The biggest problem I encountered when playing with a band is tempo. Now, when I played with highly skilled, trained musicians, which was only once a month for a couple years, timing was NEVER a problem. These guys were right on the money, even when the drummer couldn't make it and the keyboard drums were used. They never missed a beat, yet they had incredible style.

As for your singing, this takes time and lots of practice to become a good singer. It doesn't happen overnight, however, you can get some help if you are willing to seek it out. Most community colleges and some regular colleges, offer voice classes, and the course I took was called "Voice And Articulation" really provided me with lots of improvement during that six week course. Everyone said I was a pretty good singer before I took the course, but shortly after, they said I was a great singer, which of course, added to my already inflated ego.

First and foremost, the course teaches you how breathing at the right time makes a huge difference when singing. This is followed by articulation of each and every word. I hear so many amateur singers on stage and TV that slur their words while singing that in some instances I cannot understand a word they sing. This is just awful. Diction is an integral component of vocal quality, both when singing and speaking.

The course also teaches vocal control, which is of paramount importance, again while both singing and speaking. This is right out of the handbook for radio newscasters. Essentially, you learn how and when to place emphasis on certain words, how to end a phrase and when when and how to raise and lower your singing/speaking volume without using a proximity effect of the mic. I learned to do this early on as I was a newscaster for a local radio station and learned from some of the top newscasters in the business. And, this turned out to be highly beneficial when I switched to a headset mic, which I also used in the newsroom.

I had the honor of playing with the Zim Zemarel orchestra when they played some smaller jobs in Baltimore, locations where they brought in six to eight pieces. I played both the keyboard and guitar, using the keyboard mostly as a piano and sometimes the drums. My friends Jerry and Elsa Burns played with Zim at the White House on the south lawn. Jerry said it was the scariest job he ever performed and also the hottest. Everyone in the band was required to wear a black tux, the job was in mid June and the temperature was near 100 degrees with 90 percent humidity. They did 2 solid hours with the full band and back then Elsa was the vocalist. Zim passed away a couple years ago and everyone in this part of the world misses him dearly.

Here's a vid of the orchestra shot during a battle of the bands:



One of the keys to success with singing is using a high quality, hyper-cardiod or super-cardiod mic, one that has good feedback rejection. The next thing you must do is properly set the effects, reverb, delay, echo, EQ, etc... All of these electronic enhancements make a huge difference in your overall vocal quality and you should utilize them to their fullest. The end result is incredible and believe me, the audiences will notice the improvements.

Good Luck,

Gary