Anyone Can Sing

It surprises me how many people believe that they simply cannot sing. But vocal chords are muscles attached to the larynx, so through proper practice, you can strengthen  and train those muscles to gain control just as you would strengthen and train muscles if you're an athlete. This is a big part of the reason why we do vocal warmups before we sing; by singing a change of notes, you strengthen your vocal chords, making it easier to hit the notes when you sing a vocal run. It also trains your brain to remember where certain notes are so that you can sing them with accuracy. Although it is true that your the way your voice sounds is in part due to genetics, don't blame your parents for not getting a "golden voice". For example, if a person is a bodybuilder, and they are very athletic, and they have a child, although the child may be healthy, it will not be born a body builder with ripped muscles (which would be a bit strange). It takes time, effort, and work to achieve the goals that they want. The child might become a really ripped person later in life, but that's probably because they grew up in a family that was athletic, so to work out was only normal for them. This goes for singers and musicians as well; if you grow up in a family of great singers that have worked their entire lives on music, you are surrounded by these people constantly who do just that. So, you begin to pick it up too, because to sing and play music is what is normal in the family, and they correct you if you're not doing something right (such as singing off key, pitch, etc.). So, they are unconsciously teaching you how to sing properly. This is not to say that there is no such thing as a "god given talent" so to speak, because personally, I believe that the way everyone thinks is different; so naturally in different situations it is easier for some people to learn things than others. The point is, don't think you can't sing. Sure, you may not be able to sing in the right key, but that's because you need to train your brain to hear the key you are in by practicing. If you can't hit the right notes, practice singing a scale with the piano, and really try to line up the note you're singing with the note that is being played (if you are singing a different note than you are hearing, get a musician buddy who can help you). And if you are told you are a great musician, don't let it make you think that you don't need practice or that you're done learning. A musician's work is never done, there are no limits, and there is always room for improvement.

Acoustics

Lately I've gotten really obsessed with listening to the acoustic versions of pop songs. I think its really interesting to see how the entire color of a song can change when it goes from being electronic to being something played on an acoustic guitar or piano. I think I'm drawn to them because acoustic covers have this authenticity about them that I can appreciate as someone who's a singer; you feel like you're actually listening to a person on the other side and not just a robot, and I think that can make the stories that we hear in songs a lot more emotional since we can actually form a connection with the singer while listening to them. Also, it just makes it a lot easier to figure out how to sing them yourself.

Creation vs. Instruction

I'm in Mr. Hunt's seminar Albums Worth Hearing. This is my second semester in it, and I've enjoyed the majority of the things we've listened too: X, Joni Mitchell, The Ramones, The Zombies, etc. I've started thinking about this more because Mr. Hunt just gave me a mix CD today, and I was listening to a lot of variety. One thing that Mr. Hunt emphasizes is that singers can be fantastic even if they're not stereotypically vocally good, and that unique weird voices are cooler to listen to than trained ones. Of course in choir we don't really follow this line of thinking, we're trained to hit the notes. When you're singing a song like we do in choir, we're going for a really specific sound though: what the composer wrote. And in other music, people are going for what they wrote. And if they're in charge, they can do whatever they want, sometimes creating new genres while singing off key. Obviously training your voice to be able to do things like hold notes longer or increase your range is helpful, but I think sometimes because we don't have the creation aspect in choir we don't think about how an untrained voice can still be musically valuable and significant.
I do recording with my guitar teacher and my cousin and I are going to record together soon too, and what I like about it most is that I am in charge of how I want a song to sound. Being trained helps your voice improve, but having the freedom to create and choose is going to help your voice too.
I think in choir there's sort of an opportunity for this with the solo project available to 3 years+ or senior choir students, so I'm looking forward to that.
Lastly, I'm going to share some of my favorite/most variable songs from the CD Mr. Hunt made me:
"No Children" by The Mountain Goats
"10:37" by Beach House
"Sad Song" by Au Revoir Simone
"Broke" by Modest Mouse

