Feeling: tired
Listening to: the telly
Reading/Watching: Moulin Rouge

Today I spent 7 lovely hours receiving tips on how to teach sight-reading and turn ear-training into games and goofiness. It was fun.

Left with a head buzzing full of all the things I need to do before Monday, and drove to my second voice lesson with the new teacher. I haven't tried this since I started teaching and it knocked my voice out. This woman is so much fun, because on our first meeting, she warned me "I'm going to push you around and be very tough on you," as I was in the middle of saying "I'm out of shape so I need someone to kick my ass."

It's perfect simpatico. We love each other already. She's making me dig down to my knees to pull out a long-dormant chest voice, which can apparently hit a D below middle C, and then sparkle up to an E-flat three octaves higher (which, by the way, I haven't been able to hit since my senior recital in 2005).

Current project was my suggestion: "A New Life" from Jekyll & Hyde, which I love, but I can't seem to "find" on my own. She's helped me with the technical aspects, and today said, "All right, but it's too mechanical. Let's do it again, but this time think about what you're singing, and mean it."

And so, tentatively, I hooked a fingernail under the crack in that closed door, and tried to open it ever so slightly. Before the first verse was over, it wasn't a crack, it was a floodgate. I finished the song with tears streaming steadily down my face.

She didn't even try to go there, just gave me a hug and a tissue, and said she was proud of me for making it through. And that perhaps, this song needed to be sung... but not forever.

Then she handed me a nice safe Faur�, and we read through that for the rest of the hour.

Comments? 0 so far...
Not a Diaryland member? Sign the Guestbook.