How To Get Out Of Your Head

This has got to be the #1 plague of all performers, artists, writers, chefs, singers, dancers, teachers – anybody that has to create and execute in the now.

However, before we (attempt to) answer how to get out of your head, can we first ask “How Did You Get Into Your Head,
Anyway?”

Take your time with your list, but stop at 10, please.

Done? Good!

Now take that exceptional list of traumas and mentally set it on fire. Watch it burn to ashes.

Blow it away.

We can’t do anything about the past and how it distracted, dismayed, damaged, dysregulated your artistic instrument of mind/body/energy.

What you have right now is what you got.

But before you rewrite that list and reapply it to yourself, can we take a moment to simply stay in neutral? Perhaps take a moment to occupy zero for all the nothing it is worth?

Here’s one of the truest bits of advice ever offered to an artist, “Love the art in yourself, not yourself in the art.”

You can look up the attribution later.

The most exciting moment in a young artist’s life is finding the art in themselves. It’s a discovery that embodies love, joy, passion, hyper-focus, energy bursting from your fingertips, satisfaction…

You remember it well. It was the first step in your extraordinary journey.

It was a baptism where, once you jumped in, you stayed underwater because you were so comfortable and happy. You didn’t need air. You could breathe water. And after you came out of it, all you wanted to do was get back into it.

It was that primal, singular, huge moment where you were not watching yourself and in your head, you were awake, alive and present.

And you didn’t know how you got there.

(Hang on, don’t pull back into your list of what went wrong. It’s not helpful. Stay here at zero. Stay in the water and underneath the surface.)

That single moment of inner recognition was the beginning of your artistic process. For one of my students, it was when he played Pumbaa in elementary school. After that, he knew he could never do anything else.

The new path that opens up means discovering even more, taking the infinite art existing inside of you and generating it outward by putting it on a canvas, an empty page, a stage, a pan over an open flame. It’s like a synaptic tie in your brain that suddenly opens up a whole new awareness of being. It is an energetic process that has no end because it involves giving your creative energy to others and sharing it continually.

The creative output you generate is refined by your continual growth and discovery. It never ends unless you stop pursuing it.

There’s no right, no wrong, no good, no bad, just creative output.

You let the critics judge your output because who cares what they say anyway? By the time critics get ahold of it, you’ve already grown beyond it, so it doesn’t matter what they have to offer. They are not a part of your process unless you make them part of your process and good luck with that.

Judging your process, comparing your path to others, constantly defining “success,” do nothing for you – unless you enjoy paralysis and being in your head.

Because that’s not what started the process, is it?

What started in you was a spark that begat a flame.

A gate opened and suddenly you could see a destination at the horizon and you knew you had to go there.

Therein lies the answer.

Keep that flame alive by continually looking outside yourself toward your destination. Nobody else can take your path because nobody else is you. Nobody else can judge your path because nobody else is you.

Whether you dance, write, cook, act, sing, paint, draw, practice putting 100% of your focus outside of yourself and into the joy of your creation. That’s how it started for you, isn’t it?

Practice this enough and you will not have the time, space or energy to “get in your head” again.

Applying Musical Theatre Phrasing To Shakespeare

Fear not, musical theatre actor;

You are better at Shakespeare than you know.

Do not worry yourself about the rules;

Worry only about being understood.

Let’s see. three lines of 10 syllables, and, oops, 11 syllables on the last line.

Ah well, Shakespeare did that plenty of times, too.

He and his actors had to deliver 20 plays a year with three or four days rehearsal and no director. Surely you can find it in your heart to forgive an extra syllable every one in a while.

“But what about all the rules?” you ask.

It’s difficult to say that there were “rules” 400 years ago. Shakespeare himself signed his name with at least three different spellings. Pretty flexible guy, if you ask me.

While well-meaning folks have excelled at adding tons of rules over the last four centuries, Shakespeare’s ultimate goal was simple. He wanted to be beautifully understood.

Utilizing the evolving form of the day, he gave his actors hints, direction, breaths, timing, etc. to give his plays the best chance for monetary success. He needed to be understood by everybody with a penny to a shilling in their pocket. He made a lot of money. He did not die broke.

For the most part, his use of language is gorgeous, lyrical, melodic, percussive, dynamic, deep – all things we seek in musical theatre.

So try this:

Say this line out loud:

“Now is the winter of our discontent

Made glorious by this sun of York,

And all the clouds that loured upon our house

In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.”

