Several years ago, videos of goats screaming like people hit the internet and became an obsession. People shared the videos of the goats just plain screaming, or cross-cut them into videos of people singing opera or missing a high note in “Let it go” in Times Square on New Year’s Eve (you know who you are,Continue reading “Be a GOAT”
Tag Archives: curiously strong singing
Music in Our Schools Month
The celebration of Black History Month is over, although Black history continues to flourish and enhance society (check out my studio FB page for the 28 artists to whom I paid tribute during February). Now it is March, and it is Music in Our Schools Month! (AKA MIOSM) Not everyone knows this, but my undergrad degreeContinue reading “Music in Our Schools Month”
The Alchemy of Singing
Today’s blogpost is inspired by the great Annie Lennox, one of my favorite performers of all times. She wrote an article for The Guardian entitled, “Why Everyone Should Sing.” And since this blogpost is titled Why I Sing (and you can go back and check out my very first post explaining that right here), –Continue reading “The Alchemy of Singing”
Holding vs. Sustaining
There are two words used in singing (especially choral singing) that I think should be stricken from the face of the earth: HOLD CUTOFF We’ll deal with cutoffs another time, but right now I’m going to focus on the word “hold.” Often, I find that my students have trouble “holding” a note. They run outContinue reading “Holding vs. Sustaining”
Blaze a Trail
How do we blaze a trail as performers? As students? As teachers? What is that next step that will set us apart? As performers and students, we need to focus on things other than learning the skills needed to pass a test, win a competition, and get into college. As teachers, we need to beContinue reading “Blaze a Trail”
Are you an Offensive or Defensive Performer?
I was looking through my blogpost ideas for today and came across something I saved marked Offensive/Defensive, and I thought it would have something to do with football (the Super Bowl is this Sunday). But it actually came from a Seth Godin post about offensive/defensive behavior and finding the place in between. It pertains more to marketing.Continue reading “Are you an Offensive or Defensive Performer?”
Phlegm Happens – but why?
During cold and flu season, I’ve had many students interrupt their singing by coughing, clearing and pointing at their throats, saying, “Oh, sorry, phlegm.” And my response is usually, “Hey, phlegm happens. And please try not to clear your throat.” For years, I have wanted to create a sticker for my studio that says: PHLEGMContinue reading “Phlegm Happens – but why?”
National Get Up Day
Today is National Get Up Day, a holiday created in 2017 by U.S. Figure Skating to commemorate the end of January (National Skating Month). For those of us with wobbly ankles who only remain upright on the ice with the assistance of well-placed friends on either side of us, how does this impact us? OtherContinue reading “National Get Up Day”
How Singing Mozart Taught Me To Count
[Warning – adult language ahead] Now that I have your attention: Today is Wolfgang Amadeus (although some write it as “Amadé”) Mozart’s 265th birthday (and he doesn’t look a day over 250). As a lyric mezzo-soprano, I have sung a lot of Mozart. I loved the movie Amadeus My favorite contemporary composer, Stephen Sondheim, has beenContinue reading “How Singing Mozart Taught Me To Count”
Armored vs. Daring Performing (and Teaching)
Brené Brown did two segments on the topic of “armored vs. daring leadership” last April, which I came across a few weeks ago. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard the term “putting on armor” in regards to relationship issues. I had previously heard the term in one of my therapy sessions last fall. MyContinue reading “Armored vs. Daring Performing (and Teaching)”