What Does a Singer Need?

Happy 4th of July to all of you who celebrate!

As we enter the lazy days of summer,  it can be a great time to re-evaluate,  to re-negotiate,  to re-discover what you need,  what you want,  what your goals are for the upcoming season,  what you want to achieve through the summer.

So what does a singer NEED in order to create an environment to learn, to develop & to succeed in their development?

Talent aside,  there are many other things that can be more tangible or realized.


Talent is nothing without development.  Potential sucks if it's not developed.


What do you need?

A burning desire to sing.  Not a plan B or C;  not an excuse;  not a "yeah, but";  Just a simple burning desire to sing because that it was gives you a sense of yourself like no other.

You need to WANT to sing.  You need to WANT to learn that role, that song, that aria.  You cannot WAIT to throw yourself into the learning process because to sing is to be alive.


A capacity for major doses of reality.  The DESIRE is fueled by this.  You have to know what you are capable of doing and why;  and what you are not ready to do,  may never do,  and why not.

Do you know what it will take to pursue a career?  Are you ready to commit to that?  What are you ready and willing and able to commit to?  What can you glean from that commitment?

Knowledge is power,  and power is knowing.  The singer must have both and recognize that the balance of the two is constantly in flux.

AWARENESS is key.   Where am I?  What can I do?  What am I willing to do?  How do I make that work to achieve my goals?  Are my goals realistic to my talent, my desire, my tenacity, my commitment?  If not,  how do my goals shift in order to make my choices more realistic?

What are my priorities?  Do they line up with what I want or say I want or do they reveal something more important that I need to pursue or acknowledge?

Are you aware of your own psychology?  Are you clear what it represents?

Are you aware of your emotional and mental strengths, and even more importantly, your weaknesses?  Do you know how to develop your sense of self awareness?
Do you acknowledge self-doubt?  Self-sabotage?
Do you recognize what you need to do to move through it?

Are you willing to take responsibility for your emotional life in order to be healthy enough to explore a professional life as a singer?  What are you doing to achieve that goal?

Find a mentor.  Find that person that is willing to invest in you and challenge you.  A mentor will hold up a mirror to give you permission to see what needs to be seen.  They will help you continue to ask the questions in order to discover some answers, and probably some more questions.  They are not there to enable,  to tell you what you want to hear, but rather, to encourage,  and create an environment safe enough to hear what you NEED to hear and help you find ways to DO something about it.

I think mentoring is like reality training in a safe environment.

As singers,  as human beings,  we need this desperately.

What else do you need?

A solid,  unrelenting work ethic.

A focused consistency.

An unapologetic self-discipline.

The ability to laugh at yourself but always take the work seriously.

The ability to forgive yourself.

The emotional and psychological fortitude to say "no".

The emotional and psychological fortitude to ask "why".

The self-discipline to take a day off and not feel guilty.

The self-discipline to get back to work,  even when the obstacles take your breath away.

The desire and focus to always follow through.  ALWAYS.

So,  what are you working on?  What do you need?  What are you willing to do to acknowledge it,  and develop it and find more of it?

Nothing is promised,  but you have RIGHT NOW to make some choices that will allow you to find your "next".

Happy discovering!!

The Path to Where?

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms and nurturers out there today and every day!

I have written about path and journey before, but it has come up in several places over last couple of weeks and I thought it was time to explore it again.

What about that "path" and where are we going?

I am a big "why" person:  when singers come to consult with me, or study with me, when colleagues make statements and their language reveals something to me that is larger than the statement, I ask WHY?  I don't do it to be a pain in the ass.  I query in order to find the truth in the language that is being used,  or the way in which someone is hiding in plain sight.

Language can also reveal stagnation,  self-sabotage, or simply just not knowing, no experience, no true discovery yet.  None of that is "bad" on its own:  it simply reveals to the listener where that speaker is. 

Some of these "paths" queries come in question form, and some in statement form.  They are still queries.

As a singer,  no matter the genre,  we do not have the luxury of a one-size-fits-all path.  If you are going to be a doctor, there is a protocol that gets you onto that path, along that path, and when complete it, you are a doctor.  Voila. 

We do not have that clarity. 

What we DO have is the luxury of self-discovery and creating that path that will be uniquely ours.  It is scary, frustrating, annoying and exhilarating and exciting.

So where are you going?  Sometimes that determines where you are, and will allow you to see for yourself what you need to create that path.

Often, we must work backwards from the question, or the statement we reveal.

Here are some examples:  When a singer walks in and says "I wanna sing at the Met" or "I wanna be on Broadway"  guess what my first question is?  Yes, you guessed it:  "why"?

