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How To Guides

by Julie Payne
May 2001

Julie Payne, one of Britain's hardest working singers, has just finished a seven month tour of Germany with The Blues Brothers Show.
Email her at joolz48@hotmail.com

1) GETTING STARTED

What do you need to be a working singer? Resilience, determination, sense of humour, stamina and a true love for what you are doing. Oh yes, and having a good voice helps too. Whatever kind of voice you have there's no doubt that training will make it better, but the business of making a living as a singer depends on many other factors, some of which can only be learned through experience. Here are some of the tips I've picked up along the way:

The first question I'm always asked is "Can you make a living as a singer?" Well, the money can be great-as a session singer you can earn quite a lot for doing fairly easy stuff-but the hours can be long and laborious. On the other hand when you're out on the streets doing the restaurant/bar circuit you may not make nearly as much, but if they like you, you can become the "resident" or "house" singer doing 3 or 4 nights a week.

However if you've got a delicate ego you should be warned that customers don't always acknowledge you-they generally continue to eat and talk with little regard for your brilliant performance. If you play the "band circuit" you may even get heckled, hassled or worse. If you persevere you'll quickly learn some presentation technique and funny lines which-while not making you a stand up comedian-will help you control crowds and gain respect. And even a tough gigs there's usually at least ONE person listening to make it all worthwhile!

2) GETTING WORK

Over the years I have sung all kinds of music including soul, reggae, house and garage, African folk music, pop and rock. No matter what your personal tastes are, you simply can't restrict yourself as a working singer-the more versatile you are the more work you'll be able to do.

As already mentioned many bars and restaurants have regular singers..or could be persuaded to. Comedy and fashion shows also need music slots, and as your reputation grows you may also be offered lucrative private gigs for weddings, birthdays and corporate functions. Make sure you have your business cards ready if you've done a good show you may well be offered more straight away.

As a self contained act you can work with a selection of backing tracks (sold by many companies advertising in The Stage) and what I call "handbag" equipment (mic, player and discs) because it all fits in there. You may also be backed by live musicians - some of whom you may not have met before the gig! The more gigs you do the more you discover that everyone you work with has there own way of doing things, and this will help YOU learn your own way of doing things - and learning to cover when discs skip or musicians strike up in the wrong key will make you a better performer!

3) GETTING GOOD

You may write and perform your own material, but even then it's a good idea to include a couple of covers that the audience will be familiar with. Once you've got a workable repertoire, keep practicing and adding new songs so you can remain up to the minute. Private functions usually send YOU a list of songs they want, but don't worry too much as they are usually former "classic" hits that you have heard of.

Working out an order to perform your songs in is of paramount importance. Even in a short solo set, you are creating a show for the audience, with a beginning, middle and end, and you use your songs to lift the crowd bring them back down and then send them crazy for the big finale.

Your overall image from head to toe, not to mention dance routines or stage settings are also important. No matter how good your voice is all these other elements can make or break your act.

If you want to try out new material or just network with other writers, producers, musicians and singers, keep an eye out for "singers nights" at pubs and music venues. A fringe benefit is that when a singer can't make a gig (usually because they've got a better paid one elsewhere) they tend to ring around people they know for a "dep". Equally if you need a keyboard player for a session or a gig these are good places to find them.

4) GETTING HELP

Here are two large websites with links to almost everything a professional singer, songwriter or musician could want.

http://www.hitsquad.com

http://www.singer-songwriter.com

Other useful links include:

www.musesmuse.com
A large number of useful information from articles on songwriting and singing as well as a huge list of useful organisations

Music Composition Resource

Songwriters, Composers and Lyricists Association (SCALA)

www.writingsongs.com

Songwriters Guild of America

Australian Songwriters Association

Society of European Stage Authors and Composers (SESAC)

Vocalist.org.uk