As Hannah Montana said: "Everybody makes mistakes. Everybody has those days."
This morning, I would like to reflect on my singing lesson with Erick Guansing last night. I've been training with Erick for the past 1-2 months now & I really see, hear & feel the change in my voice. It has definitely improved from the first time I went for class! I'm so happy about that because I know that I will keep making improvements & that my singing will level up in time!
Patience, determination & hard work are the keys to vocal health, wealth & endurance.
The main lessons I learnt last night were:
1. Open vowels (Lengthen vowels before hitting the consonant).
2. Drop jaw!! (This is something I am consciously working on & feeling comfortable with).
3. Support the lower notes, feel it in my core. (I am usually more comfortable with higher notes & they come more naturally. Hence, grounding & finding support in my lower notes is something that I am also working on building a strong foundation in).
4. Placement, the vocal resonance should sit around the TMJ area where I feel the bones protruding when I drop my jaw. (Too far back would sound too operatic & too far forward would sound too "musical theatre" & slightly pinched). We want freedom & less effort so that the sound can travel farther & resonate more just by raising the soft palate & dropping the jaw.
Exercises to practice for the week:
1. Chopstick with tongue. Sing through the entire song of "Dare To Live."
2. Massage to release the muscles in the TMJ area, around the earlobes & skull.
3. Vocal Rest on Friday, 8 January because I can feel the throat tension built up from Christmas till now (2 weeks +).
4. Practice yawning (raising soft palate), releasing the tongue & mewing, even when not singing. To inculcate good vocal habits & muscle memory while also releasing & preventing any vocal tension & atrophy. Never forget: Singers are vocal athletes.
I meditated in the morning.
During my meditation, I was taken to the depths of the purest & cleanest blue lagoon in the middle of a lush, green forest. My own personal sanctuary. The waterfall was crashing down gently & the mist covered my face. I felt completely at peace & at one with the world around me & inside of me. At the bottom of the lagoon, an ancient tortoise (like the Lion Turtle) gave me a rose of red ruby. At that moment, as I allowed it to become my deepest desire, I saw myself on stage at the end of a concert, completely floored & moved by all the love surrounding me. At that moment, I realised that I was love. That I was the one radiating that loving energy to the people around me, to my audience & they were giving it back. In that moment, we were all one. One in love. I realised that my life's purpose is to be a symbol, the personification & the manifestation of love for others. If I want to change the world, which I do, my greatest power lies in my ability to be love & be that connector between the two worlds. I'm like the Avatar, like Aang & Korra & al the avatars before and after them. Myself & my music can be that bridge between the real world & the spirit world. My power is in being & becoming a light of love unto others. That's how I make a change.
Dear Lord,
Be a lamp unto my feet & a light unto my path, so that I may be that same light unto others.
Amen.