As a church singer, you have the honor and privilege of leading the congregation at Mass. However, it's not uncommon for the nerves to kick in and the stage fright to take hold. This could manifest in your heart POUNDING, shaky knees, shaky voice or sweaty palms!  But fear not, with the right mindset, you can begin to overcome stage fright and sing with more confidence. In this article, we will explore some basic techniques to help you strengthen your mind and overcome stage fright.  This is the first of 3 articles about overcoming stage fright.  In the articles, we will cover Mind, Body and Soul.

Visualize Yourself Cantoring/Singing

Visualization is a powerful tool that can help you overcome stage fright. Take some time before your cantoring to visualize yourself singing confidently and passionately in your church. Imagine the sound of your voice ringing out through the sanctuary and the congregation joining in with you. By focusing on a positive experience, you can create a positiv...

In this video, I discuss my favorite 3 tips for helping cantors improve their announcing skills.  Let's be honest, announcing is more than just saying "please join in singing" or in the case of a pandemic "please REFRAIN from singing".  Sorry, I couldn't resist!  It's time we think more deeply about every aspect of ministry and put our best foot forward!

If you want to work more on your vocal technique for FREE, check out my 3 Day Workshop for Church Singers.  You can find it here: https://www.musicministry101.com/workshop

Hi singers!

I want to tell you how sight reading changed my life….because it can change yours

In 2005… I first joined a collegiate level choir, it became painfully obvious that I needed to learn more about sight reading (even though I could already play piano!).

Every rehearsal we would be looking at some brand new music and  I was the guy that would wait for the singers around me to “get the right note”, and then I WOULD SING A SPLIT SECOND LATER.  yikes.

I was really embarrassed and had many thoughts…

• Is there something wrong with me?
• Why can’t I figure out the pitches like everyone else even though I can ‘read music’?

These are questions that bothered me all the time…

After every rehearsal, I would go home and listen to our music OVER and OVER until it finally stuck in my head.

I finally had ENOUGH, and I started talking with the student singers

They all told me about how they had taken ear training courses which fixed their sight reading skills.

So, I started to look...

In this video, you will learn a subtle point about the "best" kind of church music for any particular parish.  Enjoy!

3 Day Workshop for Cantors

https://www.musicministry101.com/workshop

How to get your congregation to sing better

https://www.musicministry101.com

In this video, you will learn the three main factors that affect community singing!  Enjoy!