Monday, December 31, 2012

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS

If you haven't made a goal (or goals) for this year, and you like to do the "New Years Resolutions" thing, today is your last day in 2012. I have a few suggestions. I'll be following these, too, so we can keep in touch and share our successes and our challenges along the way. Michelangelo had an interesting perspective, which is in this quote: “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.” ― Michelangelo Buonarroti How many of us have achieved our mark that we knew was beneath our talents and abilities? This quote will mean much more when you read about the life of Michelangelo and how he pursued his artistic creations. He was prolific. Another quote: “If you knew how much work went into it, you wouldn't call it genius. ” ― Michelangelo Buonarroti This one shows humility and the reality of what it takes to do the highest level of your abilities. People who are doing their art with a backup plan for life will do the backup plan, almost without exception. There are exceptions, though. Some people are able to do "both", are able to have "both" but make no mistake; they did not neglect the arduous road to great art. The singers who do not put in the time with musicianship, vocal technique, and artistic imagination have set their aims too low. It doesn't sound like genius because too little time and too little effort went into the preparation. There have been many variations on the idea of a person reaping what he/she sows. Michelangelo's was this: “AS YOU GIVE OUT SO SHALL YOU RECEIVE.” ― Michelangelo Buonarroti For those of us who have lost our edge by being overly critical, there is this advice: “Critique by creating.” ― Michelangelo Buonarroti How good can you get? If you hear the faults in others, that does not make you a genius. It makes you a critic. It does not make you an artist. If you look for the bad, you WILL find it. Congratulations! You have moved over to the dark side, if you mostly focus on the bad. If you want to be a true artist, use the things you do not like in others to motivate you to try harder and to be better, not to make others "wrong", but rather to move yourself to a higher and higher standard of artistic creation. There is a story of a young coed who met Albert Einstein for the first time. She asked him what he did. He answered, "I am a student of Physics." She replied, "Oh, I took that last semester." Einstein profoundly understood that he did not know it all to the extent that he recognized that learning is a lifelong endeavor and that no one can know everything. Without putting himself down, he called himself a student. I am also still constantly learning and studying music, singing, the medical side of the voice and still consult with physicians to learn more and to verify my own theories having to do with the safe utilization of the voice and the elimination of myths and other false premises. My last Michelangelo quote: “I am still learning.” ― Michelangelo Buonarroti With all the work completed at the time of that quote, he was so brilliant as to state that he was still learning. Keep his wisdom in mind as you make your New Years Resolutions and may it be the best year yet.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

80/20 RULE

The reality of being a vocal coach is that it is like a so-called "80/20 rule". Have you heard about that? 80% of something gives you 20% of something else. I've heard that 20% of your efforts give you 80% of your income. I've heard that applied to a few things. We'll get back to that 80/20 rule in a second. There are vocal coaches who use the full names of their students in their advertising and in their books. They SHOULD be very proud to have had the honor and privilege of working with those people. A successful "track record" is wonderful; it can't be denied. I am not disputing it. I will say this, though. Some people think that all the students of a vocal coach are GREAT because of the vocal coach. The reality is that the majority of the students of the famous coaches were successful and famous BEFORE they studied with the famous vocal coach. They (99% or more) had singing careers dispute problems and issues with their voices. I found the best brass teacher whom I think was the best in the world. I traveled over 500 miles to get to this man. It was worth the drive. I had already been playing professionally. I had some playing issues not unlike issues singers have. I was a pro, but some things were not easy. I had excellent range and excellent endurance but had some problems with extending my range and with some of the finer points of playing. I knew this but the audiences never knew it. He and I spent a few Saturdays together through the years and on the last one he showed me exactly how he analyzed an embouchure. We shared a pizza that day. On the first lesson I ever had with him he told me that my progress was going to be the result of practicing what he had taught me. He said that 80% of the results would come from my doing the work and 20% would be from what he had taught me. There is that 80/20 rule again. The point here is that he did NOT take all the credit. He knew he was an expert. His books are used to this day (probably by people who do not fully understand then) but even though he was pedantic and even dogmatic, he gave credit to the musician. I had a younger student ask me about a famous vocal coach the other day. She asked where he was located. I will say that she was not making the progress that she should make but I will also say that she was practicing 15 minutes or less a day and inconsistently at that. Her progress has been slower than I would like, but she still has progressed. The famous vocal coach would tell her that she needs to practice 3 or 4 hours a day. I have heard him say that. For a high school kid, up to the eyeballs in honor classes, there are not 3 or 4 hours a day to spare on practicing. She has the talent to be a professional but not the time and certainly not the passion. It definitely is a combination of hard work and long hours BUT on practicing the right things the right way at the right times and also knowing HOW to practice, which will produce the fastest and the biggest results. The credit really goes to the singers who "take the ball and run with it", ignoring the other players in the field (obstacles) long enough to get to the goal. Here is an interesting video of a singer/trombonist in famous group called the Four Freshman. The singer/trombonist is the late Bob Flanigan. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETo_XFEGl24

