I am ill today due to allergies and figure I should try to write this while I have a spare minute. I have been prepring my first tenor role for the past few weeks and I must say that I have been enjoying the process. I am singing Rinuccio from Gianni Schicchi in August. This is my first real test of how my progress as a tenor is coming along. I feel confident about my prospects based on my work thus far. I have already learned the role and am now trying to memorize it. I don't necessarily need to memorize it for this project, but it's a good habit to get into. Unfortunately I am not able to practice today because of the post-nasal drip onto my vocal folds in the last twenty-four hours. Hopefully I will be able to get back into it tomorrow.
German is progressing decently. I am now working my way through Assimil which is a much more subconscious process than Michel Thomas was. With Assimil, it is truly a case of trusting the process and being patient. I do find that listening is getting easier as I progress through Assimil, and I look forward to continuing to advance in the coming weeks and months.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
A Time of Blessing
The blessings of the Lord have been flowing down upon me the last couple of weeks! I'll begin with the language side of my life. Yesterday I finished the Michel Thomas course I have been working on for the last five months. This is significant for a number of reasons. First, I feel that I have a strong base in German now and can comfortably hold my own in basic, day to day conversation. Second, this means that I can now move on to Assimil, picking up where I left off at lesson 24. Additionally, tomorrow I will cross over the 2,000 known word milestone on LingQ. This has taken me a lot longer than I anticipated, however it is ultimately of my own doing. I took a small hiatus earlier in the year from LingQ and in general I am lax about doing LingQ if I am lacking motivation on a given day. This puts me at about the same level on LingQ as my Italian says I am. Although Italian was the "first" foreign language I brought to a significant level it has quickly become my lowest level language, besides my high school level Spanish. At some point I will come back and bring all of my languages to higher levels, but for now I am content with where it is.
Based on where I am in the Assimil program, I have approximately 126 days of work ahead of me, which equates 25 weeks of study based on a 5 day study schedule. That should bring me to about December, which allows me to focus solely and intensively on LingQ for the final month, where I hope to really increase my known words. The nice thing about known words is that they grow exponentially. In French I learned approximately 5500 words in 8 months. If I follow a similar pace from here on out in German that would bring me to about 7500 known words by the end of the year, give or take a few hundred. If I stay on course and hit all of my goals for the rest of the year I should have no problem speaking German coming January 1st.
The real exciting news comes on the vocal front. I went down to New York to have a lesson with JRL and had a very productive lesson. Towards the end of the lesson I was assigned the role of Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi for a sing-through later in the summer. This will be my first time singing a role as a tenor! On top of this, I am also looking ahead to doing my first round of auditions for some summer programs in the autumn. After three arduous years of struggle and hard work I am beginning to come out on the other side of this process and am confident about my prospects.
Another important part of my trip to New York was my coaching with Susan Morton. During the coaching I was recommended a book called The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle. While I am still just barely scratching the surface of this book, it has transformed my approach to nearly every important aspect of my life. The concept of "deep practicing" discussed in the tome has made learning a much more intense and rewarding experience. I have witnessed the benefits in my singing while learning this role, in my running as I have determined to beat my chronic shin splints this summer, and even my language work as I near an intermediate level of German. I highly recommend that anyone who is attempting to gain a skill find this book and give it a read.
Overall, the last two weeks have seen many prayers beginning to be answered and many goals in their infancy of being realized. I look forward to where these new opportunities and experiences take me and glorify the Lord for granting me the patience to see these things through to their fulfillment according to his will!
Based on where I am in the Assimil program, I have approximately 126 days of work ahead of me, which equates 25 weeks of study based on a 5 day study schedule. That should bring me to about December, which allows me to focus solely and intensively on LingQ for the final month, where I hope to really increase my known words. The nice thing about known words is that they grow exponentially. In French I learned approximately 5500 words in 8 months. If I follow a similar pace from here on out in German that would bring me to about 7500 known words by the end of the year, give or take a few hundred. If I stay on course and hit all of my goals for the rest of the year I should have no problem speaking German coming January 1st.
