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Jessica Meuse Talks about Life after American Idol

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It can be difficult to build up clout as an independent artist, but it sure does help when you’ve got your own hashtag and a squad of fans dropping it on the daily! Ever since Jessica Meuse made it to the Top 4 Spot on American Idol’s 13th season, her faithful fan base has been tirelessly repping for the country singer with the hashtag #MuseMafia. If you’re like me, that’s probably where you first heard this soulful singer with that infectious southern twang.“I’ll either be a broke musician or a successful one. I just want to make my music.” -Jessica Meuse. Since her time on Idol, Miss Meuse has released a music video for “Love Her Better,” and toured across the country. Despite her hectic performance schedule, the Idol finalist spared some time to talk with youbloom about her roots as a country singer and what new stuff she has been cooking up. Jessica Meuse on Touring Talking Points: Living on the road, Playing the Maltese Islands, and getting pampered on American Idol. http://www.youbloom.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Tour-JM-Final.mp3 On her Roots Talking Points: Stage-side meltdowns…they happen, and Bringing your real self into your music despite the haters. http://www.youbloom.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Backstory-JM-Final.mp3 The Writing Process Talking Points: Finding inspiration for music in daily life. http://www.youbloom.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Influences-Writing-Process-JM-Final.mp3 Jessica Meuse – “Love Her Better” Official Music Video Recorded on The Maltese https://www.youtube.com/watchv=GEWyCooWYo Best Show Ever Played & youbloom Talking Points: Playing the Viper Room in LA, Shout out to the Muse Mafia, youbloom, and the unfortunate lack of Irish pubs in Texas. http://www.youbloom.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Best-Show-Youbloom-JM-Final.mp3 Going Forward and Giving Advice Talking Points: 2018 Album release, Recording at Capitol Records, and what a Janis Joplin and Stevie Nicks’ baby would sound like (Spoiler, it’s Jess!). http://www.youbloom.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/New-Album-Advice-JM-Final.mp3 You can keep track of what Jessica Meuse is up to by following her on twitter @JessMeuse, instagram, or her official website. Robert Loustaunau is a content writer for youbloom and is a member of the social media team there. He is an avid music maker and listener. He enjoys the simple things in life: coffee, a good book, and quality time with his lovely girlfriend.

How to Improve Your Singing Voice with Karaoke Machines

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Karaoke machines. The wonder machines. They can make a timid person go all the way and release stress from within. It is fun, to say the least. However, it can also be disappointing at the same time, especially if you feel that no matter how you try, you can’t seem to get the right notes to sing a song clearly. Well, there is good news for you! Anybody can learn to sing with karaoke machines. What it takes is practice, patience, and some singing tips that will bring out the diva in you. What You Need to Do It may seem a cliché, but practice really does a lot of things. If you are currently practicing now, practice some more. Sing anywhere, try different kind of songs. Sing anytime you can. In this way, your vocal chords get the training that they deserve. At the same time, you can discover the kind of songs that will match your vocals. The more you practice, the more you can expect your singing to improve. This works well if you have your own best karaoke machine at home. Before facing an audience of friends or family, you can practice on your own. Some even find it effective to record their own voice while singing songs, listening to it afterwards to assess themselves. The more you practice a certain song, the better prepared you will be when you finally need to sing with other people. Professional Tips Your karaoke singing skills can also be taken to the next level with some tips. The goal here is to create a space within your body, allowing the songs to just effortless flow out. How is it possible? You might have heard this before. Breathe using your diaphragm. This is done by filling your lungs up with as much as air you can. Afterwards, feel that certain space right below your ribs as it fills up with air. That space is the diaphragm. This should be expanded to bring in more air to sing well. Another tip is to allow your soft palate, or that part of the upper mouth just in front of the throat, to rise. This will allow your throat to open up. This will allow for more space for your voice and sound to flow out completely, and with melody. The next tip is easy to follow. Allow your mouth to open up wide as you sing. This may take practice, but when you get used to it, the rest will follow. If you feel that practicing alone is not enough, you may want to take some voice lessons, or have someone privately help you with this. Practice with Patience The most important thing here is never giving up with your goal. Singing is part of our daily lives. You have your favorite songs. Even without a karaoke machine, you can sing. Singing well is another story, however. Hitting the right notes and feeling confident when singing with karaoke machines take some patience along with practice. If you feel that you cannot do it, it does not mean that you can no longer do it some other time. Some self-confessed karaoke divas admit failing a lot of times, but because they did not stop practicing, they started building up confidence. After all, nobody needs to be perfect when it comes to singing with karaoke machines. What you need to work on is your confidence. Along with applying the tips mentioned above, you can feel better when singing along with a group of friends. This is the most important thing, after all. Tereza is a passionate writer and Chief Editor at Top10Suggest. She tells the completely honest story of her personal experience. She shares useful strategies that actually work and help others.  

