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YOU WON’T BELIEVE THE OVERHEAD COSTS AT THESE 10 NON-PROFITS

Editor’s note: We’ve only listed the top spender for this article because the rest pretty much deal with non-profits who allegedly help out families and, in particular, children. But after seeing how much is actually spent on fund-raising, staff, and CEOs, it will make you wonder “Just exactly WHERE is my money going?”

1. Scottsdale League for the Arts

Total Overhead: 98.5%

Top of this list is the Scottsdale League for the Arts, which spent 98.5% of its fund on overhead in 2011. Of its total funds, 82% went to fund-raising while 16.5% went to management and general costs. The nonprofit spent 6.8% of its funds for 2012 to pay CEO Joe Zanovitch. [So if this non-profit took in $1,000,000.00 ($1m) for the year, Zanovitch got paid $68,000. How much you wanna bet that they took in a lot more than $1m?]

The Scottsdale League for the Arts was founded in 1978 as the Men’s League of the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. The nonprofit’s goal is to support arts and arts education in Arizona.

By Shawn Ingram

http://www.thestreet.com/story/12878005/10/you-wont-believe-the-overhead-costs-at-these-10-nonprofits.html

[For those of you who don’t know, Colorado Music Association, d/b/a COMBO, is a non-profit whose staff and board are all volunteers. The money we raise through membership fees and other sources (Thank you, Riot Fest!) goes strictly for expenses and scholarships.]

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HOW TO DEAL WITH STAGE FRIGHT

Notice I say “deal with” rather than “eliminate”? That gastric upheaval is familiar to almost anyone who sings, regardless of training and experience. Aside from being physically and emotionally uncomfortable, stage fright creates physical tension which affects the voice. We’ve all heard our voices sound rich and commanding during rehearsals, and then thin and pinched when the gig starts. Stage fright can also totally wipe lyrics out of our memories, which is okay if you sing jazz and can scat, but a disaster in any other musical genre!

The immediate good news is that, as you probably have experienced, the fear starts to dissolve as the gig goes on. By perhaps the third song, you’re getting back to your normal-sounding self, and by the fourth number you might even be having fun on stage.

So the first technique for dealing with stage fright is making sure that the first few songs on your first set list are no-brainers – songs you’ve sung a million times over a million years.

Another idea: If you have back-up singers or other musicians singing harmony, you can open your first set with songs involving them. That way you’ve got company in your misery, and often that helps ease tension.

But let’s back up. Here’s what to do regardless of how busy your gig schedule is:

1. Daily vocalizing and breathing exercises. Even if singing is secondary to your songwriting craft, it’s still a huge part of getting your music out there. Few songwriters get far in their careers without vocal discipline. Some do, of course, but why risk it? Even if you only sing for agents and producers rather than the public, why not be the best “salesperson” you can be, for your compositions? There’s no reason to leave anything to chance in this competitive field.

Vocalizing can be as easy as singing the syllable “oo” as you go up and down the scales within your range. Breathing exercises need be no more complicated than standing in front of a mirror and watching yourself breath from your abdominal area, making sure your upper chest doesn’t rise when you inhale. The key is doing it daily, and letting it become as much a part of your life as your songwriting is.

2. Over-learn, over-practice, and over-rehearse. Repetition is king. Go over each song until you can sing it “backwards and in your sleep” as my voice teacher used to tell me.  When you get bored repeating lyrics to yourself, repeat them ten times more.

This trains you to know your music without having to think about it when you’re performing. If frees you up so that when you are singing for an audience, you can concentrate on the emotional dynamics of your song, rather than trying to pry stubborn lyrics out of a brain that is paralyzed with fear.

3. Before starting a new gig, or singing in an unfamiliar venue, visit the place the day before. If that’s not possible, get to the venue an hour before you need to be there. Familiarize yourself with the atmosphere of the place. Make it your own. Go back into the kitchen and say hello, or wander about the halls. Find the bathroom. Sit in the control room, the studio, or on the stage and have a cup of coffee, or jot down musings in your journal. If the place is empty, sing something to get a feel for the acoustics. In working with stage fright, surprises are bad; familiarity is good.

4. The more you sing in front of people, the less stage fright you will feel. Fear lessens enormously as the gigs come in more frequently.

Now let’s get to the gig.

1. Just before going on stage or sitting down with your guitar in front of an agent, take a slow, deep inhale and a smooth, easy exhale. On the exhale, feel tension leave your body. I know you’ve heard this one before, but at that moment “just before,” most of us forget to do it.

2. Another “moment before” idea: do 3 slow neck rolls and 6 slow shoulder rolls (3 in each direction).

3. On stage, many singers loosen up, if it’s appropriate to the venue, by smiling and asking the audience how they’re doing. As the audience responds, ride that positive energy while you count out the first song.

If you’re auditioning or singing for a producer, you can still begin with a few seconds of patter, perhaps saying you’re glad to be there, or telling a brief (like, 5 to 10 seconds) tale relating to the writing of your first song. This warms everyone up and loosens the overall mood.

4. I’ve found that avoiding eye contact helps lessen stage fright. But that doesn’t mean look down or close your eyes, both of which turn listeners off completely. It means looking out at the audience, but just a little above their heads. Or looking out toward the lone producer, but just a fraction to her left or right rather than directly at her face. Why? Because making eye contact is a strong and often distracting focus.

I’m not saying to disregard the audience’s energy or mood. Certainly you want your performance to be part of that special listener-performer interaction. I’m just saying don’t look anyone in the eye if you’re working through stage fright issues.

Finally, what can you do when you’re on the stage and you’re singing, and the stage fright is still pinching your voice or knocking your knees together?

Don’t panic. Instead, fall back on the technical aspects of performance – breathing from the diaphragm, working the microphone, all the familiar things you practice every day. This will ground you.

Next, remember that your purpose is to bring art into people’s lives. This isn’t about you, really. It’s about the music. You are merely the conduit through which your songs travel. Wrapping your mind around why you’re really there will help take the pressure off.

By Suzanne Kale: From an article in the Sept. 4, 2009 newsletter of . . .

http://www.songconnection.com

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