Often the allure of the unknown is bright and shiny and the reality of what that actually MEANS hasn't sunk in.  What does it MEAN to be ready to be there?  What do you have to do?  Do you have enough bread crumbs to weave yourself back to where you actually are right now, in order to build a focus of intention to that particular goal?  Why is it that important to you to be "there"?  What does it represent to you? 

Other examples:

"I don't sound like xyz;  I need to sound more like that so I can get a job."

Again, I ask "why".   Language reveals.  This is a goal to disaster because sounding more like so-and-so isn't going to get you a job.  Sounding more like YOU is going to get you more like YOU, and if they want YOU then YOU get the job.

"I want a career."  And again, I ask "why"? and "doing what?"  What does the word "career" mean to you? 

Often, those "lofty goals" will change as you become more and more clear about who you are, why you are, and how you are.  They become less important because the path becomes clearer in its specificity of NOW.

What inspires you?  Who inspires you?  Why?

Are you aware there is a difference between making music and making a living making music?

Do you have talent, tenacity and training and the eagerness, energy & focus to hone all of it?

Wanting it doesn't make it so.

We often still hear "If you want a career you must do...."  as if there is a holy grail of knowledge that creates a career path. 

That just isn't so.  Not as performers.

You can be talented, go to the "right" schools, sing for the "right" people,  apply for the "right" programs, and still be sitting at home with no career.

There are others that don't "follow the protocol" of "right" - and somehow they develop a career.

Why?

Well, a little bit of luck doesn't hurt.  Being in the right place at the right time doesn't hurt. 

And the big one: being READY in case it's time.   There is nothing worse than missing an opportunity because you weren't ready. 

And what is ready?  Revealing YOU through your craft.  Claiming YOUR authenticity through the medium you wish to be seen in.  That means training, and discovery and self-discovery, and more honing, and more training, and more discovery!

I have been listening carefully to the language used by people in the business - be it opera or music theatre - and it reveals the same:  "That sounds great on you."  "You wear that well."  "As soon as I heard him I knew he would wear this character well."

It's about YOU being ready.  YOU.  YOU to step in and embody that song, that role, that repertoire.

Not you sounding like the other people that wear that;  Not you doing what everybody else does; Not you  pretending;  not you "schmacting";  not you "winging it";  not you "faking it til you make it". 


JUST YOU.  Developing, evolving, emerging, finishing.  YOU and your craft.

So, the path to where exactly?  Are you going to be YOU when you get there or did you forget that THAT path - to the authenticity of YOU - is more important than anything else?

You want a career?  What are YOU doing to make it happen?  Have you developed YOU enough to have one if it arrives?  Do you understand all the components?  Can you do them all?  What are you lacking?  What needs more YOU?

Ah, the questions reveal where the path is - and guess what?  Once you start to answer the questions, and DO the answers...you are ON the path.  The path to YOU. 

Let that guide you to the potency of destination that will keep morphing and growing with you.

The day we "arrive" is the day we quit growing. 

The path is whatever you choose to forge.  It's how you take it on that matters now. 

Are you READY?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

To me,  September is more the "new year" than January. 

This is the beginning of the season.   This is the start of the "new".

So today, Labor/Labour Day - we claim one last day of "summer"  (although I am claiming warm days/cool evenings through the end of October, thank you so much Mother Nature for listening!),  and then ONTO THE NEXT!

Are you ready?

What is the next?

The levels we must function at are many,  and thus, it can get confusing.

Craft and its many levels and functions is an ongoing journey.  Honing, discovering, disciplining, nurturing, shaping - this is what we do day to day.  Are we ready to take that to the next level, on all levels? 

What needs focus right now? For YOU?

How is your mindset in general?   Are you dreading things?  Why?  Are you excited?  Are you prepared?  What are your goals?  Do you have the overview?  Are the specifics poised to fill in?

I read somewhere over the summer someone used the term "healthy denial".  I spit coffee on my computer screen.  Nope.  There is nothing healthy about denial.  All it leads to is delusion and working very hard to evade the reality that will catch up eventually, and ultimately take you away from any authenticity that might be there to pursue.

Denial puts the onus on something outside ourselves.  It gives us an "out" by never taking responsibility, or being ready for our lives. STOP THAT.

Are you ready to take that on that responsibility,  take charge of what you need and go get what you say you want?

It's a new year everybody! 

It's your craft, should you choose to go get it.

It's your career,  should you choose to explore it and develop it.

It's your job,  should you go out to compete for it.

