I was struggling to think about what to write for this one,
as I couldn’t think of many things that had happened straight away. Turns out
quite a bit, actually:
The first thing that happened was I took a Grade 2 Music
Theatre exam. I sang two songs for it: If I Only Had a Brain from The Wizard of
Oz, and Part of Your World from The Little Mermaid.
Yes, you read that right. Believe it or not I’m quite a big
Disney fan, and The Little Mermaid is probably my favourite Disney film. Part
of Your World was about the right level for me, and because I’ve got so much
investment in the song already, I managed to sing it really well. I had to
change some of the lyrics around in order for it to make sense (the song is
sung by Ariel in the film, who is most definitely female) but I really enjoyed
doing that one.
If I Only Had a Brain was a little different: I hadn’t seen
The Wizard of Oz before, and apart from Over The Rainbow and some Family Guy cutaway
gags, I’d had very little exposure to it. What that meant was that I could
bring something of myself into the three characters: Scarecrow, Tin Man and the
Cowardly Lion, without necessarily being influenced by what I’d seen in the
film or on the stage. I did watch it in the end and it did help, but not before
I’d got the words down and had my own ideas of what I was going to do for the
performance. Plus, characterising three voices in one song is not something I’ve
had to do a great many times before; it was a good experience!
It all paid off, as I passed the exam with distinction, 93%.
I’m very pleased with that, and I’m hoping to take that a long way in the
future! Once again thanks to my Vocal Coach Vie Watson for all her support;
couldn’t have done it without you.
The second thing that occurred was that I started doing a
bit of work for Wombourne School of Music. This is something that I’m hoping to
run alongside my work with DPA, doing an evening and a day in the weekend for
them. At the moment I’m teaching guitar for them while their regular guy is on
holiday, with the possibility of picking up some more permanent work when term
starts again. I’m glad I’ve had my experience with DPA as I’m able to bring a
lot of that in to what I’m doing for WSOM, and hopefully that will come across
in the future.
I’ve been rocking up at open mics and gigs on and off for
about five years now, and I’ve always said that no one’s ever the finished
product and I’ve always got something to learn. No more was that the case than
the last open mic I did of the month, which was on a Wednesday evening at the
Saddler’s Arms in Bloxwich. I played my first two songs and found it very
difficult to breathe; it was affecting my voice control and I was exhausted by
the end of the set. I couldn’t think of a reason for it, until through speaking
to some people in the pub I remembered that I’d been swimming earlier that day.
Of course, the chlorine in the water had affected my breathing control. I’ve
been absolutely caning it at the gym over the last few weeks, but now I need to
remember not to go swimming if it looks like I’m going to be singing
afterwards!
I had a jam early with a chap called Jon with a view to
getting a band together, but to be honest I wasn’t really feeling it, I don’t
think he was either and I haven’t heard from him since. It happens, of course,
and it might be best to put that one on the back-burner for now. I’d still like
to get a band together to play some original material, but it’s a slow process
indeed with everybody wrapped up in their own lives now.
Let’s see what August brings…
