Just Breathe

That's all I want to be able to do. Just breathe...and then sing. Without complication. I cannot figure out for the life of me why this is so difficult! I had the most stressful lesson today because my breath wasn't working: I have good days, ok days, and then I have days like today where no matter how much I try to visualize or relax and just breathe, everything locks up. I think way to much, and I wish I could stop and just breathe. Sometimes I fear that I'll never get to the potential I desire because my breathe support is so inconsistent and I can't seem to get grounded. I'm trying to be patient, but at the same time, I feel like the clock is ticking away, and it's now or never...one concept that I am trying to keep in mind is that every singing day will be different....for the rest of my life. This concept escaped me as I burst into tears in my voice lesson today. *sigh*

From one studio to another

Well, for a part of my first semester in grad school, I had been thinking about switching from my current voice teacher's studio to another: let me tell you, it's not a fun place to be. Even though there were great things about what I was learning in my current studio, I just couldn't shake or ignore my desire to switch to a particular teacher's studio. I prayed about it, researched on it, asked myself questions and weighed pro's and cons, and decided professionally, it was going to be the best thing for me. It eventually became not an issue of whether or not I wanted to switch, but being able to articulate why, even though some good things were happening where I currently was, and not wanting to hurt my current teacher's feelings: I'm sure it's a little disappointing to hear that one of your students wants or needs to switch studios. After much contemplation and hesitation (out of nervousness), I spoke with my teacher and told her the news. I could tell she was disappointed, and probably didn't fully understand why or agree with my decision, but I stood behind my decision. Overall, I think the discussion went very well, and I feel at peace. I am very excited to see where this heads and the growth I will experience in the next studio.

The story of my water

So, I've always been trying to get myself to drink more water. Especially as a singer, it's so important in order to keep everything hydrated. But sometimes, I just hate water! And then there are time when I go through phases, like the last few weeks, where I quite enjoy it, and want more. So, I'm trying to take advantage of this phase as much as possible before it fades! However, the problem is, I am so particular about what water I drink: if it tastes funny in the slightest, I can't drink it. I rarely like tap water unless it's filtered, I JUST started drinking from water fountains again, but sometimes, even THAT is a stretch (had a bad taste experience as a child, and stayed away from them lol), and I'd say 98% of the time...ok 99.9% of the time, I can only get through it if it's ice cold. I love bottled or filtered water, I just do, I'm sorry! Which isn't a problem if you just buy bottled water, but realistically, it can get expensive if you're trying to get your 6-8 glasses per day. So, what do I do? *sigh* Most of the time, I just don't drink....not helpful...and just creates this cycle of not drinking and being dry! I haven't quite figured it out yet, but it's a dilemma that I'm actively trying to solve: I love my voice and I want to take care of it well, and at least for my body, I NEED MORE WATER! So here's what I'm gonna start doing:
*Have a cup of hot tea when I wake up
*Have a glass of ice water with breakfast
*(insert ideas here for drinking water throughout the day)
*Have a glass of ice water with and sometime after dinner
*Have a cup of hot tea (decaf) before bed

Soooo, here's to drinking more water!

Blogging

So, I read another person's blog about singing, and it got me interested in blogging about my journey through music. I've always wanted to keep a regular blog...with life, it's so easy to get behind or forget to write! I'm in a new chapter in my life with music and singing, so I thought I'd write about it. I love sharing my thoughts and experiences with others, welcoming others' thoughts and ideas, and just being able to look back to see where I was at one point and how I've grown. So, with my first entry, I say hello and welcome! There's more to come, but for now, the part of my music journey I'm in at the moment is putting together a research paper and presentation for class lol......