Sunday morning musings...
So what are the magic tips and tricks for singing?
Lean in...
Closer...
Guess what?
There are none.
There are no tricks or magic sprinkles to immediately fix or find something vocally.
Just like the quick weight loss and quick muscle gain are hoaxes, so are the snake oil promises in vocal technique.
There is nothing glamorous, or bright and shiny about the WORK. And that is what technique and voice building and vocal behavior is. WORK.
There is nothing glamorous about getting to the gym and sweating it out.
There is nothing glamorous about bleeding feet in a ballet class.
See where I am going with this?
Creating behavior, creating technique, creating knowledge, is EXCITING. It's worth the sweat equity, it's worth the focus, it's worth the investment - only if you believe it is.
As a teacher, I can't believe it for you. I am there to give you the tools, to find you where you are, to figure out what you need and how to get you there. However, YOU are the one who has to do the actual WORK.
"Methods" and "quick fixes" are usually a "one size fits all" mentality. They never last. It's a patch job in desperation. Will it work for minute? Sometimes. Does it last? No.
When something new is accessed in the voice studio, it doesn't make it behavior. It means you can ACCESS it - which means the possibility now exists to create the full behavior! Doing it once, hoping it works, doesn't make it work.
Your WORK and your FOCUS and your COMMITMENT will give you an opportunity to create it fully and allow you to summon it at will.
If you call yourself a singer, then sing. That means honing, learning, discovering, re-discovering, creating, focusing, asking questions, and working at it every day.
Whatever you ARE, DO that. It is action-oriented not hope-oriented.
Whatever you HAVE, DEVELOP that. Saying you have it, isn't enough.
If all you want is glamour, without the sweat equity, then I suggest you take a look carefully at Mr. Sondheim's lyric from "Ah, but Underneath":
Sometimes, when the wrappings fall,
There's nothing underneath at all...
Dare to make mistakes. Dare to ask questions. Dare to recognize where you are.
Dare to ask for help.
Dare to ask why.
Dare to be more than a trick or a hope or a wish.
Dare to have substance, and clarity, and focus.
My hope for you is that you find truth through your technique. That you keep exploring MORE to allow your artistry to have a place to reside fully. That you can access it, summon it, and CREATE magic.
Magic DOES happen. It happens BECAUSE, not in spite of; it happens in action, not in fluke;
it happens when you have done the work, and it has SO much more power and portent than you would even imagine - because, it's YOU.
So, as your fairy godmother, I do not wave a magic wand. I see you. I mirror what I see. Now get sweating and find your truth & your honesty!
Create your own magic.
Then, OWN IT.
