30 DAY FULL VOICE CHALLENGE - Day 20

The 30-Day Full Voice Challenge continues and today I was able to get in 30 minutes of vocalizing.  Last night during my regular vocal performance class, we watched a video from our live performance last week.  Watching yourself is ALWAYS hard and my lack of committing to my 25 healthy meals... definitely came to mind as I was watching my arms move with the reverb on the microphone.  :) 


Take aways from the live performance: 

1. One my song "Don't Make Me Over" I need to pronounce the ending consonants 
2. Cut back on vibrato on my song "Loverman, Oh Where Can You Be?" 
3. Connect with the audience by looking into their eyes and talking directly to them through song

Overall, I am VERY proud of the performance. I juuuuuuuust might upload a video clip... maybe! LOL



Today I Am... happy with progress!  

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LOVING iCARLY

When I turn on my TV it is not surprising to find it tuned into Nickelodeon since I am THE biggest SpongeBob Squarepants fan, and today was no different.  I turned on the TV to hear that iCarly, a show about a high school aged girl named Carly and her online variety show, was coming on.  Today as the theme song played I stopped to listen and really love the message they are sharing through song and now I am sharing with you.  Enjoy.

iCarly Theme Song ~ Lyrics

I know, you see
Somehow the world will change for me
And be so wonderful

Live life, breathe air
I know somehow we're gonna get there
And feel so wonderful
And it's all for real

I'm telling you just how I feel
So wake up the members of my nation
It's your time to be 
There's no chance unless you take one
And it's time to see 
The brighter side of every situation
Somethings are meant to be
So give your best and leave the rest to me
Leave it all to me
Leave it all to me
Just leave it all to me

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USING MY TIME WISELY

One of the most challenging things about pursuing my “musical” goals is finding the time outside of my work responsibilities to fully focus on personal tasks. With the recent 30-Day Full Voice Challenge finding “time” has been especially difficult.

It is easy to say that there are not enough hours in the day, however, that is not entirely true. My problem is there are not enough hours in my day where I am functioning 100%. A part of managing time well is to identify which hours of the day you are at your best. My best hours are somewhere between 1AM and 5AM when I have to make myself go to bed in order to function at my 9-5.

So how do we make this work????

Most of the time I am squeezing vocal exercises in to my evenings however today I discovered that using my lunch hour proved to be a perfect time to get an hour of vocalizing in and even run through the lyrics of a new song. So if you are having trouble finding the time because you have to go to a full-time job then try using your breaks and lunches as ways to get a personal task done… you can eat at your desk or take bites between notes (like I did to my yummy egg sandwich).

Happy Singing!

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Catching up on blogging about the 30-Day Full Voice Challenge

With the closing of April I started off May with lots of energy and the hopes of being a heavy contender in the 30-Day Full Voice Challenge hosted by the Broadway Dance Center.  I started a blog that was only about the challenge... however I decided to move it to my personal blog.  The challenge requires that you...

1. Vocalize everyday for 30 minutes to an hour
2. 4 private voice lessons
3. 2 coaching sessions
4. 1 live vocal performance
5. 1 live performance 
6. 1 NY Industry Audition
7. 1 new demo performance
8. 25 health conscience meals 
9. 20 healthy body conditioning or dance classes 
10. 5 charitable events 

Out of the ten areas I have been vocalizing everyday and have actually found a new way that is lots of fun.  I warm up using a CD given to me by my previous vocal coach and then I turn on my favorite Broadway CD and then grab my mic and amplifier and sing along as if I am on stage.  

As for the other areas I have completed my 2 coaching sessions, as well as my live performance which took place on May 12th at IDO Sushi at 29 7th Avenue with pianist Tommy Mandel who was WONDERFUL! and made me sound wonderful. Before I left my day job one of my co-workers (who I recently discovered had a career on Broadway) gave me a great prep talk and told me "Sing for yourself" and that is just what I did!

The next day, May 13th, I completed my inspirational live vocal performance / concert by seeing Wycliffe Gordan's Jazz A La Carte at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY.  I did not go to this performance thinking I would walk out feeling inspired vocally by this event... however I was pleasantly surprised.  17-year-old Nikki Yanofsky graced the stage and sang one of my favorite songs, "Someone to Watch Over Me" and she did an AMAZING job of making the song her own.  I was inspired not only by the purity in her voice but how much the music was in her body and movements.  She is inspirational and I am honored to have seen her perform live.

This week I am hoping to knock out the 1 NY Industry Audition, get some of the conditioning classes under my belt and find some charitable events to attend... So we will see what happens! 

