Arts & Entertainment, Music

Advice for Artists

Christina Aguilera

Lesson time 10:32 min

Christina shares her wisdom around finding yourself as an artist, ignoring the haters, and adjusting to the life of a successful artist.

Students give MasterClass an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars

Topics include: Demanding schedules • Journal • Overcoming criticism • Perfectionism

Preview

Get ready for no sleep because it's going to happen. Your work schedule will be all over the place. There's never a full set schedule when you're an entertainer. It's just things come up, gigs come up, and you gotta roll with it. I remember on my first record being introduced to this business and the whirlwind of my first record being a success and taking off. It was just like boom. It's that jolt of like OK, here we go. Before you even know it's happening it's like you're booked here and here and here and demands like all over the world internationally. I get nauseous when I'm jet-lagged, so it takes a moment for your body to really adjust to that kind of a lifestyle and that kind of a schedule. And it's hard, and getting no sleep and having to perform-- it's tough. And there's no two ways about it. It's a bitch, and nobody likes it, but it happens. You have to learn how to adjust your body and roll with it, and this is a lesson that you might learn oh, maybe I shouldn't have stayed up that late. Maybe I shouldn't have drank that extra coffee after dinner. You got to get tips from those around you maybe to get to know your body and how it reacts to that. But just be prepared that sleep is something that will not come easy. So my ultimate advice through whatever you're going through as you're learning, as you're growing, as you maturing into your artistry from get-go just keep a journal. Keep pages of notes and thoughts and feelings, even if it's a little handheld notebook. Jot things down that make you feel something, feel anything. But the more you write to yourself, the more you come home from a long day and you have an emotional day, it doesn't have to be in poem form or lyric form or anything perfect, just write to yourself. Write your stories as you go. if it was a bad day, if it was a great day, anything that moved you or penetrated you or made you feel something, if it angered you, write all of it down to yourself and this will become your center and your foundation for the artist that you're building in your journey. Research things. Be interested. Watch old movies. Watch old singers, the way they move, the sound and textures on an old record, how it scratches, how it feels. Get in to all of that. Just be a student and just be a sponge. Learn, learn, lean. Take it all in. Your instinct and your gut will be able to filter out what you don't need and what you do need because I believe that everything happens for a reason will stay with you. And it's so important I have diary entries and things for ideas of songs even to this day from my first album and reflecting on that and looking back. It's so important to keep in touch with yourself. If you're out there and you're faced with sort of being forced to do records you don't want to do-- I was 17 at the time when this was happening-- 16, 17, so I was still developin...

About the Instructor

Christina Aguilera teaches you how to expand your range, find your voice, and master the techniques that have earned her five Grammy Awards. In her first-ever online singing class, you’ll learn warm-up exercises, breath control, vibrato, her signature growls, and hear Christina break down her biggest hits. You’ve never had vocal lessons like this before.

Featured MasterClass Instructor

Christina Aguilera

Christina teaches you her unique vocal techniques in over 3.5 hours of voice lessons and exercises.

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