Vaughan Williams Cardio
Hey!
Continuing on working on my own little projects, rather than auditioning or participating in productions. At the suggestion of a friend I threw down a “world music” track- I didn’t link to it on my website but I have it up there if I need to send it to someone. I flipped through this random book I have, Circle of Song, which I don’t remember EXACTLY why I bought it but it had something to do with chanting new age folk music on a hippie commune in former East Germany… which I did, yes, I did that… I think it had some of the songs we sang, or some songs with the same pseudo-spiritual international lyrics, so I decided to buy it… The point being that it’s VERY CHEESY. But, came in handy when I was advised to record a “Cirque du Soleil-style world music song.” I scanned the book for pieces that were in an exotic-sounding language that had enough of a range to show that I can actually sing, and decided (without even getting through the whole book) that I liked this one, a Maori hymn. I even had a tambourine-like instrument handy, which I used to add another dimension to my exoticness. It actually helped because some of the melody was syncopated, and being able to keep beat with the tamborine showed that I was off the beat on purpose, not that I just had no rhythm. Hard to justify syncopation when you’re singing a capella and slowly. It took me a couple takes to get all the words right. Or what I assume is right.
Working on getting my album recorded and produced. Calling around to studios in the area to price things out. Outsourcing is a probability, but the question is, what to outsource? Just the mastering? Everything up to and including all the instrumentals? There are a lot of options out there. It’s a lot to weigh, trying to figure out not only the most economical but, well, the best way to do things. I mean, it’s a really important project, and I want it to be as perfect as possible. But naturally, I have NO MONEY. I really have no budget for this- I’m going to have to COME UP with the money for whatever I want to do, somehow. And Ross has already said that he’s not contributing financially, so it’s essentially a solo project at this point. That simplifies things in a lot of ways. But not as far as finding money for it.
I had my first big solo in church on Sunday. Technically, I had two solos, but one of them was in Howell’s Like as the Hart, and it’s basically a one-line descant, and when you only have 3 sopranos, 2 first sopranos- it’s really no big deal to be singing your own line. Here’s the only embeddable recording I found, so you can hear the song, but we were wayyy better (sorry Sanctuary Choir…)
I’m sure it will be easier to find a good recording of the song which contained my main solo, Vaughan Williams’s O Taste and See.
First off all, I forgot to practice it. I DID remember to bring it home, and the music got torn up in my purse, but I did NOT remember to practice it. I did remember to put tape on the rips, and bring it back to church. I didn’t really need to practice it ’cause I’ve known that song for what, like over 10 years, you know? But I do like to practice things to check for my breath control, listen back to recordings of myself in case I’m sucking and don’t realize it…
OK see if that works… this embedding mp3’s this is new to me. So um anyways if you listen to that, wow that was like Vaughan Williams Cardio, huh?
Anyways, not only had I not practiced, but i was sore and sick. See, I did something really weird to my traps on Friday- yes, doing acrobatic stuff- like I totally pulled every muscle in my neck and shoulders, or something. Anyways I couldn’t turn my head for the rest of the day. I could look down and straight ahead, but not up or to the sides! only today do I have most of my range of motion back. So, I woke up Sunday morning- after an hour and a half of sleep, which is my typical Sunday morning- and, feeling still extremely sore in the neck, popped two Advil Liqui-Gels before I left for church. It did not occur to me that, because my Saturday night had been so frantic and busy and energized, I hadn’t eaten anything since 9pm. That sounds reasonable, except when you’ve been up all night. So I had neglected to eat a dinner (at least what would be a dinner on my schedule) save for a glass of wine when I got home. And I learned that you should not take Advil Liqui-Gels on an empty stomach. Because I had a tummy ache for the rest of the morning. In addition to my neck pain and sleep deprivation.
So how did my solo go? Fabulous, of course. That’s why I’m a pro.
Climbing over rocky mountain am I… making slow but steady progress towards my goals.
See you all soon!
Love always,
Amanda White
