The Queen of Manyalo’s advice to emerging musicians ‘breathe in, exhale deeply’
Her music makes her life complete. Pleasure Peta (39) also known as 'The Queen of Manyalo' (the queen of wedding songs), says making music is her passion and her true calling.
POLOKWANE – As a young girl, Pleasure learned to love music and started singing, but only officially recorded her first single and album in 2005. She has performed at shopping complexes, centres and weddings in her home town.
She has since released 11 albums and has featured and done live performances with artists such as MaAndrews and Rufus Mphahlele.
“Music completes me, it also has the power to heal one’s soul,” she said. Pleasure, who is known for her traditional wedding songs and Afro-pop genres, says that Africans can relate to her kind of music, and it makes them remember their roots.
Her advise to up-and-coming artists who would like to focus on similar songs/genres is to warm-up before a performance by using specific exercises and yoga poses. “If you want to be a successful singer, warm up your voice in general. Something that most people didn’t know is that aerobic exercises, yoga and deep stretching, are also a great way to warm up your voice before singing. When your body is energised, helps you with better pitch,” she advised.
She further advised that as a singer, one must release tension before a performance. “If you’ve been singing for a long time, you will know and understand that tension is a singer’s worst enemy. When you sing, especially live on stage, don’t hold your breath or try to push past your limit, singing notes you’re not capable of. Instead, gently breath out (exhale) deeper into each stretch and your voice will be smoother,” she explained.
Her last piece of advise to singers is when they sing, they should keep their mouth and jaw relaxed. “Your facial muscles, lips, tongue, neck and shoulders should be able to move without any tension or tightness. Your eyes should be relaxed at all times as this shows that you are singing without effort, an important quality of a good singer,” she concluded.
