Voice Lesson #17

So, it's about 4 months now, that I've been taking voice lessons, and I sounded terrible today! That's ok though, because we talked about a lot of trouble areas and worked on them too. I had several questions from last week that we discussed, as well. I am still frustrated with myself because I practice all week and things are improving and sounding halfway decent, then I get to my lesson and everything shuts down. Try as I may, I can't seem to get anything to work. We were talking about breath support, today, and about how it is crucial to correct Classical Technique. I asked her, if she had to name one thing that is THE most important aspect of the technique, would it be breath support?...she said, yes! I have figured this out, this past week, and wanted to confirm what I thought. I told her that my breath support goes out the window when I get to my lesson, but at home, it's MUCH better..it's there! She told me she wants me to record some of my practicing because she wants to hear what I am doing at home.. I said, absolutely, I will! I want her to hear it too! I still believe it's completely a psychological barrier, I have. I tried today, on my way to my lesson, to sing, to sort of get myself in the frame of mind of, "I can do this, today", and it's as if everything closed up. Then, as soon as I left, I tried again, and it worked. The good news, however, is that everything she is teaching me IS working! I am definitely getting it..I just want her to hear it, too!! So, despite the fact that I did not sound good today, it was still a great lesson, as they are every week, because they are LESSONS.. I am learning! I am also improving, even if it doesn't show when I am there. One of these days it will!! One day I will go to my lesson and my teacher will be stunned at what I am capable of..considering what she has to listen to every week, with me. All of my trouble zones are improving as the weeks go on, though I still have a very, very long way to go. I am again, so thankful to God for bringing me to my teacher, for the talent and ability for teaching that He has given her, as well as her amazing and beautiful voice..but also for the all around wonderful person that she is. I thank Him also, for my incredible husband, because without his support and encouragement, I would have a much more difficult time with all of this..and I thank him for the love that he has for me, which I am certainly not deserving of...and even more, I am not deserving of the love that Jesus has for me. It's a love that I cannot begin to understand. Thank, Lord, for everything!

Voice lesson #16

A good lesson, today! I believe I am one tiny step closer to being able to sing at my lesson like I know I can at home, during practice..this is a good thing! Let me say this, too.. I have been working by myself for the past month or so, and I have been weighed down by stress. My husband and I used to work together, everyday. We did this for 8 years. However, now that I am on my won, work wise, I have plenty of time to listen to my lesson while I am driving. This has proven to be a very good thing! I normally listen to it at the gym and then again when I practice, but now I can listen up to 5 times day! I find that it is not only good to listen to it so much, but it has been a wonderful escape for me, from the stress. I have had a headache for the past week..a nonstop headache. Today though, when I got to my lesson, I noticed the headache disappear for that hour...nice! Voice, for me, is definitely a stress reliever. It's a great escape from the frustrations of the "day to day"..just as BBQ is for my husband. Voice and BBQ, who would've thought it? And even though we are both continually striving to become better and better at what we love to do, even the learning and failing is enjoyable...that's when you know, that what you are doing, is what you should be doing! So, getting back to the lesson..I have a lot to work on, as usual, but I really believe that if I could sing at my lesson like I can at home, we would make great strides! I'm getting there! We started a new song today, and the beginning notes are LOW! This is a dangerous thing for me, because the lower the notes, the easier I perceive it to be, which equates to "lazy" for me..at least the potential is there! This will cause me to focus, though, and that is always a good thing! One of my biggest issues is still squeezing from the throat..trying to squeeze the vowels out. I'm still trying to break that habit...it is a doozy, but I WILL break it! I can do ALL things through Christ, who strengthens me :) I also wanted to add in this post that not only do I love my lessons because of the learning and the singing, but my teacher is hilarious! She never fails to make me laugh! We are very serious about the lessons and they are work, but there is always a lot of laughter, too. I think laughter is a great sign...every great relationship has to include laughter. The only relationships that I have ever had that did not offer lots of laughter were the ones that were no good. Today, she had me in stitches over "rowing"..yes, rowing..and yes, it was singing related. Thank you, Jesus, for everything! A brilliant and hilarious teacher, a loving and hilarious husband, and a life that I am privileged to live for You! :)

