I’m not a big Nascar guy. I’ve watched a few (yawn) and made some observations that relate to the music business. In particular, I’ve witnessed the smallest mechanical part take down a million dollar racing car. The same thing can happen in the arts. A single, unforeseen disaster can trigger a series of events that can pull an artist of his or her path permanently. It’s a bad day when this happens. The genetically hard wired singer/songwriter does not have a personality or temperament that will be well suited for a stock and standard 40 hour per week job. So let’s examine the things I consider to be the most important for keeping your singing career on track:

1) Relationships
I could write a book on this particular subject. In the interest of time, I’ll keep this one short. Healthy, give and take relationships require time, attention, commitment. Generally speaking, artist types tend to be what non-artistic types label as selfish. It’s true. If you take a poll of all your artistic friends; you’re going to find that they have quite a history of being labeled as “selfish” by their mates. Is this true? Probably, but mostly because their mates don’t understand artists. Our first love was probably music. It will always be our first love and our mates can’t change or compete with that. So the thing about relationships is: try to avoid the wrong ones with people who don’t understand your artistic personality. Don’t confuse horny with love.

Avoid relationships with serious commitments as long as you can. When you find that person that you really can’t live without… that’s the Come To Jesus Moment where you’re going to have to really assess this person and how compatible he/she is with your artist personality. Guess what score this potential mate needs to score in the compatibility department? 50%? 60%? Personally speaking, I’d say they’d better score 99‐100%. If they’re not completely comfortable with your career and personality type, you’re putting yourself on a path of pure agony. Music will win. The relationship will fail and you’ll be dealing with the fallout, which will lead to depression and take you further away from your music.

2) Nutrition‐Drugs‐Addictions
This one is going to sting a bit. When you were 16, you could’ve eaten at Taco Bell seven days a week and looked great. Flat out, straight up, this will not be the case in your mid 20s, 30s and beyond when you really need to look great in front of a camera. Pretty people become stars. And even if you’re not drop dead gorgeous or on the mainstream star path, you still have to look as good as you can. Looks start within. Junk in junk out. We’re just like cars in that respect. If you put sugar in your gas tank your car will run like crap. If you constantly fuel yourself on Grand Slam breakfasts you will wind up old before your time. Read. Learn. Consult nutritional experts, not Jenny Craig. Jenny sells food. Nutritional experts aren’t selling anything but life skills and knowledge. Big difference.

I think it’s pretty much common knowledge that alcohol and tobacco will make it that much harder to maintain good health. You can’t smoke and expect to sing beautifully, breath efficiently and have the high range you’ll need to deliver most pop songs. You can’t drink and expect your body to deliver the hydration needed for healthy vocal cords. This is all common sense stuff. Life is demanding enough anyway. Why increase the probability of failure with bad foods, alcohol, drugs, energy drinks, cigarettes, pot, spice, pulse, weight loss supplements or any other addiction, legal or not? This is not rocket science, folks. If you’re sleepy, don’t drink coffee… take a freekin’ nap. Exercise is one of the greatest natural drugs ever. Partake in that one with a clean conscience. That’s the real deal, and it will improve your sex life dramatically. Hmm… Tough choice.

3) Professional Improvement
Never, ever stop learning. You might be a kick‐ass singer with a 3 octave range, but you won’t keep that range unless you exercise that voice and check in with a respected vocal coach every once in a while. This is hard to explain in a short paper, but singing is all about muscles. Muscles, as we’re learning, have their own memory. If we begin to develop bad habits in singing, it will take a LOT of time and effort to re‐teach the muscles how to do things right again. You will not be able to cruise on auto pilot if you’re trying to break bad habits. And when you have to start nitpicking the details of your creative process, you will lose something. You can get over this in time, but you can’t be 100% creative and monitoring your actions. That means you can’t be a great singer if you’re “thinking” about singing. You have to be able to sing as easily as you breathe. So the moral of this lesson is: regular checkups in the
voice department will keep bad habits away.

4) Debt
As of this writing, 2010, credit is hard to obtain. If you’re not already in debt, it will be easy to stay debt free for a year or two. But this will not always be the case. Years ago, department stores, home improvement companies and big business figured out that the real profit in business is in the sale of MONEY. They can sell you things for almost no profit if they’re making 20% on that revolving charge card. Learn to live within your means and without the credit cards and high interest rates. If that means postponing that new car or a living room furniture set purchase, by all means… postpone it until you have the cash. Owing money to credit companies means you’ll make decisions about your career and your art based on having to pay these companies back. Not good. Don’t go there. Stay debt free…100% debt free. Rent, food, utilities, gasoline, those will be hard enough to tackle. Don’t pile on any more.

