From October 2015
Insights on being a singer who is paid to sing well and depends on the voice everyday…..
Last Friday: I woke up with about 20 percent voice. At 46, after a few degrees and many lessons, my usual singer percentage is in the 80s. There are a handful of days each year that are 90% and above. This past Friday, my vocal cords were very thick from allergies, fatigue from 14 hour days etc. I could sing extreme low and high but I was very breathy in the middle. I had much singing modeling to do at school and 4 services to sing on the weekend. My saving grace was having a vocal technique that gets me into core sound and on the breath as much as possible. I was also grateful for forgiving kids and a Friday night off to sleep 10 hours.
Last Saturday: My voice worked at medium loud and louder. Luckily my services were with other singers who were able to spin out lovely pianissimos. I needed much air to get the singing motor on the road. This was my rusty jalopy day. I was moderately depressed about my singer existence.
Last Sunday: My breathy middle went away but I still needed the best diaphragmatic support I could maintain to sing with needed artistic bells and whistles. I was able to sing respectably at an 830, 10, and 12 noon mass. This was my 6 Cylinder Bonneville day. I felt relieved.
Today (Tuesday:) As if the past few days were a dream, I woke up just knowing intrinsically that I was running on all singing cylinders. I was a Mazda 6 with varied dynamics and clearly, blended registers to boot. I felt very grateful.
And I think to myself, as I reflect on this mini road map of the life of a singer, that I am lucky that I don’t get paid the big bucks to sing with the most perfect, dulcid tones for people who feed their ear with mistake free CDs. I can’t imagine having to endure the mental anguish knowing that your voice, not unlike an athlete, has to keep step with a major league acceptable batting average in order to keep the jobs a coming and remain gainfully employed.
Yes, singing has a pedagogy. Singing takes a lot of energy. Singing involves a lot of brainwork and teamwork. Singing is unpredictable and exposing. Singing is highly critical. Singing is an emotional roller coaster. And singing can be the most extraordinary thing in the world that brings my full brain together and something that I haven’t been able to live without… #kintsucrooner
akintsucrooner 