Explore the Michelle Ostrove Blog

What are the early signs? Children are full of potential and when they are given the right set of circumstance their talent will blossom. Does your child constantly sing or try to play a keyboard or piano whenever they can? Do you think your child has real talent? If the child (or yourself) seems to spend a lot of time singing or playing on the keyboard, connecting to music in general and wants to sing for whomever will listen. That…

Do you want to vastly improve your singing? There are some important and necessary steps to take. Let’s look at the basics first: 1. You should always warm up your voice before singing. 2. Get rid of any tension, you need to stay relaxed. 3. Choose songs that have meaning to you; you need to be able to feel the song and express your emotions when you sing a song (see blog 8/18/20 “Music Is Shorthand for Emotion”). 4. Stay…

Music training is not a must for songwriting, but you need to have the ability to play piano, guitar or sing to help put the ideas from your brain into song form. A song is made up of chords, melody, rhythm and lyrics. Here are some tips to help guide you along. 1. Find an idea or message you feel passionate about; whether it’s love or a break-up, write about what interests you. Try to look at the subject matter…

It’s not a quick fix; learning how to strengthen and improve your singing voice takes time. It’s just like working out at the gym, it takes time to build up strength. There are many reasons why a singer has a weak voice. Let’s get back to the basics and start working on strengthening your singing voice. A major cause of weak singing sound is using too much air when you are singing and weak muscles. Letting too much breath come…

To sing or play piano like a pro you must understand tempo. The tempo of a piece of music is the pace or the speed (slow or fast) at which a song is played or sung. The tempo or tempi (plural form of tempo) can create a feeling of intensity or it can create a feeling of relaxation. The speed of music is measured in beats per minute or BPM (example 60 BPM is slow or 160 BPM is faster).…

Breath support is how you regulate the outward flow of air (when you exhale) while singing. Breathing is so natural and automatic to us; it’s hard to believe that we could be doing it wrong. Every note relies on the gradual exhale of air and the control of that air stream. Proper breathing for a singer is crucial! When you exhale the diaphragm pushes the air from the lungs through the vocal folds (vocal cords), producing a stream of air.…

This method is basically a way to learn how to write a song by using a “template” guide. Choose one of your favorite songs and use it as a template to build and write your own song. Learning from successful songwriters will give you a good understanding of the process. This method is to help you put a song together and to get your creativity juices flowing. You will begin by taking the song apart. You want to figure out…

How do you find the weak areas in your voice? The perfect solution is to record yourself. You don’t need a professional recording from a studio, just use voice memo or whatever your phone uses to record; computers also have a way to record your voice as you sing. As you listen to yourself, you need to analyze your voice, as if you were listening to someone else. Don’t go down a critical path, think of yourself as a judge…

Song ideas come when you least expect it. Some of the greatest hits came from a dream. Other hits came from personal life experiences. You never know when or where an idea will strike! Some of the most famous hits came from a dream. Paul McCartney said that some of his greatest hits came to him when he was dreaming. Many other songwriters have had the same experience. Billy Joel’s song “River of Dreams” and Sting’s song “Every Breath You…

Singing or playing piano for a large audience or a few people can be intimidating. Some of the world’s most famous performers have suffered from extreme performance anxiety or stage fright like Ozzy Osbourne, Brian Wilson, Cher and Harry Styles to name a few. Harry Styles had severe stage fright when performing with One Direction. During a concert in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was forced to leave the stage in the middle of a song because he got sick and threw…