I got my hair cut again. It is the shortest yet. It didn't turn out quite like I envisioned it, but I still like it. I tried taking a picture with Photobooth, but I look terrible this morning... red eyes, messy hair, tired smile... so bad I didn't want to try any more. It doesn't help that I haven't put in my contacts yet because my eyes were tired of them, so maybe I will try again later.
Thomas got his hair cut too. He looks really good. So classy. It is amazing how much younger he looks when he trims his beard and gets a hair cut. But I think he is such a handsome guy anyway. And he has a really sweet singing voice.
We have both begun taking voice lessons. I have had about four and he has had two now. I love it. It has made me more conscious of singing regularly and more confident about singing on my own. Just the thing I need for teaching music to K-8th graders. I also just realized that I do what I don't want my actors to do. I direct myself, rather than letting my teacher hear and teach me. I have this nasty break in my voice between my upper and lower registers. When I am singing, I back off through that break so nobody can hear it. If I feel like I will not be able to make a nice sound, I just sing quieter. My teacher is showing me though, that if support that sound and don't pull back, my voice doesn't do anything crazy like crack or squeak, but smoothly transitions between the registers.
She is a really good teacher too. She is full of positive criticism. She is good a improvising exercises that will suit my voice. And she uses visual images to describe thought processes. Like when I am singing over that break, she told me to imagine my bellybutton connected to my uvula connected to the tip of my head and the sound just slides up. Amazingly, however weird that sounds, it works. and when I come down, I picture little hills that I have to come down, but there is always another peak to go back up.
We also talked about what to do with hands while singing. They are supposed to be by my sides so now I have to practice not holding them in front of me so I don't look like I am one of the children from Sound of Music. My shoulders tend to tighten up when I let them hang, so I am working on relaxing my shoulders, thinking about little hills, memorizing the words...
My teacher says that singing is 90% mental work. I would have to agree, but I still sing best when I just let it come out of me and don't think about it too much. Once again a balance between relaxing and control. What good lessons for me to learn.
Thomas is taking lessons too. He has an amazing range and such a gentle voice. It is absolutely gorgeous. And the song he is learning is called Homeward Bound. It is about being free to wander but always coming home. When I hear him sing it, I get warm fuzzies all over. And as much as I like listening to the trained voices of Il Divo, I would rather listen to my man.
This is tending toward a long post so I will mention one more thing. I am trying to design a Cheshire Cat Costume. But it can't be too classy or purple at all or just a pair of pajamas. And what to do about his face? Mask? Make-up? How do you get a smile all the time? Any suggestions are welcome.
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