Friday, December 14, 2012

HOW TO APPROACH A NEW SONG

HOW to approach a new song is always an issue. Do I stay as close as possible to the original singer? Do I change it a little, a lot, or in between? There are many things to consider, including the audience. I'm not talking about "selling out" or "doing karaoke". Remember the thing called musical maturity? You don't scat sing to a country song, you don't sing classical like it is country, and you also do not sing 50 riffs in every line of a song to show off your prowess in velocity, accuracy, and "creativity". I once saw a performance by two of the most famous female singers ever and it was more like a fight than a duet. It was a battle of riffs and lost musicality, emotion, and I was embarrassed for them. They seemed like enemies instead of friends. The most stupid thing is that there is no real competition among people who are great. There is plenty of room for them all. The point is, know how to use the spices, when you cook, and don't overwhelm the dish. You also have to find the balance between emotion and musicianship. There can be manic emotion, over the top and to the moon to the point that pitch goes off, the voice cracks, tears flow, blood spurts out of the eyes, veins pop...you get the idea. Too much feeling can interfere with control to the point that a song can look like a psychotic break to the audience. Volume can be used, meaning dynamic contrast, but are you singing or in a hog calling contest in West Virginia (where I grew up)? If your audience is conservative and expecting "pop music" and you give them anything else, do not expect much from them. If they are into R&B and you sing country, the may walk out. I played a gig once with my wife on a cruise and there were two audiences, depending on the song we were doing. The dance floor would literally empty and refill if we did popular on one song and R&B on the next. It was almost funny. You cannot please everyone. So what does that leave you? Regardless of everything else, you must have artistic integrity. You do your absolute best no matter what. In other words, you always do your absolute best no matter what. You have to have this standard because everything else will make you less of an artist. You will not love yourself if you: do less than your best, hold back, be too overly "careful", do not connect to the song or the audience. It is your job to connect to the song. What does the message say? Who could benefit from the message? Are you trying to make people feel better or feel worse? If it is worse, get out of the business. There is this thing which most songs have in some form or fashion-the concept of something having to do with love. Even the angry ones are expressing that love did not work. Everyone in their right mind wants it to "work". Artist integrity is about a quality and a responsibility. That is how to prepare a song. Dig down deep as you can into yourself and bring out true feelings and be honest with your audience. They know when you are lying to them. If you are paid for your performance, you would be lying and stealing from them at the same time. If this sounds intense, it is. Who wants to hear a wimpy singer? Show intense skill and emotion and have the sense to do it in a way which reaches and audience and will have the impact that greatness always has.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

CRITICISM

One of the easiest things to do is to criticize singing. If you have perfect pitch, know style, form, dynamics, interpretation, emotion, and acting, you may well have a lot to say about a singer's performance. There is also a thing which I call "musical maturity". What is that? It is having the judgement to know to not show weakness, to not do something stylistically out of the "character" of the style, to not go for the note which will be flat or splat or break or to do something else which detracts from the art. My wife, one of my best students, knows I hear EVERYTHING and is sometimes a little nervous doing a new song in front of me the first time. Still, I am not harsh with criticism. When I hear things which are "off", I know why they are off. I also know what to do to improve them whether they are: transition issues, vowel distortion, breathing issues, melodic interval problems, lack of perception of harmonic structure, misunderstood lyrics, lack of connection to the song or to an audience, trying to "hide" and to sing at the same time, articulation issues regarding consonants, not practicing enough, not knowing HOW to practice, having illness (physical or mental), and much more, too numerous on a post on Facebook. Some people have no idea precisely what they are hearing and know far too little to analyze it. Most people DO have the ability to notice if something is bad or good, so be good for goodness sake! Be careful about criticism. Giving it and getting it can be harmful to your artistic health. NON-artists' criticism is sometimes very destructive. If something can be used to aid in improvement, use it. If not, DUMP IT!

