Something other than politics...

I had a friend wonder if I was going to write about anything other than politics. I guess I am pretty focused on the presidential race. I believe this is such an important election that I spend a lot of time on the computer reading everything I can get my hands on. As I tell Ken, when he mentions my "addiction," it takes a lot of time to be informed. :)

In any case, I am still doing many things other than sitting here in front of the computer. Besides teaching 20 voice students I am still taking lessons myself. I am really enjoying that and having so much fun discovering my voice. I had been wandering in that area for a long time (12 years or so). Mary Ann is a wonderful teacher and I am so grateful for her help and feedback. I feel I am making progress. I hope it will get me closer to my plan of getting back on the stage when my kids are a bit older.

My last lesson I got the chance to do several songs from Wicked. I have been working on "The Wizard and I" for a few months. I am almost there and getting to the polishing point. My mix is coming much easier and I am starting to feel more comfortable on the piece. I am now starting to work on "Defying Gravity." To be honest, that song is pretty scary to me, but Mary Ann thinks my voice will be great in that song. I'll keep you updated on how it is going...

I also had the chance to do my favorite song from Wicked, "I'm Not That Girl." This was the first time I got to do it for my lesson. When I first started the song I was "channeling" (as Mary Ann said) that sweet voice used in the recording. She then helped me get more connected and sing with my full voice, nice and easy, but still connected down to my chest. Here is a link so you can listen to that part of my lesson. (I'm sorry I have not figured out how to get it into an audio player. I will continue to work on that.)

http://www.mediafire.com/?czysvjyn4tj

I totally love this song! I know exactly how Elphaba feels here. I mean, what girl doesn't know what it feels like to have the boy she loves, choose someone else? I remember what that feels like and it is so easy to let that emotion show through while I sing it. It breaks my heart and I can totally connect with that emotion. It is not a showstopper like some of the other songs in the show, but it is my favorite.

Yan can cook, I can SING...

Today I headed down to Denver for my voice lesson with Mary Ann. I am still a little frustrated with my first bridge, although it is getting much stronger. It is just that darn G! Today we tried some new things that really seemed to work. We were both pretty jazzed! I even had to do my little dance of joy. :) I still have a lot more practice and playing around with what we did today to really make it stick. And truth be told, I need to figure out exactly what I was doing. In any case though, we were thrilled with the results. I have often had a difficult time because of my bigger voice, but today I figured out how to let my big voice open up without carrying up the weight. The resulting sound was beautiful (if I do say so myself) and I loved singing like that. I have never had that big of a sound before with so little (physical) effort. (It was however a ton of mental work and a lot of concentration.) I got one of those precious glimpses where I realize that I can do this and I can be good. (She even uttered the phrase "professional singer!?!") It feels so good to be on the right track after a 12 year detour. Hopefully I can understand and implement all that we did today. I know this process is going to take a lot more time, but it is totally worth it. I don't always feel like this, but today, I can SING!

Another lesson...

Went to my second voice lesson with Mary Ann today. I really feel comfortable with her and feel I can learn a lot from her. Had an "a-ha" moment today. She was telling me about one of her experiences with Seth and while she was talking I was thinking, "oh boy, that is totally me." The gist was that when someone is intuitive about something it is easy to skip to the answer without doing all the the steps in between to actually get there. Guilty as charged.

One of my (many) problems is that the exercises feel great and fairly easy. Then I get to the song and blow it. I have always felt like my big voice has been a blessing and a curse. I am having a difficult time staying light enough in my chest and mix while in a "musical theater sound." I either make it too big or end up singing light classical.

I am still trying to wrap my head around this conundrum: on recordings it sounds like the performers have so much power in that mix area. I associate power with big. So how do they get they power, but keep it easy and light? To get that sound it seems like it should be a lot more work. So far I don't get it -- at least not consistently.

I have a lot more singing and listening to do.