past historical event – or simply something to entertain you.
Self-help audio books are especially popular in digital audio book format. You can become inspired or learn a new job technique just by reading with your ears rather than your eyes.
In our world of multi-tasking, digital audio books give us the potential to learn while we work. Their sales potential looks bright as their popularity increases and more and more we view them as a valuable tool in our everyday lives.
Digital Audio Books aren’t just for long trips anymore. The market has taken off since the 1980s when the publishing industry began to record its best sellers. Audio book sales have steadily increased ever since that time.
Now, audiobooks are attracting even more fans because of famous narrators lending their voices to read them. You can also easily download them into computers or digital players for future use and pleasure.
The future looks bright for the digial audio book industry with digital downloading capability and celebrities who take the time to promote a favorite book or author by placing their names on the jackets and their voices on the recordings.
The Internet has been especially helpful in causing audio book sales to climb to the top of the charts. Web sites abound that offer audio books – some read by fans rather than professionals.
Since their inception, children’s audio books have been instrumental in teaching children to read. Now, these same children have grown up and are using audio books in college. It’s a way to increase the number of books they read on a subject and also increases their comprehension of the books.
Audio books have always been indispensable to the blind. Now, magazine publications are making their monthly offerings available in digital audio book format and the blind are able to subscribe to it in the same way the written version is presented.
This holiday season will see a jump in sales of iPods. It seems that almost everyone covets the little device that allows easy portability of music, computer technology and audio books.
These little gems can be taken on an early morning jog, trips across the country or a waiting room in a doctor’s office. Rather than listening to only music, you can tune in to a book on the current political situation, a past historical event – or simply something to entertain you.
Self-help audio books are especially popular in digital audio book format. You can become inspired or learn a new job technique just by reading with your ears rather than your eyes.
In our world of multi-tasking, digital audio books give us the potential to learn while we work. Their sales potential looks bright as their popularity increases and more and more we view them as a valuable tool in our everyday lives.
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