OK are you ready for this: I went to do a show and was supposed to go on at 10 pm sharp.
I get there and not a soul at the place..(only a grumpy bartender unwilling to open the bar to the arriving guest)
About 25 friends of mine show up (ON TIME) and nobody else in the club and NO SOUND GUY!!!
So then, AT MIDNIGHT, the sound guy shows up but can't make the PA system work....so now we have a sound guy and no sound!!!!
But I had 20 people there waiting since 10 pm to see me play and I was determined to give them a show!!!
My guitar player happens to have a little amp in his car and gorilla style we plug in cello, guitar and my mic and play with the tiny amp and no sound mixing and the people LOVED IT!!!! They say I sounded AMAZING (thanks to YOU my loving friend and teacher) under the WORST of circumstances and conditions....I basically had a karaoke sound and made it work. People were going WILD!!!! Clapping like nuts and I felt just great!! I did a lot of talking and thanking and I think the fact that this was so unplugged and rough really helped me to come out of my shell. I felt so grateful that these people were willing to sit in an EMPTY club for 2 HOURS that I felt I just really had to give them all I got :)
So there you go!!
Oh, and did I mention I had a sore throat? I was so worried about that before but then I just thought hey, what the hell!! Let's give these people what they came for!!!!!
Hehehe!!!
I am getting raving phone calls and texts as we speak!!!
So are you proud???
Love you!!
Verena
Here is the new music video on My Space:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWbORRvUXE0
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
From Argentina with love
Here I am...as if really could relax...I am getting emails from people who are watching the master class video on You Tube and My Space and I could not be happier with the response. Things here are very interesting and as usual I am always amazed of how life works and how you definitely always are at the right place at the right time and how G-d moves the pieces of the puzzle for all of us, whether we desire It or not. It is important to keep a good look out for the sign posts so that we are aware of what happens and how to react.
The first person that I met was a singer, who told me that she had asked to find the right person to help her find the voice and the interesting thing is, that she knew immediately that it was me. I will be giving her lessons in Mar Del Plata where I am right now and we will begin our work together. She will come to Crown Heights and will begin the work.
It miss my students, I miss teaching and I miss voices....but I also know that I have to rest and take it easy for a while in order to be able to do the work that is coming up in the future...I know that many new things are going to happen and I know that I must and will make a big difference. In the meantime I am sending everyone love and blessings.
The first person that I met was a singer, who told me that she had asked to find the right person to help her find the voice and the interesting thing is, that she knew immediately that it was me. I will be giving her lessons in Mar Del Plata where I am right now and we will begin our work together. She will come to Crown Heights and will begin the work.
It miss my students, I miss teaching and I miss voices....but I also know that I have to rest and take it easy for a while in order to be able to do the work that is coming up in the future...I know that many new things are going to happen and I know that I must and will make a big difference. In the meantime I am sending everyone love and blessings.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
FROM ELIN - I THINK THIS MIGHT BE OF ITEREST TO ALL - I WILL COMMENT ON IT....AND SO CAN YOU
I hope you're having a fantastic time already! There are many things to reflect on in life and I hope you're finding the time, the space, and the environment to connect with your higher self and have a direct and intimate conversation with God. One thing I can say with certainty is that although I do not know how it all works, I completely believe there is a divine plan & path and that I'm on it...the Universe is guiding me, for sure. It's all a mystery to me, but amazing things are happening, and simultaneously "bad" things are happening...but it's all part of the plan, and I'm definitely trying to figure it out and "work" it, like one of your "babies" was saying in that last email you sent... ;-)
I've been wanting to write you for days now, and I may not get everything out in this email...but I'll do my best.
My show on Monday night was awesome. Really. I started out feeling kinda hoarse, like my voice was thick, perhaps because I didn't practice enough earlier in the day. Nevertheless (I know you're beating me with your stick right now..), as the night went on my voice just went more and more and more in, as if it was "warming itself up." By the end of the night I couldn't believe how great I sounded and how easy it was to sing! It REALLY surprised me, and it shouldn't, but the work really is working. And the voice just knows where it wants to be, more and more, and it's mostly thanks to the egg, aka "Miriam-in-absence." :-)
Of course I've been working, but just that particular day hadn't done a lot of it...and so, of course, I felt really "guilty" and worried as I was nearing my performance (although the place is very low-key and intimate). I was trying my best to disperse that and just connect with the music, the lyrics. It was 3 sets, and I was worried about getting through it since I've had some close calls in the recent past... That is almost 3 hours of singing, after all. A true test of where the voice is. As the night went on, the musicians and I connected more and more, and it became magical. Towards the end, I found the voice just flying and flowing on its own. Of course, I was still too nervous to just "go with it" and stop thinking, since I thought maybe then I'd start pushing. So it was almost impossible to let go, but I did find that every time I wasn't thinking and instead just connecting to the music, the voice was flying more and more out of my control and more and more into the perfect place. The intangible place where I have no control. Magical...and scary. :-)
Again, whenever I found that happening, I kept catching myself and worrying that I was going to start pushing unless I remained conscious of "coming in" and "making the turn." So for better or worse, I stayed focused on that a lot, although there were plenty of times the unconscious crept in and the music and lyrics just took over and I was singing "unconsciously" and marvelously beautifully! Haha. I know you know what I'm talking about... I honestly haven't had it happen in so long that I forgot it DOES happen! It was like I wasn't ready to trust it...but it was definitely there. No mistaking. It really would've been interesting to see if I'd just trusted it and gone with it, to see what the results would've been... Would I have gotten "hoarse" or would my voice just have gone more and more "in" and the magic just happened more and more...? That is the question.
