- Different For Different’s Sake February 11, 2011
I am not a big fan of being different because you can. I always want reasons and I want them to make sense. Consequently, it took me a long time to appreciate abstract art, although I finally did decide that I enjoy some of it very much, however I am still someone who loves ...
- An Applied Degree February 11, 2011
In college, you can get a degree in music education or music performance. If the degree is in performance, it is an “applied” degree. This means that your school is giving you job preparation, that is, training to get a job as a singer. Theoretically, you are going to be given the skills that you ...
- Professional versus Academic February 9, 2011
If you are a pro, on Broadway, doing a lead in a Broadway show, and if you have also done other shows as a lead, and been a professional for a long time, and you retire and decide to go back to school, to enter into academia, do you somehow become the equivalent of a ...
- Equals Who Really Aren’t January 29, 2011
Did you know that at the voice conferences there is a pecking order? The MDs are at the top, the voice scientists are right there at the top, too, depending on whether the conference is medical or scientific, but if it is both, it could be either profession who is “King of the Road”. This is ...
- "Operatic" Voices January 26, 2011
The jury is out about whether or not it is so that only “big, impressive” voices can have successful careers in opera in the USA. Do those with “lighter” voices have to sing “early music” or go to various concert or recital venues if they want to have a crack at viable work as classical ...
- Behind the Times January 20, 2011
Has there always been a lag between education and the real world? Has it always been so that higher education in particular is insulated from the day to day pulse of life? And at what point, if someone is getting an “applied” degree, does the education of the student relate to the world where ...
- The Lost and The Deluded January 13, 2011
If you are an opera singer and have no experience and/or training in music theater, but you teach it, how could you possibly approach it without using classical tools? Would you even know that you don’t know? There are a lot of teachers in this category, as we discovered this in our research (2006 and ...
- Stupidity January 3, 2011
I heard today about someone who has just been hired to take charge of a music theater program in a New York City college who has stated out loud that he hates music theater. This is not the first thing like this I’ve encountered. I can only imagine how that will help the students, ...
- Sound: The Alpha and Omega December 26, 2010
We enter life with a cry, we go out with a sigh. Sound is our pathway, coming in and leaving. In a human being who is free to express, emotions often come with sounds, released spontaneously. Laughter, tears, screams, shouts, grunts. This is the universal language of humanity. Laughter and crying are the ...
- It’s The Most Wonderful Time of The Year December 20, 2010
It really is amazing when you think of it how much energy goes into Christmas in America. The decorations, the concerts, the symbolism, the MUSIC. We are surrounded by it, whether we are practicing Christians or not. No other holiday comes close, and we have a lot of them. Why is this ...
- All of A Piece Makes Peace December 17, 2010
Tonight I had the great privilege of hearing Jenny Burton sing. Jenny is a wonder. I can’t imagine anyone seeing her perform who does not recognize that the amount of talent in this one human being is stupendous. You can’t take your eyes off her when she sings and her voice is capable ...
- Partners: The Voice, The Song, The Personality December 14, 2010
R & B or Rhythm and Blues, a form of rock music that has its roots in jazz, has very specific characteristics and you have to have a feeling for what they are. As with any style, in order to do it effectively, you have to have the sound “in your ears” which takes a ...
- Judging Your Own Function December 9, 2010
Functional training is very important if you have to work alone. You can sound fine, and feel fine, but not be doing what you need to do in a way that works. Sometimes checking for functional reasons is the only way to tell what’s going on. Listening won’t do it, acceptable musical results won’t ...
- More Ways to Break Down Songs December 3, 2010
Some overlap with the previous post here. Same things said a different way, but some new things, too. Look at the song as a whole. Which phrase is the most important phrase in the entire song? Why? How many phrases lead up to it? Do any of them repeat, either in ...
- Breaking Down A Song November 28, 2010
There are so many ways to break down a song. Almost an unlimited number. Here are a few, many of them well-known, but repeated, just in case. Say the words out loud. Ask yourself what they mean, what they imply. Decide how you feel about that. Sing the words. Say the words, paying particular ...