Guide To Become A Freelance Vocalist

A voice is as important as lyrics to music. Though we hold the lyrics close to our heart, the pulsating, or

sometimes ethereal vocals embed a tune in our memory. Vocalists can help us transcend emotions.

What does it take to become one? Do you need to be good with words or do you need an ear for good

music as well. Do you need training, or a strong voice will suffice?

In the old days, you would have to wait for ages to get a break, or have connections and get one. In

today’s world, you can choose to freelance from home and work your way up to that elusive

opportunity. One thing is certain, a career as a freelance vocalist, can be a rewarding one for anyone,

especially if you have the inclination to take the effort to achieve it.

Job Duties for Freelance vocalist:

Freelance Vocalist usually sing, that is their vocation, pun not intended. However, there are some duties

that you will attend to on your way to becoming a vocalist; the scope of these duties changes when you

freelance fulltime or work away from office, but the essence of these duties, remains same.

You will:

Memorize musical selections and routines, or sing following printed text, musical notation, or

customer instructions.

Interpret or modify music, applying knowledge of harmony, melody, rhythm, and voice

production to individualize presentations and maintain audience interest.

Observe choral leaders or prompters for cues or directions in vocal presentation.

Perform before live audiences, or in television, radio, or movie productions.

Practice singing exercises and liaise with vocal coaches, to develop your voice and skills to

rehearse for upcoming roles.

Seek out and learn new music that is suitable for live performance and/or recording.

Sing a cappella or with musical accompaniment.

Sing as a soloist or as a member of a vocal group.

Collaborate with a manager or agent who handles administrative details, finds work, and

negotiates contracts.

Compose and create music arrangements

Skills :

You must concentrate on developing certain skills as a vocalist. Vocalisation is a technique and needs

practice. You should have an acute ear for speech patterns and languages and even tones and

intonations. A love for linguistic and cultural aspects can help you attain a diverse and satisfied career.

Some of the skills you should develop include:

Hearing Sensitivity — The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in

pitch and loudness.

Memorization

Oral Comprehension

Written Comprehension

Oral Expression

Originality

Auditory Attention

Co-ordination

Active Listening

Active Learning

Monitoring

Speaking

Melody concepts like contour and span

Chord writing

Understand, talk, read, write, and play rhythm

Vocalist.org, The Vocalist Studio, Vocalise Academy, Superior Singing Method: YouTube, and Singing

Master offer many portals, forums, chat-streams, and discussion boards where you can hone the skills

needed to become an accomplished vocalist.

Being Successful as a Freelance Vocalist:

Your path to success as a freelance vocalist will depend on how talented you are and what your skill

level is. Although, more often than not, skill is not the only determinant in the music industry, with

experience and credibility being the major cornerstones on which the industry bases itself. Many

attributes make up a good freelance vocalist.

To be successful as a freelance vocalist, you should:

Have an understanding of concepts like Melody, harmony, rhythm, notes and chords

Build up on your skills as a vocalist

Be open to learning

Be sociable

Build up recommendations

Network, collaborate with other musicians

Plan out gigs in advance

Average Remunerations:

Most of the revenue generated by you depends solely on your ability to market your services and your

credibility with previous employees.

The money in freelancing is varied: Usually freelance portals offer various kinds of payment models. In

the fixed-price model, the price is usually pre-determined. The hourly model is the most popular and

employers usually pay a predetermined sum per hour. Finally, in the project-budget based model, you

often need to auction for such projects. Usually a fixed price model may range from $20- $200 and

upwards, while you have to pitch for hourly projects, and budget payments, which usually range from

$5- $35 an hour, with average payments at $19 per hour.

Finding Work:

Many portals, websites, and even job forums list hundreds of jobs for freelance vocalists and singers. All

you have to do is find the right job listing, and you’ll be able to start earning some serious money.

Popular websites like Elance, Odesk, Peopleperhour offer jobs aplenty, but niche websites like Music-

freelancer offer many jobs to freelance vocalists like you.

Resources:

Vocalist.org, The Vocalist Studio, Vocalist Academy, Superior Singing Method: YouTube and Singing

Master offer many portals, forums, chat-streams, and discussion boards where you can hone the skills

needed to become an accomplished vocalist.

For more information on Freelance Resource please visit www.careerlancer.net