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

INFLUENCES IN YOUR LIFE

Happy Birthday to one of the most complex, talented geniuses I've ever known. He did nearly everything at a professional level. Professional at golf, pocket billiards, baseball, engineering, architecture, piano, and the list could go on and on. I haven't met anyone else like him. Was he perfect? No one is. He was passionate about enjoying life, was intense at times, had been the gunnery officer on a naval destroyer, ranking second to only the captain of the ship. He supervised many projects, which he designed. The construction costs of those, we added up once and it was over half a billion dollars (60s, 70s, and 80s dollars). He left his mark on the world in buildings at universities, hospitals, schools, industrial projects (including a 60 million dollar steel mill), and was licensed in at least 7 states. He sat in with Duke Ellington's band, twice. First time was on drums at the age of 21 in NYC. The second time was on piano at the West Virginia Governor's Inauguration Ball. He would have been 87 today on 12-12-12. His favorite singer would have been 97 today, Frank Sinatra. My father taught me chords on piano, architecture, and engineering. He also taught me an appreciation of 40s music. I got to play lead trombone in big bands in Las Vegas with some people from those famous bands. Wouldn't have happened, had I not had the influence. He pushed me harder than I needed to be pushed, but I think he never full realized his own strength. He took his genius for granted. Many do. Who are your influences? You might look for successful ones. Acknowledge them by learning and doing. Appreciating them and thanking them won't change your life. Being grateful is a great thing. Demonstrate your knowledge and your skill. Doing something effective; well, that's another story!

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

STUDENT TYPES

There are several types of students: ELEPHANT-gives you a twig to try to push it. ROPE - and you are supposed to PUSH it up a hill. NO ROOM - Do not enter the dojo with your cup full, there will be no room for anything new. SHIRLEY - This is like an actress who has been into EVERYTHING and this type gets advice from EVERYWHERE and most of it is either wrong or useless. CAKE BAKER - Learn the secret in one lesson and go after it! Do NOT try this with flying lessons! PARTICIPANT - this type tries a little, but not enough to ever be excellent. ALL IN - This one learns, applies, works, has self discipline, a powerful goal, awesome purposes, strong work ethic, and trusts in and has faith in the process. I've seen one of those get a recording contract and tour. Another one sang in the Broadway play touring group of The Producers. The odd thing is that the differences look huge, between those who do and those who won't, but it is amazing that a little more time and a little more effort than average can often lead to miraculous results.

Sunday, December 09, 2012

A few years back, a couple of guys had other people sing for them while they lip synched (moved their mouths but were not actually singing). This became a huge scandal They dropped out of the music business even though a valiant effort was made to save them. The most famous vocal coach, Seth Riggs, worked with them and made public statements that they were, in fact, able to sing. This was too little, too late. Perhaps they could sing, but were they good? The whole mess was considered a fraud, a sham. TODAY Today, when you hear an album of a singer, they may have put a thousand hours into the vocals. The vocals have been altered electronically in many cases. Having done some recording engineering, I have experience with pitch correction and a nearly infinite number of possible tweaks, which can be done to enhance the sound of vocals. Many, if not all, of the same effects are available for live performance. What are we actually hearing in performances? If the singer sounded great on the original CD or download and then he/she sounds worse or terrible, is that less of a sham than Milli Vanilli? If it is less, not by much. YEARS AGO Years ago a singer had to have developed the art to a level of near perfection and without the aid of equipment beyond the singer. There are still some great singers around, but in the past, there was no assisting an amateur level singer into sounding as if the time was put in to be great.

Friday, November 09, 2012

Change your voice, change your life!   Ask any true artist if this is true.

Whether a singer, actor, speaker, a business person, a doctor, a lawyer, it doesn't matter.

It is part of a first impression.  It is THE impression in the long run.  Your voice is your expression of yourself, your being, your soul.  What you say or sing and how you sound are an extension of YOU!  

Does your voice need an adjustment, an overhaul, or exercise?

Thursday, October 18, 2012

FREE Piano For Your Computer!

If you don't have access to a piano, you just lost your excuse to practice matching pitch with your voice.  Check this out and get to fun!!!! (As opposed to "get to work")

http://www.virtualpiano.net

Monday, October 15, 2012

LISTEN TO THE MUSIC!