The context behind Suessical

I know that a lot of people have mixed feelings about Seussical, but I think it is a really cool show. The reason I like it is because it is comprised of fifteen different Dr. Suess books. Some musicals are based on a book, but Suessical is based on fifteen! So instead of just telling one story, we get to tell fifteen. I love Dr. Suess so I thought I would talk about some of the books that inspired the show. First, the whole war on Whoville is from the book "The Butter Battle Book." The Butter Battle Book is one of my favorite stories because of it's deeper meaning. The Butter Battle Book is actually a story about the Cold War arms race. Within the story, the two sides of the the town are trying to accumulate more extreme weapons that ultimately leads to the Dr. Seuss equivalent of an atomic bomb. I really like the way Dr. Seuss talked about the war in his story. We all think it's silly that people would go to war over which way someone butter's their toast, and Dr. Seuss is commenting on how ridiculous war is in general. My other favorite Dr. Seuss book is the Lorax. In seussical, the Whos sing a verse about how the truffula trees were cut down. Truffula trees are from the story of the Lorax. I cannot watch the Lorax without wanting to cry. I think the story of the Lorax is so beautiful because it talks about greed and the consequences that come with it. If you do not know the story, basically an old man (the oncelor) tells the story to a young boy about how he cut down an entire forest of trees to build his company, then when his company fails he hits rock bottom. At the end of the story he gives the boy a seed and starts to regrow the forest. The Lorax also has one of my favorite quotes "unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." I think the story of the Lorax is so important because it is inspiring to the millennial generation. So what I am trying to say is that even though Suessical seems a little childish, the meaning behind Dr. Suess books go so much deeper than the funky characters, or made up places. Dr. Suess is a way to convey larger ideas to children, but still make it fun.

Adele's When We Were Young

I really like this video of Adele singing her new song “When We Were Young” live at The Church Studios. Not only is this video a great depiction of Adele’s skills, which are incredible, but also shows Adele’s personality. The reason I think this video is unique is because it starts by showing Adele getting her hair done and joking with her band. I think seeing famous singers or actors acting like “normal” people makes them more relatable. More technically I love Adele’s talent. Her range is just incredible, especially her belt range. I love this video and this song.

Here's The Link to the video:

Adele's When We Were Young

Ok so this post is entirely out of the blue, but I want to write about the Alvin Ailey dance company because I am super mad that I don't get to see them perform because they are here at the same time I am in Ashland for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. So anyway. Alvin Ailey is a super cool dance company that started back in 1958 in New York, and grew from there so that now they are touring internationally and have performed for millions of millions of people. They do all different types of dancing, but one that caught my attention was where they take an old hymn or folk song, such as "Didnt my Lord Deliver Daniel", which I believe was performed by a PCS choir last year, and they mix some of their modern dancing and make it blend with the music. There dance is very circular, if that makes sense, and they are very adept at getting the look of flowing and blending. Some of Alvin Ailey's works, including Revelations (1960), Night Creature (1974) and Cry (1971), they keep in circulation all of the time, performing one or more of them at every performance. They were created to pay homage to black women, and represent their journey in the 1900s going from "persecution to pride". So if any of you guys are interested in seeing them perform, they are going to be in Berkeley starting on March 29, and you guys should definitely  check them out :). I put the link to their home page below.

http://www.alvinailey.org/

Diversification of Music

One topic I have become more interested in lately has become the diversification of music, not just in, but mainly in the 21st century. This "diversification" is something which really started in the late 1940's and 1950's with the explosion of popular music. While music was dominated by super-bands and the British invasion in the 1960's music was still further diversifying. It continued throughout the 1970's and 1980's with the various counter culture movements, such as punk rock, prog-rock, metal, and Hip Hop as well as the introduction of new technologies leading to new genres such as techno. But then as the 1990's and 2000's the diversification truly began to flower with the rise of new genres such as Grunge, alt-rock, and Ska, as well as the continuation of the proliferation of  both bubblegum-pop and Hip Hop. But now in the 2010's it seems like music has somehow managed to continue in it's diversification, producing completely original artists who simply defy definition by any preexisting genres, but seem as though they are unlikely to spawn a new one of their own.

Ultimately, in my mind, the rise of such genre-defying artists is a product of the proliferation of the idea that there are many different aspects for which a particular piece can be admired. Going further though it has become that a singular piece need not necessarily be appreciable for every aspect, but simply one or two especially compelling aspects. For example, I find that i like some artists for their particularly entertaining beats, others for their genius lyricism, and others for their overall composition and vibe.

Tight Muscles and Your Voice

     We begin every choir class with a warm up, some stretching to loosen up and prepare to sing. However, in my opinion that "warm up" should be the last part of a process that happens outside of class. 

     Tight muscles in the jaw, and especially in the hips can be really detrimental to a singer. Tension in the jaw can force the vocal cords and the muscles of the jaw into a bad position. This can cause a singer to sound breathy, but also inhibits the lifting of the soft palette. As you guys know, Ms. Hughes is really big on you lifting the soft palette. Tight muscles in the hips and hamstrings can also be detrimental to what we do in class. First of all tight hips are pretty much the worst thing ever, they cause back pain, knee pain, and are a general pain in the butt (ayyyy). For singers, tight hips are terrible because they inhibit the breathing patterns that we need to produce a good sound. Tilting of the pelvis due to tight hip flexors and hamstrings causes the airways in our torso and diaphragm to close, making in harder to hit certain notes and to sing out like we need to. 