5) Routines
Exercising, practicing, songwriting, rehearsing have to be done. If you’re reading this you are hopeful singer or singer/songwriter. All of the above tasks have to be done and you might just as well set aside time right now to insure that they happen, every day, every week. This is your passion, right? Treat your passion with the ultimate respect… put it on the calendar and make certain you do what you need to do to make your dreams come true.

Contact David Harper at musicbydavid@gmail.com

“As a Songwriter you want to make sure you write from a place of honesty. Write about something you have lived, have seen, or want to experience. Those are the types of songs that others will identify with. You will also want to make sure that your song is not longer then four minutes, so that it fits in with the radio format. A Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, 2 line Bridge, Chorus format is usually the longest you can go without going over four minutes.”       
Joe Sins, Professional Songwriter

“If you are seeking a singing career, your voice is your main asset and should be fully discovered, maximized and protected as such. Getting into top vocal shape first requires assessment of your vocal strengths and weaknesses: Do you need to address some vocal strain, thin tone, lack of control, pitch or range issues? Do you need to work on developing your unique sound and style of vocal delivery? These and other vocal advances can be made by getting your breath right, your throat open and your communication skills sharpened. And yes, it takes all three.”
Judy Rodman, Vocal Coach

These are just 3 of the 10 music industry experts who will be teaching at
our camp for singers this spring and summer.

Click this link for more Singer’s Performance Camp information.

How It All Begins…
I’m not talking about the creation of the world, or the beginning of life. I’m not talking about God. Or maybe I am. Because when I think about how inter-related it all really is, I certainly could be talking about God, our Supreme Creator, the creator of our Spirits. But that’s another sermon. What I’d like to talk about right now is something we each possess inside of us. It’s our gifts and talents, the things that bring us joy and fulfill our lives. It’s those things we are most passionate about and the things that come natural to us. All of us in this world have the capacity and the need to create, to bring to life something worthwhile and meaningful. I believe that’s what brings true happiness, like the creation of life itself, giving birth and having children is probably the greatest of all eternal joys.

But when we look around us, there is a vast of other creations that bring us great joy as well. Someone, somewhere, at some time had to invent, create, discover, or design all these wonderful things we see and enjoy in the world around us. How did they do it? How did it all start? I don’t know the intricate details of architectural or fashion designing, or writing a computer program. I have no earthly idea how those doctors can operate on someone’s heart, or do brain surgery, or even set a broken arm or leg. I’m not even very good at baking the perfect chocolate chip cookie. But I do know one thing. It all begins with a vision, looking ahead and seeing, what you want to do or what you want to be. When I visualize that perfect looking, round, tender, chewy and gooey on the inside, and golden crispy on the outside, buttery melt in your mouth delicious chocolate chip cookie, it motivates me to really make the effort to get it exactly right this time. And I can’t forget the ice-cold milk.

Start With The End In Mind
The very first step anyone must have before they can create something is that they must imagine it in their mind, have an idea, a dream, or a vision of what they want to do. What is your main objective? We must VISUALIZE any goal we want to accomplish. That vision is the driving force, or you can call it the “faith”, that brings that thought into motion. It’s that thought, that idea, and I will go further to say that we create that idea spiritually first, before we create it physically, or temporarily. We must first see it in our mind, believing in that dream or goal, and visualize it, so we can actually see into the future to work towards making it happen, making it REAL. But a vision without effort would accomplish little. Therefore, once we visualize that thing we want in our life, we must make the necessary steps toward accomplishing short-term goals that accomplish our long-term goals, to bring our dream closer to reality.

Can you imagine wanting to becoming a doctor without first visualizing yourself caring for the health and welfare of others? I imagine that a future doctor can see himself in his stethoscope and white coat, consulting a patient. Would it be realistic to think you could ever be a doctor without going to medical school? Could you be a lawyer without going to law school? If you start with the end in mind, you realize the necessary time, cost, and sacrifice it would take to get the training, education, the studying, practice, interning, clinicals, etc. that these professionals must accomplish before they are qualified and ready for their demanding careers.

