MY LIPS WANT TO TWITCH!

OK . . . maybe Jackie Evancho (the phenomenal little classical singer on "America's Got Talent") is coached to the "n'th degree." Maybe her every cute remark is just as rehearsed as her every passionate gesture and every rounded vowel and every breath in her magnificent, if somewhat eerie singing ("How is a ten year old making sounds like that?"). But every time she sings I get a thrill and sometimes when she speaks I know that unvarnished truth is coming out of this kid's mouth because she is speaking the feelings I had as a 10 year old and still feel today when I am singing from my heart and soul.

At last night's Finale, Jackie spoke of loving singing so much that when she sings sometimes she smiles so much lips wanted to twitch. That joy, that rapture just from the act of singing was clear from watching her performance, which was (and here I disagree with the "distinguished judges") far,far, far from perfect. Thank God! She's a little girl. She's just at the beginning of her journey and she's human. But please, if you didn't get to see and hear this performance, swallow some of your snobbery and pride and go on the "AGT" website. This is what I mean when I talk about singing for the pure joy of it.

By the way, there was some other pretty fabulous joyful performing at Broadway on Broadway as well, which I caught on the BroadwayWorld website. Loved Mandy Gonzales perfectly imperfect Elphaba and those proud Cagelles who must have been freezing their pride off.

But all of this is about LOVE and JOY. Loving singing. Loving acting. Loving what you do. I've recently returned to auditions myself and I'm having a ball. I look at each EPA as a chance to do what I love. Feel the power of the music flowing through me, sharing the moment with the accompanist and the auditors and then leaving it in the room. With love. Look, I know times are tough for all of us who do this thing for a living; old timers, new comers, aspiring students alike. But let's take a second to remind ourselves why we started to sing in the first place. I hope for a lot of you it was because it made you smile so much your lips twitched.

P.S. Day after the final votes have been tallied and the winner announced. Jackie did NOT WIN! and I am so happy. This little girl needs to be nurtured slowly; not have a Las Vegas act. She will have a long and fulfilling and (I hope I hope I hope) happy career.

Too Much To Say

When you don't write in your blog for years (literally) and then suddenly decide it's time to share your thoughts with the world, the stuff comes pouring out like . . . well like polished pearls of wisdom or, I'm too much of a prude to actually write down the other word I am thinking of. Let's just say, "pea soup."

There have been so many things going on in terms of my education as a singer/actor/voice teacher that I have shared with my students and intimates, but just have not written down. I guess I forgot that I even had this blog or thought that it was a worthy place or something that people would be interested in. Now that I am becoming more of an activist in terms of building up my studio, I've decided that it's time to write more and publish more. So here goes.

Obviously, from the title I have too much to say, so I'm going to narrow this down. This one is hard. The subject is PATIENCE. A very difficult one for many, or should I say most of us in the arts. We want success, fame, brilliance, power over our instruments YESTERDAY. The media, and especially TV shows are certainly doing nothing to discourage the idea that you can have instant success and that you can pick up music, look at it once and sing it brilliantly (especially with "auto-tune" behind you). And don't get me started on Reality Television. I love it as much as the next person for a "guilty pleasure" but when kids pout that they have been working "all their lives" for this one chance I can't help but scream at the television "Go back to school where you belong!"

So . . . anyway now for some positive ranting. I have three students who have recently shown the value of patience (and persistence). Two are baritones (more about this in a later post) who have only recently come into their true voices. They have had a difficult in dealing with the whole "baritenor" phenomenon because their natural voices just don't fit into that "fach." But PATIENCE and persistence on both of their parts have led them to find their true and beautiful voices and they are both now singing as they should and as grown men look the part as well. My other student is a soprano who came to me with, shall I say "incorrect" training. It's really not my place to put another teacher down, but this young lady was a bundle of muscular tension in every part of her being, plus her idea of "singing" was a version of classical production I fondly refer to in my studio as "BAAAAD OPERA." We struggled at first, she and I. In the beginning much of the lesson was just spent on Alexander Technique, release of unnecessary tension, and the building of trust. Then gradually we found the system of vocalises that were right for her voice (not everyone responds to the same ones). I can now say that this young lady is one of my favorite students. She gives me chills when she sings and is on her way to having a truly beautiful and consistent voice. Why? Because both she and I have been PATIENT and persistent.

WHEW! "Have I said too much . . . there is nothing more I can think of to say to you."