It’s Richard III. Loured (“frowned”) is one syllable here (try pronouncing like “floured”). Buried is also one syllable – used in other lines, it could be three. The “sun of York” is Edward IV, his brother and the king he seeks to unseat.

Now that you have more information, say it out loud again.

Now say it to a pet, another human close by, or to yourself in a mirror. Make your audience understand these simple four lines.

Now turn those four lines into two.

Now sing the two lines with your own melody (you can do it!) and pay attention to how you changed your initial reading into a song.

Try singing the lines in the style of Sondheim, Webber, Schwartz, R&H, Menken. Make it a ballad. Make it an up-tempo. Sing it like a rock song, a jazz song, a country song, a Kpop song. Play and experiment.

Now go back to saying the lines with the simple intention of being understood.

Dear Performer: U B U

In the audition process, young performers waste a tremendous amount of energy anticipating and then trying to be what they believe the production hiring entity “wants” them to be.

Yeah, sorry, no.

What they really want is someone with the talent to be themselves while saying someone else’s words.

What they really want is someone with the talent to be themselves while singing someone else’s words and melody.

By simply bringing ourselves to the casting process, we can inspire the writer/directors, producers, casting folk (let’s just call them “creators”) to see our value in the short and long term.

This makes sense, right? You’re not planning on being an actor for a week. And since – every day – you work at being you, why not start there?

Your greatest assets are who you are and what you are, not some straight off the shelf “character” with a whole mountain of choices you thought would work in an audition. Characters aren’t as complex as you. They’re not nearly as human or real and they’re filled with an overwhelming self-consciousness of “this is right” and “that is wrong.”

If you want to watch yourself perform, buy a ticket.

You might as well because you’re wasting your time observing your “character’s” performance instead of fully participating in your performance. No wonder you regularly walk off stage after a scene muttering, “Man, that didn’t work.”

Actor/Spectators are tortured performers. Their minds click in and out of a scene randomly because of a bazillion distractions. They’re watching themselves, posing, listening to themselves, judging, attempting perfection when there is no such thing. No joy in that.

There is no power in doubt. There is no power in insecurity. There is no power in confusion. There is no power in distraction. There is no power in worry. Why kill your creativity? Why restrict the creative space in your brain?

So, for starters, U B U.

You Be You.

The rest of the lifelong performer process is you being “more” of you.

Voice Teacher vs Vocal Coach: Key Differences Explained

Glad you asked! The two terms are often mistakenly interchanged to describe a single approach to either developing or presenting the voice.

The truth is — ah, who cares?

You can use both to describe a person who helps to guide you through your singing journey, but be forewarned that old school Broadway folk and professional singers know the difference.

Here it is:

A Voice Teacher is a person who develops your voice in pitch, tone, quality, volume, range and stamina utilizing warm-ups, scales and a variety of musical styles to get your voice to grow, “stretch” and “tighten” safely. A Voice Teacher would definitely offer artistic insights into presenting a song, but you can’t race a car without a proper engine, so the main focus would be vocal development. Learning to sing from scratch should take one to three years depending on your practice schedule.

A Vocal Coach is a person who takes the material you’ve learned with your voice teacher and helps you “put it on its feet.” You bring the voice and they help you polish the performance. And now that you’re a skilled singer, a Vocal Coach would also suggest songs that could work well for you in your auditions as well as with your performances. A Vocal Coach will help you with points of focus, footwork, some staging, lyrical interpretation, entrance/exit and other performance prep.

In my studio, I do both voice teaching and vocal coaching because in my development, I made it my mission to find the very best teachers out there.

Thank you to Lee & Sally Sweetland (Voice Teachers), David Craig (Vocal Coach) and Charles Conrad (Acting).

Could Leo DiCaprio Sing Like Frank Sinatra in a Biopic? Sure!

This is a fun question to ponder. Leonardo DiCaprio has been acting on screen since 1991 – about 33 years. His current age is around 50. Frank Sinatra started singing professionally in 1935. He turned 50 in 1965.

We’ll start there as our baseline, making things fairly equal in the world of 50-year old male human instruments.

Jumping back to “The Tonight Show” in 1965. Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra show up to harass fellow ratpacker and substitute host Joey Bishop. They’re clearly more than a few cocktails in and smoke like chimneys for the interview portion until Mr. Sinatra gets up and sings “Angel Eyes” with the band. The age on his voice is there, you can hear the some creaks and gravel, but he still belts it out live (extremely well) and his vocal performance (interpretation of the song) is really spot on.

