birds
Learning to float and soar with your voice.
Birds are a continual fascination and inspiration to us - hardly surprising in music when their birdsong is so admired!
In particular, I’ve found that some people wish to emulate the soaring feeling of a bird in flight in their own singing. They enjoy the feel of ‘soaring’ or floating through the music they are singing, like a bird does. So what is that, and how can we create that in our voices?
“The birds are the opposite of Time...They are our desire for light, for stars, for rainbows and for jubilant outpourings of song!””
When you see a bird soaring above, floating almost effortlessly above the earth, what are you really seeing?
The bird has flown from a perch on/near the ground, risen to a height where it feels the support of the wind that allows it to stay in the air. The view we have is of no effort, when actually some rather complicated physics and effort has helped the bird get there.
Here are the things I suggest pupils think about and use to achieve this with their voice:
Mind
Support
Breath
Reduce the feeling of weight or pushing
Repeat and experiment
Know where your strong beats/words are, and therefor the lighter beats and words
An inflexible voice that is pushed or feels heavy will not float or feel light. How much ‘play’ and ‘give’ do you have at your disposal? Could you find more?
As ever, if you have questions get in touch below, book in for a lesson, or work with your teacher to discuss some of these and how they work in your voice.
“Birds have always had the ability to bring me out of a dark space and provide relief in bad times.”
grow
growth as a performer and why it is good for us
“Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still”
In our blog today we are thinking about growth. In an attempt to allow balance in my work and personal life I have enjoyed trying to reflect the seasons more. I am learning to accept quiet times and use them for learning/technical work, planning (usually the dark winter months) and enjoy them knowing that busier times always come, particularly in the warm sunny summer months. Some people try ‘wintering’, a sort of modern-day hibernating - is this something you have tried?
So as we are now in spring, I am thinking of growth. What is growth in our performing life? Why is growth important? How can we grow?
What is growth?
We’ve all felt that nagging feeling that we are ‘stuck’, failing to progress, or being given work that does not stretch us - and felt frustration from those feelings! We don't always feel that we are in a position to progress at a pace we are happy with. So taking some ownership is helpful to plan your own development.
So what can you do? It’s a case of ‘Show: don’t tell’. Don't waste time telling people, find ways to do it!
Why is growth good for us?
Having a growth mindset means believing that effort and skill development will better your life.
As humans, having a ‘growth mindset’ is linked with higher levels of wellbeing and better mental health.
Those with a growth mindset are found to have better ability to cope with stress and anxiety.
Have a quick google to read more about growth mindset and how it might help you!
Tips to grow
Choose new repertoire, research something you haven’t yet learned. Perhaps if you are a singer you could brush up your language skills, or learn a new song cycle?
Tackle the technique you have been having difficulty with. We all come to a point where we need to address something that has been causing us difficulty - maybe there is someone who can help you do that or you can ask your teacher to help you find ways to work it out.
Work with someone new. A new accompanist, a new group of musicians, a new teacher, a new coach, a music course… Get a fresh perspective and ask their advice.
Be brave. Challenges help you to figure out the true extent of your abilities. Experimenting in lessons and with teachers is a safe space to try.
Remove the fear of failure. If you try something in a safe space, failure is not a problem, and growth is more likely as you will not be holding back.
reset
A guide to reviewing and resetting your work as a musician and teacher
“You’ll never do a whole lot unless you’re brave enough to try.”
January is a month of making changes, so why not take the time to assess your business as a musician or in the field you work in, and decide what you want to take forward, and what you can let go of.
Goals and Rewards
Make a list of your goals for the year
How brave do you feel? Maybe this list has some simple easy goals and also some amazing and difficult goals, aim big!
Performances, work on languages, new repertoire, new genre you have not yet explored, working with new people, new teaching jobs/pupils, changing your support/additional job that helps you fund your music goals.
Make a list of rewards for reaching those goals
We know we all work better when there is a reward - be that money, travel/holidays, listening to a favourite piece of music after a hard day, or maybe purchasing that expensive score you have wanted for a while (yeah, this is my weakness… they might be a particular shade of blue… and start with a B)
When you are self-employed, build in your work ‘bonus’ to your work plan.
Add detail of the stages you will go through to reach your goals
Don’t just make a list of big goals, plan how you will get there. Some goals will be easy to reach in one stage, some might be a long term project with many stages to tick off along the way.
Assess your Success
What went right last year?
What are you proud of?
It’s time, you have permission to pat yourself firmly on the back, and hold your own personal awards ceremony! Best of all, it’s all about you. List all your achievements and thoroughly asses what you have to be proud of - include financial, emotional, and mental achievements
What will you try to replicate?
Update Ways of Working
What takes more time than it should?
What could you use to improve your work-flow?
Are your accounts taking ages? are you slow on social media? Are you keeping track efficiently of pupils and payments? Are there any tools like apps or software that would save you time? Remember time is money and effort - often spending money is worth it if your life is easier or you are taking less time to do tasks you don’t enjoy.
What can be done more efficiently
Is your teaching scheduled neatly together or taking up random times in your week? Would your commute be easier/quicker if done at a different time if you worked different hours? Could you use fewer paid childcare hours if you moved your work schedule/teaching?
Tidy
Tidy and sort :
Concert/audition/teaching clothes
Sell/post/give away/donate what is no longer suitable or does not fit
Music
It’s easier to find if it is stored in a system you find easy to use.
Desk
Computer Files
Keep old files/photos in folders for their year, and make a new folder for the current files
CV
Website
Your Home
Training
What training did you undertake last year?
What training will you plan for this year?
Where are your weak points and how will you work towards making them your strong points?
Plan
Set out your diary and plan in holidays
It’s very easy to fail to take a break if you get offered work - but it is not good for us or our friends/family. Make sure it goes in the diary even if it can be moved. Schedule work like social media to automatically load while you are taking a break.
Find gaps and decide where new projects would fit in
Know when you are free to take on training
Hobbies
Can you schedule holiday days around work travel to include your hobbies?
Decide on new hobbies or when you are free to learn/do something, particularly if this is a seasonal thing
Buy/plan to buy that new book or piece of sports equipment
Wind up Old Projects
Make a to-do list of old unfinished goals.
Sweep up all the old half finished things into one list. Plan what you need to do to finish them all off, and how you will do that.
If you are choosing to stop something, plan your exit and work towards it
If you plan to change jobs, or finish certain teaching jobs, plan how you will step back and when, build in a change-over time if you are handing a job to someone else.