It's your potential,  should you choose to realize it.

Are you ready to be realized and not denied?

There's a new mantra I am claiming today.  If it works for you,  use it with my blessings!

I AM BEING REALIZED AND WILL NOT BE DENIED.

Are you ready for that?  Be READY for what you wish for!


Happy New Year!

Are you up at 5 a.m. because you are right for that audition?

Happy April all!

We are and have been in the thick of music theatre audition season.  Whether you have an appointment, or are standing in line to get a time at an open call,  it's an exhausting, focused, tiring and exhilarating time of year!

In NYC,  we have the early birds who somehow stay up all night to begin an unofficial list with 20 of their closest friends on a yellow legal pad piece of paper at 5 a.m. on the door of the building where that day's audition is held.

I have one word: "WHY?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"

Many CDs are simply not accepting unofficial lists, or if they do, are only signing people up if they are physically there.

What are you doing????

Why are you there????

How do we see the difference between posers and real theatre gypsies?

Here's a list you might want to consider:

Real gypsies take the audition process seriously. They study, they practice,  they study some more.  They work hard at their craft.  This is not American Idol.

Real gypsies know that their instrument needs rest and hydration - they do not see the need to be lined up on the street at 5 a.m. if they want to truly book a callback.  They are willing to take the risk of arriving when the CD has published the call time for the audition and get a time and come back.

Real gypsies don't talk non-stop about this audition/that audition and about how great they are while waiting in the holding room.  They are focused on the task at hand.

Real gypsies do not go to EVERY DAMN CALL!!!  They understand that CDs remember if you keep showing up for something you aren't right for. Ergo, you aren't getting hired. Real gypsies use discretion about the auditions they submit for or sign up for;  the auditions they attend are the ones that they legitimately are right for.

Real gypsies study...REGULARLY.  They walk into each and every audition and callback PREPARED.  They study:  voice, acting, dance and more.  They never stop discovering more about their craft.  They understand what is needed,  what they need to show,  how they need to show it and they deliver consistently.

Real gypsies do not walk into an audition unprepared.  They are developing artists and craftsmen/women who take their craft SERIOUSLY.  This is what they want in their lives:  to work, to discover,  to build a career;  not to gossip, or be famous.

60% of those in that open call line should really go home:  they are not right for the show,  they do not have the training or expertise for the show or the business,  and may simply not have the level of raw talent and ability to develop into an artist that truly deserves a chance to pursue a career.

60%.

Imagine if that 60% would simply stay in bed, and those of you who are the 40% showed up at 10 a.m. to get your audition time.  Imagine how simpler things would be.  How happy CDs would be having real emerging and developing artists presenting real craft and a true audition in front of them instead of wannabes and wishIwases screaming at them, thinking they are belting?

Imagine having a 40% of artists/performers who could possibly be right for the show instead of wading through a 60% who aren't in any way right and being so tired you might miss the ones that are?

Imagine your business and craft having the respect that only those who have the training, understanding, development and delivery showed up to share it, and apply for the job?

Imagine each person in the room knowing what the dance combination was,  and how to re-produce it?  Imagine each person in the room singing something that shows what they do well, because they have technique, and the ability to use it properly.  Imagine each singer having acting intelligence,  and depth of character while singing?  Imagine just singing in TUNE?!

Imagine an artist who says:  I am simply not right for that show.  I choose to sleep in.

Imagine an artist who says:  I am positively right for this show!   And I know I don't need to get up at 5 a.m. to have a chance to be seen!

If you are REALLY sure you should be in this business - then you must know why.  You must know in what capacity.  You must be studying.  You must be growing.

You must sleep in past 5 a.m.  Give that voice time to wake up so you can bring everything you have for that show you are right for!

Self-Awareness and a Sprinkle of Delusion!

Happy Friday!

This theme has been wandering through my world lately in many aspects!

I am finishing up an online course for creatives,  written and lead by the golden inspiration of  warrior woman/life coach and more, Erin Stutland called "Magical Manifesters".

I have just put my Voice Over website and commercial demo to begin a more professional journey in that direction!

Whew.

Dream big.

I've written about the dreams versus the delusion.

I wanted to address it again, perhaps a little differently.

Have you ever noticed the people who often seem delusional don't seem to create any roadblocks for themselves?  They really and truly think they are where they want to be.

Those of us who are more self-aware,  tend to be more aware of where we are too.  We can dream big, but we tend to say "yeah, but.." and the self-doubt that is very much a part of being an artist often paralyzes us,  sabotages us,  and creates such inner turmoil we can't release ourselves and fully discover what we COULD do.

