After watching Roderick Williams on the proms on the tv on Thursday night I decided it was time to get my blog written. I didn't even write about Friday never mind the future!! This will end up as two posts...
Friday was jam packed. Full of emotion, nerves, excitement and smiles.
I'm going to begin with the most moving moment of the day so I'm not going in the right order.
Elaine got us to compliment each other. A small number of people stood in the hall with their eyes closed and then everyone else went and whispered something positive to them. It could be anything.
It was amazing. People cried! We don't do enough of this!!
I was humbled by the people who'd noticed me. So many people whispered to me. Some mentioning the song to the seals that I sang in the informal concert, that my hair looked great, and about my personality and how I'd made them feel. Everyone should get a chance to feel like that regularly! As we don't have an Elaine on tap to organise it we should take responsibility to tell ourselves and each other more often.
I sang 'Farewell ye limpid springs' in the afternoon final concert. I enjoyed it. It was good. I want to work on my shoulder tension and 'comedy angry eyebrows' though!!
The evening concert was truely amazing and I'm so glad I got to hear everyone sing. Such a range of voices and so many new songs!
Saying goodbye whilst riding on such a high was hard. I'm so glad that there's a group to keep in contact. Such a lovely , talented bunch of people.
Finally I will end on the beginning of the day:
We got to hear from all of the tutors in the morning plus Susan McCulloch over skype. They all passed on many pearls of wisdom and health tips. Some are very well known and obvious but even those need reminders. Here are the ones I noted down :
* 'Everything we are is our instrument. We don't need extra bits. Everything we need is inside us... We have a responsibility to look after ourselves.'
* Be up and awake in good time - 3hrs before vocalising!
* Eat a good and healthy breakfast.
* Have 8hrs sleep. Vocal system will be under stress if we are tired (like your eyes often are).
* Don't eat late - try to leave 2hrs before sleeping (all to do with acid reflux).
* Keep "moist and well lubricated". Drink 2-3 litres of water a day, steadily throughout the day. It takes 4hrs to lubricate the voice so if u feel dry you drank too little 4hrs ago!
* Remember to warm up gently and gradually.
* Have one exercise that you do every single day so that you know where you are in your voice. ie if it's a good day.
* Exercise regularly but make sure it doesn't build up neck muscles.
* Children are the main carriers of illness!! (This I am fully aware of!)
* A sneeze has 100,000 virus particles!
* Alcohol wipes do not kill the noro virus and do not use hankies.
* Check your nose health - it is a barrier against airborne infections.
* Alcohol impairs the vocal chords - do to drink before singing. It is a muscle relaxant and dries you out. (Damnit!)
* No menthol or numbing lozenges. Avoid aspirin at all costs. Paracetamol ok but ibruprophen with caution. Salt and water for gargling. Natural liquorice in hot water and ginger in hot water to drink. Zinc and bee propolis good too.
* Support your daily speaking voice (keep checking I'm doing this).
* Eat properly before concerts.
* Try looking at your throat everyday to get to know what it looks like. Write down any concerns.
* For every one thing to critisise find something positive.
* Aim to be the best human being you can be.
* You should be able to change habits. It takes a little effort.
* Invite friends over for recitals. You can say you had a full house!
* Singing feeds your soul.
* the best performances are a mix of communication, technique and performance.
* Get into the habit of reading the words of a song before you sing it. Ensure that you understand it all. Don't trust the text translation underneath.
* Look at how you can turn negative experiences into positives.
* Be prepared to do something unusual. Be honest. Don't try too hard. You need to show some of yourself.
I intend to reread all of my blogs and then post something on my future singing plans. I think I'll need help to stick to it!!
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