10 Reasons you can’t hit the right pitch

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As a singer, you absolutely need to hit the right pitch. If you have a hard time with pitch, learning to get it right will lead to a noticeable improvement in your singing voice. Luckily, problems with pitch often come down to a few simple issues that are quite easy to fix. Here are ten potential reasons why you can’t hit the right pitch. 1. Poor Posture Bad posture is easy to fix, but it takes time to get used to standing up straight to the point where if feels natural and you do it without thinking about it. At first you will have to keep reminding yourself to do it. But even just standing up straight for a moment, you will immediately feel the difference. Breathing becomes easier and your confidence improves, too, which leads to the next point. 2. Poor Confidence A lack of confidence has a strong impact on your singing voice. It weakens your voice and makes it virtually impossible to sing in tune. Adopting a good posture helps confidence quite a bit, but you also need to believe in yourself and your ability. 3. Tension Carrying a tune becomes impossible if your mouth, tongue or throat are tense. Try to loosen your singing muscles by massaging your cheeks and stretching your jaw. Ten to fifteen solid yawns will often do the trick, since they not only stretch the jaw, but also the vocal cords. 4. Incorrect Tongue Position If your tongue is in the back of your throat, it prevents your vocal cords from vibrating properly. You want to keep it forward in your mouth, with the tip touching your bottom teeth. I have a number of exercises on my site to help you position your tongue properly. 5. Exhaling Too Quickly If you exhale to quickly, your pitch rises. You need to control your breathing to stay in tune. This is a very comon reason why you can’t hit the right pitch. 6. Using The Wrong Voice Singing makes use of a head voice and a chest voice. If you can’t hit the right pitch, you have to use them both correctly. For example, when singing vowels, you want to use your head voice to keep the tone from going flat. 7. Song In The Wrong Key We often think we should be able to sing every song out there, but that simply isn’t the case. If a song is not in your key, you won’t be able to hit the notes. You might be able to bring it up or down a key, but if not, it’s just not your song. 8. Yelling Instead Of Singing Singing too loudly is a common problem. A lot of beginners think they have to yell to project their voice, which might be why they can’t hit the right pitch. A higher volume does not equal a more powerful voice. 9. Difficulty Matching Notes This is a bit more difficult to overcome than the other issues, but certainly not impossible. All it takes is practice. Have someone play notes for your then match them with your voice. Keep practicing until you can get them right every time. If you do not have someone to play notes for you, there are online keyboards available, like this one. 10. Focus On The Wrong Frequencies Often beginning singers will mistakenly focus on the overtone or undertone, instead of the main tone. Naturally, this a reason you can’t hit the right pitch. If you can, try changing the volume of the overtones and undertones, so you can hear the main tone more clearly. If you can’t hit the right pitch, it is highly likely you are committing several of the errors on this page. Pick one issue and work on it until it is fixed, then move on to the next one. You should see some improvement almost immediately, but it will take a bit of work to get to the point where you are nailing the pitch each and every time. I know you can do it! 10 reasons you can’t hit the right pitch is a guest post by Camila Rabin, a music teacher who recently started the blog musicaroo.com.

