Sunday, January 28, 2018

Musical Monday - So, you think bagpipes are boring?

I love how bagpipes are being used in such creative ways these days.  To this Scottish lass there is nothing better than the pipes.  But even those who may not LOVE the pipes as I do will enjoy this upbeat fun presentation.  Happy Monday!!

Sunday, January 21, 2018

Musical Monday - Georgia's Got Talent - Bohemian Rhapsody

This young choir is singing in their non-native tongue.  Could you do this well in another language?  Hmmm. 
Check out the judge singing along.  So fun!

Monday, January 15, 2018

Musical Monday - Boogie Storm Troupers

Here we go with more Star Wars.  We had a bit of a marathon over the holidays and I bet many of you did too.  This is quite different.  They have chosen some fun songs to move to.  They get your attention with the costumes and away they go.  It is only 2 minutes of dancing but oh my what they do with these costumes on. Medleys can be fun.

Sunday, January 7, 2018

Musical Monday - Hydrate the Smart Way for Singing

With the colder weather upon us, we need to know how to keep our bodies in great shape so that our voices will do what we need when we need them.  Here is a great article from VoiceCouncil Magazine that will help with just that.  

Hydrate the Smart Way for Singing
Water splashing
Dr. Rachael Gates, a voice wellness expert and author of ‘The Owner’s Manual to the Voice’ tells us how to most effectively lube our larynx for hydrated singing.

Swallow

Did you know that the water we swallow never actually touches our vocal cords? Everything that we swallow lands at the base of our tongue and travels around the voice box (larynx) and down into the food pipe (esophagus) just behind!
It is the motion of our swallowing that helps to raise and tip the voice box, dislodging mucus and leaving us with the feeling that we’ve rinsed off our instrument.
You can feel this raising and tipping motion of the voice box if you put your finger on the front most portion of your voice box known as your Adam’s Apple and swallow.

Humidify

Sweaty summers, dry winters, and high altitudes deplete your body of water and can take a toll on your vocal folds. Help your body maintain optimal hydration levels by keeping the air in your home (especially your bedroom) at 40% humidity.
Purchase a simple hygrometer from a hardware store to monitor your rooms’ humidity levels. Humidifiers and vaporizers can correct a dry living environment.
Whether to use a cool-mist humidifier or warm vaporizer is up to you. Both have tanks that need to be cleaned often with vinegar or soap and water and sanitized with hydrogen peroxide to reduce the transfer of bacteria and mold into the air. Filters need to be changed frequently (about one time each month).

Make the best citrus choice

Did you know that the acidic properties of an orange and lemon are different?
You may experience difficulty singing after drinking orange juice because of the thick phlegm the body produces to digest it. Lemon, however, is a natural mucolytic.
Adding a little bit of lemon to your water will cut through thick mucus secretions and actually encourage your body to produce plentiful thin mucus. Plenty of thin mucus is highly desirable for beautiful, healthy singing.
Be careful with actually sucking on a lemon, however. Undiluted, a lemon’s acidity can corrode tooth enamel – not recommended for singers’ pearly whites!

Know your caffeine levels

Caffeine is a stimulant and should be consumed carefully by singers. It can cause irritability and nervousness, it can also irritate the bladder and give us the need to urinate more often. Bodies can develop a tolerance to caffeine with regular consumption and not experience these effects, however.
Experts at the Mayo Clinic say that in excess of 500 mg, caffeine has a diuretic effect and causes our bodies to lose water.
Try not to mess with too much caffeine. What you’re really looking for to have a successful performance is stability. If you are not accustomed to caffeine, you’re probably wise not to start consuming caffeine.
Besides, as a serious singer you need plenty of water. You are hopefully rarely without your water bottle and are likely urinating often enough without caffeine as it is!
Caffeinated substances differ in how much caffeine they contain. Even among coffees, caffeine amounts vary. An 8oz cup of caffeinated coffee typically has 100mg of caffeine but, depending on the brand, the grind and the type of bean, can have anywhere from 58-281mg of caffeine!
Water evaporation contributes too; the older the pot of coffee (or tea), the higher the caffeine concentration.

Go herbal

Aside from coffee, caffeine is found in black teas, green teas, white teas, many sodas, chocolate, energy drinks, some medications and even some bottled water.
Because caffeine cannot be completely removed from something that is naturally caffeinated, “decaf” drinks contain some amount of caffeine. While decaf may be less of an issue, there are no regulations on how much caffeine must be removed for coffee to be considered decaffeinated and generally ranges from 5mg to 32 mg.
Herbal coffees and teas (e.g. mint, chamomile, hibiscus, and red “rooibus”) are caffeine-free, meaning they never had caffeine to begin with.