Although simple compared to treating a patient or representing a client in a court of law, an example for me, is that every time I have taught a class or given a talk, I first asked myself, “What it is my main objective?  What am I trying to teach? How can I inspire this group of kids? Do I have any experiences that would relate to my message and help reinforce what I am trying to help them internalize? Starting with the end in mind gives me focus on the steps I need to take to accomplish the assignment. Taking small steps really helps me not get overwhelmed and discouraged. When we see progress from taking small steps, it gives us the incentive and self-motivation to continue moving forward. It becomes exciting and fun to accomplish our goals when we can see results.

Another Personal Example… 
In the past seven past years, I have gained about 20 pounds, due to getting older and still eating as much as I did when I was younger and active while raising my five children. A few years ago, I kept saying I was going to lose the weight, but I have failed to lose even a couple of pounds. So this time I “visualized” myself 20 pounds thinner. I imagined myself working out on the exercise machine downstairs in the family room where that machine has sat untouched for over 9 years. I envisioned myself working out, squatting, strengthening my legs, rowing my arms, feeling my heart rate go up, getting fit, losing the weight, and looking like I did 10 years ago! I visualized seeing real results. I imagined myself toned, with muscles on my arms, firm thighs, and a flat stomach. OK, so I’m not there yet, I do not have a flat tummy, but it’s only been 4 months, and I have lost 10 pounds, and my arms are not as flabby, my thighs don’t rub against each other anymore, and I’m losing inches off my waist. This time it’s working, because I actually get up and exercise every day until I’m soaking wet with sweat! I realized that dieting alone does not work, at least not for me, so I needed to go the extra mile to reach my goals of losing the extra fat on my body. And it’s a daily battle I must continue to fight the rest of my life, if I’m going to be realistic about keeping the weight off.

Seeing Results
With any desire we have, setting small attainable goals helps us see results that inspire us to work harder and not give up. It does not matter if you fall on your face a hundred times, as long as you continue to get up and start over again. Like with my goal to drop 20 pounds, I feel confident I will lose that last 10 pounds if I am consistent. I’m motivated and excited, because I’m now finally seeing my clothes fit loosely after all these years! I see more definition around my face, muscles on my legs and arms I have never seen before, plus I have more energy and I’m feeling better about myself. I’m happier because I am accomplishing a worthwhile goal to be healthier and to look my best. I purposely visualize myself staying in shape all my life, so I will never allow myself to gain back that extra weight. That vision drives me each day, to continue to work hard and not slack off. I created a thinner, healthier me, (in my mind), and I am slowly becoming what I created spiritually. I must keep that vision of the thinner me right in the forefront of my mind. It’s really pretty easy once we understand that faith precedes the miracle.

A Dream Is Just A Fantasy Unless You Set Goals to Achieve Those Dreams
Too many singers profess that their dream is to be a recording artist. They tell me that want to be a star. “All I have ever wanted to do is to be a singer” That’s pretty much what I hear on a daily basis. But if I ask, “Are you performing out anywhere?” Or “Are you working with a band?”, or “Do you play an instrument?” or “Do you do any songwriting?” or “Have you ever taken any voice lessons?” or “What is your genre?” I’m surprised too often, that these “wanna be” singers have never (or seldom) get out to perform in public, nor have they prepared themselves in any way to make their dream a reality. As a result, most of these well-meaning individuals will find themselves still wishing and dreaming about stardom 30 years from now, wondering why they never got their lucky break. It’s quite comical when you think about it. I’ve heard it said that if you are not moving forward, you are only falling backward. Life is constant motion, and we must take those steps to make those dreams we want come true.

How can you want to be a singer if you are not getting out singing? If you are serious about becoming a successful singer, you have to take those steps that will prepare you for the hard road ahead. If you’re not willing to plan your work, and work your plan, you are not serious enough. You must visualize yourself confident and ready, singing on stage, performing in front of crowds of people, entertaining, selling records, giving radio and television interviews. You must have a vision of how you will look, what you will wear, what you will say, how you will sound, what your style is and how you want to portray yourself to your audience. You must be realistic. You need the talent and the training to be your very best, to be competitive. You’ve got to visualize the hard work of choosing the right songs, recording, vocal coaching, staying in shape, choreographing your stage movements, interacting with your band and with your audience, traveling all over the world touring, etc. Is it really, what you want to do? Are you willing to make that kind of sacrifice? Is this the talent you were born to share? Are you passionate about it enough to make it your life?