The real exciting news comes on the vocal front. I went down to New York to have a lesson with JRL and had a very productive lesson. Towards the end of the lesson I was assigned the role of Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi for a sing-through later in the summer. This will be my first time singing a role as a tenor! On top of this, I am also looking ahead to doing my first round of auditions for some summer programs in the autumn. After three arduous years of struggle and hard work I am beginning to come out on the other side of this process and am confident about my prospects.
Another important part of my trip to New York was my coaching with Susan Morton. During the coaching I was recommended a book called The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle. While I am still just barely scratching the surface of this book, it has transformed my approach to nearly every important aspect of my life. The concept of "deep practicing" discussed in the tome has made learning a much more intense and rewarding experience. I have witnessed the benefits in my singing while learning this role, in my running as I have determined to beat my chronic shin splints this summer, and even my language work as I near an intermediate level of German. I highly recommend that anyone who is attempting to gain a skill find this book and give it a read.
Overall, the last two weeks have seen many prayers beginning to be answered and many goals in their infancy of being realized. I look forward to where these new opportunities and experiences take me and glorify the Lord for granting me the patience to see these things through to their fulfillment according to his will!
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Strength is coming!
There's not a whole lot to report on the language front this time around. I am still plugging away and making progress daily. There have not been any new big breakthroughs. The only noteworthy thing is that I will be finish MT before my next post, which means I will then go back to Assimil.
My vocal studies are where the more interesting things have been happening lately. A couple of weeks ago at church I was singing at the 8:30 mass and went for a G4 which I can normally hit in a rough way that early in the morning. This time around, however everything happened the way it was supposed to: the F turned on the [o] vowel and then the [a] vowel turned ideally on the G producing a nice, easy, free flowing pitch. I took this accomplishment to mean that I have begun to build significant strength through my passaggio so that these acoustical things can happen correctly and automatically. The second thing happened to me this past evening at a rehearsal for an ecumenical choir concert that I am participating in. We had just finished rehearsing a men's choir piece which took the tenors up to an Ab4. I sang this easily the few times we went through it without giving it much thought. As we were going back to join up with the rest of the choir one of the other tenors made a remark to me that I was "one of those high tenors that sings that Pavarotti high C." I laughed and answered that I was working on it. It amused me because a year ago at this concert I was told be one of these singers that I was a "2nd tenor" and now after a year of work on my part I am being told that I am a "high tenor." Ultimately these people are amateur singers and their thoughts on my vocal classification have little merit in my life. It is nice however to see that my work is paying dividends.
I have come to realize over the course of my vocal studies that things happen at a slower pace for me in this medium than they did when I was a saxophonist. Luckily I have learned to be patient and trust that the process will get me to my end goal eventually. When I started down this path as a singer I did not realize how hard I was going to have to work to attain my dreams. Everything else I had ever done in music came easily. Now, though I have broken through so man apparent glass ceilings that I have very little that can stand in my way. I had a goal set in front of me by JRL at my last lesson that by this time next year I need to have a workable C5 so I can work on Faust and Rodolfo. I take these challenges very seriously and am closing in now an my B4, just a half step away from the famed "Pavarotti high C." If my voice continues along the path it is currently on I anticipate not only reaching the goal of a workable high C, but hope to achieve it earlier than the date set forward by my teacher.
This fall I am going to be auditioning for a few summer programs and possibly one or two programs for the following year. The following fall my sights are set on the MONCA competition. This especially is a lofty goal, but I am confident that my work ethic and faith will see me through.
My vocal studies are where the more interesting things have been happening lately. A couple of weeks ago at church I was singing at the 8:30 mass and went for a G4 which I can normally hit in a rough way that early in the morning. This time around, however everything happened the way it was supposed to: the F turned on the [o] vowel and then the [a] vowel turned ideally on the G producing a nice, easy, free flowing pitch. I took this accomplishment to mean that I have begun to build significant strength through my passaggio so that these acoustical things can happen correctly and automatically. The second thing happened to me this past evening at a rehearsal for an ecumenical choir concert that I am participating in. We had just finished rehearsing a men's choir piece which took the tenors up to an Ab4. I sang this easily the few times we went through it without giving it much thought. As we were going back to join up with the rest of the choir one of the other tenors made a remark to me that I was "one of those high tenors that sings that Pavarotti high C." I laughed and answered that I was working on it. It amused me because a year ago at this concert I was told be one of these singers that I was a "2nd tenor" and now after a year of work on my part I am being told that I am a "high tenor." Ultimately these people are amateur singers and their thoughts on my vocal classification have little merit in my life. It is nice however to see that my work is paying dividends.
