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The Artist’s Goal

Uta Hagen in her book, A Challenge for the Actor, gives the following quote from George Bernard Shaw:

“This is the true joy in life, being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it what I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to further generations.”

[Read more…] about The Artist’s Goal

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10,000 Hours

Malcolm Gladwell has been quoted often as he suggests that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become skilled at anything. I expect he is right. Performers who become “overnight” sensations have put in their time. Are there exceptions? Perhaps. But that is why they are called “exceptions.” Most everyone has spent a lot of time honing the craft. Intelligence and talent are factors, big factors. But the 10,000 hours may be the most important step of all. And that is why no one should become a performer if they don’t like to practice and rehearse. If you don’t love the process, you still can enjoy any of the arts as a hobby. But, if it is your career you are talking about, do you like the preparation? We’ve all had jobs we didn’t like much. It is much more fun to go to work if you love the job. How much do you love acting or singing?

It’s all right to change your mind along the way. You may think you want this, or you may like the process for awhile. When you no longer enjoy the process, it is time to do something else. Is there something you love so much that you are willing to spend 10,000 preparing to be skilled? I found along the way that I loved teaching rather than performing. What is your choice?

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Morning Thought

Today’s thought comes from the website of J Timothy Caldwell. I quote:

Exercise: ask a choral singer to sing a scale in a legato manner as you watch the area of the throat known as the “Adam’s Apple.” You will probably see tiny, jerky motions as the singer moves from pitch to pitch. The motions come from “jumping” from pitch to pitch. If you ask a well-trained solo singer to perform the same exercise, you will see little or no movement-this is because the singer is “sliding” from pitch to pitch.

(The whole discussion is here: http://www.jtimothycaldwell.net/blogs/?page_id=28)

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The 16 bar audition

While my thoughts are in audition mode, let me speak about the 16 bar audition. Often, someone preparing 16 bars feels they can’t show enough in that time. Meanwhile, those of us listening to you have a pretty good idea of what you can do after 4 bars. Remember the impact that Susan Boyle had in Britain’s Got Talent? No one expected anything of this woman when she came out on stage. The audience was applauding wildly after 2 measures.

After four measures we know:
1) Is your voice pleasant?
2) Do you sing in tune?
3) Is your vibrato steady?
4) Are you connected to the words of your song?
5) Do you have a musical line when you sing?

I’m sure we know more. These are the first words that come to mind. Comments and additions are welcome! Others of you have listened to more auditions than I. Add, please.

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A few audition thoughts

Jeff Brown just offered the best audition advice for me to share:

I’ve listened to hundreds (perhaps thousands) of auditions over the years. I think the biggest “tip” I can offer is not to over-think what they want. Show them – as accurately as possible – what you ARE, and see if it fits. If not, don’t take it personally.

Read that again, folks. It isn’t personal when you don’t get in a show. Everyone is rejected. Often. When you get to the professional level, there may be 300 people who look or sound just like you at an audition. Casting directors have lots of choices. A small fluke may be the reason you get the role or are rejected. Learn to handle rejection or get out of the business.

Jeff points out that you need to show who you are. When you are preparing for auditions, let’s make sure that you can show just what YOU have that is unique — the one trait that most of the others won’t have.

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When you are singing in a choir

Of course, you don’t want to be so animated that the audience focuses just on you. You are a part of a group. You are sharing with us as a group. However, it is so frustrating to go to a choral concert where all of the singers look bored. You sound bored, too. I realize that often – with young singers especially – this is a result of your being very self conscious. Well, singers, you would be less self conscious if you focused on the words the lyrics are trying to express. Let me repeat from my last blog: Every song is a one act play. How do you want us to feel when we hear a song? Happy? Sad? Warm and cuddly? Angry? Those are just a few possibilities, but surely you don’t want us to feel bored. Please, care about the lyrics of your song and let us see that the words mean something to you.

I often tell voice students to “open your mouth and move your lips.” You’ve been practicing talking without moving your lips since kindergarten when you realized that if you wanted to talk to the person next to you in school, you didn’t want the teacher to see you. By high school you have that art down pretty solidly. When you are singing, it is time to open your mouth and move your lips. It lets the sound come out to us instead of staying inside your head. You look like you are doing something, and your face becomes more expressive. You share the experience with your audience. That’s a good thing.

And finally, a word about posture and arms. I know we all feel as if we must look like apes when we stand with our arms at our sides. You won’t look like an ape. You will look professional and poised. A choir with members slouching, arms in front of them (in the fig leaf position) or behind their backs (called the Columbo back when he was on TV) looks as if you are a ragged bunch and not a well trained choir. Your director can’t do this for you. You must stand as if you have something wonderful to share with us. You can do it.