What really stands out in the performance is how free and yet still in control Sinatra is. He does use his full voice, not parts of his voice (resonance would be missing) and even when he is singing the softer passages, there is still power behind it (think “loud talker” crooning). After all, he’s been at it for three decades here and he knows what he’s doing. He’s not “trying” or “working.” He’s a little tipsy and not sweating it. He’s not even concerned about entertaining us. He tells us at the outset that he is taking on the role of a saloon singer – a role he knows well. Once he announces this, Dean Martin jumps in with a joke, Sinatra laughs and moves seamlessly into the song – and the saloon. The audience goes right with him and Sinatra holds their focus in the palm of his hand. It’s a short song, a pretty melody, and a powerful performance.

Here’s approaching 50 Leo singing in character as Rick Dalton from “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood,” a role ostensibly based on a variety of non-singing actors from the 1960’s like Burt Reynolds, William Shatner, Edd Byrnes, George Maharis and others.

And, of course, it’s as awful as it’s supposed to be. What’s surprising about this performance though, in its funny/hack-kind of “Anti-Sinatra” way, is that Leo DiCaprio – one of the most watchable, energized, interesting and captivating screen actors over the last three decades – manages to turn himself into a vocal performer with all the power and relevance of a flea on an elephant. That is an accomplishment. It’s hard to be that bad.

So, how could a 50 year-old DiCaprio develop his voice into the iconic 50 year-old Sinatra sound?

“Work Heavy” – The resonance of Sinatra’s voice was magical – particularly for a guy who was 5’8″. It was not a light sound, it was a heavy sound. Sinatra could croon, yes, but he was a belter. He came up through the “minor leagues” in the early 1930’s when microphones were new to live performers. He learned how to use his full voice and be heard. That use of vocal energy continued throughout his performing life. Leo, put your back into it, belt it out and practice being the loudest guy in the room. Practice dominating the room with a big, heavy voice. You’ll get used to it.

“Intonation” – This is a high hurdle. There is no male pop singer in history who could utilize vowels, consonants and diphthongs like Sinatra. This skill had to have its origins in his Catholic upbringing. The mass was exclusively spoken and sung in Latin during his youth. Learn how to sing in Latin as a kid and you will know how to intonate. Phonics (how to “sound out” words) would have been how he learned to read in school, another huge assist. He wasn’t fluent in Italian, so we’ll take that off the table. Think of how the painters who studied the Dutch Masters became Impressionists. Sinatra’s early musical environment of sustained vowels sung in church, group singing and, later, Tommy Dorsey’s breath control, phrasing and tone on the trombone in clubs and concert halls led him down the path to his spectacular, rule-breaking intonation.

“Phrasing and Storytelling” – Even though Sinatra won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for “From Here To Eternity” in 1954, his acting didn’t exactly set the standard for actors in the future. Far from it, really, as actors are now better than they’ve ever been. BUT, Sinatra’s phrasing, storytelling and delivery have set a standard that is now rarely reached by other pop vocalists. It’s a big subject, as simple as it is complex, and I’ll break it down in a future item.

Circling back, “could” Leonardo DiCaprio sing like Frank Sinatra? Yes, of course. Heavy up your voice, get some strength and learn his intonation. The challenge, the defining challenge, will be to deliver a song like Sinatra. There’s a lot more than singing going on.

Can Lawyers Rock? This One Does

Sims and Crew at The Whiskey in Hollywood (Photo Courtesy of Thach Nguyen)

Meet Nancy Sims: International Attorney by Day/Rock Star by Night. (Now there’s an idea for next year’s business cards…)

Great technique, too! Look at that bite!

This is a terrific shot of the energy that Nancy has onstage and, probably, applies to her work in boardrooms and courtrooms – just without the high boots and fishnets. Rock on, Nancy!!

Disney’s “X-Men ’97” – Congrats, Jennifer Hale!

Environmentalist, Animal Activist, Artist Rights Advocate, Musician-Singer-Songwriter, Businessperson, Mother, Voice-Over Artist Extraordinaire and, like Mary Poppins, a damn near perfect person, Jennifer Hale stars in Marvel Animation’s “X-Men ’97.” If you were one of the four million people who tuned in to Disney+ when the series began streaming last week, you heard Jennifer voice my favorite X-Person of all time Jean Grey (aka Marvel Girl, Phoenix/Dark Phoenix). Jean Grey is one of the most powerful heroes in the universe. Now that I think of it, so is Jennifer. Congratulations, Jen!

