Mi mi mi.... That was me warming up my voice. I had my first voice lesson today with my new fantastic teacher! He seems to be everything I was hoping for - someone who is well-versed in the mechanics of how singers produce sound, as well as how they should perform their material. Speaking of material, it's like a goldmine in there! His studio is filled with shelves of sheet music from every musical ever written! (Me=jealous!) Once he got a good sense of me and my voice, he recommended several songs for me to add to my repertoire. He knows exactly what types of songs singers need in their audition books, and he photocopied five or six of them and handed them over. (Me=excited!) Since we were recording the lesson onto a CD he played all of the pieces through for me so that I can go off and learn them on my own.
These lessons are a huge investment in myself. For a private lesson with a good, certified teacher in the city, the going rate is $100 per hour. No wonder so many of us artists are starving! That's at least a month's worth of groceries for me! But I'll sing for my supper! At this point, I see that I have little choice. If I want to book jobs, I have to make sure that I'm armed and ready with the right equipment. The way I figure it, there are just as many people out there who would drop $100 on a night of drinking or drugs. Well, this guy's officially my new dealer!
Time is money so we spent the hour-long session going through lots of warm-ups and vocal exercises, explaining the more technical side of vocal production with the use of some handy visual aides. I found it really interesting, and was impressed by his wealth of knowledge on the anatomy of the human larynx. I was learning a lot.
He used the last 20 minutes of my lesson to hear me sing 20 or so bars of one of my go-to audition pieces, "Home" from Broadway's Beauty and the Beast. I think that I've had that song in my collection for a good 14 years now, without exaggeration. What? I love that song!
Nonetheless, I'm really looking forward to working on this new material which consists of a little bit of pop, classic musical theater, comic musical theater, and a couple tunes from the 60s. He liked my rendition of "Home" so even though the piece is pretty ancient, it may continue to reside in my book for a little while longer.
When I got back into my office this afternoon, I found an email from NYMF (New York Musical Theater Festival) awaiting me in my in box. What's this?! An Open Call for the Next Broadway Sensation??? The Open Call is on FRIDAY??? Oh, what to do? What to do???
The Next Broadway Sensation, formerly known as "Broadway Idol" is just what it sounds like: an Americal Idol-type competition, for Broadway-star wannabes, instead of national TV-bes. They hold auditions to find contestants for the show which is hosted by NYMF and currently in its third year. This is my chance! It's right up my Great White (Alley) Way! I have got to go to that audition - but, not before I am well-prepared!
Okay, so I panicked a little. I immediately sent out an email - trying not to sound too desperate to my new Messiah/Voice Teacher about setting up a last minute voice lesson tomorrow evening so that he can help me prepare a little somethin' somethin' spectacular. I'm still waiting with bated breath to hear back "yay" or "nay." Until then, I'm going to try to chill out a little with a few new vocal warm-ups.
La la la la la laaaaaaa.......
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
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1 comment:
How totally exciting! If I lived in NY (and I will, again, someday) I would bring you groceries so you can afford the voice lessons. How is this? I had voice lessons for years as a little girl. I remember doing the scales, See-ee-ee-Ah--ah--ah. I had so much sheet music, that all was lost in this move. I remember songs from SOUTH PACIFIC, THE MUSIC MAN and too many more to mention. Your voice could do them all. I was a reluctant singer--preferred playing in the dirt.
Your voice is so sweet...sing on.
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