Today I Am... ignoring the overwhelmed feeling! :-)

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30 DAY FULL VOICE CHALLENGE HEALTHY MEAL ~ Turkey Chili

One element of the 30-Day Full Voice Challenge is to eat 25 healthy meals.  As soon as I am told that I need to eat something healthy what do I do... run and buy a donut! SMH


On this day for lunch I enjoyed a cup of yummy Turkey Chili from one of my favorite delis! Now... to get the remaining quota in!


Today I practiced for 45 minutes working on Diana Ross' version of "Them There Eyes"


Tomorrow... LIVE PERFORMANCE! :)


Happy Singing! 

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Loving Deborah Norville & Nate Berkus

Visiting the Nate Show 

January 16, 2011
By Deborah NorvilleReposted from http://dnorville.com/article.php?id=191

The Nate Show is all about feathering your nest and making your home the best it can be, but when I visited with Nate, it was a combination fix-up of both a desperately bare bedroom -- and -- a desperately disheartened young woman.  You'll see all the details on the show (airdate January 17, check local listings).

As many of you know, I am a life-long seamstress.  From makingmy own clothes in the old days (you try to buy a wardrobe on $75 a week!), these days I am sewing for the home.  I know the personal sense of confidence and mastery I feel from "doing it myself," and I thought that might be a useful skill to pass along to this young lady.

She moved to New York last year, very highly educated, but unable to find a job in her field.  Which meant, unable to fix up her spacious apartment the way she wanted. Her bedroom was literally a bed - nothing more.  So barren was the room, it made her so sad, she slept on the couch, rather than a room that made her sad to realize how much 'wasn't' happening with her job search.  With tears she told me the room made her feel like a failure.  She answered a call made by Nate for folks who needed help with their decor.

Nate called me in to help.  Our budget was limited, but I knew I wanted both the maximum bang for the buck -- and -- for our young lady to 'have some skin' in the game.  I wanted her to help create whatever we did for her room.

Well, we did a lot!  You'll see the results of her apartment on the Nate Show, but suffice it to say, she was thrilled -- and this time the tears in her eyes, were tears of joy.

One of my tricks was to take a super inexpensive wool/jute rug ($89 at Ikea!) and 'customize' it by taping a border around the edges, painting it, and removing the tape.  We did a black border so it would be more versatile, but it's a great way to bring a custom color into your room.  

Another trick, which you see me demonstrating here to Nate, is to take lengths of a fun print fabric and create wall hangings that add color and drama to a room, without blasting a hole in your budget.  Here we are at the sewing machine, just as our young lady was earlier, sewing easy-to-do borders along the selvages.  Add a casement opening at the top an a hem and you are good to go.  This can be hung on a dowl behind a bed (as we did in the bedroom) to dress up the headboard, behind a sofa as an affordable focal point, and of course the same technique can be used to make down-and-dirty curtains to jazz up a drab room.

Well, it was a thrill for me to be on Nate's show -- he's such a cutie!  And awfully nice.  But it was a bigger thrill to see the look on this young lady's face -- both when she saw her room and was in the studio to be on national tv!! 

But maybe best of all was the third time I saw tears.  That was when I presented her with the handmade pillow I whipped up just for her.  Knit on one side, and crocheted on the other ( yes, with Deborah Norville Yarn!), she was so touched by the gesture.  I feel all of us need something to snuggle that's soft.  As I said, the pillow was made with love and lots of positive energy that I knew she was going to take her successfully through her job search.  I can't wait to hear how it ends for her!





REPOSTED FROM http://dnorville.com/article.php?id=191





CONTENT NOT WRITTEN BY ALEESHA NASH.  THIS WAS REPOSTED FROM http://dnorville.com/article.php?id=191

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HAVING CRUSTY & WARM FEELINGS

CRUSTY & WARM FEELINGS

When you hear the word "baguette,” what do you think of? I know that I instantly think about a warm piece of bread that is crusty on the outside, soft, and warm on the inside. YUM!

Feelings can be sort of like this and when we are dealing with conflict I think, it is important to get familiar with your personal baguette of feelings! :-)

So when you get mad what comes out? Is it anger, resentment, hate, fear, frustration, mistrust, passivity, blame, or what about jealousy?  When we are angry at someone what are we really feeling on the inside that makes us lash out with the crusty feelings? Things like love, disappointment, pain, fear, regret, sadness, rejection, insecurity, or hopelessness are some things that come to mind.

If we take a moment to think about a time when we allowed our crusty feelings to take over and lead us through a conflict that ended with hurt feelings... go back in your mind and think about how you were really feeling. Were you disappointed that someone hurt you?  And instead of stating that you were disappointed, you lashed out and yelled at him or her about how he or she is "always" doing something to you!

Anyway - I know I have had my share of crusty arguments but I think going forward I will attempt to deal with my conflicts better by getting to know myself better and getting in touch with my warm center and then letting the warm and soft feelings come out when I am trying to resolve or prevent a conflict!

Now what will you think of when you hear the word "baguette"?

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