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12 Questions to ask yourself at the end of 2014

12/11/2014

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  Take a moment to sit with a cup of tea and answer these questions for yourself.


  1.) What was my biggest vocal challenge of 2014? What did it teach me?

  2.) What was the largest obstacle I faced in maintaining a regular vocal practice?

  3.) In what way was I vocally brave in 2014?

  4.) What was my greatest vocal achievement this year?

  5.) Where did I feel stuck this year?

  6.) When did I feel most creatively inspired?

  7.) What song in my book needs to be replaced?

  8.) When did self-doubt overtake me?

  9.) What was my greatest disappointment this year? How did I heal & move forward? 

10.) What were the three most important things I learned about my singing this year?

11.) What singing experience brought me the most joy this year?

12.) What did I do this year that I've never done before? 

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the problem is usually not the problem

5/6/2014

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Today I flipped out about a tea kettle. Yes, you heard right, a tea kettle - such a silly, simple thing. The tea kettle was, of course, not the real problem. The problem started hours before with the fifty other things that occurred throughout the day that had not been deal with properly and had led to built up tension and stress.


The same is true for singing. So often we will pinpoint a note or passage and label this "the problem." In fact, the problem started measures ago with vocal issues not properly addressed. Under less demanding circumstances these issues could probably fly under the radar but when met with more challenging notes or passages they become exposed. When I bump up against a problem as a singer I have learned to back up a couple of measures to see what I'm doing to hinder my success. Now, if only I could learn to do that more often in life.
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Be Zen

4/7/2014

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"You have all the attributes to do this thing right now, Valde. What you need to do is go study Zen."
                                                            -Doug Duncan

This was said to me by my undergrad voice teacher in a moment of frustration. The technique of singing is something one spends a lifetime perfecting but it is easy compared to getting out of your own way. There is a difference between knowing what to do and knowing how to do it and there's an even bigger difference between knowing how to do it and being able to do it. In singing you need to be aware of your mind's patterns so that you can change them. You need to be able to practice concentration and detachment and you have to be able to let go enough to allow singing to happen. So, if you are stuck, if there is something about the technique of singing or auditioning or performing that you can't quite get - stop, breathe. It probably goes deeper than you think but the solution will probably be easier than you think once you stop banging your head against the brick wall.
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