   Even outside of class, its important to stretch and pay attention to your muscles to do as well as you possibly can when you sing.

No Surprises

A heart that's full up like a landfill

A job that slowly kills you

Bruises that won't heal

You look so tired-unhappy

Bring down the government

They don't, they don't speak for us

I'll take a quiet life

A handshake of carbon monoxide

With no alarms and no surprises

No alarms and no surprises

No alarms and no surprises

Silent, silent

This is my final fit

My final bellyache

With no alarms and no surprises

No alarms and no surprises

No alarms and no surprises please

Such a pretty house

And such a pretty garden

No alarms and no surprises

No alarms and no surprises

No alarms and no surprises please

    The song “No Surprises” by Radiohead is a story in itself. The key to the interpretation is the music video, at the beginning of the music video Thom Yorke is in a space helmet while singing about anxiety and depression getting so overwhelming until finally the helmet fills with water as he sings “A handshake of carbon monoxide with no alarms and no surprises no alarms and no surprises” which is him attempting suicide (this is my final fit my final bellyache) due to his job and possibly heartbreak (heart that's full up like a landfill job that slowly kills you). At the ending of the song the water drains from the helmet and Yorke sings about his beautiful garden. I think he decided not to commit suicide and is happy with his life (such a beautiful house and such a beautiful garden).

The Classical Dance

This piece that you see ere is what I am doing for the YAGP which stands for Youth American Grand Prix and this is the biggest competition here in the United States. Now the reason why I picked this for the post because this is an important why for the music to be used. Classical ballet music is one of the best that is created. I always love to dance with it. The reason this music is so important is because the dancer must listen and move to the music and when you master it then the smoothness and quality is amazing. The dancing can also move so well with it because the tempo from the orchestra can be slowed down or sped up for the dancer to dance to his best performance. The music is special because the music provides the beauty for the dancer and the music is they key to creat an amazing performance. Here's a link Enjoy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tpq-YKnLKms 

Pink Floyd The Wall

I do not regret saying that for many years, Pink Floyd has been my favorite musical group. I've been listening to their music since I was a wee little girl and I have always enjoyed it. However, I recently stumbled upon a movie that is based on their iconic album: The Wall. The movie shows the life of a fictional character-- Pink Floyd from his childhood days in the post World War II era to manhood as a rockstar.

This album is extremely interesting because it tells a story all in itself. The album is like a really really exceptional essay, It has the starting thesis and throughout the album it connects back to the claim. This album is meant to be listened to in order, do not listen to the songs on shuffle because you will not understand the story. This isn't just a music album, but its a series of events that tell the life story of a young innocent mind that slowly transforms into a depressed, drug abused life that is closing in on itself and reaching the brink of insanity.

Although the movie may be a little strong and vulgar at times, watching it explains what the album is really all about. There is not much dialogue, the only words are in the songs of the album. The movie tied into the songs is truly a work of art and brings you to a state of understanding and relaxation.

Whales and Mr. Garrett

Mr. Garrett keeps talking to us about the use of trigonometry in how whales speak. You might be like, "What? Whales speak?", but whales have been known to have high levels of communication since around 1971 (Khamsi, 2006). When studying how a whale "clan" was formed, scientists discovered that they were formed between whales who had a similar dialect(Lee, 2016). During a class last semester, Mr. Garrett gave a lecture on the use of trigonometry in sound. During this lecture he described how whales have different dialects, and how sperm whales are thought to stun their prey using sound. This method has also been used by scientists. Peter Nelson (my dad) told me that sound was a common tool when getting rid of cell membranes.

Lee, Jane, National Geographic PUBLISHED September 8, 2015. "Sperm Whales' Language Reveals Hints of Culture." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 8 Sept. 2015. Web. 20 Feb. 2016.

Khamsi, Roxanne. "Whale Song Reveals Sophisticated Language Skills." New Scientist. N.p., 2006.
Web. 20 Feb. 2016.

