Voice lessons experts will tell you that carving out your unique place in the music business is not just throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks. 🍝 It is partially experimenting creatively and part implementing a well-mapped out strategy. A common mistake singers make early in their careers is trying to mold themselves to what they think will be popular and what they think will get noticed. Some will choose a look, a genre, a vocal style that’s trendy and go all in only to find no one is buying it. 👎

To develop your authentic vocal artistry you can think of it in terms of branding. “Branding” is a word I don’t really like at all when it comes to singers.  It sounds too manufactured. But on the contrary, I use it as a way of discovering what’s truly unique and special about a singer. It’s the thing that your fans will remember you by.  Voice lessons experts everywhere strive to draw out these qualities in their singers. Much of their knowledge comes from their own personal journies as singers.

FREEBIE! 👉 Pandemic-Proof your singing career by starting with your own home vocal recording studio. Don’t know what you’re doing? Here’s a free video training to get you started.

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Voice Lessons Expert

Meet my amazing friend, Mariela Contreras in Episode 4 of the Pandemic-Proof Singer Series. She is a San Diego based bilingual vocalist, performer, and voice lessons educator. She’s also the developer and designer of the Music Arts and Yoga (Musayo) program. Musayo teaches the basic elements of music through engaging games, yoga, and art. Kids learn to identify and describe music symbols, the music alphabet, solfege, and rhythm values. They apply this knowledge while practicing yoga in a customized yoga mat designed specifically for this program.

Finding Herself

She has over ten years of experience performing and over 5 years of experience teaching voice lessons. Her professional performing career began early in her teens sing for large audiences in Tijuana, Mexico. In the States, she became a full-time working singer in the cover band scene.  All the while she was fleshing out her own unique personal style. This is often challenging for singers involved in covering music because they’re often required to imitate rather than create their own sound.

That didn’t stop Mariela. She diligently studied and performed many genres of music and little by little her strengths emerged as an artist.

Authenticity Breakthrough

Her biggest breakthrough yet came while recording her latest album in the studio. She was recording her own original songs that were naturally tailor-made for her stylistically.  Wanting to record an English version and a Spanish version of each song came the epiphany to fuse the languages. Rather than making separate recordings, she joined both languages in each song. This was a bold and risky move for her because mixing languages in the Mexican culture is often frowned upon.

In her heart, Mariela knew that being bilingual was an integral part of her identity. It was even the focus of her academic studies and teaching credentials. With years of creative experimenting and by using methods to identify her unique, memorable qualities, she discovered her authentic vocal artistry. 🦄

Your Authentic Vocal Artistry According to Voice Lessons Experts:

🐝 Original

If you only mimic other singers and copy what you see, people won’t have a compelling reason to listen to your music. Why should they when they can hear the original artist? Develop an image and voice that are wholly your own. Never worry about blending in.

🐝 Real

You’ll come off as a soulless machine if you respond to your fans on social media with the same copied and pasted response. Be a real human being. Your fans are drawn to the “personality”  you embody. Talk to them the way you would speak to a friend.

🐝 Aware

Superstars and viral influencers understand who their audiences are. You can show this by creating messaging that is relevant for only one target niche; for example, if your fans are college students, you might mention a common school problem, like having to spend insane amounts of money on books. This will instantly make it easier for that audience to connect with you. It’ll also lead to increased interactions.

🐝 Bold

Don’t be afraid to experiment with new things, or take a stance on controversial issues. Risk can be very rewarding. It can really encourage more loyalty and respect from your followers.

🐝 Consistent

If your image and style aren’t clearly defined, you might end up alienating your audience. Don’t be gangster one day and emo the next. You can be gangster emo but be that consistently together all the time. You need to give your fans a sense of familiarity and predictability.

🐝 Seen

Obviously, if people aren’t seeing you, they won’t be able to love you. Make your music and content as visible as possible. Leverage different social media platforms and methods for getting your stuff out there.

🐝 Valuable

You stand out to your followers because you offer them something of value. Maybe it’s the inspiration, leadership, comradery, or relief. Identify what it is that makes them crave your music and persona and give them more of that. Give more content and continuously create your amazing music for them.

Your Next Step 👣

If you’re just starting to figure all of these things out about yourself, these points should guide you in its development. If you have a “brand” 🤮 already, and it seems lacking, consider a reinvention of sorts or a few adjustments. At the very least, take the time to check your current strategy and see if it’s living up to the real you.

If you know you’ve got what it takes but don’t know where to start, I’d love to help. In my voice lessons practice, we work on both your strategy and your craft. Contact me here if you’d like to work with me.

My most immediate piece of advice is to begin building your at-home vocal recording studio. If you want to work-from-home as a singer, record your songs, make YouTube, Instagram or Tik Tok videos, you’ll need to learn to do this.

Start simple with what you have and build from there.  If you need help, I’ve created a free video for you that’ll make this super simple to get started.

Your opportunity is coming. Be ready for it. Pandemic-proof your singing career.

For more Pandemic-Proof Singer Series, click here.

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Hi! I’m Danielle Tucker – singer, vocal coach, and creator of cool things.

Vocals / Coaching / Booking

E | danielle.tucker@tuckertainment.com W | DanielleTucker.com

Danielle Tucker Music, LLC