Whatever the Limitation; Never Give Up
In an article from today's New York Times, "Learning His Body, Learning To Dance" by Neil Genzlinger I saw in the description of an actor with cerebral palsy collaborating with a choreographer a parallel that seemed similar to my own struggle to learn to sing. Although there might not seem to be much in common with a neurologically healthy woman trying to develop her voice, and a person with such a serious condition as cerebral palsy, nevertheless there is something to be learned from extreme examples that can help us find ways to solve our "normal" struggles, and overcome more ordinary pro

Avocational Blogger
Just like I'm learning how to sing, I'm also learning how to blog.  I only started this blog last summer, and I've been learning as I go.  Although I have chosen to write my blog about my passion for singing, this blog really is secondarily about my singing for me, and primarily about my passion for writing.The topics that I choose to write about are like the songs and arias that I choose to sing.  I am a being that has a pressure inside to express, express the self, in some way or another.  There are so many modes of expression an  artist or craftsman has to choose from.  The two that call to me are music and writing, and with this blog, I have fou

Bend At The Knees
"Bend at the knees!" my husband, a dually licensed chiropractor and osteopathic physician exhorts me all the time.But I don't want to bend at the knees because it's more difficult.  I preferred for many years, despite these recommendations, to bend at the waist and put pressure on my lower back and end up with lower back pain.In Kung  Fu and Tai Chi we have to bend at the knees a lot.  From the "stance" work that we do, strength is developed gradually in the thighs, lower body and core.I grasped this concept quickly in Kung Fu, and could see that the people who were getting lower and deeper and in their stances, and who worked those stances

Flute, or "Falsetto" Production
"Lighten that sound up.  Don't bring up that dangerous weight!  People bring up that weight when they want to show off.  You want to keep it very very light for this exercise, and for choral singing"These are words from a talented singer and music teacher who was asked to warm up our choir's high notes.  I cut out of an exercise like that because my big voice not want to change to that "flute-like" or "falsetto" register.  Not only does the voice not want to sing in just that way, but it also cannot do that flute voice thing very well. This puts me in a dilemma at choir, however.   If I do use my full voice, or "modal voice" for the ex

Choir Practice!
One of the outlets for singing that avocational singers across this country has is singing with a choir.  I sing with a wonderful all-women's choir called Cantigas Women's Choir.Now, choir night should be nice and relaxed, right?  Just go, sing, blend in, don't worry about anything and have a nice night out with the gals, right?Well, not exactly.And especially not exactly for a great big solo voice-type, dramatic-soprano like I may be.It is a real struggle.  Everybody has their stress about it, if I judge from the little voice recorders hanging around the women's necks around the room.