So...life. I feel people have changed. Or perhaps only I have changed and learned so many "big girl" lessons that haven't been learned here. Nem tudom. Belélegzom, kilélegzom. I am breathing in and breathing out. Taking it as it comes. Feeling a little overwhelmed currently. Sounds silly, I know. I think there is just a lot on my mind and especially with my recital nearly right around the corner. It is March 12th, which seems so far away, yet in the whole realm of things, that is so soon! And we are still figuring out my program! Jaj! No worries, right? haha! Also, I am absolutely dreadful at memorization. I don't know why. I have been doing it forever, but my brain doesn't want to function when I sit down with my music to intentionally memorize. Argh! And I want to sing whole operas? And hopefully principle roles at that? I better figure how to stick music in my brain quick! Probably doesn't help my memory much that I, for some unknown reason, haven't been sleeping well lately, either.
I also feel like I cannot remember... Solfege, piano, my Hungarian...I feel like part of it is fading. I read somewhere recently that when you sleep you improve your memory because your brain does some "memory cleaning." Perhaps, subconsciously, that is why I haven't been able to sleep...worried of losing it. (Wow! I have no idea why I am writing these things in my blog!) It is absolutely ridiculous of me, I know.
Tul sok negative energie! Most boldog pillanat... (Too much negative energy! Now for a happy moment...)
Gratitude 54
I love my tuning fork!! And even more that I am getting better and better with it! :) Lynn gave me a new aria, Durch Zärtlichkeit und Schmeicheln, on Wednesday and asked if I would bring it in on Monday. I said, "Sure. Why not?" János would do that to me all the time. I was so proud of myself, though. I took it to the practice room on Thursday and refused to touch the out-of-tune piano to learn it. (There isn't a single in-tune piano in the whole conservatory!!! It is driving me NUTS!!! I miss walking downstairs and having the ability to sit in front of one of two Steinway grands...ALWAYS in-tune!) So...I learned the whole thing...well, minus the high E's...with my tuning fork and relative solfa! Yay! How exciting! :) I mean, obviously, it isn't perfect yet, but the fact that I can learn an aria in a week?! That's pretty fabulous! Yay for studying in Hungary! :)
This morning, I came back from class (Science & Technology...we talked about germs/bacteria/viruses...and I am such a hypochondriac!) and found the girls upstairs shouting for me. Apparently, Karly had been doing laundry and found a dead bird in the basement by the washer. Oh, joy! haha! They didn't think so, but their relay of this to me was quite humorous. We went down, and sure enough, there was a dead bird under the sink where the water drains from the washer. It was an "eww!" moment seeing this little bird sopping wet in the extra suds. The girls kept saying, "I'm not touching it! You touch it! No, you touch it!" Oh goodness! Obviously, I was pretty freaked, too, and certainly wasn't touching it! (Yes, we are ridiculous, silly school girls afraid of a little bird that obviously wasn't going to eat us!) I wasn't just going to stand around like them, though, and point fingers, so I took initiative and went to ask our kindly neighbor for help because we were too chicken to do it ourselves. (Again, another "big girl" lesson...) However, no one answered, so the bird stayed for awhile, all the time, Karly obsessed with the bird and refusing to go done there again. haha! I tried again later in the afternoon after returning to the house from the conservatory but, again, no answer. So then I called in to "Wonder Mom" for plan B. (We seriously need a "manly man" around here...a boyfriend or something. haha!) While I was talking to mom, I spotted Max, our kind of supervisor outside, and went and asked if he'd help us. He just chuckled at the scenario and when he saw just how small the bird was, thought we were completely nuts! Nonetheless, he was very nice about it. So no more dead bird! I thought the whole scenario was hilarious! The girls, on the other hand, not so much.
**Stay tuned....Some photos to be included in posts soon...too much reading on my pages!
Samantha,
ReplyDeleteToday was indeed an historic occasion. I am happy to see an African American become the President of the United States. Even though I may agree with few if any of his policies he plans to bring to the government, I am proud to say that any person in America can attain anything they desire if they work hard regardless of race, nationality, or creed, but here I reveal some of my political convictions, something I try not to do until I become rather more closely acquainted with someone.
As to your memorization troubles, that will vanish as you become more confident in your abilities, and practice makes perfect. Not that I am the perfect example, but I have memorized my fair share of things, a considerable piece of these being arias, and I have found that if you can sit with a recording of the piece with a singer you admire in a quiet room armed with a libretto (or libretti), you can, or at least I can, learn things much faster musically. This practice does not confine itself to music, either. Other things, such as facts requiring rote memorization, are often quickly or more easily acquired when sitting in a quiet environment with a maximum level of concentration. Read (or sing) the passage in front of you, and then cover it with your hands or look at the ceiling and repeat it word for word to yourself. Start with sentences or a few words if the sentences are long, and only look down at the passage if you are really and actually stumped and cannot remember it.
Congratulations on learning your aria with just a tuning fork and your knowledge of relative pitch (if I could put that last half of the sentence in italics for added praise and emphasis, I would). That is an awesome demonstration of your enviable talents!
About your situation with the dead bird, all I can say is... have you ever heard of a Wal-Mart bag (Just kidding!)? Next time, put your hand in one of those, or two if it is ripped, and pick it up inside the plastic bag. While holding the creature, take the handles on the bag and turn the bag inside-out, and tie the bag. In the end you have not had to touch anything gross or potentially diseased. By the way, if you and your friends want to pay for me to come live there, so I can receive some wonderful instruction in the vocal arts, I will come up there and take care of all of the things that you girls cannot handle, even the occasional science essay (Another humorous remark)!
May God continue to bless you, your friends, and family!
-Tyler.