Vocalist.org archive


From:  "Elizabeth Finkler" <mightymezzo@h...>
"Elizabeth Finkler" <mightymezzo@h...>
Date:  Tue May 8, 2001  9:08 pm
Subject:  Re: [vocalist] Re: Trying So Hard and Still Not Good Enough


>From: BdwayDiva1@a...
>I lost my voice after I spent 1 day singing Beethoven's 9th symphony
>for 3 hours in 1 day in choir. One day is all it took of me to lose 2
>octaves off my range, and was stuck with 1 1/2 octaves for about 3
>weeks. AS far as maturity goes, I practiced more than I have ever
>practiced this semster. I practied at least 2 hours every day every
>day. I was assigned very difficult music for a freshman, such
>as "Hello, Oh Margaret it's YOu" from the Telephone, and Rejoice
>Greatly O Dauthers of Zion" form the Messiah, "Willow Song" fromt he
>Ballad of Baby Doe, and "Saper Vorreste" from Un Ballo in MAschera,.
>All in all, I worked on 10 songs this semester. I AM mature. Last
>semester I was sexually assaulted the night before my jury, and I
>STILL went out there and did it, adn got A's.

First things first, Clarissa: If you haven't done so already, report that
assault to the police or campus security. No reason to let that rat run
around loose. And find a rape crisis center, whether on campus or in town.

Second: The choral parts in the Beethoven 9th are VERY demanding, both
musically and vocally. I sang it with a professional-grade symphonic choir,
and the director certainly didn't expect us to blast through it for three
hours straight! (Neither did Mr. Sawallisch, God bless him.) If your choir
director insists that you do so, speak with your teacher about this and
learn how to avoid leaving your voice in the practice room.

Believe it or not, most of us on this list were 19 and impatient once. One
thing that I'm STILL working on is "trying too hard," that is, that I need
to concentrate on technique etc. but not worry about whether I can be heard
OR what the audience thinks of me. The vocal jury at your school is no more
interested in your troubles than the audience for the "Eugene Onegin" I was
in was interested in hearing about the flat tire I'd had that morning. If
you give them your best effort, then your troubles will stay in the
background where they belong.

I was desperate to make it big when I was 19. Now I'm rather glad I didn't.
I couldn't have handled the pressure. Besides, dealing with onstage
disasters is a skill one learns only with experience.

Elizabeth Finkler
Sunnyvale, California
mightymezzo@h...
mightymezzo@h...
http://home.earthlink.net/~mightymezzo

"If you must be wrong, be wrong at the top of your voice!" --Lucy Van Pelt

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