The Tony awards were held this week and and one of the performances included a medley of songs from The King and I that is currently being staged on broadway.
Kelli O’Hara who plays Anna in the show had to do a 47 second quick change during the performance. The video of it is below.
This brought back happy memories from last year when I performed the role of Carlotta in “Phantom of the Opera”. In Act One I actually did a quick change on stage! Full costume change including a wig change in less than 30 seconds! In the second Act I had a quick change from the Masquerade scene to the next office scene. I had just under 1 1/2 minutes to do a full costume change, similar to Kelli. I had to get out of a ball gown, change all jewellery which included removing a tiara and then putting on another hat, earings, then put on a gown and a huge red coat with a gorgeous fur collar (fake of course). Being a vocalist can include so many challenges, like quick costume changes. You have to do all this at lightening speed and then continue on as if it were all a breeze. It’s all a part of the fun of music theatre. Just love it!
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The power of “Yet”
Music and singing requires accuracy and skill to be the best at your game.
More often than not we fall short of this and usually give up. Too often I hear from my students “I can’t do it, it’s too difficult”.
And they stop. They stop trying, stop persisting and then fail to make progress.
I like to use the words “not yet” all the time.
I have learned from years of experience, that when faced with something difficult it is important to remind ourselves that it will take time to master it.
With our ‘instant’ society we tend to believe that if I don’t get it straight away then it will not happen.
Working with children I sadly see this all the time.
By constantly reminding them that it is ok to have a go and get it wrong, and try again and again if you need to, they start to realize that if they persist eventually they will get it.
If you are studying anything and finding you are getting nowhere, it may be because you have hit a road block and instead of saying not yet have not bothered to look for a way around it and given up.
Tell yourself that “I haven’t learned ________________ yet!” That little word makes such a difference to your end result.
It’s Eisteddfod time
Eisteddfods are a great opportunity to use as motivation to learn repertoire, improve your skills and practice performing.
Eisteddfods date back to the 12th century in Wales.
Eisteddfods are competitions that involve testing individuals for singing, dancing, acting and musicianship. The Royal South Street Eisteddfod in Ballarat has been running since 1891. The Sydney Eisteddfod commenced in 1933 and offers some 400 events across all Performing Arts, catering to 30,000 performers annually. Modern equivalents in Australia are competitions reserved for schoolchildren, though many have open sections where anyone (including professionals) may participate and compete. Typically, a prize may be a scholarship to pursue a further career. Many young Australian actors and dancers participate regularly in the various competitions scheduled throughout the year.
The main Eisteddfods in our local community are:
The Sale Eisteddfod (entries have already closed)
The West Gippsland Eisteddfod (entries close 7th June)
The Latrobe Valley Eisteddfod (entries close 30th June
The Yarram Eisteddfod (entries close 1st June)
Please note there are costs involved such as entry fees, purchasing sheet music, paying for rehearsals with pianists. There are also rewards such as a sense of achievement, prizes that include cash, and feedback from the adjudicator (the person judging the performances)
If you would like to know more about entering an Eisteddfod or would like singing lessons to help you better when performing in things like Eisteddfods click here and send me a message. Would be happy to help.
For a list of Eisteddfods and festivals in Victoria click here.
I have a limited number of places available for in person or on line lessons. To enquire about singing lessons click here.
What’s one thing to remember to ease performance anxiety?
With a cafe concert fast approaching, I thought it valuable to discuss performance anxiety.
It is always nerve wracking to get up and perform, I have been doing it for years and I still get nervous.
In the video below I talk about one thing you can do to help with those nerves. It sounds a bit obvious but we often forget to do this.
Please feel free to comment or ask questions.
Musical Problem Solving in 10 easy steps
When practicing it is important to have specific things to focus on during practice sessions.
Quite often we go through a song, find challenging sections within the song, struggle through these, get to the end of the song and then go through it again. This doesn’t achieve much as you continue to struggle through these difficult sections.
What you need to do however is to “chunk” the song into parts, and then focus on the parts that are giving you difficulty. Once they are resolved, then go through the whole song.
Below are 10 steps you can follow to help you with your practice:
1. Listen
Listen to the performance of a piece or section of a piece.
2. Diagnose
Where are the problems?
3. Choose
What should I fix first?
4. Isolate
Find the problem “bite” to fix in five minutes
5. Simplify
What can you do to get more comfortable with the problem?
6. Repeat
How many times do I need to repeat this drill to get it right?
7. Connect
Place the corrected “bite” back into the section of music.
8. Generalize
Are there any similar problems in the piece to fix?
9. Retain
What do I need to remember to do in practice to fix this problem?
10. Set Goal
What will you accomplish with this song in the next week?
Congratulations! You are now a successful Problem Solver!
50 years of The Sound of Music
At the Oscars this year The Sound of Music celebrated 50 years. I love the Sound of Music (I have performed twice in this show, once as Sister Sophia and once as Mother Abbess, and I have also helped with a performance last year with my daughter’s school. By the way, Rose also had the role of Sister Sophia). The music is simple but beautifully arranged and I like to use the pieces My favourite things and Do re mi when I begin young students with singing lessons.
It was an interesting decision that was made at the Oscars to allow Lady GaGa to perform a medley of the songs. No one would think that this was her style of music.
Lady GaGa did train classically, but went another way obviously with her outrageous style of music and persona. However, I would have to say that she did a wonderful performance at the Oscars. Very tastefully dressed and she performed the songs with confidence and style. Apparently she practiced every day for six months for this gig. (makes you realise it never ends, even for professional singers).
I have posted a video of the performance for you to have a look at. What is your opinion?
I would be interested to know what you think.
An Overnight Success?
A major dilemma I face with some students is that they come to me for singing lessons expecting that in a short time, maybe six months or even less. they will be on stage wowing them at a show like “The Voice” or landing that dream role in a major stage musical. This however is an unrealistic expectation.
With most performers you rarely hear about the months and years of hard work behind the scenes. You rarely hear about the major catastrophes followed by major miracles that brought about their success. You rarely hear about the hours and hours of grind.
If you don’t have realistic expectations, you can quickly get into the wrong state of mind. You’ll be thinking that to be a success in music you should be a star on stage in just months. Then you’ll give up way too soon.
This notion of overnight success is an urban legend, and very misleading. If you’re starting something new, expect a long and challenging journey. They say 10,000 hours to become an expert. If your worked on your skills for one hour a day that will take 27 years. That starts to put things into perspective, doesn’t it?
But that’s no excuse to move slowly. Many singers think they can achieve fame and stardom without the practice. Put in the practice EVERY DAY and you will see significant improvement fairly quickly.
Usually what brings about an “overnight success” is that the person is willing to persist until they achieve the success they desire. This is key in achieving the results you want.
If you are curious about how I can help you to achieve the voice you have always dreamed of then just click here for more information.
