This is a trio of me. It turned out decently. I think you can get carried away with too many harmonies and three seemed just right for this.
I'm also kinda proud of "The Lighthouse's Tale", which is a song by Nickel Creek that I tried today. This one isn't harmonized. Like I said, short, simple songs are best for that.
I like both songs. My mom tells her vocal students that singers make the mistake sometimes of using too many songs that show off range, do too much embellishment or other vocal gymnastics, or use various other techniques with the intent of impresing, when nothing is really more impressive that a beautiful voice simging a beautiful melody in a style that matches the meaning of what the song is trying to convey.
ReplyDeleteEspecially in #2,my mom said you epitomized her point. With your permission, she said she may use your video as a "how to" example for her beginning voice classes and basic students.
To put this in context, she often uses videos of Lisa Kelly of Celtic Woman singing not terribly "impressive" songs 'The Moon's a Harsh Mistress" or "The Blessing" to illustrate that a beautiful voice singing a beautful melody trumps the ability to hit high c and other mental gymnastics every time. If she uses your video, you're in good company.
When I blog again, I put a Lisa Kelly song in the blog. She's acousin of my mom, so we're partial to her, though we (my mom, dad, amd I)love all of the ladies who've ever performed with Celtic Woman. She really doesn't have as much voice as my mom has, but she has enough, and what she has is beautiful. It will interesting to watch chole Agnew progress. She was so young when she started with c=celtic Woman that her voice was very immature when she started, and it's still not probably what it will be. My mom says a woman's voice doesn't really mature until at least twenty-five and usually continues to grow for awhile after that if she takes care of it.
My mom was able to score an amazing feat and get Josh Groban to sing and lecture to an advanced voice class last quarter. It was an bizarre set of coincidences of everyone being in the right place at the right time. We are in a good location, too, as we're close enough to LA but far enough away to be a much nicer location, so sometimes the stars hang out here for the hell of it. Groban has formal training, but he's more of a natural among the semi-clacissists. He's not Bocelli, but she'll never get Bocelli to lecture to a class. She says Josh was an absolute doll.
I still want to hear "The Rose." It's a cheesy song, but the final verse would be pretty with you singing all three parts. Even thugh it's been done to death, I like the message, especially of verse #3. When life is treating me especially unkindly, I sometimes say the words to myself inside my head.
Aw Alexis, thank you for that comment. You have officially made my day and I just got out of bed! Your mom is welcome to use whatever I post here. I would be honored.
ReplyDeleteI am not a fan of singers that do a lot of embellishments, though I think a well delivered high note can be very powerful. For instance, I really like Kathleen Battle's voice, even though she is an epic diva. I haven't really listened to Celtic Woman much, though I understand my husband's older daughter likes it (he saw that she wrote about it on her Facebook).
I studied voice off and on for about ten years, but haven't taken any lessons recently. I would like to get back into it, not necessarily because I want to perform, but because I find the process enjoyable. I think I've mentioned a few times that taking voice lessons when I was clinically depressed was very helpful in getting me functional again.
"The Rose" is a pretty song. I probably never gave it the credit it deserves because Bette Midler made it famous. I like Bette Midler as an actress, especially in comedies, but not so much as a singer. I kind of feel the same way about Barbra Streisand, even though I can't deny that she has a gorgeous voice. There just aren't very many of her songs that I love to listen to, but I enjoy her acting. Anyway, I'll give it a try later. I like to do my singing in the late afternoon.