tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3495622859323058834.post2287009918556901686..comments2022-12-23T02:21:31.320-05:00Comments on ONCE MORE WITH FEELING: What Defines You?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00399266373570613570noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3495622859323058834.post-37775397212777835182010-04-04T15:38:17.602-04:002010-04-04T15:38:17.602-04:00Susan that was awesome. I felt like I turned a co...Susan that was awesome. I felt like I turned a corner recently when I just decided to sing with 'my' voice. I thought I had always been doing this but realized recently that the 'bigger is better' mentality always creeps into my mind and I find myself 'trying' for volume. A couple of days ago I just decided to stop it and just sing, easily, comfortabily..and this perfectly placed voice came out! It was pingy and much bigger than it was when I was actively trying to make it bigger. I was even able to sing Der Holle Rache twice through where I used to touch it every few months and give up half way through because I was yelling through it. I then watched some videos of Arleen Auger on YouTube (whose voice I have always loved) and watched her sing and she seems to be doing the same thing which is just letting it 'be'. she doesnt force anything out..she doesnt try...and obviously the tech has to be there before you can let all that artifice go. I hope I'm getting to that stage now...about freekin' time!!! :D<br />Love you!<br />CatherineCatherinenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3495622859323058834.post-12060108262928094142010-04-03T19:39:48.563-04:002010-04-03T19:39:48.563-04:00Duffy - that's the point isn't it? WE disc...Duffy - that's the point isn't it? WE discover WHAT defines us?<br /><br />And what I hate is "You will never sing anything bigger than Olympia" - as if that Olympia is awful and bigger is better.<br /><br />WE NEED ALL VOICE TYPES AND FACHS!!!! Bigger is NOT better...<br /><br />What you are in what you are - with no apologies - unless you don't develop it.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00399266373570613570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3495622859323058834.post-34388232825323773202010-04-03T18:31:11.009-04:002010-04-03T18:31:11.009-04:00This is a great post!
Can I add that the only per...This is a great post!<br /><br />Can I add that the only person who can really define us is us? A teacher or a coach or a director can offer assistance, but it's up to us to do the research and be honest with ourselves.<br /><br />It can be so hard when we're used to looking to teachers and coaches and directors as they're, in theory, the one who knows more/best, right? <br /><br />I know for me, it's taken -years- to get comfortable with who I am as a singer because I had one program director once say to me 'You'll never sing anything bigger than Olympia'. I still have that voice in the back of my head every time I look at my current repertoire -- the repertoire I am getting hired to sing and the repertoire that works. It's so hard to quiet that voice if we have them and really be honest and say 'Ok...but, I really sing Donna Anna/Konstanze/Violetta so much better than I ever sang Olympia!'.<br /><br />I think a lot of the school programs place so much emphasis on the 'I know better than you' mentality as far as teachers towards the students and there isn't much encouragement to do research on one's own in regards to that. Because of that, as a student, unless we are driven to start doing that self-assessment and research on our own, we're basically told not to do anything and rely on those teachers to 'know best'...and often, they have their own agendas or just don't know any better or don't want to say anything negative to the student.<br /><br />I'm personally very thankful that I have a couple of coaches whom I trust to be brutally honest with me. Besides myself, they are the only other opinions I really listen to.Duffyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11570230981887052673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3495622859323058834.post-27777099598611027842010-04-03T15:16:42.183-04:002010-04-03T15:16:42.183-04:00This is a very thoughtful post, Susan. I love you...This is a very thoughtful post, Susan. I love your expansive list of where someone might be now and the corresponding direction to the way forward.<br /><br />Also, reassessment can be important. It's so important to know that things can change with each person as well as with presenters, for example. Voices develop along the way, for instance, and may go in a different direction than the initial guesstimate.Gretchen Saathoffhttp://gretchenspianos.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com