Music Madness and "Rapture" by Hurt

Last year I wrote about an event my youth group does every year. It's called Music Madness. Everyone decides on a song, prints the lyrics and either brings the song on a CD or makes sure it's available on YouTube. When everyone is there, we listen to the songs one by one, reading along with the lyrics and thinking about the lyrics unless our minds happen to wander (which happens to mine frequently). Singing along is discouraged as we're supposed to be thinking; it can be very hard to abstain from singing some songs, like "The Boxer" (Simon & Garfunkel). Then we discuss the song; in particular, we try to determine what the song is saying, what the message is. Mostly the discussions are purely literary; musical critiques are generally along the lines of, "What a cool song!" That seems fine to me; musical critique is not the point of the event.
This year I brought "Siberian Khantru," by Yes. Good song. Really hard to analyze, which is why I brought it in. The general consensus of the meaning was that it either dealt with the changing of the seasons or God, written while the lyricist was "high as a kite." Neither interpretation pleased me all that much, but looking back on it, I have to admit that both seem kind of apt.
But that is not why I'm writing this.
My parish priest brought in a number of songs, one of which was "Rapture" by Hurt. I'd prefer not to go into the exact story the song relates; if you would like to know, look up the lyrics. It's pretty clear. Suffice it to say that someone (either in the lyricist's imagination or someone they knew of) did something either very evil or very insane for religious reasons.
It was an interesting song for a priest to bring, as it was anything but friendly to religion. There is a line in it which goes, "Yes I would if I could destroy your god." Our priest said that line was exactly right--that if there was a god that wanted us to do what the someone in the song did, we should hate it, should want it destroyed. It was a very angry song, but a good song to have written. Says a lot of true things.
There are more things I could say but I don't want this to get too long. Adios.

Youtube's Effect on Music

    Youtube has created a new outlet for aspiring singers and other musical artists. Did you know that Kevin from Pentatonix was discovered on Youtube? Artists with unique sounds that wouldn’t generally be played on the radio can express themselves on Youtube, where fans of certain types of music can enjoy the music for free. One artist, Kina Grannis, had her music video played during the 2008 Super Bowl, and was signed to a record company when she won a contest. Soon after, she left the label to be an independent artist. After, she released three albums, and went on a world tour. Youtube gave her a larger fan base and she is a popular personality in the Youtube music circle (she regularly collaborates with Kurt Hugo Schneider and recorded Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car with Boyce Avenue). Other artists may not have as much success, but their voices are no less valuable than a famous singer’s voice. It is simply a matter of being discovered, and what the artists choose to do with their fame. Daniela Andrade is a good example of this. Her covers are mainly stripped down and calm, something that isn’t elected to play on the radio. But, her voice is wonderful, and she has almost 1,000,000 subscribers on Youtube. She is popular in the music cover culture on Youtube (La Vie En Rose is enchanting). Can you tell I’m a fan? Both Grannis and Andrade collaborated on one song together, and Youtube brought new types of music to listen to, and more opportunities for aspiring musical artists.

Truly Inspiring

Recently I was going through my playlist on spotify and one album in particular stood out to me. The musical Finding Neverland. This musical is about the adventure that J. M. Barrie goes on to find his most iconic character, Peter Pan.

For me, this musical is truly inspiring and proves to me that dreams really can come true if you try hard enough and most importantly believe with all of your heart. I know this sounds really sappy but it’s true. Every song has a magical aspect that makes you believe in your biggest dreams.

This show takes you on a magical and emotional journey that is influential, magical, and full of curiosity. There is one song that inspires me in particular which is a song called “Neverland” by Zendaya. The song is all about finding your Neverland and the light at the end of the tunnel.

What inspires you?

“Neverland” Zendaya:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3VPs9b_HZE

Last time I wrote a blog about Hamilton, and I'm going to write about another musical this time called The Last Five Years. It only has two people, Cathy and Jaime. Primarily, it is a love story, but there's a twist. Jamie's version goes in chronological order, while Cathy's goes in reverse simultaneously.

All the songs are around five minutes or more and the lyrics are almost monologues. Cathy starts the story after Jamie files for divorce and ends right after their first date. Even without its incredible music, it is a completely revolutionary way of telling a love story. Without the structural convention, the plot would be boring.

With the addition of the music and the intertwining plot lines, Jason Robert Brown wrote an intricate and bittersweet show. Cathy, an aspiring-failed actress, and Jamie, a successful writer, fall in love in New York City but fail to overcome their differences.

Brown's music is complicated, and typically reliant on acting skills, vocals, and piano to tell a story and develop his characters. The only song Jamie and Cathy sing together is called "The Next Ten Minutes," in which Jamie proposes and Cathy accepts. It is one of my favorite songs in the show, both because of the melody and because of the way they sing together and slowly begin to de-synchronize as they are again separated by time.

The was a movie made starring Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan, which is definitely worth watching. 

