Ah the TERMINOLOGY!

happy Labor/Labour Day Weekend!

I love this weekend.  It is a turning point and a ramp up into the fall season (even though it is still so WARM on the east coast!)

As you perhaps begin voice lessons again,  or get back into a routine after the summer...

I have been hearing this  "My voice is so big"  and "my voice is so small compared to industry standards"....

WHAT?!?!?!?! WHAT?!?!?!?!?

What does this mean?

Honestly,  I don't know.  Big or small (whatever that means ANYway)  a voice needs to develop a balance of resonance to be heard and to be able to access dynamic energy and subtly of stylistic integrity.

What I often see is "bigger is better" which is often translated into "I can sing really really loud therefore I have a HUGE DRAMATIC voice".  No,  you are loud.  Volume has nothing to do with big or small.  It has nothing to do with balance of resonance.  Screaming or yelling isn't singing,  so just cause you can scream really loud,  doesn't mean you can sing loudly,  nor does it mean you have a large instrument.  It means you don't know what the terminology is yet and you haven't found a place for that voice to reside.

On the flip side,  "my voice is too small",  and the best one to date is "my voice is very small given the industry standard".  What does that mean?  They can't hear you when you audition?

Again,  that means you haven't learned how to use your voice yet.  Your voice hasn't found balance enough to project with ease and energy to cut through no matter the size!

What is often the most riveting is listening to a pianissimo sung with such amazing skill and finesse that the goosebumps travel all the way through your body.  And guess what?  A pianissimo can be HEARD.  EASILY.  Why?  Because the voice is BALANCED.  It isn't about big or small.  It is about acoustic balance, technical acumen and breath.

The terminology can be so very very deceptive.  We all use similar language yet so many don't understand the language they use.

VOLUME has to do with movement that is relative from a so-called balanced and resonant loud to a so-called balanced and resonant soft.  When the balance of resonance is sought after,  the volume is determined in relationship to that balance of resonance that is unique to YOUR voice.

Louder isn't better.  It isn't bigger.  It's louder.  So what?  It, unto itself doesn't matter.

Small doesn't matter either.  If you learn how to balance that voice,  it will be heard ANYWHERE, anytime given the right space and relationship.

Forget about big or small until you have found a balance of resonance - and then it should only indicate what you sing, and where. 

Release the negative terminology or the terminology that allows you to hide behind.

Find YOUR voice,  and the body it wants to reside in.  Sing with that voice.  Honestly, truthfully and authentically.

At the end of the day,  nobody is going to say "wow, I love how LOUD she/he  can sing!"

People will ask you to stop screaming.
People will ask you to sing out if they can't hear you.
People will smile and nod and dismiss you if there isn't an authenticity that is present.

Even if they don't know it,  they are listening for a "real you".  They want a real voice that is balanced, healthy and recognizes its ability fully to inform the repertoire that that voice chooses to sing.

They will recognize you when it's real.  They will dismiss you if think you aren't enough, or if you think you have to sing louder than the person before you.

Determine what your voice does.  Know what the terminology indicates and how your voice begins to understand that terminology.  Work hard not to misunderstand terminology and stay true to your path.  Do not be side-swiped by "quick fixes" or pat answers.

Terminology is there as a tool.  It isn't absolute.  Just don't confuse what you do,  with what you say you do, and with what you think someone wants.

You.  It's enough to be YOU.

 

The 8/27 ANNOUNCEMENT!

I am so thrilled to announce I have joined THE DREAMHONOR EDUCATION TEAM in NYC!

I will start teaching a 4 week course beginning WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 25th called:

CROSSING INTO CABARET

We will have a FREE TRIAL CLASS WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 18th and we will have a CABARET PERFORMANCE following the completion of this intensive for family and friends, and industry professionals!

I am very excited in being a part of DREAMHONOR - to help create a class that meets their mandate of artistic dreams meeting real life application - and work beside some of the finest educators in the arts in NYC!

JOIN US!  Check out all the great classes starting this fall!

If you sign up for ANY classes within the next 48 hours,
  use the code - Honoryourdream - for a 20% DISCOUNT!


Looking forward to this wonderful endeavor!

An exciting announcement coming!!!!

The fall is gearing up for all of us, as the summer winds down...

It's always a bittersweet time of year for me - as having some more lazy summer days would be delightful.  However, fall is my favorite season: it's cozy,  it's lush,  it is when we wind back up into our season!

In so doing,  I will have a special announcement for NYC singers on 8/27 at 8:27 p.m.!

Watch for it HERE!!!  I am very excited to share it with you!!!

Embrace your JOY!

Wednesday musings...

We are constantly revamping our books,  our audition material,  and fine tuning our technique.  Sometimes we can get so wrapped up in the business,  that we forget WHY we do it at all.

I can only speak for myself.  Sometimes this business drives me nuts.  As I get older,  I have less tolerance for the stupid.  This can be exhausting if you allow it. 

Again, my daughter Erin,  reminds me about joy today and she probably doesn't even know it!

Why do we do this?  Why do I do this?

At the end of the day,  music, creating a character,  embracing a new idea and allowing it to unfold,  discovering new things,  hearing something I hadn't heard before,  discovering a new way to shape a phrase,  revealing a unique way to communicate an idea to a singer in the studio - all these things give me joy.

Why do I do this?  Because whatever "this" is - I love it.  It gives me life.  It feeds me.  It gives me JOY.

When we find our joy,  we find a contentment that is really beyond words.  We can feel the cell memory of when that joy began to develop.  I remember it for me:  the day the piano arrived in the living room when I was a little girl.  My mom sat down to play and sing, and I sat beside her.  I was mesmerized and didn't leave the bench.  I couldn't play,  but I opened up one of those old Readers Digest Song Books and touched those keys and SANG the words, making up the tune as I went!  I remember the front door was open and the breeze came through the screen,  and I was COMPLETE.

The cell memory is still there.

The reminder of that joy needs to be embraced every day.  Yes, sometimes it's a chore to get to the studio,  to get to that open call,  to even get your costume on again for the 8th time that week.  Yes, it's exhausting when you audition and study and aren't booking anything. 

So, why do you do it?

Have you claimed that joy?

We all need reminders.  So I say to you,  remember what you learn,  remember what you've practiced,  remember how to do,  what to wear,  how to behave.  And then - let all that go into the subconscious;  care not about what someone else thinks; 

just simply breathe and EMBRACE THAT JOY!  The joy that brought you this far.  It's in there somewhere and you'll recognize it as soon as you start looking for it!

That unconsumed,  pure JOY of why we do what we do.  It is what allows us to breathe.  It is what gives us hope,  and gives us the momentum to pursue the possibilities.

Joy is larger than negativity,  larger than dismissal,  larger than frustration - if we let it take hold,  and own it.  Another big choice,  but I can attest - a very important one,  and one that will give you momentum and more possibilities.

I remember my joy like it was yesterday - I remember how absolutely FREE I felt while touching those keys I knew nothing about yet.  I remember how incredibly fabulous it felt to take a big breath and SING,  my feet dangling from the bench.

The joy allows for truth, and honesty and integrity.  It dismisses negativity.  It doesn't allow for suffocation.  It reflects.  It gives you the opportunity to grow,  to discover,  and to pursue that which you say you love.

That's my ongoing pursuit.  Allowing myself to embrace my joy.  I hope that for you too.