My Voice

I've been thinking a lot about My Voice. My voice used to mean my singing voice. I am a Mezzo-Soprano in the classical singing world; a Lead/Baritone in the Barbershop a cappella world. 

Like so many of us, my whole world is shifting. I have quit my affiliation/membership with Sweet Adelines International, a women's Barbershop organization with which I began singing with in 1991, fresh out of college. And my quartet has broken up after 11 years. Those stories are for a different day, but suffice to say that after 30+ years of singing barbershop, and now I am not - well, it has left a huge gap in my life. 

 My Voice isn't my singing voice so much anymore.

Once I joined Sweet Adelines, the Chorus & Quartet were, for the most part, priority number 1 in my life. Singing excellent Barbershop a cappella takes a lot (A LOT) of time, thought, preparation, planning - lol, not to mention practice. I started grieving the loss of leaving my tribe of like-minded, passionate-about-this-art-form women and friends in 2021, so my feelings of loss are managed - but Who Am I without all of *THAT*?!

I say all that to say now... I've got time to focus on something I really want, but it feels so incredibly loose and wide open that I'm not taking steps toward what I really want! I feel like I'm just kinda floating along in all this 'free time' - enjoying the luxury of no deadlines, no obligations.

 

So if My Voice is not my singing voice for awhile; at least, not for now... then I need to find my Writing Voice. I want to pursue writing. 

 

So... what is my Writing Voice? Just how do I find it? What do I write about? What do I care about? What am I passionate about? What do I have to say? What can I write about that will allow me to be financially independent? Or, to put it another way; what will I write about that someone else wants to read and for which I will be compensated?

* * *

I'm going to be doing a real estate course called "100 Days to Greatness" and it starts 8/24. So I've been mulling around the whole "100 Days" theme:

• 100 Days of Blog Writing Every Day
• 100 Days of no spending (lol, no Amazon!)
• 100 Days of Reading for pleasure again
• 100 Days of commitment to Whole Food, Plant Based No Oil eating
• 100 Days of learning to cook delicious (and new) vegan recipes
  
• 100 Days of No Processed Food (another way of saying the above, sort of)
• 100 Days of Journaling

There's so much I'm interested in... Focus is a discipline of which I have often fallen short in the past. And yet, I can lose myself in projects. I can "super-focus" and time falls away. I love when that happens!

 

* * * 

What do I want my life to look like in a year?

This was the answer given to me when I asked the question, "Where do I start?"

I would like to be able to financially support myself from anywhere. Ideally, from my truck and trailer rig that might be parked at the White River campground at Mount Ranier National Park in Washington, for instance; that I can hang out in the summer for about 3 weeks or more... writing, reading and enjoying the cool weather. 

I would like to be able to play my guitar and ukulele, cook healthy meals in my Instapot, drink delicious herbal tea and meet other travelers. Perhaps I can even perform a little at some of the RV Parks around the country.

 

I would like to make learning tracks for those who still sing Barbershop, lots of talented musicians don't read music and having a track to teach you the song and your part is helpful. It keeps my "voice in the game" and since I love learning, I'll always be learning a new song!

 

I see myself with a little four-footed furry companion or two, canine preferred since I am allergic to cats :(.

I see myself on my own, but seeing friends and family along my journey. I see myself blogging my adventures - Instagram and maybe even a YouTube channel as well.

* * *

Let's start with blogging, I think. To write every day, starting with a goal of writing every day for 100 days, building the habit and the discipline of writing even when I don't "feel like it." Of writing even when I have nothing to say. Writing about people, places and experiences that have impacted me and what I have learned or gained from these things?

It's New Year (2018) Already?! aka My Why

Eagles beat the Patriots in the biggest football game of the year this past Sunday. My favorite ad was the Dirty Dancing Themed NFL commercial with Eli Manning & Odell Beckham, Jr. Way Fun!  The Tide ad was a close second... but wait, this wasn't going to be a post about the Big Game ads... (However, if you want to see more of *those* ads from 1980 to now... Super Ads Database is your place!)

Okay... so what am I writing about? Ummm... well, according to my last blog post in *cough cough* October, I'm supposed to be purposefully writing 1,000 words a day.

I can't defend myself of my massive failure at that. But if you watch this video, you'll see how I've done.

