I’m starting a series of 5 Zoom Listening Parties, each one focusing on my favorite musicals. The first will be Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, of which I have yet to see a bad production. Some have been better than others (including the one I was in with Skylight Opera Theater in 1997, but perhaps I’m biased).Continue reading “Listening Party #1: Sweeney Todd (1979)”
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May Musical Challenge!
Awhile back there was a Facebook group called, “There’s more to musical theater than just Wicked, Phantom, and Les Mis.” That was about ten years ago. I think nowadays it’d be “… Hamilton, Dear Evan Hanson, and … still Phantom.” There’s a lot more out there. A lot. So – since we’re all sitting at home,Continue reading “May Musical Challenge!”
/æn Intrə’dʌkʃən tu ði Intər’næʃənəl fən’ɛtIk ‘ælfabɛt bai krI’stin ‘tɑməs o’mili/
(An introduction to the International Phonetic Alphabet by Christine Thomas-O’Meally) I love IPA (aka /ai pi ei/)! It appeals to my inner geek and my wanna-be linguist. But I understand that not everyone does. Why bother using it? Why not just write down something the way you hear it? That might work just fine forContinue reading “/æn Intrə’dʌkʃən tu ði Intər’næʃənəl fən’ɛtIk ‘ælfabɛt bai krI’stin ‘tɑməs o’mili/”
Vulnerability vs. Oversharing, Part 3: Songs That Overshare (on purpose)
This is the last (for now) in this series of three blogposts about the difference between vulnerability and oversharing. Sometimes there are songs that do give a little more information than might seem necessary. Some of the ones that come to mind are: I’m not wearing underwear today, Avenue Q (well, probably 2/3 of the show qualifiesContinue reading “Vulnerability vs. Oversharing, Part 3: Songs That Overshare (on purpose)”
Vulnerability vs. Oversharing, Part 2
In Part 1 of this series, I talked about oversharing being the projection your emotions onto someone as opposed to being vulnerable and having those emotions resonate with them. This brings me to the topic of projection. People often ask me to teach them how to project (i.e., be louder), and I usually counter thatContinue reading “Vulnerability vs. Oversharing, Part 2”
Vulnerability vs. Oversharing – Part 1
NOTE: This was originally published in July 2013. In reviewing it, it’s ridiculously long, so I’m re-doing it in two parts. Here’s part 1.
World Voice Day in a Time of Silence
Every year, World Voice Day seems to coincide with something that prevents me from celebrating it. Last year, it was during Holy Week. The year before, I was teaching all day at Howard Community College. And the year before that it was Easter Sunday. And this year, we have a pandemic. And all performances areContinue reading “World Voice Day in a Time of Silence”
Musicals I don’t like that everyone else does
There’s a thing going around Facebook where people are listing the things they don’t like that everyone else does. Some make sense to me – black licorice? EW. The Kardashians? EW EW. And some – well, I’ve lost all respect for some people. So I thought I’d make a list of the musicals I don’tContinue reading “Musicals I don’t like that everyone else does”
Online Lessons – Choices Abound!
In the last few weeks, as I’ve made the transition to online lessons, about 1/3 of my students have come along with me and scheduled lessons. They’ve either downloaded an accompaniment app or have a prerecorded track on their end. They’ve downloaded Zoom, made sure their audio set up is in place, and made appointmentsContinue reading “Online Lessons – Choices Abound!”
Appcompanist for Android is AVAILABLE!
From my friend, fellow voice teacher and music director/studio pianist Michael Tan, on the studio FB page this morning: FYI: The free prerelease version of Appcompanist for Android is now live on the Google Play Store! (Just search Appcompanist) [The rest is Appcompanist’s blurb] The free prerelease version includes access to all 550+ Vocal Exercises andContinue reading “Appcompanist for Android is AVAILABLE!”