Response to Albert Burtis Workshop in New York

Hi Albert,
I so appreciated being at your workshop and understand the frustration of the hit and run Master Class. Just wanted to let you know that one of your exercises (the breathing in on "aw" and thinking of the lungs being in the lower abs had an immediate and stunning effect on a brand new student of mine yesterday. I had never met this young lady but could immediately tell that although she has been working most of her adult life as a professional musical theater and pop singer, her larynx was stuck waaaay up throughout her singing and that her voice was sounding much too young for her chronological age. So we just played a little "aw" game (luckily this was a very flexible and open minded singer) and immediately she was able to produce sounds she had never made in her life and the feeling of release and relaxation she felt were astonishing. So . . . don't ever feel that you have had no effect in helping people sing more beautifully, easily, and clearly. You have indirectly helped my new student enormously.
Thanks once again.
Joan Barber

Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci - wikiHow

Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci - wikiHow

Back in the Blog

Yikes!  It's been ages since I wrote anything.  What a strange summer it was and how detached I felt from the world of singing.  Of course many voice teachers who work with young people experience a drop off of attendance at lessons and many plan ahead by going to workshops, going on vacations, performing in summer theatre or opera companies, etc.  This summer was a little different for me.  Rather than performing in "stock" or studying with a great master teacher, I along with my boyfriend and two other friends set about producing, writing, directing and acting in a web series that just made its debut.  It's called "50 to Death" and is about the lives of three "boomers" and their attempt to joust with the 21st Century.  The web address is "50todeath.com."  I've never been a producer/writer/actor before and it's pretty scary and very exciting.  The marketing aspect of all of this is teaching me new things every day.  And it makes me more grateful than ever that fall has come and with it the opportunity to return to the solace of music and teaching, which feel so pure and sure in their special way.  If you are a reader of this blog and would like to go to "50todeath" I guarantee a laugh.  I promise the next post here will be about singing.   

OLD BROADWAY/NEW BROADWAY

Well, the Tony's are all passed out and the Broadway season is over.  How wonderful that the musical theatre awards went to singers with distinctive, unique voices.  Let's face it . . . when you hear Patti Lupone sing, whether you like her voice or not, you know it's her.  The same can be said for the lovely Laura Benanti, who I have known since she was 19 and Kelli O'Hara, both of whom are "New Broadway" stars but are equal in individuality to the ingenues and leading ladies of the past.  Unlike so many of the thousands of kids being ground out of MFA Musical Theatre programs all over the country designed to "fit" the current sound or the screechy little "Legally Blonde" wannabe's who you basically cannot tell apart.  This leads me to speak about a reading I did last week of a new musical based on the hilarious Susan Seidelman film, Boynton Beach Club.  It featured a cast of fifteen actors, most "of a certain age" (including Tony nominees and winners), each and every one  with a distinctive, unique,  voice.  No cookie cutter techniques, no "chorus girl/boy" sound, everybody was an individual and together we rocked the joint!  Of course, we had no microphones and sound mixers to mess with our beautiful sound, but, I'll tell you, when I heard those six guys sing "Dirty Old Men" in four-part harmony and when we "girls" did three-part girl group singing, I was in heaven.  To bring this back to teaching . . . this is the kind of teaching I believe in.  Finding your true voice.  Your most beautiful, healthy, free voice.  

"AH HA" Moments

Yesterday I worked with a new student, a lovely young man who unfortunately had to quit college in the middle of his studies to take care of his family.  There is no question that this is a gifted singer who has already had excellent training and should be singing professionally some day and/or passing on his love of music to young people.  His passion and joy are infectious and we had a blast at the lesson.  The high points of the lesson were definitely what I call "Ah Ha" moments.  Something clicked.  But not just in his head.  In his whole being.  He "got it."  Or to quote "Stranger in a Strange Land" he "grocked it."  Every part of his instrument lit up and he had to pause to absorb the fact that what had happened had truly worked as completely as he felt it had.  So we did it again.  When the "ah ha" moment can be duplicated I know that we are on the right track.  Often whatever breakthrough we achieved  or principle I was teaching was something another teacher had tried to communicate before but perhaps the method the teacher was using wasn't right for him or he hadn't been ready to absorb the information yet.  That has happened to me as a teacher many times before.  I've had students come back to me and say "You know that thing you were trying to teach me when I was fifteen?  Well, now that I'm twenty-five and I'm working with someone else, I finally realize what you were saying works."  I'm always delighted when I hear that they have gotten it.  No matter who they get it from, as long as they get it and it sticks!

"AH HA!"