I went ahead and booked a date to do a show in NYC. (It’s Saturday, Oct. 7 at 1pm at The Green Room 42 if you wanna mark your calendar. Tix avail once I get my form all filled out.)
I booked it because I found out my very SPECIAL creative resistance isn’t your garden variety opposition.
Oh no, your singular unicorn enneagram 4 here has to have the stealth, undetectable kind of creative blocks that can shape shift into all manner of benevolent forms.
Some manifestations include —
Telling myself I should only focus on one thing (prolly just teaching.)
Telling myself that taking time to work on creative projects is selfish and makes me a substandard dad and hubby.
YouTube videos.
I told you a couple weeks ago about how I got the tappity tap on my shoulder to start walking my talk and put my money where my mic is. ?
So, I did.
Now I’m like, “Woo!” And “Crap.” But mostly “Woooo!”
I got in my studio early this morning and started making noises and breaking down the opening number I’m planning. It might be a terrible idea, and it might, as the kids say, slap.
We’ll see.
But right now, there are some parts that are bad.
Noah heard the video playback as I toasted waffles this morning, and said, “Daddy, you’re not the champion of the Frozen 2 song.”
(See? Maybe a terrible idea. I’ll keep you posted.)
That’s what all this processy stuff is for.
Things I remembered this morning I wanna share with you are —
2 questions you need to sit with and know for yourself song by song and phrase by phrase:
- Who am I?
- What do I believe is happening?
The answers to these will guide every vocal decision you make. If you don’t have a clue about these ideas, you’ll lack a very important compass.
You’ll jump in to making sounds and learning notes disconnected from the meaning of the song, and if that’s not clear to you, it won’t be clear to folks listening.
And while you may sound objectively terrific, the reason you’re singing at all will be lost. (Sounding good isn’t a good enough reason.)
I get anxious about whether or not I can make the sounds well, so I rush ahead to make sure I can figure that out.
I have to slow down and let these questions percolate, give myself some time not to know, and even let them bubble while I go about my day. Usually the fun answers come when I’m scrubbing something or walking somewhere.
Always ask those questions.
In each song, even if you’re being you and not playing a character, you’re expressing a facet of your identity, and there are thousands of possibilities. And that point of view is gonna inform how you make sounds about what you think is happening.
The other crucial thing for me is to video myself.
This provides empirical evidence in all directions.
I listen back to things I think must have sounded rough, and I’m pleasantly surprised. Or I listen back to something I think I nailed, and I’m like, whoah, I’m gonna need to approach that differently.
This happens a lot with intonation. I’ll hear the fundamental frequency strong in my inside hearing, but the way it comes out in the room is flat. Womp womp.
I have to shape my tract with more bright color to mitigate that. It sounds too bright in my head, but I listen back, and I’m like, “Oh, ok. That’s solid.”
You’ll also listen to yourself with empathetic mirror neurons and be able to feel where you have inhibitors and energy blocks.
Happened to me today as well. I listened back and felt constriction around my larynx a couple times — “Hmmmm. That felt pretty good when I sang it. But listening back alerted me that there could be more ease and freedom.”
I’m excited, and it feels great to listen to your heart and walk accordingly.
And remember — if you’re gonna be in NYC Saturday Oct 7 and you ain’t already got lunch plans, put the show on your calendar. Here’s a Google Calendar Link you can add — just click it, and it’s there!
There’s gonna be some Roy Orbison, Tracy Chapman, William Finn, Rufus Wainwright, Bonnie Raitt, Mr. Sondheim, Craig Carnelia, Carlisle Floyd, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, and songs from The Grass Harp and The Spitfire Grill. That’s the plan right now.
I’ll let you know if it becomes an all-polka show.
And I’m joined by my friend and colleague Scott Nicholas on keys who is the objective bees’ knees. ??
And if you want a little more behind the scenes on how to construct a program be it for your own cabaret, one person show, or plaint to a credit card customer service because you blanked on your payment date, I made you this video:
Always remember — there’s only one you, and folks need to hear the story only you can sing.
In fact, I think that’ll be the title of my show — “Only One You.” See how you inspire me?
Boom! Now go sing.
And
Love much,
Dan
PS I’ve recently discovered Nahre Sol’s YouTube channel — classically trained pianist Juilliard grad who shares terrific in-depth content on what she’s working in. Recommend!
PPS If you haven’t read Steven Pressfield, he has a terrific book called The War of Art.