One of the reasons "THE BOOK" hasn't been written...YET.  One of the reasons I decided Erin Stutland's Magical Manifesters was for me.  It was time to get unstuck.

Since the car accident,  I knew it would be awhile before I would be able to do what I used to in the studio and on stage.  Now I know it will never be the same.  What I will be able to do will make itself known in time,  but what CAN I do now?

Voice Over was always something that I was interested in - but there was that "yeah, but..."

So, when I began a more disciplined study with my now mentor, Charles Michel,  I realized I COULD do this.  I COULD dream big.  I COULD dream bigger.

Oh, there's that self-awareness voice again - "can you really?" "yeah, but..."

I cannot tell you the number of teachers and mentors and friends and colleagues who, over the years, have said "You are over-thinking."  "Get out of your head."  "You are in your own way."

Sound familiar?

There's that voice again...self-doubt.  Wanting to find the complexities and riddle them out.  Striving for more.

Yet,  as my singing mentor,  Ted Baerg would say to me :"Could you just breathe and sing dumb?"

Self-awareness and self-knowledge are so important.  We need to know where we are,  what we have, how we can embrace that.  HOWEVER,  how many times can we over-complicate the journey or the path simply by over thinking?  being overly-critical?  questioning too much?

These are the moments that I look to the delusional ones for ideas!

Have you noticed (and you have, because you know PRECISELY who I am speaking about) these snow flakes never say "can I?"  They just plow ahead.  Now,  being delusional doesn't mean there isn't talent there, or skill, or ability,  but they dream big,  and have no roadblocks THEY erect!   They don't usually have many boundaries either, so self-awareness is ambiguous at best,  and realities shift from landscape to landscape - a great deal of BLUR in this world...

They are ALWAYS at those auditions, at 5 a.m.  They continue to tell EVERYBODY how wonderful they are in all aspects of their lives, unapologetically.  They see themselves a particular way and COMMIT to it!

We laugh.  We shake our heads.  They drive us mad.  They suck energy.  Yet, somehow they manage to land on their feet.

What is that?!?!

A sprinkle of that "delusion" could go a long way for those of us who are cripplingly self-aware.

I don't want to call it delusion now...not when you are not.  Let's change the language and discover something more magical.  How about a sprinkle of "ta-da!"

We have all wondered, mystified at these creatures.  They have no boundaries,  no questions,  no sense of how anybody else sees them.

A little of that goes a long way.  HOWEVER,  a sprinkle of "ta-da"  could perhaps give your self-awareness more permission to sparkle;  to take a risk;  to abandon safety for a moment and be in the moment;  to dream big without a "yeah, but".

Self doubt is part of the complexity of being an artist.  Our pursuit of truth, beauty, honesty,  and revealing of all of that DEMANDS a tenacity and a willingness and ability to look deep within ourselves and our craft to discover and reveal.  We work to uncover more.  We are never done.

Perhaps now,  we can learn something from the delusional ones.  Perhaps a little sprinkle of "ta-da"  when we discover something,  achieve something,  recall something,  journey somewhere,  is allowed once in awhile!

So, as you dream big,  allow the reality to create the boundaries to work WITH you, not against you.  "Yeah but" has no room in a dream.  It has no room in a complex reality either.
I challenge you (and every time I say "you",  I mean "me" too) to change your language with YOURSELF.  "Yeah but" needs to change to "What if..."

Possibilities.  Boundaries to explore within,  and push a little.

Create your sprinkle of "ta-da"!  It's okay to be a little scared,  it's energy waiting to be harnessed!

TA-DA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Career Consultations Available in 2012

Susan Eichhorn Voice Studio will be offering Career Consultations in 2012.


What is offered:

An informed and objective evaluation of your present state of development.

An opportunity to have access to other professionals in the field of your choice - be it opera, classical music, theatre, music theatre.

 Are you able to articulate and visualize your goals?

What else do you THINK you need to do to get closer to those goals?

Are you prepared for the business? Do you know what the business requires of you?

Have you accessed all you can to have a complete package to present?

Are you aware of short term vs long term goals?  Artistic vs business goals?

Are you being realistic about your goals? Why? What makes you think so?

Are you ready?  If not,  what do you need to DO to attain the next level?

This consultation will meet you where YOU are!

It will help you to re-evaluate where you are, and if need be,  make adjustments to your perceptions about YOU and your relationship to the business and about YOU and your relationship to your craft.

I work to help you to create more objectivity in the development of YOU as artist and YOU as business-person.