6 Apps That Are Helping New Musicians Succeed

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While we see hundreds of music apps on the play stores and app stores for music-lovers to listen to and download their favorite songs, there aren’t many for budding artists and musicians. These are the people who might be looking to connect with other music artists and succeed in their music careers. However, in the recent past, new apps made their way into app stores for musicians to connect with each other in same vicinities, find local musicians and discover new spaces to display their music. Succeeding as a musician in a highly competitive world is no joke. But there’s a ray of hope for newbie musicians now. Here are our 6 favorite apps that are helping new musicians succeed and get in touch with their contemporaries: 1. Jambro Referred to as a ‘Tinder for musicians’, the app’s goal is to be the best possible solution for musicians at a time when quite often they are not given due worth, respect and opportunities. Since one of the major obstacles musicians face is the lack of space to get together and play music, the founders of Jambro decided to help musicians get over this major obstacle. The makers of this app spoke about the vision behind Jambro and said that they want local musicians to get out of their comfort zones and get together as a community that loves and creates music. Jambro is easy to use – whether you are a guitarist, singer or pianist, all you need to do is search the app to find other musicians in your vicinity. 2. BandFriend This app presents a new way to local musicians to collaborate by providing them with a great opportunity to jam together, come up with a new band or even have study sessions together. The app detects your location and subsequently shows you possible matches who share your skills, interests and favorite music styles. Even if you are new to learning an instrument and are an upcoming budding artist, the app still lets you connect with others to study and learn the instrument together. BandFriend also has SoundCloud and YouTube integration which lets the musicians show off their talent online and also watch videos and listen to songs by other artists in an attempt to help them find the perfect match. 3. GigTown Providing musicians with an opportunity to market themselves for free on a broader stage, GigTown brings musicians, venues and party planners together. The real power and strength of this app is in its ability to connect musicians, fans and venues in a brilliant manner. Moreover, with the option to search musician profiles, this app is a great way to establish connections beyond the already established world of music. The app allows musicians to upload audio tracks, video performances and personal information, which besides helping them promote themselves, also connects them with other artists who share similar interests. 4. Musicr If you are looking for awesome musicians to jam out with, this app will help you do just that. Musicr is designed to bring local musicians together for the love of music. Users of the app simply fill a profile that showcases their interests and proficiency and the instruments that they like to play. Musicians can then search for people with similar music interests and connect with them, form a band together, practice with each other and also share music tricks and tips. 5. Indaba Music This app is more like an online community that brings musicians, the general public publishers, and radio stations, together It is a wonderful platform for new and old musicians to collaborate, work on music recordings, and interact with music professionals and fans alike. Users of this app can also add new tracks or work on existing ones in an attempt to make music with people all around the world who share similar interests. 6. Sonicbids This is more of an interactive open space for musicians and promoters to help them get together, collaborate and come up with jamming sessions and gigs. It also allows budding musicians to get more gigs, attain industry exposure and network with other musicians. Sonicbids helps other people find talent on this platform, get in touch with those musicians and advertise playing opportunities. Additionally, independent musicians can also connect with promoters and music-loving audience to expand their music careers. The music industry is growing industry which is in the process of expanding and reaching out to an ever-increasing audience. While these apps and platforms are definitely helping new musicians succeed in what they love and gain exposure, an underlying reason for the growth of this industry is music’s positive effect on brain health.

From Your Living Room to A Public Stage

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Turn Anywhere into a Live Music Venue using youbloom

As a Show Creator signed up with youbloomConnect, you have the ability to use anywhere as a venue for a live performance. It could be a local bar or park. If there’s enough space to hold a concert, anywhere could be the stage. It just relies on a couple of steps in order to provide this. 

First off, there’s communication among all three parties (Fans, Artists, and Show Creators). It doesn’t matter if it’s a venue or just a single promoter. Someone needs to be involved with youbloomConnect in order to book the Artist’s show. They all work in a small network with each other. The Fans buy the tickets, and the Show Creator books or provides the venue and Artists and promotes the show and ticket sales. 

Now when it comes to actually setting up the performance, the Show Creator will lead this in the month leading up to the performance. They can make sure the venue is presentable and big enough for the audience.  The audience then shows up at the time of the Artists’ performance. The concert and the cleanup is done by a reasonable time. 

Show Creators can help with setting up shows. They already have a relationship with youbloomConnect and they have helped setting up shows for youbloom Artists in their city previously. They can provide spaces for both audiences to attend shows and Artists to perform those shows. In addition to all of this, they may also be helped in setting up shows with the benefit of being able to see the number of Fans who have requested an Artist to perform a show for them in the Show Creator dashboard.  In order to put on shows in your city, sign up as a Show Creator on youbloom today.