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.
1 comment:
Hello All,
I am Andrea from Virginia (work in Wash. D.C metro area). I came upon Dr. Miriam's (as I call her) while perusing the internet while on the job. I have always been interested in music and reading books about singing. It seems I was always looking for "something". That "something" was an explanation on how to sing. And how to sing beautifully. Although I have had a few teachers, They basically all said the same thing. It is probably the same thing that someone who is reading these comments have been told. The fact is, noone could really tell me "how". They were able to show me how they sing. That was alright for them, but not me. At least I did not feel anyone could explain singing in plain english. So I started ignoring every book and lecture about singing. They were really not saying much to maintain my interest. Since I consider myself to be more of a spiritual person than a religious one, I bumped into a book about a "spiritual" approach to singing. Well there is something that immediately caught my eye. Since the reviews on Amazon were very good, I went ahead and bought it, feeling like I would never finish reading the book. I was willing to give it a try. I tell you, I read this book twice and then sent Dr. Miriam an e-mail first ordering the CD and then the revealed version of the book. After reading the book (twice) and listending to the CD, I had to give this lady a call and set up an appointment. I wanted her honest critique of me. She was very honest indeed. I have to admit, I wanted her to tell me how fabulous my voice is. She sort of did by telling me how fabulous my voice could be. She was most disappointed by the fact that my voice was in my throat. I was quite angry, as noone else told me this. Not even professional people I coached with and performed in their Master Class. Whatever the case, I knew deep down inside of me that Dr. Miriam was correct and that I wanted to work with her for how ever long it takes. I have been back and forth between DC and NY for a little over a year now. We are making much progress. In the coming days, weeks, and months, I look forward to writing in this blog about my experience and what I have learned and continue to learn. I am very excited about my work with Dr. Miriam. I feel the "real" beauty coming through my voice, and cringe with anger as I listen to recordings of myself before Dr. Miriam. When listening to old recording of me, I now hear that throatiness that Dr. Miriam told me about. So, in the future, I intend to use this blog as a journal of my experience as we continue to progress toward great singing. I am in my forties, but I still feel young and I feel like I can still "do it". Dr. Wayne Dyer has always said in his public broadcasts and speaches one thing that is sort of my anthem, "Don't die with your song still in you". So, I have to do this. I have a lot of songs in me that are dying to be heard. Till Later - Much Love and Inspiration - Andrea
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