I have come to realize over the course of my vocal studies that things happen at a slower pace for me in this medium than they did when I was a saxophonist. Luckily I have learned to be patient and trust that the process will get me to my end goal eventually. When I started down this path as a singer I did not realize how hard I was going to have to work to attain my dreams. Everything else I had ever done in music came easily. Now, though I have broken through so man apparent glass ceilings that I have very little that can stand in my way. I had a goal set in front of me by JRL at my last lesson that by this time next year I need to have a workable C5 so I can work on Faust and Rodolfo. I take these challenges very seriously and am closing in now an my B4, just a half step away from the famed "Pavarotti high C." If my voice continues along the path it is currently on I anticipate not only reaching the goal of a workable high C, but hope to achieve it earlier than the date set forward by my teacher.
This fall I am going to be auditioning for a few summer programs and possibly one or two programs for the following year. The following fall my sights are set on the MONCA competition. This especially is a lofty goal, but I am confident that my work ethic and faith will see me through.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Faith: The Most Necessary Virtue!
I have made some good progress this month, both with my German and with my singing. In German I am at approximately 1750 words known on LingQ and I have noticed that I am beginning to be able to follow some of the dialogue on the radio station I listen to, Radio Horeb. There is still a lot that I miss, however I am still encouraged by the process that I am making. I have about twenty days left with my Michel Thomas program and then I will be coming back to Assimil to finish that. This being said, it is apparent to me that I am going to be hitting a few milestones in the next month. My plans for the next two weeks is to start using my German more in certain areas of my life. Primarily, I am going to start praying my Rosary in German at least three days a week. I find that this has been very helpful for me in the past, as I can grow from the Rosary into personal prayers and really force the activation of a lot of the vocabulary I know. I am one-third of the way through my German year and find myself at a very good place.
Vocally things have been a roller coaster ride of sorts. A few weeks back I had a minor vocal crisis where I began to show the signs of a hole in my passaggio. Luckily, after a brief correspondence with JRL, I have patched up that problem and moved on to considerably more exciting things. Specifically, this week I have consistently sang my exercises up to a high C (and occasionally a C#), and today I was able to sing the C with vibrato. To my mind, this means that I am starting to coordinate the note well enough that it is beginning to release. I routinely practice at my former college, Roberts Wesleyan, which happens to be where both of my future sisters-in-law go to school currently. I was informed by one of the sisters that I have a bit of a fan base among her fellow classmates. One even went so far as to figure out the note that I "always crack on," which was a Bb4 for those who are interested. While this is amusing, it also gave me great motivation to get past that Bb4, which I can say I have done now. Instead I crack on the B4 or C5 now!
I am quite humbled by having a "fanclub" at my former school. It is quite a different scene than when I was going to school here from 2003-2007. At that time, the majority of the department was confused as to why I was a performance major. Now the current student population thinks that I am an advanced singer. This goes to a larger point that I was discussing with my language partner, Ernest, yesterday. I have known from the time I became a voice major that I was going to be a singer, and a successful one at that. Despite the dissensions from everyone from classmates to family to professionals, I am nearing the point of my process where I am going to begin my career. If you have faith in your own path you will always achieve your goals. The process may take you through deserts and mountains, however you will always come out on the other side if you maintain your faith. As a Christian, I have put my life's path into God's hands and am confident that, while it may not happen in the timeline of my choosing, everything I have asked of God for my life will occur as it is supposed to. Regardless of whether you are Christian or not, faith is one of the most important character traits we possess. Believe and know that your aspirations will always happen as long as you continue to persevere faithfully.