I was asked, "Why is it that many of the general populus can't tell the difference between trained musicians and mediocure amateurs?"

 My Answer: I think that it depends on background, experience and exposure to higher level professionals over a long time. Part of it is as simple as "To what or to whom are you listening, as far as musicians or bands or singers. The standards are higher in L.A., New York, Nashville, and Las Vegas, to such an extent that it is typically assumed that anything short of perfection is unacceptable. Most non-musicians or non-singers have a deficit in recognizing excellence and may be somewhere in a range of being between being atonal and unexposed to excellence of musicianship.

I saw a book that may have belonged to Teresa P., which was a "music appreciation" book, named Musica Mente (in Italian). It was used at about the 10th grade level there (in Italy). The music theory portion went beyond the level of college freshman music theory in most American music schools. It is a stark contrast. On the other hand, in Hungary, for example, the level of commonplace musicianship far exceeds that of the U.S. It is interesting to note that Budapest has an enormous amount of music venues, far outnumbering most of other European countries. The short answer: most people are unaware of what they are hearing and cannot identify the various components, let alone have any vocabulary of the nomenclature regarding it. I call that being "musically illiterate". 

So... One of the first steps in being a great singer or musician is to listen to music. How hard is that?! Not too hard at all. However, you want to be familiar not only with music from the beginning of recorded time, but also with music from all styles and all cultures. This literally gives depth and breadth to a musician's "ear". Ideally, listening coupled with analysis and understanding will result in even better musicianship.

 There are classes in "music appreciation" in high school and in college. I took them both and found them fascinating. They do not go into the depth of "music literature" classes, but they are an excellent foundation for listening. Music History is another exciting subject to gain a solid chronological understanding of the development of music all the way up to today. There are courses in some colleges, which are actually on The History of Rock Music. When a person says, "I know what I like", and it is based solely on personal preference, that person may not know the difference between Bach and Haydn or Beethoven and Mozart.

I can recognize the differences between The Beatles and Three Dog Night. I also know that a three dog night is a night so cold that it takes three, not two, dogs to keep you warm and also to where that might refer. Some people might have trouble differentiating between the Beatles and Dave Clark Five or might wonder if Dave Clark was related to Dick Clark. How about Little Richard or Jerry Lee Lewis? What are the similarities and differences between them? What are some similarities between Frank Zappa and Yes? How about Kansas?

 Maroon 5, Adele, and Pink are on the charts this week. It might be a good idea to discover their influences and also to listen to their music, if you are unfamiliar with them. Then, what about jazz? Many styles and many artists are worth exploring. Country? Take a listen to "I Know You Won't" by Carrie Underwood. If you have an aversion to Country Music, set it aside far enough to analyze the chord structure of the song. Analyze the song structure. Does it have a chorus, a verse, and a bridge? When I heard it, I could play the chords on a piano after about two to five minutes of experimenting with it. I could write them out or play them onto a sequencer or into a recording device. Why? YEARS of listening result in understanding and recognizing precisely what I am hearing. It is not magic. Others can do this. Is it common? That is another topic of discussion.

 When I listen to music, I can focus on one instrument or all of them. I can write every note I hear. I can transcribe a solo or a band. The largest was a big band. It was tedious. It wasn't easy. It was time consuming. But doing that makes you listen and you hear more and you hear more accurately. I can analyze a singer and can tell you if there are issues, such as: pitch, tone, timbre, register transitions, breathing, and even emotional things-intentional or otherwise.

 There is a range from absolute ignorance to absolutely perfect duplication and execution of a song, including, but not limited to: style, musicality, dynamics, phrasing, musicianship, and artistic interpretation. Artistic interpretation can be enhanced or diminished by all the other categories of skill and understanding already mentioned. Just as there are levels of literacy in language, there are also levels of literacy in music. Everyone is in a different "place" with that. Barring a lack of intelligence or brain damage (this is NOT a joke!), anyone can improve musical literacy. "Listen To The Music" - The Doobie Brothers

Thursday, October 04, 2012

Facebook?

New Facebook page: New FREE videos: Videos are added every few days. Some for work and some for play.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Why Study? Why Practice?

