In today’s episode,Tara chats once again with her cousin Lisa Gebhard and is put in the hot seat to answer common questions about singing! Enjoy this episode part 2 as a follow up to their first time in February 2021. Here are some of the questions and topics we deal with: Why do some singers sound so different as their voice ages? Why does the pitch change or the tone and timbre of the sound? Why does it sound as if singers slide into notes or are flat?   What makes the uniqueness of a singer’s style? What makes for a healthy and natural sound in a voice? What are some basic things that ..read more

In today’s episode,Tara shares some of her favorite helpful apps and products that will help you be a healthy and confident singer!   Some of my favorite products, apps, singing helps: The Singing Straw   You can use it for warmups or cool downs. Here is a link to get 10% off: https://bit.ly/SingingStrawTara Use code tarab10 Vocal Eze Throat spray that has honey, echinacea, ginger, and more. Manuka Honey drops and sticks that help keep your throat more moist and stop hacking coughing. You can get 15% off here: http://vocaleze.refr.cc/tarabrueske Gua Sha A quart stone that is shaped t ..read more

In today’s episode,Tara chats about an alternate way of educating yourself to become a professional musician that doesn’t include the college route of a music degree. Tara herself, having a Music degree and yet being in the music biz for over 30 years, gives the listener her take on why college might not be the best way in today’s world of music performing.   The costs of a college degree is super high compared to what you might make as a musician seeking your own gigs or teaching studio. It can take time to build your own business as a performer and that means not a salaried income comi ..read more

In today’s episode,Tara chats about the challenges and strengths of being a singer/performer who is introverted. She chats from her own experience of being an introvert, as well as from working with other introverts. These might be things introverts struggle with: Performance anxiety Networking and self/promotion Trying to balance alone time and social engagements Collaborating with musicians in group situations and not having their voice heard Dealing with the expectations of a performance from the audience to be overly charismatic Pacing yourself at a performance   Being introverted c ..read more

In today’s episode,Tara gives you steps  that can help you teach a voice lesson. Practical tips to help you know what to do in a weekly lesson with a voice student.     Get to know how your student is doing that day. Have the student do some simple stretching or massage parts of their body. (Using a Gua Sha is great for this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074SL6JNN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Start with warmups that are lower or in mid-range. Use SOVT’s for early warmups in the lesson. Don’t use exercises that go too quickly or are on the ends of t ..read more

In today’s episode,Tara talks to music fitness coach Angela McCuiston, the founder of Music Strong LLC, a business that specializes in personal fitness training for musicians! We explore her own personal journey of a music related injury and her healing as well as how she helps musicians get healthy in their body and stay healthy!     Angela developed an injury from playing the flute (which was her instrument of study) She had strain and imbalance of certain muscles and needed to find a way to get her body healthy again without just quitting her instrument.   “You don’t throw ou ..read more

In today’s episode,Tara talks gives some very practical exercises for your warmups that will help with engaging and maintaining breath. She focuses on specific exercises to help with breath pressure and the speed of the airflow! Vocal warmups to help you get and maintain great breath: Put your back in a sitting position against the wall and take some nose breaths. Slow arpeggio of a lip buzz and pay attention to your body while sitting against the wall. Use a vowel that’s easy for you and then use one note and gradually crescendo—get louder. Then do the opposite—decrescendo and get quieter us ..read more

In today’s episode,Tara talks gives some very solid and practical tips to help you memorize songs for your shows, whether a few songs or many!    You can get the singing straw here: https://singingstraw.com/discount/tarab10?ref=tarab10 Use code for discount: tarab10   The article on people’s capability to memorize: https://www.lpm.org/news/2018-01-25/how-many-songs-can-our-brains-actually-remember#:~:text=The%20short%20answer%3A%20no.,at%20the%20University%20of%20Louisville.   “Your brain has an almost unlimited capacity for memory. It can actually store about 2.5 petabytes ..read more

In today’s episode,Tara talks about the difficulties of doing followups and ways to make them easier to do so that you actually book the gig!     You can get the singing straw here: https://singingstraw.com/discount/tarab10?ref=tarab10 Use code for discount: tarab10   “When people do a follow up one time and they don’t hear back from somebody, they assume they are already being rejected. They assume it’s a ‘no’.” Mistakes often made: Not contacting enough times  Doing it too often Not thinking about that you need to “build the relationship”   Tips to help the followu ..read more

In today’s episode, Tara interviews two long time professional singers and gets the low down on the ups and downs of being a professional singer!   Both Lisa and Jana grew up in musical families and had singers they looked up to like Linda Ronstadt, Chaka Khan, Sheena Easton, Donny and Marie Osmond and more!   They met each other through the Rupert’s Orchestra in town in Minneapolis. With mutual respect between both of them, they went on to work with other amazing professionals like Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, as well as Fleetwood Mac, Don Henley, Prince and more!     (In re ..read more