Vocally things have been a roller coaster ride of sorts. A few weeks back I had a minor vocal crisis where I began to show the signs of a hole in my passaggio. Luckily, after a brief correspondence with JRL, I have patched up that problem and moved on to considerably more exciting things. Specifically, this week I have consistently sang my exercises up to a high C (and occasionally a C#), and today I was able to sing the C with vibrato. To my mind, this means that I am starting to coordinate the note well enough that it is beginning to release. I routinely practice at my former college, Roberts Wesleyan, which happens to be where both of my future sisters-in-law go to school currently. I was informed by one of the sisters that I have a bit of a fan base among her fellow classmates. One even went so far as to figure out the note that I "always crack on," which was a Bb4 for those who are interested. While this is amusing, it also gave me great motivation to get past that Bb4, which I can say I have done now. Instead I crack on the B4 or C5 now!
I am quite humbled by having a "fanclub" at my former school. It is quite a different scene than when I was going to school here from 2003-2007. At that time, the majority of the department was confused as to why I was a performance major. Now the current student population thinks that I am an advanced singer. This goes to a larger point that I was discussing with my language partner, Ernest, yesterday. I have known from the time I became a voice major that I was going to be a singer, and a successful one at that. Despite the dissensions from everyone from classmates to family to professionals, I am nearing the point of my process where I am going to begin my career. If you have faith in your own path you will always achieve your goals. The process may take you through deserts and mountains, however you will always come out on the other side if you maintain your faith. As a Christian, I have put my life's path into God's hands and am confident that, while it may not happen in the timeline of my choosing, everything I have asked of God for my life will occur as it is supposed to. Regardless of whether you are Christian or not, faith is one of the most important character traits we possess. Believe and know that your aspirations will always happen as long as you continue to persevere faithfully.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Language Leap!
I am a little over a quarter of the way through my German year and I have made a considerable leap in my ability to express myself in the last couple of weeks. I had a similar thing occur in French last year, where all of sudden the language began to flow from me with a lot less hindrance. There are obviously still holes in my vocabulary, however I have discovered that I can now carry on conversations beyond mere greetings and niceties. I'm not exactly sure what the turning point was for me and I wish I had kept a better catalog of hours spent working in the language so that I could possibly start to formulate a theory on the relationship between time and achievement. My estimate is about five hours of Michel Thomas, eight hours of Assimil and 10 hours on LingQ. So that is really only about 23 hours, not including time spent talking to myself and others, time spent watching movies and listening to the radio. Truthfully though, this is a very small amount of time and I wish I had more time to devote to learning the language. If I could devote this much time into my week instead of over the last three and a half months I can only imagine how strong my German would be come December 31, 2012! Unfortunately I do not have four hours a day to devote to language learning so I have to do the best I can with the time I have. I imagine that I will be able to add German to my list of spoken languages by August; then I would like to amp up my workload to really achieve fluency by the end of the year.
I have been having some struggles lately with my voice. These challenges are things of my own doing, but they are very annoying nonetheless. It is especially frustrating because I had such a great lesson a couple of months ago and I feel like I have done the two steps forward, one step back thing in the last couple of weeks. I am beginning to pull myself out of these issues, but it appears that it is going to take me longer to recover from than it did to fall into. There are some positives though, I still have built my strength up some as I am now able to sing a fairly consistent A4 ever without warming up (I don't do this often). Overall it is important to continue to look at the positive movements that are happening and use those to get through the troublesome times.
I have been having some struggles lately with my voice. These challenges are things of my own doing, but they are very annoying nonetheless. It is especially frustrating because I had such a great lesson a couple of months ago and I feel like I have done the two steps forward, one step back thing in the last couple of weeks. I am beginning to pull myself out of these issues, but it appears that it is going to take me longer to recover from than it did to fall into. There are some positives though, I still have built my strength up some as I am now able to sing a fairly consistent A4 ever without warming up (I don't do this often). Overall it is important to continue to look at the positive movements that are happening and use those to get through the troublesome times.
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