A bit of brilliance, via my friend MI:
Love it!
Showing posts with label silliness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label silliness. Show all posts
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Out of Your Head
I’ve been planning a post for weeks, maybe months, about the importance of getting out of your head and into your body as a singer, and, well, here it is. (Ed. Note: It’s true; I started this post in July...)
The idea first came to me while watching “the big stars” in rehearsals at the Met this past year. Singers who have extensive backgrounds in physical arts - like Diana Damrau (dance) and Rolando Villazon (clowning), for example, two folks I got to see in action – are such a joy to watch onstage! They are not only more comfortable with crazy stage actions like lying down to sing or running or dancing, but they are also able to use their full instrument (it’s more than just the voice!) to engage the listener and to tell the story. Their minds were were completely present on stage, or, at least, so it seemed from the outside. Which, ultimately, is what you want.
It’s as if they’re not actively “thinking.” Singing for them is a physical act, not a cerebral one. Of course, of course: the mind is involved, and the hours of “armchair work” studying languages and rhythms and endless drilling of memory are not unimportant. But when it comes time to get a character on her feet? It’s physical. Not to mention the fact that our actual instrument is located in the body, not the mind...
I can add now, in December, Bryn Terfel: I don’t know what his dance/movement/sports background is, other than rugby, but he is a great physical actor, someone who definitely just goes and there and plays. He has obviously put a lot of thought into his performance and practice and character, but the cerebral brain is turned off on-stage. More on physicality and my Figaro experience in another post.
One night this summer, over at RM’s for dinner, LB and I started waltzing in the kitchen (doing our best to get in the way as much as possible). It began just kind of silly (sillily?), but it didn’t take me long to realize that he actually knew how to waltz! So, instead of just playing around, I had to actively turn of the thinking part of my brain and just give over to the physical act of dancing. When I could let go and let him lead, it was smooth sailing. (It’s so nice to dance with a tall man who knows how to dance, right?) But as soon as my head got involved again, we were at odds (but only slightly). I’m not saying you shouldn’t think when you’re on-stage; obviously, you have to. But it is possible to get in your way.
When students ask me what they should do with themselves while they are building their voices, waiting the 5-10 years between finishing school and being ready (maybe) to work, I encourage them to dance. Take any kind of dance class - ballroom, modern, jazz, ballet, hip-hop, whatever. Or take martial arts or fencing. Anything that gets you out of your mental, analytic, judgmental self and into your physical, instinctual, visceral self. Get out of your head and into your body. Your voice will thank you for it.
The idea first came to me while watching “the big stars” in rehearsals at the Met this past year. Singers who have extensive backgrounds in physical arts - like Diana Damrau (dance) and Rolando Villazon (clowning), for example, two folks I got to see in action – are such a joy to watch onstage! They are not only more comfortable with crazy stage actions like lying down to sing or running or dancing, but they are also able to use their full instrument (it’s more than just the voice!) to engage the listener and to tell the story. Their minds were were completely present on stage, or, at least, so it seemed from the outside. Which, ultimately, is what you want.
It’s as if they’re not actively “thinking.” Singing for them is a physical act, not a cerebral one. Of course, of course: the mind is involved, and the hours of “armchair work” studying languages and rhythms and endless drilling of memory are not unimportant. But when it comes time to get a character on her feet? It’s physical. Not to mention the fact that our actual instrument is located in the body, not the mind...
I can add now, in December, Bryn Terfel: I don’t know what his dance/movement/sports background is, other than rugby, but he is a great physical actor, someone who definitely just goes and there and plays. He has obviously put a lot of thought into his performance and practice and character, but the cerebral brain is turned off on-stage. More on physicality and my Figaro experience in another post.
One night this summer, over at RM’s for dinner, LB and I started waltzing in the kitchen (doing our best to get in the way as much as possible). It began just kind of silly (sillily?), but it didn’t take me long to realize that he actually knew how to waltz! So, instead of just playing around, I had to actively turn of the thinking part of my brain and just give over to the physical act of dancing. When I could let go and let him lead, it was smooth sailing. (It’s so nice to dance with a tall man who knows how to dance, right?) But as soon as my head got involved again, we were at odds (but only slightly). I’m not saying you shouldn’t think when you’re on-stage; obviously, you have to. But it is possible to get in your way.
When students ask me what they should do with themselves while they are building their voices, waiting the 5-10 years between finishing school and being ready (maybe) to work, I encourage them to dance. Take any kind of dance class - ballroom, modern, jazz, ballet, hip-hop, whatever. Or take martial arts or fencing. Anything that gets you out of your mental, analytic, judgmental self and into your physical, instinctual, visceral self. Get out of your head and into your body. Your voice will thank you for it.
Monday, October 15, 2007
FriPod bonus edition: For the Birds
I’ll accept Patty’s challenge for the playlist, although I really have no classical music to add to Scott’s great list. Unless, of course, you consider anything sung by me to be applicable!
I’ll represent the Eclectic Pop study group. We can compare our results against the Classical group and the Control group see who the happier birds are.
1. Bird on the Wire, Leonard Cohen, The Best of LC
2. Birds, Over the Rhine, Eve
3. Bye bye blackbird, Joe Cocker, Sleepless in Seattle soundtrack
4. Songbird, Eva Cassidy, Songbird
5. Caged Bird, Alicia Keys, Songs in A Minor
* 6. Bird Gerhl, Antony & The Johnsons, I Am A Bird Now
* 7. Birdless, The Innocence Mission, Birds of My Neighborhood
*^ 8. The Bird, Charlie Parker, Bird: The Original Recordings of Charlie Parker
*^ 9. Between Roof & Bird, Henry Sparrow. This is a friend of a friend, so I don't know the album, or if there is one, but I love this song. (He does appear to have an album that fits the theme, though: Bird Songs. Check it out.)
Artists: The Dixie Chicks
Andrew Bird (particularly his album: The Mysterious Production of Eggs in the Night Time. Seriously, what more could those biddies want?!)
* Also eligible under the “Album” category.
^ Also eligible under the “Artist” category.
I’ll represent the Eclectic Pop study group. We can compare our results against the Classical group and the Control group see who the happier birds are.
1. Bird on the Wire, Leonard Cohen, The Best of LC
2. Birds, Over the Rhine, Eve
3. Bye bye blackbird, Joe Cocker, Sleepless in Seattle soundtrack
4. Songbird, Eva Cassidy, Songbird
5. Caged Bird, Alicia Keys, Songs in A Minor
* 6. Bird Gerhl, Antony & The Johnsons, I Am A Bird Now
* 7. Birdless, The Innocence Mission, Birds of My Neighborhood
*^ 8. The Bird, Charlie Parker, Bird: The Original Recordings of Charlie Parker
*^ 9. Between Roof & Bird, Henry Sparrow. This is a friend of a friend, so I don't know the album, or if there is one, but I love this song. (He does appear to have an album that fits the theme, though: Bird Songs. Check it out.)
Artists: The Dixie Chicks
Andrew Bird (particularly his album: The Mysterious Production of Eggs in the Night Time. Seriously, what more could those biddies want?!)
* Also eligible under the “Album” category.
^ Also eligible under the “Artist” category.
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