Learning and practicing in the arts are factors which are undeniably necessary, but although there is always room for improvement, it is not as overwhelming as it may appear. Is there an infinite amount of knowledge one must have to be a professional singer? Is it a never-ending quest for perfection or greatness? If that were true, there would not be any professional recording artists. A real artist will not remain on a plateau for long. Most recording artists, who still aspire to continual improvement, will study or practice things to improve all aspects of performance and business. The singers who really stand out are consummate performers: Usher, Harry Connick, Jr., Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Lady Gaga, just to name a few. Some are living, some are not, but they are/were multifaceted entertainers. They are not only singers, they have acted in motion pictures, Broadway, some have also been great, good, or adequate dancers. They have not stood on a stage wondering things like: what do I do with my hands, my arms, how do I move, how do I connect with the audience, can I connect with the audience, are they going to like me, are they going to not like me? The list could go on. Have Usher, Madonna, Frank Sinatra, and Michael Jackson worked on dancing? We can be impressed with the results of instruction and practice, as evidenced by performances. The ones with the best teachers and the discipline of mastering the craft never worried about embarrassing themselves. They worked to raise the skill level to that of a professional. Some people may say that this or that performer is a “natural”. True, the performer may be awesomely talented, but no one is born singing, dancing, acting, or performing. Then there is the “charisma factor”. What makes a person likeable, interesting, or fascinating? How can that be learned? It can be practiced and it can be learned, but if it isn't genuine, it will be met with rejection or revulsion. I have some theories regarding this and they seem to be proven by the results which the superstars have experienced.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Singing Star

The formula for being a singing star is... It has to be easy, right? The great ones make it seem like it is effortless. How to get from effort-full to effortless? Maybe have 2 or three voice lessons, 2 or 3 acting lessons and a couple of dance classes. That should do it! Oh! Throw in an acting class. Yes, I AM being sarcastic! If most people knew what most singing stars have gone through with classes or school, they wouldn't ever start. The great ones have years of practice, lessons, experience and more. What is the "more"? Talent and objectivity are two things. Most singers evaluate themselves as either being way better than they are or way worse than they are. Both viewpoints cause more problems than you can shake a pair of vocal cords at. Somebody invented the word "pitchy", supposedly meaning that the singer is out of tune, not on the note, either sharp or flat, or all of the aforementioned. Where does that lead one, to actually do something about it? It depends on what the real problem is. Is it intervals, not having an adequately developed melodic and/or harmonic "ear"? If a person is "pitchy", he/she doesn't know why or the singing wouldn't be so hard to listen two. Some people sing well and never had a lesson. Why is that? Strong natural ability and the ability to: hear, duplicate, assimilate, and emulate with a high degree of accuracy musically, stylistically, and emotionally. Those people are very very rare. Oftentimes they have additionally had instrumental training and experience, however.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

How To Get Off The Crack

The chance of accidentally finding how to get your voice to stop cracking is about equal to throwing all the pieces of a watch up in the air and expecting them to come down in the precise place and in the precise order to have functioning watch.

I wish this weren't true. I really struggled and worked at getting my voice to not crack. I practiced and practiced but the crack did not go away. Why? I was practicing the wrong way. I did vocal exercises that did not help. In fact, some of them made me hoarse and they were actually great vocal exercises but I did not know how to do them properly. So, I was getting nowhere in a hurry. I even bought a book by one of the top vocal coaches in the USA, but until I was shown how to use the book, I just kept failing and flailing away getting more and more frustrated.

There is a way to get your voice to not crack. The question is not if it works. The variable is how long it takes because every singer is different from each other. We have differing levels of ability, intelligence, and we learn things at varying rates. IQs prove that. You probably already know that IQs have been being measured for quite some time.

Habits are a huge problem for voices which crack. The crack is actually a habit. Another factor is mindset or mental attitude. WHAT? It's all in my head?! Not entirely, thank goodness! But the change, like any other, starts there. It will take physical control to start eradicating the crack and it will be in conjunction with using the mind to gain muscle coordination to not crack. I have actually noticed that good athletes progress faster than non-athletes in this.

Wednesday, March 07, 2012

How To Prepare For A Singing Competition

1. Get a vocal coach who knows the voice, musicianship, style, acting, and dance. OR
2. Get a vocal coach who knows the voice, musicianship, style, and acting. Study dance at a professional studio. OR
3.Get a vocal coach who knows the voice, musicianship, and style. Go to acting classes and dance classes.
4. Give yourself 6 to 12 months to prepare.