As a songwriter, you must visualize that great song that touches people, that clever hook, or chorus that is catchy and those meaningful verses that tell the story you want to communicate. Imagine and visualize how you want the song to sound and what you want others to hear and experience through your music, through your creation. Begin with the end in mind, and then start writing!

Determination and perseverance are important in the music business. Those few that make it in this industry are the ones who push forward despite obstacles. It is not talent alone that opens the door for that lucky break, it’s more about hard work, perseverance, and drive, and wanting it bad enough to hang in there through the hardships and disappointments along that bumpy road. It’s not giving up, it’s believing in yourself, it’s loving what you do, and focusing on that vision.

Choose Realistic Goals
Ok, so sometimes we are not realistic about our goals. Like I would be very unrealistic if I wanted to be one of those beautiful, graceful ballerinas you see at the ballet, or at the Opera, leaping effortlessly across the stage like a gentle swan. I’m smart enough to know that I have large feet and lack of coordination! I would not want to be a cardiologist either, because I’m simply not willing to dedicate myself to years of medical school and studying. I’ll leave that for those who love school and all that hard, technical, medical stuff. I’m happy doing what I do best. My creation is my family, my home, my little music business. We should choose those things that bring us joy and satisfaction, while helping others.

Find Your Niche
It took years of making a lot of mistakes and trying many new things for me to find what it is I was suppose to do with my life. But I finally found my niche. Sometimes we need to have experiences that teach us what we are good at and to discover what things we are better off leaving alone. Through the gifts and talents we each possess, we eventually find that perfect thing we do that gives our life balance. When that happens, it’s a wonderful blessing. I believe prayer plays a huge part in being led to what you are suppose to do with your life. You can call it your “mission” in life. What I have learned about myself is that I am good with people. I also know that I have always loved music. I love to sing, I love to hear the creation of new songs. I enjoy hearing all styles of good music and the miracle of the production process, hearing a song come together in it’s fullness. It’s so much fun to me. I love to be in the studio producing tracks and vocals.  It brings great satisfaction to hear these new and beautiful creations come to life! So coming to Nashville as a singer/songwriter and ending up running my own music business came natural to me. It is a result of my life’s experiences and the talents I have been blessed with. I’m grateful to be involved in a career that fills my life with music.

It’s important that each of you find that thing that fulfills you and brings real lasting meaning to your life. You need to be realistic, and then visualize it as if it has already happened. Plan your work and work your plan, until it is accomplished. I believe we can achieve whatever we want to in this life. It is my belief that our Heavenly Father wants His children to be happy, healthy, and successful, and to help each other along the way. Let’s create beautiful things with our minds and our hearts, and make them become a reality.

The topic of the lecture that day was behavior. Actually, the more precise topic was the behavior of woodpeckers –government funded, of course. LOL (insert comedic drum riff here). Anyway, Dr. No-Chin (professor) had stumbled upon the details of the woodpecker study, and like me, he found it quite interesting.

The story goes as follows: Top scientists had apparently fabricated a telephone pole from steel that looked, smelled and probably felt like real wood (at least at the surface). These “top” scientists temporarily erected several of these massive mirages in wooded areas where wildlife flourished to study the effects of synthetic but familiar props within the habitat. The story of the woodpeckers, and their determination to keep drilling holes in these steel poles is what has stuck with me all these years.

According to the good professor, the woodpeckers never gave up! Those cute little critters would pound away at these steel monstrosities until they literally bashed their little brains and beaks in. It was kind of sad, really, now that I think about the net result of their efforts. But what has kept this story alive in my mind over the years is that at no point did these genetically-hardwired creatures ever stop to evaluate their progress, their health, if it was working, or…the fact that they were dying. Hmm. See where we’re going with this?

I think aspiring songwriters and singer/songwriters have more in common with those little woodpeckers than we’d like to admit. Not all of us, of course. A small percentage of us have excellent self-management skills, a great work ethic, and ultimately we see our careers skyrocketing. But by and large, the other 90% of us tend to bang away at the same, no-win situations, and then wonder why nothing changes.

I see this puzzling reality all too often at Artist Development Network, where I work. Singer/songwriters come to us for…well, developing. Duh. It’s a very different type of business. I honestly have days where I feel much more like a psychiatrist than a staff writer and A&R guy. Yes, the average day for me is anything but average. I deal with sensitive, artistic personalities that have been around the block long enough to realize that things aren’t going to happen for them without professional help. They usually have above average intelligence. They are usually pretty, handsome, well-funded, great singers; but all have one thing in common: most have been trying the same things for years without success.

