Do you have confidence when singing on stage or do you hide behind the microphone to suppress your stage fright? If you are,  then read this article by well renown singing teacher Morgan Cryar of Singing Success on how to sing confidently and banish stage fright :-  

Over so many years, I have heard alot of singers.  One of the first and most striking differences between singers is something that you can detect from  the very first note they sing. Between the professional singers  I have and the contest singers I have toured with and with the privilege of evaluating them, I have probably heard more than 5000 singers.

I listen for some things all singers must have: like pitch, talent, a good tonal quality, etc. However oddly enough, one of the things that turn out to be a most important item is something that should be missing. 

All singers should strive to go for what I call "The Timidity Loss." There is an "attack" that some singers seem to bring to the microphone that means they have been able to banish the temptation to "hiding themselves" emotionally. If you have been watching the early season episodes of American Idol or Can You Duet will probably be nodding your heads right now.  You must have seen the poor souls who look like they have beencaught doing something wrong when they sing. 

Those of you who have actually been on stage singing will recognize that this battle comes from inside your own skin. It may take many singing lessons or it may just take some well-chosen words from a wiser and seasoned performer to get you to lose your timidity. But either way, you must suffer "Timidity Loss" if you are going to grow as a performing singer. 

Everybody who wants to sing on stage has got to deal with this matter. Even Brett Manning, who has been told by everyone from Keith Urban to Mark Kibble, "What are you doing sitting around teaching when you have a voice like this?  Just get out there! Don't say where you heard it, but I think we will hear something from Brett pretty soon about this. He has been sneaking out of the teaching studio and into the recording studio lately. 

You see it is not just about "having stage fright." It is about the ngung ho can do attitude that gets you outside your self.  You could be sitting on a goldmine of talent and is still be too timid to bring it fully to bear.  

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I know have said this before, but one of the most important factors in losing your timidity and gaining confidence is knowing in your belly that you are committing an unselfish act when you are singing. Making the "thousand mile jump" from seeing for something you crave such as money, applause or affirmation to giving something to your listeners that they value, is the essense of losing your timidity and gaining your singing confidence. 

Larry Britt, a friend of ours and a fine and established singer in his own right was telling us about hearing people say, "I wish I could sing." He said it would be tragic if at your funeral, instead of the pastor saying, "Old Dave sure loved to sing," he could only say, "Old Dave always wished he could sing." Larry further said, "Brett, just tell 'em, 'Don't wait!  Just go ahead and sing!'"

So, at Larry's urging, we want to say "Don't wait!  Don't be timid. Make the 'thousand mile jump' and lose your timidity.  Just go ahead and sing!!" 

Even if you don't have our Singing Success Program, sing what you can! Bless others with the voice you have and get outside yourself and your own selfishness.  

 Needless to say, some of the fears come from plain old inexperience and lack of technical ability. If you open your mouth and hear awful singing coming out, you will tend to go all frigid and clamp up. 

If you still have a strong desire to sing beautifully, you will probably develop a very strong desire to improve your singing.

Hey, it's what drives us all...the deep desire to be able to do this well. Part of your confidence will come with the confident knowledge that you can sing easily and with great command of your own voice. 

The one most effective, but least used exercise for losing your fear and timidity is also the most difficult Yes, and this time your best friend is YOU. The technique for releasing your fear on stage and to sing confidently is...getting alone and watching your performance on video.  OUCH! It will require video footage of a recent performance.  OR...you can just go into your own bathroom, point the camera at the mirror and perform your song to that person in the mirror. Then make yourself watch it.

 I can guarantee that you will see the most painful and even funny things like nervous ticks, unexpected facial expressions you didn't mean to make etc. However, if you push through the pain and keep making adjustments, you will soon lose all your fears and timidity. You will soon reach the magical place where you stop hating your own looks and stop feeling like you're no good and get comfortable with the awkward situation that performance can be. 

From my experience, I know that out of the thousands of you who are reading this article, at most,  about 15 of you will have the courage to do this exercise. Therefore it will not be surprising those 15 to actually see big  improvements in their ability to connect unselfishly with their audiences. Are one of them who will be able to sing beautifully with confidence and banish stage fright forever?

Learn How To Sing Beautifully Here

This Sing with confidence article was published on 26 May 2008