Wise ole' Johnny Cash

Blaring from the car radio today was that characteristic dum ta da dum ta da dum bass line you hear in many Johnny Cash songs. Then that thick, flat, splayed out voice boomed, unmistakably Johnny. I'd never heard this song before (not really being a JC fan), but it really struck me as great wisdom. The song was 'Get Rhythm' and the lyric holds so true: 'Get rhythm, when you get the blues'! Go Johnny! One of the best things you can do if you're depressed is put on some music and start dancing! Bang on some pots and pans; make weird rhythms with your voice; use your body as a percussion instrument! To get yourself out of that blue funk, try singing! Even if you think you can't do jazz 'scat' singing, put on a jazz instrumental CD and sing along, pretending your voice is a trumpet, a bass, or even drums! It's all about having fun, and getting your mind off your problems. Remember that singing and dancing releases endorphins, and endorphins make you feel good! So even if you're not a fan of good old Uncle Cash, pay attention to his lyric and 'Get rhythm, When You Get the Blues!' Want more Tips on how to live more fully, sing like nobody's listening, and have a healthy voice for Life? Get my Voicegram Newsletter, Blissential Buzz, and FREE Voice Tonic Recipe!

Cheers, Beth Lawrence http://allaboutvoice.com

Dream Like Mick Jagger!

I'm a voice coach, so if you asked me if Mick Jagger was a good singer, technically speaking, I'd have to say no. But that doesn't mean he isn't charismatic; electric and utterly unique as a performer. When you sing, you have to be the whole package - it's not enough to just be a good singer. Mick Jagger said "Lose your dreams and you might lose your mind." So if you dream of being a singer, look at Jagger and remember that he may not have a stellar voice, but he connects with his audience, gives them a good time, and has followed his own dream to the pinnacle of success! Dream Big!

Teen Idol Class Shaping Up!

Just finished Module Two for my new 'Teen Idol' class coming up next month. It'll be a great class to get teens confident on stage.

Helen Keller on Optimism

The path of our lives is not so much determined by what ‘happens’ to us, because life does ‘happen’ – but how we react to the things that ‘happen’ to us in life.  Are you choosing to be a Victim or a Victor?  A successful business person, or someone who complains about a lack of business?  Are you someone who gives value, or simply tries to ‘get’ business?

Helen Keller - Beautiful inside and out!

This article from Helen Keller is a favorite of mine because it speaks about a positive attitude; gratitude, and the perception of good in everything around her.  What a remarkable woman!  At Viva La Voice, we are committed to bringing out the positive in singers, speakers and everyday people who seek a more confident, fulfilled life.

Helen Keller - Optimism

“My optimism rests on a glad belief in the preponderance of good and a willing effort always to cooperate with the good, that it may prevail. I try to increase the power God has given me to see the best in everything and every one, and make that best a part of my life. The world is sown with good; but unless I turn my glad thoughts into practical living and till my own field, I cannot reap a kernel of the good.

Thus my optimism is grounded in two worlds, myself and what is about me. I demand that the world be good, and lo, it obeys. I proclaim the world good, and facts rearrange themselves to prove my proclamation overwhelmingly true. To what is good I open the doors of my being, and jealously shut them against what is bad. Such is the force of this beautiful and willful conviction, it carries itself in the face of all opposition. I am never discouraged by absence of good. I never can be argued into hopelessness. Doubt and mistrust are the mere panic of timid imagination, which the steadfast heart will conquer, and the large mind transcend.

I trust, and nothing that happens disturbs my trust. I recognize the beneficence of the power which we all worship as supreme—Order, Fate, the Great Spirit, Nature, God. I recognize this power in the sun that makes all things grow and keeps life afoot, I make a friend of this indefinable force, and straightway I feel glad, brave and ready for any lot Heaven may decree for me. This is my religion of optimism.” From “Optimism” by Helen Keller, introduction by Carl Japikse.

Got Vocal Nodules? Rest Your Voice!

Vocal rest for Singer's Nodules - http://allaboutvoice.com/healthy-voice-blog.html