And let me tell you, changing behavior is a very difficult thing to do. Creative people, as I’m learning, are quite habitual. Just changing the way a particular line is sung can take hours in the recording studio. It’s very hard to re-learn things.

I have discovered, for instance, that simply changing hairstyles is pretty much a life-altering event for most men. You want to see how weird things can really get here? Sit in my office and watch what happens when a guy is told that perhaps his hair needs some attention, and that we’ve booked an appointment with a stylist. I’m pretty good with words, but what follows is usually not something I can adequately describe. Yes, the average male can dig in faster than a gopher in the path of a John Deer when hair is involved. The same thing goes for stage clothing and image. Most guys don’t easily get the fact that those jeans that Keith Urban wears for his album covers—the ones that cost about $100 per hole—are quite a bit more stylin’ than the Levi’s he plans on wearing to his next photo shoot.

The fact is, becoming a star means a lot of things. Suddenly, everybody’s nitpicking and detail-oriented. And there’s a good reason for this, too. Opportunities are not endless. Careers have expiration dates. You can’t blow it. Artists need to present themselves at their best, right out of the gate. Fans become fans when obvious and not-so-obvious conditions are met. The smallest details, the right clothes, the right hair, the right expressions, etc can add up to huge success or failure. We can’t possibly see this stuff objectively, for ourselves. We are, after all, the owners of our own bubbles.

So experts are called in, and Artist Development Network is basically a team of purported experts. It’s a tricky thing to do too. We’re on thin ice when it comes to image and intangible concerns. But we actually do know what works for our artists. And it’s not a “one size fits all” deal, either. I can honestly tell you that I would have signed Joe Cocker if he had been in my office 30 years ago looking for a label deal. I would not have tried to fix his hair, or that “I just got out of my wheelchair” dancing style he has. It all suits him and works as his own, unique artist package. But we also know when things don’t work. Cathy Lemmon (Artist Development Network Owner) has a finely tuned antenna for this sort of thing. She handles the bulk of the image-related duties here. She formulates an itinerary for positive image changes in the blink of an eye, sizing up singer/songwriters with a single glance.

So we concentrate on these things. They’re important. Weight, song selection, outfit choice, makeup, camera technique, stage patter, image…they’re all very important to your future. The whole package has to work. And if you weren’t blessed with a face that belongs on the cover of Cosmopolitan or GQ magazine, you can at least make whatever improvements are possible. Take a little lesson from Dolly Parton’s words in the movie Steel Magnolias, a classic. Dolly, a hairdresser who ran her own beauty shop in a small town, looked at her new apprentice (played by Darryl Hannah) and said: “Now remember sweetie…there’s no such thing as natural beauty.”

Back to the woodpecker thing: Don’t be one. You must have a working compass of your own, some direction. But you definitely need to stop doing things that don’t work if you’d like to see success. That alone is a great start if you aspire to be signed with a major label someday or have a hit song in the top 10 as a writer. After you’ve stopped doing things that don’t work, after you’ve cleared that hurdle, you can begin fine tuning and tweaking the little details.

I call that progress. Change is good.

Contact David Harper at:

musicbydavid@gmail.com

If you desire a career as a singer, I can save you years of wasted effort and get you on the right track to success. Having a concrete path and expert advise will get you where you need to go. You have the talent. I have the wisdom and the knowledge you’ll need to get started properly, taking the right steps in the right order.

Candidly, it’s too easy to get sidetracked with things that don’t matter in our business. Let me help you get your career into focus and assist you in realizing your dreams.

In my e-book you’ll learn the following:

· A little history of the record business, and why things have changed.
· Why it’s critical to start performing and find your fan base now.
· What gigs are out there, and what to expect from them.
· How to make money and handle your career as your business.
· How to start a band one piece at a time, in the right order, step by step.
· The honest 411 about working with musicians on stage and in the studio.
· The three (3) essential ingredients for studio success.
· The truth about MySpace and wanna-be virtual “stars”.
· The importance of hit songs, and how to co-write radio ready songs with help.
· The importance of getting your recordings done professionally—the first time.
· Why vocal coaching is so important to stage and studio.
· How important image is today and how you can get “camera ready” with help.
· How to employ your fans for maximum results.
· The truth about do-it-yourself stardom.
· Recording labels will come calling “if…”
· The professional networks that are out there to help you right now.

Enter your email address in the upper right hand corner of this page to get instant access to this information.