Never let inexperience get in the way of ambition. —Terry Josephson Recently I signed up to learn more about the voice in depth. At times I feel like I’m barely treading water learning new terminology and understanding anatomy but I love swimming here!
I’m sure many of you would love for there to be a quick and easy path to singing with a successful career, but you have to pay your dues to have a solid foundation. As a great teacher once told me: “slow down so things progress faster.” Instead of singing scales over and over and wondering why you’re not getting better, ask a teacher to explain exactly why it’s not working. If you’re a singer/songwriter and no one is buying your music, it may be time to take a songwriting course. Are you tense or afraid when you sing? A body movement class or therapist might be good for you. Become better and be on the road to greatness by acknowledging that it’s ok to be the rookie in the room.
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Don't run, stop holding your tongue I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t very good at sports growing up. In fact, I didn’t even like watching sports! While my family was watching a baseball, hockey, or football game, I was usually downstairs at my piano playing and singing my heart out. Don’t let anyone try to make you feel less because you’re a singer. To become great at the art of singing, the amount of passion, dedication and practice is on par with any great athlete. If anyone belittles you for what you do, challenge them to sing solo in front of a crowd. That takes great courage!
I must admit, I do like watching golf now. When I see a pro hitting the ball and the trajectory and arc is beautiful, I relate it to the way the voice travels up and out of our mouths. I wanna see you be brave! I watch you furrow your brow and wring your hands when you can’t sing a phrase that you clearly hear in your head. That self doubt almost has a life of its own. Instead of looking at it as a weakness, think of it as a skill you have not yet learned. We all move forward at different rates. Think back to your schooling. Maybe you were in 4th grade but had a 7th grade reading level. Or perhaps you were in high school and had the math skills of a 3rd grader. Thank goodness the arts don’t work that way! We celebrate your progress in your time without grade labels. So stop looking at those moments as failures and rather as steps you look forward to taking so you can learn and grow. Remember, this is your script and you decide how it all plays out.
Image at zuketunes.tumblr.com Take a moment today to reflect back on this past year. How much have you accomplished? Where did you fail yourself? Review your personal goals and critique the moments where you went wrong and how you can do better. Moving into a new year is the perfect time to reinvent yourself. Get out of your repetitive loop that prevents you from progress.
I look forward to reinventing myself this year and sharing the journey with all of you. Whether or not you celebrate Christmas, it’s a great time to put down your phone and be present with those around you. Shut it off, put it somewhere you don’t see it, and converse with family and friends. Being present is a beautiful gift to others.
May the spirit of the holiday season fill you with love. This morning I had a hard time waking up because a dream kept pulling me down. As I was trying to wake up, I kept losing the dream. My fuzzy brain was caught between sleeping and waking but I wanted both. I wanted to be awake and feel the dream. Have you ever had one of these experiences?
Maybe in your waking life you’re too preoccupied with the way you imagine your life should go. That’s not living in the moment and you will wind up in limbo not accomplishing anything. There’s no magic ball that will define your future. Every small step you take will determine your destiny. Acknowledge your dreams then wake up and do something. It’s unusually warm here today in the NYC area and I’m loving it! It’s going to be cold and dry soon enough, so take advantage of these freaky warm days and get outside.
It will be beautiful through the weekend - get out there and soak up the sun!! I’ve been sick for almost 2 weeks with a horrible bronchial cough. Needless to say, I can’t teach because even talking can send me into a non-stop coughing fit. We depend on our passion to keep us centered and when ill health takes it away, it’s hard to be patient. Goodness knows, I’m having a hard time with it!
This down time has forced me to do other important things, like cleaning out the attic and donating clothes and goods that I no longer use. I’ve also been listening to a daily 21-day telesummit on the vegan way of living. I’m also binging on a lot of Netflix and Hulu shows! I pass the patience torch on to you the next time you find yourself sick and unable to work on your artistry. Do something else that’s good for your soul! I watched this 3 minute video and replaced words in these quotes to apply to songwriters. This is a great way to have something to write about every day. "Every unhappiness is really a new business [song] waiting to be born. Your frustrations are nearly an inexhaustible source of raw materials out of which the businesses [songs] of the future can be built [written].” What are you unhappy or frustrated about today? Write a song to fix it.
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