I've been wanting to write you for days now, and I may not get everything out in this email...but I'll do my best.
My show on Monday night was awesome. Really. I started out feeling kinda hoarse, like my voice was thick, perhaps because I didn't practice enough earlier in the day. Nevertheless (I know you're beating me with your stick right now..), as the night went on my voice just went more and more and more in, as if it was "warming itself up." By the end of the night I couldn't believe how great I sounded and how easy it was to sing! It REALLY surprised me, and it shouldn't, but the work really is working. And the voice just knows where it wants to be, more and more, and it's mostly thanks to the egg, aka "Miriam-in-absence." :-)
Of course I've been working, but just that particular day hadn't done a lot of it...and so, of course, I felt really "guilty" and worried as I was nearing my performance (although the place is very low-key and intimate). I was trying my best to disperse that and just connect with the music, the lyrics. It was 3 sets, and I was worried about getting through it since I've had some close calls in the recent past... That is almost 3 hours of singing, after all. A true test of where the voice is. As the night went on, the musicians and I connected more and more, and it became magical. Towards the end, I found the voice just flying and flowing on its own. Of course, I was still too nervous to just "go with it" and stop thinking, since I thought maybe then I'd start pushing. So it was almost impossible to let go, but I did find that every time I wasn't thinking and instead just connecting to the music, the voice was flying more and more out of my control and more and more into the perfect place. The intangible place where I have no control. Magical...and scary. :-)
Again, whenever I found that happening, I kept catching myself and worrying that I was going to start pushing unless I remained conscious of "coming in" and "making the turn." So for better or worse, I stayed focused on that a lot, although there were plenty of times the unconscious crept in and the music and lyrics just took over and I was singing "unconsciously" and marvelously beautifully! Haha. I know you know what I'm talking about... I honestly haven't had it happen in so long that I forgot it DOES happen! It was like I wasn't ready to trust it...but it was definitely there. No mistaking. It really would've been interesting to see if I'd just trusted it and gone with it, to see what the results would've been... Would I have gotten "hoarse" or would my voice just have gone more and more "in" and the magic just happened more and more...? That is the question.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Saturday, April 12, 2008
MASTER CLASS NOW ON YOU TUBE AND MY SPACE
Hi all,
One of my dear and very dedicated students has spent hours and managed to put the entire master class which I did for the "SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL and the Jacksonville Harmony in Jacksonville Florida" on You Tube and My Space...
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS GO TO THE SITES AND LOOK FOR:
One of my dear and very dedicated students has spent hours and managed to put the entire master class which I did for the "SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL and the Jacksonville Harmony in Jacksonville Florida" on You Tube and My Space...
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS GO TO THE SITES AND LOOK FOR:
MASTER CLASS BEL CANTO
AND ALL 18 SEGMENTS WILL COME UP....ITS AWESOME!!!! The links are posted on the blog as well.
This is a major job and I am so grateful for his work and dedication to getting the Voice out there. Please watch it, comment, send it to friends...We need to get the message out into the world and I count on you to help me do that.
Your comments and views will be greatly appreciated of course.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Andrea
About a year and a few months ago, I got a telephone call form a singer from the Washington DC area....obviously a mature person, obviously someone who really wanted to study and was willing to make the trip from DC to NY almost every week...and the times that she does not come here we work most successfully on the Internet.
Andrea is one of those people who had studies with other teachers - I don't remember how many, but one thing is for certain - a mezzo she is not!! Her voice was set so far into the throat that it seemed she was going to choke on it. Her speaking voice of course was not much better - On top of that a southern drawl - simply wasted years. On the other hand, nothing is ever wasted...for all things there are reasons.
When I heard this fantastically big instrument relegated to the small spaces of the throat, I immediately recalled the story I read a few months ago of why we do not have big voices anymore and how teachers do not know what to do with them. So, here is the great challenge and the progress we have made in the time we are working together is stunning...a long ways to go yet , but one thing is for sure, this is going to be a dramatic soprano to be reckoned with. Interstingly enough Andrea will tell you that she always knew the voice we are discovering.