Himself & I decided that New Year Resolutions of healthy eating and habits (a continual resolution, often restarted on arbitrary days in the middle of the year) begin after the Big Game day. I joined Weight Watchers 2 weeks ago for online and meetings, but haven't been to a meeting yet. I've tracked a few meals, but have not earnestly devoted my thoughts and time to get back on the plant-based wagon.

And regaining stamina and energy through losing weight and walking every day for 40 minutes is key to this post: the discovery of My Why.

My Why is Barbershop. There. I said it. Singing a cappella is encompassed in that, but honestly... Singing and Performing, Learning and Teaching Barbershop is my why.  The other day I likened Barbershop music to the Tardis (12 min vid) - small and square on the outside, but when you enter inside, it is So Much Bigger! Love Matt Smith at 4:10, by the way.

Yes, there can be Barbershop that is cheesy. But really, we love cheese. We are a cheese-loving nation, aren't we? Cheese on anything (almost) makes it better. Cheesy Grits. Nachos. Cheese in rice. Cheesy beans on toast. Cheese on a baked potato. Only Barbershop Cheese doesn't pile on fat or calories. I happen to be going slowly toward eating plant-based... which means no more cheese for me. But believe me that I know cheese is a beautifully-tasty food, and yes, for me, the cornier the joke is, the better (corn = cheese in this comparison). So I am not disparaging cheese.

Yes, Barbershop has (among the uninitiated) the perception of only being sung by old guys in boater hats and striped vests... So? Who cares if they're a little cheesy? I'd rather have cheesy nice guys than slick, despicable snakes in the grass. And there are some super talented young 'uns (men and women) who are definitely NOT "your grandparents barbershoppers." Young or old, good singing attracts everyone!

Thanks to Deke Sharon, who has been described as the "Father of contemporary a cappella," the distinct style of singing known as Barbershop has been blessed as A Cappella's Martial Art. In other words, if you learn to sing Barbershop harmony well than you have the foundation on which to become a Ninja of a cappella singing.

"You might think Barbershop is only old guys singing old songs, but you're wrong. Sometimes the songs are new, sometimes the guys are young, but you know what? There's a lot to be learned from your elders, and if a song has lasted a century, it's still around for a good reason." ~ Deke Sharon

So, you ask, why exactly is Barbershop like the Tardis? Because on the outside, Barbershop is square, and not very complicated. Heck, one of the hallmarks of the style is that it is built on simple melodies and relatively easy to sing. Once you learn more about how an overtone is produced (which is the goal of every quartet and chorus singer) however, you realize that there is so much more to what barbershop singing requires in order for those chords to ring. The Merriam-Webster technical definition of an overtone is:

"one of the higher tones produced simultaneously with the fundamental and that with the fundamental comprise a complex musical tone."

Sweet Adelines International defines it a thus:

"When the music is sung accurately and with good breath support and vocal techniques, barbershop harmony produces overtone vibrations that create a resonant ring unique to this form of music."

In other words... when you're doing it right, the singing produces another audible "voice" heard high above (and sometimes below) the actual notes being vocally produced. It's acoustical magic and way-hey too much math for me to even try to explain in more precise language... but singing barbershop, when it's all done correctly - creates a bigger sound than what is actually being sung. Barbershoppers call that "Expanded Sound" and it sounds like more people are singing than are actually singing. Like the Tardis. See? It looks all square and normal, and then you enter in to the overtone series and Banga-boom(!) it's BIGGER!

And wait, there's MORE! It won't be in this post... but there's so much more to reveal regarding vowels, arrangements, music theory, physical and emotional benefits of singing alone and singing together... The Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS), formerly known as SPEBQSA (Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America) has it right in their motto #everyoneinharmony. As does Deke Sharon with his #harmonythroughharmony.

Singing together, I believe, can change the world.

Understanding that physiologically it is easier on our vocal mechanism to sing than it is to talk; leads me to believe that while not everyone has the natural, born-this-way voice gift... Everyone has the physical mechanism to sing. And has to ability to learn to sing. It is something that can be taught.

And singing together in a barbershop chorus (where not everyone has to have a solo voice), creating those overtones and sharing the pure joy of creating music and overtones with others might just possibly change the world.

In the Christian world, since 1982 when Keith Lancaster wanted to form a ministry through a cappella singing, there's been Acappella Ministry. #hearitinourvoice was a motto they used, and is now a collection of released songs from the Acappella company. This ministry has brought so much joy and music to people around the world!