Exploring New Worlds

This week's work has been a lesson in taking what's on offer, diving into it and seeing what happens. I suspect that most of us performers find ourselves in that position at times, especially women who sing certain parts (the supply & demand thing) or are of  certain age (my theater friends tell me). Opportunities in one's preferred genre might be slim or groups working in it may not exist locally. We can choose something from what's available or not sing at all. 

Although I've happily sung Bach at various times, the Baroque isn't my favorite period. Still, when the opportunity to sing in the chorus at a nearby Bach Festival, it seemed like a gift after having gone through several years of little classical in the repertoires of the choral groups I'd been in. So I decided that instead of continuing to miss singing madrigals all summer, I'd dive into this. 

Along with learning the parts via the scrolling score recordings I've been able to find on YouTube, I've been reading a bit about Bach and his times. Watching videos about dances of the period, the fashions in clothing and even something about the German Lutheran church of the time, for which Bach composed much of his music. 

Even for those of us who consider ourselves Scanners (many interests in small bits), sometimes being a Diver (one all-consuming passion) for a week or month can yield surprising results. It could be a new way of approaching rehearsals. It could be interest in a new genre. It could veer off into side ventures such as exploring the history of the period, learning a new language or planning a trip. And in the midst of all of this, there's always the possibility of making new friends or finding a new enthusiasm. 

The water might be chilly at first. Or it may be warm and inviting right away. But you won't know until you dive in. 

Great Voices

Although popular music, jazz and related forms often include harmonizing parts for secondary or backup singers, these genres don't tend to work in limited ranges for specific parts the way classical or choral music does. In other words, the singer can choose the right material for her voice type and possibly transpose something initially unsuitable into a better key.  In some ways, these genres offer more opportunity for mezzos or contraltos to step out of the doo-wop chorus and shine on their own.  Here's a starter playlist of great voices in the middle to lower range.

Snow and Sun: Late Winter and Early Spring

What's Your Flavor?

Rolling Stone, in its "100 Greatest Singers" issue, described Karen Carpenter's voice as a "chocolatey" alto. It's perfect; I would never have dreamed up that particular adjective but now that I think about it, it fits her voice perfectly.

Lower voices can have richness and weight. Here are some other words I've heard or read that have described Mezzo or Contralto voices: bluesy, smoky, velvety, and dark. Even if your voice isn't one of these (I'm pretty sure mine isn't!), it's possible to develop some deeper color (or you can think of it as flavor or feel, depending on which of your five senses is sharpest) when needed for a particular piece. Simply listening to great singers can give you a sense of how it should sound.

If you're a first alto or if you feel most comfortable singing the middle part in a three-voiced women's piece, it helps to develop your lower register as well as your high one. This may take some work; if you have private lessons, you can ask your instructor for exercises that help. I know my own voice gets cranky when it has to dip beneath the G below Middle C, so if the choir is working on a piece with a very low alto line, I have to practice daily.

Here are several videos or recordings of just a few voices that have the richness I'm talking about.  I've tried to include examples from various musical genres but the list is just a start.

• If you're classically-minded or love opera, videos or recordings by the great contralto Marian Anderson and mezzos Denyce Graves & Jessye Norman are the perfect place to start.
• The Dark is My Delight, Brian Asawa, countertenor. Some listeners don't like countertenor voices but I find his exceptionally clear, with the perfect quality for the Elizabethan-era music he sings here. 
• Maddy Prior (Steeleye Span) and June Tabor (Fairport Convention), two English folk singers who were active during the British folk revival of the 60s-70s, have put out numerous solo, duet and group recordings. This is a sample of one of their traditional songs.
• Anything by KD Lang is inspiring, but I especially like her 2010 Winter Olympics version of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah.
• Annie Lennox has a wide range of work but to me her voice is especially suited to ballads like this. 
• Lena Horne will please jazz, Broadway and big band enthusiasts. 

Wikipedia has comprehensive lists of non-classical contralto and mezzo recording artists. Listening to many different voices can provide additional ideas and inspiration.

Time to Get Back to Work

Since most groups take summer breaks, early fall can feel like back-to-school time. Come September, many of us are ready to get going, see friends that we haven't seen all summer and start challenging ourselves again. At the same time, it can be hard to amp up the energy and get back into full work mode, especially after having a summer full of free evenings.