Taking one voice lesson is about as smart as taking one flying lesson and then piloting a plane. Good luck! Someone said that when preparation meets opportunity, that is what luck really is.

BAD MUSICIANSHIP = BAD SINGING It doesn't matter if you know the terminology nearly as much as it matters: if you can hear melody and harmony accurately, if you can hear rhythm accurately, if you can understand and assimilate music accurately.

Most singers do not want to become a national joke. Study and preparation can help avoid bad consequences.

Saturday, March 03, 2012

TV Singing Competition - The Fallout

This will be short, but not so sweet. There are casualties from the barbaric TV singing competition shows. The legal teams of such shows have done a fantastic job of protecting the TV producers, judges, and all affiliated workers from the competitors and their families. It is easily justified because "artists and singers are soooooooo crazy! They might retaliate!"

WAIT A MINUTE!
To those who have "uneducated musical ears": There are singers who never arrive at the actual show and are not selected to participate. These people are sometimes spiritually, emotionally, and artistically crushed (sometimes destroyed) in the process. (Thank goodness the lawyers protected the show!!!!!) We could say that the fragile singers should have been stronger. The singers should have paid attention to the documents and contracts they signed and should have got a clue then. We could say all kinds of things because after all, it is just music; it is just singing. When a nasty rat of a producer says, "There is nothing unique about you," He is showing that his intelligence is lacking, his manners are absent, he is not aware enough to notice differences. Hell! He probably has trouble getting his shoes on, not knowing his right foot from his left. The same producer says, "You sound like you are a Christina Aguilera wannabe." Another potential career goes down the toilet. Who's fault is it? Why do you think those contracts were so skillfully prepared? People get hurt. The world is getting colder. People are growing apart. Political correctness is an agenda to simply "divide and conquer." But it justifies keeping distant and NOT caring. Why do French people kiss 3 times when they greet one another? Because in America, that would get you sued.

Compassion is no longer in fashion.
People's value systems are clashin'.
They take hopes and dreams and they're dashin'.
People are just numbers, so it's fine to smash them.

Yeah, the last was a "near rhyme".

You want to see some honest pain? Look at the face of Jennifer Lopez at times. There are critics and there are artists. Mingle criticism with art and you will always get conflict-some inner and some outer. Conflict=plot=interest=audience=commercials=sales=who gives a crap if people are hurt or destroyed because WE ARE MAKING MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll be right back after this word from my sponsor...

Thursday, March 01, 2012

TV Singing Competitions

TV Singing Competitions - Looks like these things are springing up like weeds in a garden! How many are there now? One thing is consistent. Singers who sound bad, fair, or fairly good are suffering from the same disease: Allergy to Pitch. Sure, there are some who have no clue about rhythm or style, but the consistent thing, the common thread running through the bad ones is usually BAD musicianship. The producers of the shows think this is hilarious stuff! What could be more funny than people attempting to create an artistic performance making complete fools of themselves? The same people who think that is funny probably also laugh when people fall and hurt themselves.

WHY? Why do these shows keep happening? It could be the "Rocky Syndrome". Unknown person rises beyond him/herself, finding fame and fortune. Only thing is, how many people actually DO get hurt along the way? As long as people will pay and watch, the sponsors are happy. Makes you wonder how much it cost to watch people get eaten by lions, or to watch people fight to the death. What an extreme analogy! How dare I! Why should I care? It is entertainment. Is it art? Have our standards of art and manners dropped? Take a quick guess. BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ Time's up.

One day there may be a singing competition where the audience votes by opening trap doors under the singers. Seems like there was a commercial like that. Hmmmmmmm Foretelling the future?

What IS musicianship? I wrote about it some time ago and will be releasing more information about musicianship soon. If you cannot define it, how could you possibly have a profound understanding of it?

Not to banter about semantics, but most people have absolutely NO idea what the word "Algebra" means. How many of us took that in school? If you were confused about Algebra, maybe it would have helped to have understood what the heck you were studying. Anyone can memorize and maybe get a good grade OR cheat in class. Where will that get someone? Turn on the TV singing competition shows. OR NOT. Some people like a ballet while others prefer an old fashioned circus. They do not look alike. They do not smell alike!

Several singing competition winners were allergic to singing in tune. Think not? Longevity will usually accompany skill, artistry, and great musicianship. That's it. Sermon on musicianship. Time to study. Time to pray things get better.