Thursday, March 07, 2013

Got de Blues ...


Singers, most notably blues singers, sometimes add a raspy growl to punctuate a song. Hard to describe exactly, but if you've heard Louis Armstrong sing, you know we are talking about here.

Now and again, I manage this vocal trick, but not consistently. Sometimes it is there, sometimes not, and I haven't been able to figure out what I am doing when it is there, so I can repeat it on command.

But now, having taken a singing for the vocally-challenged class, I have access to a voice teacher.

So I went to take a lesson ...

Nobody ever asked her to teach them that, she said. Let's give it a try.

We booked half an hour. She listened to me sing a song. Thought about it for a few seconds, then said "Try it like you are pissed off."

So I did, and there it was. Took all of five minutes.

Boy, is she good.

I have to practice, of course, but it was as easy as that. Intent.

Why didn't I know that?

Live and learn ...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's what good teachers are for.

AFTER someone figures it out, sure, it's easy.

BEFORE you figure it out, it's as mysterious as asking how to make green paint. A teacher might not know initially how to make green but she has access to blue and yellow and a knowledge of what could happen if you mix colors.

It looks like magic until she teaches you that you can do it yourself.

That's when you say it's easy and ask yourself, "Why didn't I know that?" Your teacher *is* good.

Steve Perry said...

That's the truth.

I've always been an autodidact, and able to learn a lot by figuring it out on my own. Some things need hands-on teaching, and the good ones are a joy when you find them.