Setting a few personal goals can help, even if singing is something you do purely for enjoyment. Goals need to be meaningful only to you. They could include such things as

• Improve sightreading skills. For example, as someone who finds working with numbers a challenge, tricky beats and rhythms give me ongoing opportunities to work on this particular aspect of reading music.
• Learn to enjoy music from unfamiliar genres. During rehearsals for the 2014 Christmas concerts, I was surprised to discover that my two favorite pieces turned out to be what I'd call contemporary, which was a switch for me.
• Make 1-2 new friendships or, if it's a small group, get to know everyone in your section on a neighborly level.
• Try out for small ensemble work if your director or chorus offers this opportunity. For me, one of last year's high points was being able to participate in a smaller group doing Benjamin Britten's Hymn to St. Cecilia. It was like musical boot camp - the hardest project I'd had in years, but very rewarding. 

If you use goals to turn up your level of engagement and enjoyment rather than merely adding another "should" to your to-do list, they'll ease the transition into the busy season.

The Workout

Some people get hits of emotional oxygen by running marathons, dancing all night at a favorite club, hours-long gab-a-thons with friends or bursting into speech in an unfamiliar language at church. I get mine in boot camp rehearsals. 

Nearly everyone I know has a favorite method of achieving a body-mind-spirit high by undertaking an extreme challenge, being "all there" during the work, and relishing the triumph upon overcoming obstacles and meeting goals. For some of us, doing this as part of a team enhances the satisfaction immeasurably. These days my workout consists of rehearsals with an ensemble of about 30 singers from several community choirs working on Benjamin Britten's Hymn to St. Cecilia, possibly the most difficult piece I've ever encountered. 

The Britten piece is part of a season finale joint concert by my own group, Vancouver USA Singers and the Clark College Chorale, and will be sung by a small ensemble consisting of members from both groups. Each ensemble member attends not only his or her group's regular rehearsals, but also that of the other group, plus an intense 3-hour practice every Saturday. It's a big committment. And the Saturday director works us hard. 

However, after each energetic, sweaty Saturday workout, we leave with the satisfaction of having accomplished something major. Every bit of tricky timing, every chromatic run, every tongue-twisting phrase we've mastered brings the same feeling that I remember having after a 3-mile run, when I still ran, only this feels even better because I'm surrounded by a gang of other equally happy people. 

I think we all need an activity where we commit to pushing ourselves to excellence, work harder than we think we can stand, break through barriers and savor our victories with kindred spirits. Such an activity can help us survive rocky times during relationships, toxic jobs, financial difficulties and other less welcome challenges. It's easy to drop out of "extracurriculars" when problems threaten to sweep us overboard. But those times are, in fact, the times when we need most need an energy-infusing workout for mind, body and spirit. 

When the air in your life gets stale or you feel like you can't breathe, you need your source of emotional oxygen more than ever. 

Performers' High

After the small ensemble I'd been part of for 13 years disbanded, the director told me that although she missed our rehearsals - just a bunch of madrigal enthusiasts singing together - and our potlucks, she didn't miss performing. For her, it was a relief to not get into costume and spend the entire month of December plus significant chunks of spring weekends playing to crowds.

Everyone who sings with others has different reasons for doing it, but I have to admit that, unlike my friend, performing is one of my reasons. During the year following our dissolution, before I connected with my current community chorus, something was missing. I sang in church choir but it wasn't the same. Life itself felt a little boring. Does that mean that I don't love music for its own sake?

Some musicians would say yes; any motivation other than pure love of practicing an art sullies the experience.  I disagree. Earning money doing music has never been a goal of mine but I do love applause, especially when it seems sincere. I certainly don't look down on writers who want recognition for their blogs or artists who want to display their work at juried shows, even if they never sell anything. To me it makes perfect sense. We all want to be recognized for something.

If that recognition comes from our day job or career, well and good. If high pay comes with the recognition, great! But for many of us, this doesn't happen. That's why we seek recognition elsewhere. And if the public performances entail wearing a costume, improvising, drawing the audience into the scene or hamming it up, all the better - it lets many of us bring out Selves that are kept in cages on the job, at home or in "serious" settings.

That's why I love performing for the public. And I suspect this is why some of my friends in music, theater and dance, friends who'd be called introverts in workaday life, love performing. Stereotypes are like cages, and introverts are often shunted away into a cage labeled Quiet and Self-Effacing. Family, friends and colleagues, bless their hearts, sometimes work very hard to keep us in those cages ("That's so unlike you!"). Being on stage (or its outdoor casual equivalent) is one way to break free.

So while I respect my musical colleagues who are fine with strumming or humming to themselves at home or among a small group of friends, I'll always keep the stage door open. It lets in fresh air, which makes it easier to breathe no matter what circumstances I find myself in at home or work.