Today is international kissing day. Thanks for sharing, Jerome Parker Cronin. Who knew, I didn’t. Due to increased concerns these days, eg when people I know post and like said post with the American flag referred to as the “real” pride month, I didn’t feel safe yesterday with a new acquaintance. I felt like I needed to use the word spouse when I referred to my wife. When they assumed my spouse was a him, I regained my cajones and shared that I had a wife. Luckily the awkward silence didn’t last too long. Today upon this kissing day, I share this treasured day in our lives. Elizabeth Honer 😘💋😚

It was a joy to sing the Beethoven Mass in C and Mozart Coronation mass solos this evening with Thomas Juneau, fellow soloists, and the Masterwork Chorus at their summer sing. The last time I sang the Mozart was with my Mom Janet and Dad when I was 22. It was my first solo mass. Revisiting this piece after many years is wild; it’s like taking my long fought, solidified vocal technique into a musical Time Machine. There were a couple moments where I felt a déjà vu of a 22 year old Perryman high largynx. Agnus Dei was for you, Dad. #Grateful

JANET & BRUCE PERRYMAN 

(United in marriage on June 30, 1962)

Clever. 

Loving. 

Funny. 

Parents. 

Seekers. 

Thinkers.  

Fighters.  

Spiritual. 

Resilient. 

Learners. 

Evolvers. 

Travelers. 

Educators. 

Organized. 

High notes. 

Industrious. 

Bridge playing. 

Good at heart. 

Shy and unafraid. 

Suburban and rural. 

Cautious and intense. 

Soprano and Baritone. 

Debutante and farmer. 

Wary and adventurous. 

Predictor and trailblazer. 

Observer and enthusiast. 

Profiles and Music ministry. 

Only child and oldest brother. 

Jazz hands and Bach cantata. 

Card games and 18 hole golf. 

Happy 61st heavenly anniversary.  

All my love to my parents, Janet & Bruce.

THIS IS ME AT HOME: A LIFE DECK
By E. Perryman 6.24.23

This is me at home.
H-Humbled
O-Observant
M-Melancholy
E-Emotional

This is me at home; my childhood home for more than 5 decades.

Coming home holds an abundant deck of cards that continues to build.
C-Courage
A-Anxious
R-Regret
D-Determined
S-Spirited

Within my deck, I possess the following:
-The Numbered Cards representing the relentless march of time
-The Jack representing my residual recalcitrant inner rebel
-The Joker representing my handy trauma defense mechanisms
-The King & Queen representing the gratefulness I hold for a rich and royal music legacy
-The Ace representing the immeasurable value of family connection regardless of my own fear of inadequacy

My dad got an early Lyft out of this human labyrinth. My mom now faces immobility and the escalating passing of lifelong friends.

I seek to use my numbered cards to cherish the time we have left, the jack to persist with my authenticity, the joker for needed levity in a shitshow era, the royals to ground and give witness, and the ace to share my muse in service to others.

This is me at home.
H-Hopeful
O-Optimistic
M-Mirthful
E-Emboldened

VOICE LESSON WITH LIZ H

MOMENT IN TIME: Trusting my gut means being in the moment aka having real time reactions to what is actually happening physically.

BODY LANGUAGE: It really helps to approach a voice lesson led first by the body.

FIERCE FOMO: The tongue has a serious case of fomo. It will want to join the fun when tension continues to strip away.

IN SYNC: Growth happens when easeful sensation matches teacher affirmation.

I made a video of short excerpts of my Grandma Perryman, Dad, Mom, Neal F. Perryman and me singing. I listen to my mom sing at 83 and it’s so interesting to unpack pedagogically. Id love to do a prospective dissertation dma in vocal pedagogy exploring how our family dna affects our baseline technique eg timbre, size, balance, breath, expression, musicality, anxiety etc. Our family singing tree: Grandma P to now. #Grandmasings #dadsings #momsings #brothersings #ising

6.21.23 Summer Solstice

1. Sometimes I think in acronyms.
2. When I take a moment to breathe, I notice that I hold my jaw.
3. Jersey Mikes makes a damn good sandwich.
4. Reading about the enneagram 87wing makes me feel called out.
5. I feel loved when called sis.
6. The longer I teach, the sappier I get.
7. In the animal world, I believe I’m a bear and Eliz is a bird.
8. There’s way too many dagnab people at EWR on a Wednesday at 530am.
9. The kitchen counter is a great place to get a lot of shit done.
10. I confess that being up at sunrise is actually quite delightful if I can conjure my night owl tuchus out of bed.

SINGER SOAPBOX MOMENT
By E. Perryman 6.10.23

#akintsucrooner

Wanna know a singer scam? Here ya go. It is a scam to tell others or yourself to sing loud. 🙄. Reasons this is bogus thinking are detailed below:

1. A functioning voice regardless of genre is a result of free energized body connected breath flow; coordinated heightened registers; and adapted Italian vowels contingent on individual vocal mechanism.
2. Singing loudly comes from the cultivated conditions of number one. Preconceived notions of what you are “supposed” to sound like is a recipe for a short singing life filled with diminishing returns of range, power, clarity, breath flow, and resonance.
3. To answer the cliche demand of singing loud, singers over space, tighten mask, armor body, clench jaw, grab tongue, sing beyond principal sound, originate sound from neck instead of from below, and in extreme cases, pop their neck veins.
4. Today Elizabeth Honer found her clear middle voice chest mix blend through isolated register work, body work, emotional trust, and flexibly upward stretched embouchure with articulations based on lips, teeth, and tongue. This lovely natural singer wife of mine has a very healthy range. She is able to make core sound from Bb2-G6. The middle wants to widen and darken as many of us also want to do. Gathering and focusing the sound on core breath brought out her sound from a habit of body restriction.
5. The “louder” I’ve gotten as a singer, the less I feel and hear it inside.
6. How loud you sing is none of your business. It’s the concern of acoustic and sound system. If a person sounds loud near you, they often don’t carry over an orchestra a few rows back
7. There is a reason why small voices like Lily Ponds were so formidable and always audible. When singing healthfully in the correct tessitura on the organic breath flow, the core voice has the most optimal conditions to “sing”.

The 2nd grade had an unexpected lesson in vocal pedagogy fach and timbre today. They were surprisingly astute. They heard Jordan Polefka sing and we shared that we are both sopranos albeit different flavors. I explained that Jordan’s soprano is more caramel; mine more chocolate; she’s the princess and I’m not 😉 One unexpected student said “yes, Ms. Polefka’s voice is lighter and brighter!” Jacquelyn Marie

In other vocal news, it occurred to me after 40 years why my dad walked around singing “leh-muh leh-muh leh-muh leh-muh leh-muh leh-muh leh-muh leh-muh lah”. I found it quite silly at the time. Now I know he was loosening his midwest accented tongue. The tongue is quite the coexisting force in singing.