Andrea is not bothered by the fact that is not 25 anymore..she quite understands, that when you have to"goods" age does not matter. Our work is all encompassing. She is diligent and knows that this is the way and through her blogging and sharing with you, much will become clear to her as well as to you.
I suggest you follow this fascinating journey and please feel free to comment, question and share...this is your blog and our experiences hopefully will open the doors to your own explorations.
Andrea is one of those people who had studies with other teachers - I don't remember how many, but one thing is for certain - a mezzo she is not!! Her voice was set so far into the throat that it seemed she was going to choke on it. Her speaking voice of course was not much better - On top of that a southern drawl - simply wasted years. On the other hand, nothing is ever wasted...for all things there are reasons.
When I heard this fantastically big instrument relegated to the small spaces of the throat, I immediately recalled the story I read a few months ago of why we do not have big voices anymore and how teachers do not know what to do with them. So, here is the great challenge and the progress we have made in the time we are working together is stunning...a long ways to go yet , but one thing is for sure, this is going to be a dramatic soprano to be reckoned with. Interstingly enough Andrea will tell you that she always knew the voice we are discovering.
Andrea is not bothered by the fact that is not 25 anymore..she quite understands, that when you have to"goods" age does not matter. Our work is all encompassing. She is diligent and knows that this is the way and through her blogging and sharing with you, much will become clear to her as well as to you.
I suggest you follow this fascinating journey and please feel free to comment, question and share...this is your blog and our experiences hopefully will open the doors to your own explorations.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
American Idol - An offer
Last night my dear friend Roxanne Peri, one one countries great handwriting analysts called me. She was on her evening walk and we had time for a chat. She asked if I had been watching American Idol and what did I think. I told her that I cannot stand to watch, that I cannot listen to really beautiful voices screaming and belting and tearing themselves to threads and listen to the audience getting crazy about it. What bothers me the most though is that the world, or perhaps America thinks that this is what singing is all about and if you get on American Idol than it must be good, right, extraordinary, exciting etc.
In my opinion this is false....the voices selected are " the best" of what they can find out there. That is pitiful. I understand why we, the singing industry as well as the listening public, are in trouble.
A few months ago an "opera" Singer won in England. Pavarotti ( may he rest in peace) would turn over in his grave to have that kind of singing called "opera" - a dilettante, an amateur with terrific potential yes, but certainly nothing that could be put up as an example to millions of young people who strive to become professional singers. There is no line, no expression, there is no technique to stand on - an instrument must be tuned properly to be able to play at it's best.
It is a real shame to have the public duped into thinking that in order to make a career you have to sound like that. I would take a voice like that, put it on TV and then get a teacher, a good one to work with this singer and six months or a year later show what can really be done with appropriate teaching. To me that is reality!! That is taking a vocal potential and giving it a real chance. Then get a contract, than make money, then be called GREAT...not to put the cart before the horse.. Let the public realize that voices need to last a lifetime...the whole idea of a few years, lots of money and then gone is like a facial tissue that you use once and then throw away.
Unfortunately that is the world we live in - plastic, use it and throw it out - no respect for the instrument, no respect for creation. Where this one came from, there a a hundred standing in the wings waiting to take their spot. The idea is the moment - the now - Use it, abuse it and good bye. Well, not to me!!!
I am going to contact American Idol and make them such an offer. Let's see what happens.
Would love to hear your feelings about this.
MJA
In my opinion this is false....the voices selected are " the best" of what they can find out there. That is pitiful. I understand why we, the singing industry as well as the listening public, are in trouble.
A few months ago an "opera" Singer won in England. Pavarotti ( may he rest in peace) would turn over in his grave to have that kind of singing called "opera" - a dilettante, an amateur with terrific potential yes, but certainly nothing that could be put up as an example to millions of young people who strive to become professional singers. There is no line, no expression, there is no technique to stand on - an instrument must be tuned properly to be able to play at it's best.
It is a real shame to have the public duped into thinking that in order to make a career you have to sound like that. I would take a voice like that, put it on TV and then get a teacher, a good one to work with this singer and six months or a year later show what can really be done with appropriate teaching. To me that is reality!! That is taking a vocal potential and giving it a real chance. Then get a contract, than make money, then be called GREAT...not to put the cart before the horse.. Let the public realize that voices need to last a lifetime...the whole idea of a few years, lots of money and then gone is like a facial tissue that you use once and then throw away.
Unfortunately that is the world we live in - plastic, use it and throw it out - no respect for the instrument, no respect for creation. Where this one came from, there a a hundred standing in the wings waiting to take their spot. The idea is the moment - the now - Use it, abuse it and good bye. Well, not to me!!!
I am going to contact American Idol and make them such an offer. Let's see what happens.
Would love to hear your feelings about this.
MJA
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