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From Stephanie H.:
Iif any of your students are interested Clear Creek Community Theater is still looking for a Warner and more ensemble people for Legally Blonde. Feel free to have them contact the directors. http://clearcreekcountrytheatre.org/ They can email the director at
1) Having a baby with you instantly make you ten times more approachable. People literally go out of their way to talk and help open doors, tickle the kid etc...
2) A 20 lb kid in one hand and a stroller, diaper bag, and lunch box in the other hand is not only possible, it's required as a parent. 3) Seeing your son interact with older kids at the swimming pool successfully and him laughing the whole time: priceless...and it makes the world feel so much better. 4) Drums are instant entertainment for babies. 5) Birds and ducks are a close second. Apologies to the San Antonio flocks for Jackson's reign of terror. Oh, and I learned music-related things too! DWS It's the summer, and a great time to start lessons! If you refer a friend and they sign up for monthly lessons, you receive two free lessons!
Offer ends July 1st; free lessons apply after new student has taken 4 lessons (one month). Thank you, DS Last February, I decided to take a brief trip to San Antonio to attend the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA for short) Convention. This convention is a BIG deal - basically every choral, band, and orchestra director tries to go every year to attend workshops, buy music, and get a few days of relaxation before the competition season! Normally, I skip the event as the seminars are not geared to voice teachers, but as I had a young son and wanted my wife to have some time to focus on the workshops.
While it is always fun in San Antonio, I did attend some seminars that helped give me new ideas, and refreshed old concepts, for voice lessons. One seminar that was a great refresher was a workshop based on the idea that many vocal problems are centered around five consonants - l, r, w, m and n. For the first three consonants, the tongue retracts and gets tense, causing issues with pitch, resonance, and articulation. The last two (m and n) can easily cause a person to sound nasal. Several solutions were given on how to combat each vocal problem. Another conference I attended addressed musical acoustics and how to make a room more soundproof and/or acoustically pleasing, but I'll address that in another blog. DWS A few weekends ago, I had the great opportunity to judge high-school seniors for the annual Bay Area Chorus Scholarship Competition. In order to compete for the vocal scholarships, each student was required to sing two songs of their choosing and submit their grades and letters of recommendation. We awarded three scholarships that night - two for music performance and one for music education. I thought I would pass on my observations.
1) Everyone was really, REALLY good. It was tough deciding the winners. This brings to mind one of the lessons of the music industry. Everyone in the industry was 'top dog' at their high school. Once you get into the professional world, there is little that separates those with careers and those who get work occasionally. This competition really hit home for me how important good manners, professionalism, acting, and luck are to a music career. 2) Presentation matters. If you look professional and showed off some acting ability, you were more likely to win this competition. 3) Pick songs that you sing great, not what looks impressive. Singing repertoire that you are not ready for only hurts you because you will not sound as polished as the next singer. If you sing a simpler song beautifully with great musicality, you will impress lots of people. DWS
Always enjoy singing with this church - great people, great minister and good music!
Many of my students sign up for lessons to conquer stage fright. The reality of singing is that if you want to perform, stage fright is almost always an issue. I have not met a performer yet who has not had issues with nerves, or "butterflies in the stomach" at one point in their education or careers.
I believe combating stage fright takes several steps: 1) Accepting stage fright as inevitable, and understanding how your body and mind react to your nerves. If you understand and accept that you will be nervous, it oddly becomes less scary because you know what is going to happen: sweaty palms, rocking knees, and similar symptoms. 2) Adjusting your internal dialogue while singing: Instead of critiquing yourself while you sing, simply delay any sort of 'judgment' until the performance is over. Even better, rely on a trusted adviser, such as your voice teacher, to give you a proper evaluation that is supportive and constructive. 3) Stop viewing your singing through the lens of whether "people like you." I think this is the critical issue. Most people's stage fright is a desire to be accepted and liked. Instead of worrying about people's expectations and opinions, concentrate more about giving the best performance you can. Approach singing as architect would desire to create the best house - designing and creating a performance that is the best version of what you are able to imagine and produce. DWS Yep - it is that time of year! I'll be visiting the high schools this week to discuss voice lessons with the students and start teaching my HS students next week. Which means - lots of cramming for All-State! They picked excellent music so I'm looking forward to working on the pieces. See you around!
DWS
Here is me singing "The Trumpet Shall Sound" from Handel's Messiah
http://vimeo.com/103082948
As many of you know, I am serving as interim music director with League City United Methodist Church until their music director returns from a summer music festival. It has been my honor to lead hymns and provide and arrange for special music each Sunday. Below are some links to songs that I have sung for Sunday service. It has been a pleasure!
http://vimeo.com/channels/lcumc/102476275
http://vimeo.com/channels/lcumc/101242159
http://vimeo.com/channels/lcumc/100051566
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