What to sing?

2023 – The year of live performances

After the last 3 years of the pandemic, performers are certainly making up for lost time and touring madly. Just in the last month in Australia we have had Elton John, Billy Joel, Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles and the list goes on ……
This week in Melbourne Rod Stewart is performing and later in the month Pentatonix is here also. We are certainly spoilt for choice.
Have you been to a live performance recently? If not, make it a goal to go and see someone live in person. There is nothing like being in a crowd at a live performance. Go and check out what’s on in your local community. You might be surprised!

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6 Winter Songs to enjoy

I love Joyce DiDonato, and I love Schubert’s music. Winterreise (Winter Journey) was composed in 1827, the year before Schubert died at the age of just 31, Winterreise is made up of 24 songs, written to texts by Wilhelm Müller. Its story, told in fragments and references rather than structured narrative, is seen through the eyes of a heartbroken young man. Disappointed in love, he makes his way through a desolate, frozen winter landscape. This is one of the songs, Gute Nacht (Good night)

You can find the entire song cycle here.

It’s not always what you think

I like to look on line for the latest musical trends, new singers or great live music. I had a post pop up about a 14 year old girl, Sara James, who performed on America’s Got Talent, just a couple of weeks ago, for which she received a golden buzzer from Simon Cowell. Now, don’t get me wrong. Sara’s performance was excellent, she has a very bright future ahead of her, and it was a polished performance for someone so young.

However, we have to be careful not to be deceived that she just one day turned up out of the blue and did this amazing performance. While I was watching her perform there was a gut feeling in me that this girl has not just appeared out of nowhere. She was nervous, however I could tell that this was definitely a practiced performer.

Once I dived into the internet abyss, I soon discover that this is not the first competition she has performed in. Sara has grown up with music in her life, her father is a singer and she attends a music school. She has won the Polish (she is from Poland) “The Voice Kids” and last year came second in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. She has also had a video clip produced and released on you tube only a couple of weeks ago. This girl has worked hard!

Do not be deceived by these competitions. For those who perform well, you can be guaranteed that there has been an enormous amount of work done to get them where they are.

A new term

I started this week on Monday singing at 3 Anzac day services around Traralgon. I feel this is a real honour and privilege to be able to participate in the ceremonies in this capacity. A big thank you to Sophie, one of my students, who sang at Tyers. The crowds were very large this year, which was wonderful to see. Two years ago we were standing out the front of our neighbours house with the last post being played by a family member. I felt very proud to be able to sing the National anthem. Australia is a wonderful country, and we should be grateful for what we do have, in spite of all the turmoil going on in the world. We should also be extremely grateful to those who have defended and continue to defend our country.

I have absolutely loved being back in the singing studio this week. Students were very enthusiastic to get back to singing, and it is so good to be pretty much back to normal. I love that I get to work on such a variety of songs with my students – whether it be Itty Bitty Kitty Unicorn with my very young students, to Titanium or All of Me, to Time to say Goodbye. I have an extremely limited number of places available for lessons, so get in quick if you would like to have singing lessons. Whether it be just for fun, or you would like a serious career in music, get in touch with me and we can discuss how I might be able to help you.

Would you sing on The Voice?

Who won The Voice in 2021? Have you listened to her music recently? Yes it was a girl who won – Bella Taylor Smith. A beautiful and talented singer who was able to win a singing competition in the midst of a global pandemic. But did it guarantee her success? It depends on what you classify as success. She won $100,000 and a recording contract. Has she gone on to do great things with her music. She might think so. Is her name well known? Probably if you watched the Voice, but outside that circle, I don’t think so. What about the winner in 2020? He is a more well known name: Chris Sebastian. What about his music career? Do you think it is much different because of the Voice? Maybe a little bit, but he hasn’t become a household name like his brother.

Singing competitions can be a lot of fun, or a lot of stress. They can give you opportunities to perform in front of an audience and develop your stage craft. You can win money and maybe get a music contract. My concern with a show like the Voice is that it focuses more on the back story of the singers and the judges are given a lot of focus. If you check how long the singers actually sing for, it may be a little over a minute. How can you truly gauge the skill of the singer in that amount of time? Does it guarantee success, wealth and the opportunity to tour the world and perform – for the very few, yes.

I think singing competitions are worthwhile, if you treat them as an opportunity for you to improve as a singer and musician. Focus on how you can take this opportunity as a way to grow as a musician. But don’t go into these thinking it will bring fame and fortune. That will only come with hard work, constant, consistent practice and persistence. Make sure you watch The Voice, even if only for one episode. Appreciate the courage it takes for these singers to get on stage in front of a nation wide audience and then enjoy the singing.