Being a soprano...

Some times good, sometimes bad. I love "Soprano Land" (as Lynn calls it) and wouldn't trade it for any other voice. My voice is me; who I am. However, being a soprano certainly has its downfalls. Why do there have to be so many freaking sopranos in the world?! (No offense to any other sopranos out there...I love sopranos...and I am one. The competition is just so frustrating sometimes!) So...yesterday, I sang on the general recital. (I think I explained how recital hour works in the conservatory before...generals are the whole conservatory.) It went splendidly! I sang Hans und Grethe by the brilliant Gustav Mahler. It is such a fun song. Very playful. And so good for my voice. There's a sprinkling of high C's in it, too! Fun! :) And...I got the "Eubanks seal of approval," too. (There's this one professor here who is absolutely off his rocker. He is crazy. But brilliant. He pretty much just goes by Eubanks, or Ray t0 some...Yes, he's that good that his whole name doesn't need to be used. Kind of like Sinatra. Well, this guy's played with some of the greats. Ray Charles, Judy Garland, Pavarotti, the list goes on. I remember in class one day last year (he teaches music literature) he was playing a recording and said, "I remember that night..." Crazy ridiculous! Needless to say, he's got a lot of impact around the conservatory despite his craziness and certainly knows enough people to do good or bad to your career, so getting on his good list is a good thing. I was quite honored. Sure his opinion is only his opinion, but it's still nice to know what other people are thinking sometimes.) Anyway, It is so funny to think how easy the top of my vocal range has become for me to use when only a year ago...even only months ago...it was such a struggle. What else can I say than my teacher is absolutely amazing and that working my butt off is, in some aspects, actually starting to pay off. (In reassurance to the ones aspiring to pursue singing as a career as I am, singing has not always come easy to me. I struggle daily on technique dos and don'ts. We all have our singing woes, but we work through them and come out stronger in the end. Look at Renee Fleming's book The Inner Voice. She doesn't just sugar-coat her abilities; she tells the story of how she got where she is!) Anywho...back to recital hour. (Yes, I frequently go off on tangents!..and tend to ramble...sorry about that.) I was really happy with my performance. I was a little worried because my voice was extremely tired on Thursday (and for good reason, but I'll get to that in a minute!) and I didn't sleep much. It's amazing what hydration can do for the voice...and the body!

*Soap box moment: DRINK WATER!!! AND LOTS OF IT! It takes time for the water to get to the mucosal membranes of the throat/larynx, so hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!

Today, I went to NATS (a singing competition). Besides the conservatory scholarship competition that I have competed in for the past two years, this was actually my first competition. I'd say it went quite well. I had to get up at 5am and drive two hours to get there, though! Ugh! It's okay...we rode with my accompanist Chad...fun times! I was first to go in my category....9am. :( Singing in the morning...not so much a fabulous idea for me. Never liked it, never will. However, even for the early time, I feel pretty good about my performance. Yes, I could have done some things better. I could probably tell you exactly where and what I did wrong in the music, but I'm not going to dwell on my mistakes. I know I sang a few notes sharp and had moments of "What the heck was that that just came out of my mouth?," but I say "How fascinating!" about my mistakes. A 500-lb cow will now fall on my head! (Thoughts of which are compliments of The Art of Possibility...good book!) I'm human and still in the early stages of my learning/singing. I am, after all, only 20. I've got plenty of time before me. Must not peak too soon, as Lynn says. I, again, did not sleep well last night and did not at all feel warmed up (I had minimal warm-up time.), but performance pressure must be really good for me because when I sang for the judges, I sounded warmed up. Weird, I know. My judges gave me some really nice and constructive comments which I am very thankful for. However, I did not place, and I won't lie, I am really bummed. I shan't go into details. It's not worth it...we'll just leave it at I'm really frustrated. But I guess it really doesn't matter. The placing is entirely subjective, and my teacher and I know what I can do (and how I sing when it's not 9am!). It'll all be okay. I try to always look on the bright side of life. It's more fun that way, and life is about the journey, not just the destination. I truly am blessed just to have my gift and to be surrounded by such wonderful people. :)

*One last note: I had peanut butter and jelly for the first time today! MMmmm! It was quite tasty. I always thought it would be gross. :) OH!!! And I had a singing exam for audiation (singing scales and pitch sets and such), and I got a 93%!! Woohoo! My ears are working! :D