Wheeewwww! Tonight I gave my final Graduate Vocal Recital at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. It went pretty well, overall. That is the last major hurdle I have to overcome before I graduate. I have a few more things to do, an exit voice evaluation, a musical theater masterclass, an acting final...and then I will be done. It has been quite the haul! And I have learned so much.
I had a major technical break-through in my singing yesterday. It was at my dress rehearsal. My teacher, Jane, started out the rehearsal upset with me because she said I wasn't doing anything we had worked on and I had reverted to my old way of singing. She said she thought maybe she should just leave and not listen to my dress rehearsal, unless I want to try to change and make it better. "Of course I do," I said. She sat there listening for a while more and said, "I think I may have just had some inspiration... I think maybe that you think of singing like playing the piano, that you feel like you need to do something physical to make a pitch, that you need to 'strike' a note to make it sound. But the voice isn't like that. It's a not a physical action, really, you can't 'play' your voice like you would a piano. It's just there. You can't do anything do it." I nodded and thought about it for a minute. I thought to myself, Okay. So I maybe I am thinking of my voice too much like an instrument. But really, I can't touch it, I can't strike a note in it. I can't do anything to it. I don't have an instrument when I sing. I don't have an instrument... I have no instrument. I have no voice.
All of the sudden, then, everything started working much better. My high notes all of the sudden floated out like they had never done before. Things were easier, clearer. I was trying to not manipulate anything, and just trust. I sang a few phrases and Jane said, "That's it! That's it. That's beautiful. What were you thinking?" I said, "I was thinking over and over, I don't have a voice." She laughed a little and said, "Alright. Keep thinking that."
Sooo. I asked the recording department to make a video and audio recording of the recital, so when I get the recording I will probably have a couple of things to post for you. :-)
I also had a musical theater performance last weekend, of a musical called "Bernarda Alba". It's pretty dark (especially for a musical!), but I had fun and I had some pretty solos in it. I should see if there's a recording in the school library of it yet, because they are supposed to have made a recording of that, as well.
After my recital tonight, a group of my friends went out with me for an after recital party. It was really nice. Our Stake President (the area authority of my church), paid for our food. It was a very nice celebration.
Here is a picture of my friend Laura and me (as well as some pie a la mode, bruschetta and hot apple cider):
Yaaay!
I had a major technical break-through in my singing yesterday. It was at my dress rehearsal. My teacher, Jane, started out the rehearsal upset with me because she said I wasn't doing anything we had worked on and I had reverted to my old way of singing. She said she thought maybe she should just leave and not listen to my dress rehearsal, unless I want to try to change and make it better. "Of course I do," I said. She sat there listening for a while more and said, "I think I may have just had some inspiration... I think maybe that you think of singing like playing the piano, that you feel like you need to do something physical to make a pitch, that you need to 'strike' a note to make it sound. But the voice isn't like that. It's a not a physical action, really, you can't 'play' your voice like you would a piano. It's just there. You can't do anything do it." I nodded and thought about it for a minute. I thought to myself, Okay. So I maybe I am thinking of my voice too much like an instrument. But really, I can't touch it, I can't strike a note in it. I can't do anything to it. I don't have an instrument when I sing. I don't have an instrument... I have no instrument. I have no voice.
All of the sudden, then, everything started working much better. My high notes all of the sudden floated out like they had never done before. Things were easier, clearer. I was trying to not manipulate anything, and just trust. I sang a few phrases and Jane said, "That's it! That's it. That's beautiful. What were you thinking?" I said, "I was thinking over and over, I don't have a voice." She laughed a little and said, "Alright. Keep thinking that."
Sooo. I asked the recording department to make a video and audio recording of the recital, so when I get the recording I will probably have a couple of things to post for you. :-)
I also had a musical theater performance last weekend, of a musical called "Bernarda Alba". It's pretty dark (especially for a musical!), but I had fun and I had some pretty solos in it. I should see if there's a recording in the school library of it yet, because they are supposed to have made a recording of that, as well.
After my recital tonight, a group of my friends went out with me for an after recital party. It was really nice. Our Stake President (the area authority of my church), paid for our food. It was a very nice celebration.
Here is a picture of my friend Laura and me (as well as some pie a la mode, bruschetta and hot apple cider):
Yaaay!
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