One of the reasons the jaw can be tense is because we have set it against the people who have wronged us. Or we are clenching our teeth, trying not to say the thing we feel bitterly to be true, but we know shouldn't be said out loud.
When we go to loosen the jaw, for the first or the hundredth time, we run into the feelings that helped create the tension. They can be bigger than you might think. The jaw can be more resistant to loosening than seems rational.
Letting go of jaw tension often means letting go our ideas about who other people should be, what they should say, how they should act. It's true, we use our jaw muscles all day long, talking and eating, talking and eating. They will probably be tense even on the day we are enlightened masters. The more spiritual work we can do, though, the lighter the burden on our jaws will become.
The more we can trust that our singing is a good gift, to ourselves and the people around us, the easier it will be to open our mouths and let the sound out.
Singing well usually requires forgiving other people. It always requires we soften our relationship with ourselves.
singing/speaking/being
Upcoming
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS & PERFORMANCES
July 10 – September 11, 2013. $200 for 10 weeks, or $25 drop-in. You don't need to be able to read music! Wednesday evenings from 7-8:30 p.m.
June 21, 2013
June 20, 2013
Noticing
Notice what you notice.
There's more going on in our heads than one might think.
It takes a while to wake up to the sensation of sound traveling through the body.
Notice what you notice. Is there a buzzing? a vibrating? a spinning? an I-don't-know-What?
Hum again, and see if it comes back.
It might. And you might also hear, "this is a waste of time!"
Notice what you notice.
Does the inner critic de-rail you? Do you stop singing and go do something else?
Can you notice the inner critic and also the sound you're making? Can you focus so fully on the sound that the critic drifts away?
Spending time with yourself is not a waste of time.
Spending time with ourselves is the only way to learn to sing. Even if you're in a chorus, you're there with you, noticing you singing.
Notice what you notice. And sing some more.
There's more going on in our heads than one might think.
It takes a while to wake up to the sensation of sound traveling through the body.
Notice what you notice. Is there a buzzing? a vibrating? a spinning? an I-don't-know-What?
Hum again, and see if it comes back.
It might. And you might also hear, "this is a waste of time!"
Notice what you notice.
Does the inner critic de-rail you? Do you stop singing and go do something else?
Can you notice the inner critic and also the sound you're making? Can you focus so fully on the sound that the critic drifts away?
Spending time with yourself is not a waste of time.
Spending time with ourselves is the only way to learn to sing. Even if you're in a chorus, you're there with you, noticing you singing.
Notice what you notice. And sing some more.
June 17, 2013
Dear Jon
When I was a kid, my dad spent a lot of time in our garden planting bulbs, weeding and picking berries. Sometimes he would carry a little transistor radio with him and listen to a baseball game.
Re: baseball and music, last year I got to hear Martin Ramey do their best with The Star-Spangled Banner. It was beautiful. I'm so glad someone put it on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jshu2-hnt0
Can you tell I've been playing the violin more than writing the last few days?
June 14, 2013
Perfection
Today, a quote from my teacher, mentor, colleague and friend, Dr. Bryan Baker:
“The goal is not to give a perfect performance, because that is impossible. The goal is to practice as perfectly as possible, and that makes an excellent performance more likely.”
“The goal is not to give a perfect performance, because that is impossible. The goal is to practice as perfectly as possible, and that makes an excellent performance more likely.”
For me, this means that I should practice calmly, and with my emotions in full view. When I can sing or play alongside (not in spite of) my grief, my joy, my love, my longing, with composure in private, it's more likely that I can be that honest in front of an audience.
Which leads me to another quote, from another teacher, Donna Davis:
"Acting is about telling the truth."
And singing is about being naked.
There is so much more to say here. Coming soon.
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