I work to help you find more definition in your goals,  more definition in where you are now,  more definition in where you hope to be.

We assess TOGETHER.  We discuss and create scenarios and  possibilities,  learn what is needed in study, business, and how to develop good instincts.  We begin to discover what can happen NOW and begin to uncover that reality  as it pertains to YOUR ability, YOUR development, YOUR talent and YOUR career.

These assessments will lead to what you reveal vocally, artistically, dramatically;

Are you presenting yourself in the best possible light? Do you know what you want? What is that?

Are you projecting what you really want to project?
If you are not, what do you think is getting in your way?
How do you remove road blocks honestly and truthfully to  reveal your own path?

You are unique.  We will address how to make that an asset.

Consultations are available in person through my New York City studio,  and via Skype for those out of town.

I will be offering Career Consultations in other cities in 2012.

For more information on fees,  availability and to book a consultation time,  please contact me via email:
susaneichhornstudio@gmail.com with your head shot and resume.

So What are those Questions?

Sunday musings...

This weekend's postings have received many an email and I thank you for taking the time to do so and respond so willingly!

So many of you are wondering what your questions are.  I wish I could answer that for you.  Well, actually I am glad I cannot.  The responsibility is with YOU. 

I suggest that it is YOUR responsibility to discover WHERE you are,  and challenge yourself with questions that created your narrative. 

I will suggest this, but questions I have been asked in career counselling or when singers come to me and wonder aloud.  Often I let those questions hang in a room - the answers have to come from the one who asks them, simply because an answer from elsewhere may not be heard.

"How do I sing in "A" houses?"  is not a question that is viable if you have sung nowhere.  If you still haven't built your instrument.  If you have nothing on your resume.  It is simply not the question you must ask yourself.  This is a dream question,  not a real one.

I tend to answer with another question:  why do you want to sing in an "A" house?  What does an "A" house represent to you?  What makes you ready for that?

It gets very quiet, or the excuses will fly immediately.  This is an immediate reaction of stress management and personal narrative that is more about protection than reality.

Another question: "How do I get a job on Broadway?" 

Well, again, questions in answer:  where do you live?  what are you willing to do to play the game?  are you ready? do you know what ready is?

and on and on....

"I want" isn't always "I need".  Often this shows an inability, or a resistance to what IS.

This isn't a slam.  This actually can release some of the stress if we know where we ARE!  If you give yourself permission to be WHERE YOU ARE,  you give yourself permission to discover what you have,  where you are, and how you DO precisely where you are figuratively and literally.

Let me be even more specific.  If the question is "How do I get a job on Broadway?" and you don't live in NYC,  then my answer is,  "first you need to be in NYC". 

Are there other possibilities?  Of course!  Look at shows that are brought to Broadway - like the upcoming Jesus Christ Superstar that was a hit at Stratford Festival.  It is now playing in La Jolla and will come to Broadway in 2012.  Not everybody from the Stratford cast will come to Broadway but many will.  This is not the norm however. 

If your answer to MY answer is "I don't want to live in NYC" or "I can't live in NYC"  then perhaps it is the wrong question to ask "how".  And even if you DID live in NYC,  that does not guarantee you will get a job on Broadway. 

SO,  the next question I ask you is:  what does Broadway represent to you?  Why? 

And then:  What are you DOING now?  Where are you in that process? 

You see where I am going?

"I want a career".  Okay.  What does that mean?  If you haven't had one yet,  how do you know what that is?  That statement is too vague and at the same time, very well protected.

What are you willing to DO to discover IF you can have a career,  WHAT a career would demand,  IF  you have what it takes to claim it, and to what extent that "career" wants you?

Where are you?  Literally;  Figuratively;  in your development as artist;  in your vocal development;  in your life development;  in your financial development;

What are you prepared to DO?  Don't cop out with the answer "whatever it takes".  That means nothing.  That is an excuse answer because it does not answer the question.  BE SPECIFIC.

What are you DOING NOW?  Are you ACTIVE in your pursuits of your answers or are you waiting for the skies to open to deliver them to you? 

It is up to YOU to discover WHERE you are,  and WHAT you are about.  TRULY.  This truth reveals the questions,  changes the narrative,  and releases the excuses.

You do not need excuses if you are truly in the moment of your pursuits.  Period.  If you continue to discover your questions,  know where you are and find the REAL answers,  the NOW reveals itself and gives you permission to be there.

Dream?  Of course, but know the difference so when the work needs to be done, you actually DO it instead of excuse it or blame it elsewhere.

If you choose NOT to do the work, then accept that reality and the questions change!