The power of this show is both subtle and immediate. Cathy’s first song is obviously one of the most devastating heartbreak, which is sharply contrasted with Jamie’s first upbeat, optimistic song. Some of the contrasts are obvious the first time you listen, but as you get to know the songs better and better, you discover re-occurring lyrics, melodies and themes, and comparisons between them really bring to light some incredible character development.

I really really recommend it. All the songs are interesting and witty, and it really is a great and innovative story. 

Awesome A Capella choir performance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9zF4_GYroI

I chose this video cause I thought that the choir performance was pretty neat. I love how in the beginning of the performance the choir and the audience make rain noises by snapping their fingers or patting their knees and hitting the ground . Another thing I enjoyed and thought was great about this performance is that the song they sang made me think of tribes performing a ceremony  mostly because it was singed A Capella. During the whole performance the whole choir was energetic when they had to be and not when they didn't, that change made a big difference in the performance because that's what made the song exiting. I loved that the choir ( it was a mix choir) projected when they sang which made the words that they were saying somewhat clearer.

The whole choir was wearing formal black wear which helped give what they were singing a sort of serious tone. Most of the choir had pretty good posture and some didn't but that's something that can be improved. What I loved most was when the women in the choir started waving their hands and singing towards  the other side of the risers where the other choir woman did the same Overall I really enjoyed this video and felt like it was a good performance to share in the blog.

Kanye's new album.

Ok so if no one is is going to do this then I will. I'm here to talk about Yeezy's new album that was just released days ago. First of all, shortly after putting up The Life of Pablo as a Tidal streaming exclusive that you could also buy outright, West decided to pull the album from standard sales entirely. But it ended up being pirated and already has been illegally downloaded by half a million people. Yeezy messed up big time and this has already been estimated to have lost him 10 million bucks. But it's not like he needed it that badly anyways so nbd lets get to the music. 
My personal favorite song on the album is actually only the background track to one of his songs called "Fade." For his fashion show a few weeks ago he played this background track as a little bit of a sneak peak for his album and I actually like it far more than the whole song itself. A bunch of different tracks are put on repeat with someone saying "I feel it" over and over again over all of the different tracks. It starts with a man saying "You're loving is fading" on repeat and goes into this sick beat that is indescribable. Pretty much "bum bum bum budabum" with someone saying "I feel it" over the beat on repeat. It then moves into something new where a drum is being hit and a woman is saying "d-d-stop. d-d-stop," while a man is saying "I feel it, I feel it fade," over the beat. But when each beat is repeated over and over it sounds sooooo good. The first time I listened to this was in my bf's car with the volume and the bass all the way up and this is pretty much the only way you can listen to it to get the entire effect. Here's the link to the instrumental version I'm talking about. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIPP8-tvTOs
Overall, the album was a little bit of a disappointment. The first time I heard it I was surprised that it wasn't better, but the more times I listen to it, the more it grows on me and I'm starting to like it a lot more. So give it a chance and don't be quick to judge because Kanye has been an extremely influential artist for this generation if not the most. Download tidal and see for yourself!!!!!

Over this past three-day weekend, I was lucky enough to catch one of the last showings of Jersey Boys in San Francisco. I left the two and a half hour performance of 60s rock and pop music absolutely exhilarated.  After the show, however, I began thinking about how accurate this interpretation of the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons really was, as story writers do have the tendency to overdramatize or stretch the truth while writing scripts to make a show more appealing or entertaining (which is entirely understandable). Still, I went home and decided to look up the story of Frankie Valli on the internet for myself. Born in 1934, Francesco Stephen Castellucio was said to have decided on a career in showbiz after seeing a young Frank Sinatra perform live at the Paramount Theatre. Something largely glossed over in the musical Jersey Boys was how Castellucio became Valli, a decision that was made very early in his career. After a little digging, I found that he took the name from his original inspiration and singing mentor, Jean Valli. A person never even mentioned in the show, which shocked me, as Jean supposedly scored Frankie his first hit single by taking him to her own publishers and telling them he was her brother. I thought this to be incredible, and it now made sense to me why Frankie took her last name, as she was a great influence to his life, and the two seemed almost family. Frankie Valli went on to produce countless hits: “Sherry,” “Cant Take My Eyes Off You,” “Big Girls Don't Cry,” and so so many more. Finding myself now slightly more enlightened now that I know the true origins of Frankie Valli’s changed name, Ill continue to listen to the Jersey Boys sountrack with greater knowledge, and Ill also ultimately fail at matching the impossibly high falsetto range of the great singers who took on the role of Valli himself.