There were lots of good articles this past week! Perhaps there was some built up energy from the July 4 festivities.
Pianist and scholar Robert Levin speaks at Curtis Commencement on May 16, 2009. If you click on nothing here, you must listen to this if you are a classical musician. It takes about 15 minutes. It’s worth it. [It's not from the time period specified in this post's title, but it's still great.]
Make Your Audition Pianist Happy by Billie Whittaker on her blog Good Company is an informative and funny article. It is specifically written for singers, so you should definitely check it out.
Sitting Quietly, Doing Something from the New York Times bog Happy Days is about the science of happiness. In particular, it is about a Buddhist monk who is demonstrably the happiest man in the world. Turns out that happiness is trainable. There’s also an embedded video that is very interesting.
I Don’t Know How they Do it by Jessica Duchen at Standpoint. This is an appreciative article about Joyce DiDonato who sang Rosina in Barber of Seville with a broken leg. It goes on to ask for pity for singers who cancel due
…[Continue reading Weekly Gathering: July 10-17]
Sometimes the posts listed here will be from non-music sources, and I think that’s just fine since we as singers need to develop all of ourselves to improve.
The Healthy and Fit Algorithm
from Zen Habits is a good reminder about the little steps it takes to remain healthy.
Prospective, Upcoming, And Current Music Majors -Here Is A Great Little, Free, Ear Training Program
from MusTech.net has a good looking ear training program. As the author reminds us, ear training is often a killer in college programs.
Employee or Entrepreneur? The Pros and Cons of Self-Employment
from Get Rich Slowly is a good piece that discusses the personal gains and losses from entering the self-employed life. For anyone who wants to teach a private studio or work as a solo artist, there are some good points to consider here.
Tapering for Performance
on Music Teacher’s Helper: Blog is a good piece about the changes to a teacher’s strategy when a student is approaching a major performance, such as a recital.
Eating to Fuel Exercise
from the Well blog on the New York Times site is a good reminder about when and how much to eat. As someone who has
…[Continue reading Weekly Gathering]
The Weekly Gathering (named after a singing concept taught to me by my current teacher) will feature some of the better singing and music articles I’ve found around the web in the previous week.
From Classical Singer Magazine: The Legacy of Richard Miller
NPR’s Report on Better Breathing: Baby Steps to Better Breathing
Vocal Advice’s Article on “Would-be” teachers of singing. It’s calm but hard-hitting: To ‘would-be’ teachers of singing: on inexperience and charlatanry
And vibrato.
Rachel Velarde’s article at Music Teacher’s Helper on Applauding Guidelines: “To Applaud or Not to Applaud, that is the Question”
Rachel Velarde’s article on her own blog about voice studio promotion: Promoting Your Studio-Ideas
From the Well Blog: 11 Health Myths That May Surprise You
From Finding my Singing Voice: Can music make us more empathetic?
From the relatively new but very promising blog MusicEdMajor.net: 5 Low-Stress Ways to Stay Musically Active Over the Summer
I may pick up this book. The Well Blog on the New York Times just wrote a piece on Don’t Swallow Your Gum! Myths, Half-Truths and Outright Lies About Your Body and Health. The article itself is pretty funny, and it exposes some truths that we singers tend to hold as self evident as myths (for example, why do we believe that milk is bad for singing?).
Check it out here.
Here.
This is an article discussing the career of the ever present and commendable Placido Domingo. This guy is just amazing.
This is an article that lists options for people who have recently lost their jobs and their health insurance along with it. Such information may be especially valuable for young singers who do not have a job with benefits but are too old to remain on their parent’s plan.
Here.
Music critic, pianist, and author is taking questions at the New York Times website. Several questions and answers have been published, and they have been thoughtful and thought-provoking. I encourage anyone interested in classical music to give this a few minutes to read over.
City Opera is facing an enormous budget shortfall, and they have just hired a new general manager in the person of George Steel. This article discusses the challenges for the company and its new leader.
Here.
The New York Times music critic Anthony Tommasini wrote an article about singer’s looks in the opera. It compared and contrasted the leading ladies of Orfeo et Euridice and Lucia di Lammermoor Stephanie Blythe and Anna Netrbko respectively.
It’s broader point is that looks and a pretty voice are not what makes a performance great but rather the ability to take and own the stage. Along the way, you will find a long sound sample of Stephanie Blythe singing “Che faro senza Euridice” followed by some recit an instrumental portion and then a rousing final chorus.
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