“Road House” – Congrats, B.K. Cannon!

Ahhh, “Road House” has finally opened on Prime. Ever since the trailer debuted a couple months ago, I’ve been counting down the days. Doug Liman is one of my favorite fun/action directors and he really delivers on this one. I’ve watched it twice already.

As a bonus, studio fave B.K. Cannon is featured throughout the movie as Laura the wise-cracking-heart-of-gold-Budweiser-T-shirt-wearing bartender at The Road House. B.K. is a super talent and brings the fun wherever she goes. Proud of and so happy for you, B.K.!

What Do I Do With My Hands When I Sing?

This is the number one question from singers who have trained hard and now want to “show their wares” in a club or cabaret setting. “What do I do with my hands?!”

“Leave ’em attached to your arms,” I say.

Amateur singers use their hands for emphasis. As if pitch, poetry and dynamics just aren’t enough in the presentation of a song, newbie singers often find themselves waving their hands all over the place to make it look like something good is going on.

Which doesn’t look that way at all… It looks awkward and performative (read that as “insincere.”)

So, put your hands down. Both of ’em. Leave ’em down. If you absolutely have to move your hands, then move one hand at a time, but keep that ramblin’ hand below your waist.

And now that your hands are tied, let’s get back to what your real focus needs to be in order to nail a song. It’s not going to be the beauty of your voice or the dimple in your cheek that engages your audience. It’s the thought that counts.

Every song begins with a thought. That thought starts on the downbeat of the intro – not when the lyric begins. The arrival of a thought and the arrival of music are simultaneous. An intro is a musical thought percolating in the mind of the singer. The intro plays, the thought develops, pressure builds and finally that singer bursts into song. In a musical, that thought might have been spoken out loud in the prior scene or perhaps the character is now putting all the thoughts together in real time. To drive the energy of a pop song – one with not as much context – we definitely need to create some powerful arguments in our head in order to have a dialogue or “back and forth” with our audience. That’s how we keep them engaged, not by throwing our hands or walking around the stage, but by having an open, direct conversation with the crowd. Share your thoughts with the audience and they’ll pay attention. Pose, prance, gesticulate… they’ll check out until someone else comes along who can keep them engaged.

How Long (And How Often) Should I Practice My Singing?

What does it take to get a singing voice in shape? How do I know when I’m in shape and how do I stay in shape?

You always want to start with a good vocal warm-up – one that emphasizes the vowels we typically sing (A, E, Aw/Ah, O) and one that works chromatically (half-step at a time) through the vocal register. I do wonder why people do that “motorboat” (er, “lip trill”) thing as a warm-up. I’ve never heard a song that required it, so I avoid it. A decent vocal warm-up should take about five to ten minutes and if you consider yourself a singer, then you should do that daily.

As for going through your repertoire, after your vocal warm-up, you should run your five, multi-purpose audition songs all the way through. Don’t just do 16 or 32 bars, get some stamina and stretch in there. Stand and sing, but if the only place you can sing is in your car in traffic, then so be it. Make sure the songs represent you as a positive person, a winner. Singing a ballad about what a loser you are may be cathartic, but you’d also be putting a fluffy raincloud over your head at your audition. Honestly, if I’m a producer with $20 million to put into a new Broadway musical, I would not be inclined to hire a group of performers who consider themselves losers or unlucky at everything they do. Find something positive to sing about.

At this point, including the warm-up, we’re at about 20-25 minutes of singing. This would be the baseline for maintenance (and you can now tack on your fun, sobby torch songs). If you do this seven days a week, great! You will grow stronger and always be in relatively good shape. You probably really enjoy singing, too. If you do this for three days a week or fewer, you won’t really grow, you’ll pretty much stay in the same arena, and, like most things, you get out of it what you put in.

Does this mean that you need to start singing an hour or two every day? No, don’t do that — yet. Build the habit slowly, adding one or two songs a week (a month, whatever), so that if you start at 20 minutes a day, the next week will be 25 minutes and so on. For three years, I sang in my bathroom every day. At the end of those three years, I was singing for two hours straight. I don’t expect everybody to do that, but, once I get started, I really do like singing.

My most recent gig lasted for a few years where I sang standards and showtunes for three hours a night in a high-end restaurant, Thursday through Saturday. It was a ton of singing, but I was able to do it because over thirty-five years, I had built a foundation for a strong voice, constantly relied on solid vocal technique and maintained a fairly consistent practice.