Voice Lesson #15

Well, today was quite a frustrating lesson for me. I told myself, "ok, Caroline, this is the week you show your teacher what you can do...what all of hers and your hard work is doing!".. Well, it didn't quite work out that way. I was squeezing from the throat and trying to pull my chest voice up, everywhere we went with the singing. UGH!! I know I can do so much better...I do at practice, all the time! I told her this and she absolutely knows that I'm telling the truth...Praise God! It's that mental barrier that I just can't seem to break...BUT I WILL!! Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.", and I know this is true! One of these days, I'm going to go to my lesson and my teacher will shocked at what I have become capable of! Until then, however, I will keep chugging along. Today, we went over some new exercises and she gave me some interesting things to do at home, to try and get the tension out of my throat. A couple of these exercises with be a challenge. One of them was, today! It was a vocal exercise for agility, but she is hoping that it will free my head voice up. They are are not easy, but hey, nothing worth doing is ever easy! Tension is still a major source of my troubles..but also, the shape of my mouth with vowels and breath support. If I could get rid of all the tension, and get the vowels and breath support correct, we'd have a winner! My teacher is so patient, though, and I am so grateful for that! I think her patience helps me to not get as frustrated and I probably would..but I do get pretty annoyed with myself, anyway. I talk to myself, in my head, when I'm there, saying things like, "what's wrong with you?, you know you can do this better than that!", or "what's your problem? you did this so much better yesterday..you look like you're making no progress at all!". My teacher is very good at calming my nerves though.. she always seems to know just what to say to help me feel less foolish than I start out feeling. I continually have to remind myself that this is a JOURNEY, not a race. I will get there, when I get there...and I am definitely making progress, which is a wonderful thing at any speed. I just thank Jesus all the time for the privilege to be able to this at all, my brilliant teacher, and my super supportive husband... I am blessed! Thank you, Lord!

Voice Lesson #14

Hey there, y'all! Today was lesson #14 and it was good! I didn't sing well, but we talked about a lot of things I had questions about, we went over some good exercises and trouble spots...it was a really good lesson! One of the questions I had was, should every vowel have a forward placement? Apparently, my question was a good one! No, every vowel will not have forward placement, at least not as forward as some. It has to do with the tongue placement on each vowel..every vowel is not the same. And of everything we went over today, there was nothing that I was not aware of, that I am doing wrong. I told my teacher.."I'm with ya on everything!". I can feel what is wrong. Sometimes everything comes together, for a few notes and then I will lose it. Consistency is something that I am still working on, and will be for a long time! We will begin working on some exercises for agility next week maybe, which will help with breath control...and control, period. That is something I have much to work on with, breath control AND support! Sometimes, when practicing, my support is good, other times it's terrible...again, consistency. As always, practice is key...correct practice. Like my teacher always says, if you practice anything incorrectly, all the time, you will never learn to do it correctly..no matter how much you practice. So, as usual, I have a ton to work on, and I am excited about it! I always look forward to a new week of practice..and then a new lesson. I am truly enjoying this journey. God has blessed me so much with being able to do this. It's something that even a year ago, I wouldn't have thought I would be doing, but when God puts something on your heart, it's for a reason and He will give you a desire to it. He sure has done that for me, with Classical Voice. I can honestly say that I love it..everything about it. From my lessons, to my practice sessions, to doing well during practice and then doing terrible in front of my teacher. I know it sounds crazy, but I love it all! And one of the very cool things is that my teacher makes you feel comfortable with messing up and sounding bad. She's got an amazing gift for teaching..not to mention her incredible voice! My husband and I talk all the time about how God will give us things to do that He knows we love doing...and He will always make them work out perfectly! Psalm 37:4..."Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart." This is so very true! Praise Jesus! God is so good, 24/7!! UPDATE.. I was listening to my lesson this morning, and though I already knew it was full of great stuff, I realized after listening that it is CHOCK FULL of awesome info!! My lessons are ALWAYS great, but this one was especially great! Thank you, Jesus!