Music

Here is your sleepy song of the day 😴💤 presenting “Love” from Robin Hood. I think I was too little when I watched Robin Hood to know and remember this song existed but I googled Disney love songs and to my pleasant surprise, it came up. It’s a refreshing one, simple, short and sweet, yet full of meaning. Will do my usual singing critiques, but first, about what’s been going on. LOST MV: One week in and my amazing videographer has already been hard at work. The team has created a sneak preview of the MV that is to come. He is clearly a master of lighting, for one - the flowers and green in the morning light look gorgeous. I won’t do it justice by just talking about it here… If you haven’t seen it already, please check it out on my feed 😇 The post also lists all of the talented members of the crew involved in the production. I’m just so lucky and thankful 🩷 On another note🎵 3 more weeks of my weekly progress update until I hit 6 months since starting lessons! I feel like it’ll be a good time to finish off, since there are so many more things going on and coming up. I do feel like it’s been a great way to keep me accountable to practice regularly, and I’m thankful for what it has helped me build and accomplish thus far. Thank you for following along on this journey with me ❤️ My own critiques of this video: -My goal was to sing softly, but intentionally. This was actually a really difficult song because Nancy Adams has a voice that comes off soft, almost “quiet,” flows mostly within head voice, and doesn’t seem to rush. Trying to emulate that, I started out singing it with an almost “sluggish” rhythm and tone, but after singing it over and over, I realized that it’s not about just being sluggish; she’s actually very intentional about how she sings this song. I wasn’t able to really grasp how to convey that, so I think at the end I just sound sleepy and a little lazy 😅 -Head voice, no chest voice. There are parts where I intentionally used head voice even where I could have hit the notes in chest voice. That was also hard to make intentional. Til next week. 🩵 #karaoke #disney #singing #singingcover #robinhood #love

Don’t judge me on that last long note… 🙈 I kinda cheated this week. This week’s video is definitely more focused on creating a character voice rather than using singing techniques (though theoretically they are intertwined). It was fun! At the same time, I wouldn’t say that it’s an accurate representation of my progress. I haven’t really been able to practice, and I also have a bit of a sore throat. Anyway, critiques about my singing later, first about what’s been going on. It has been a busy week, but in absolutely the best way possible. I can’t believe this is actually happening, but I was introduced to a videographer who took interest in filming an MV for my original song. Shoot day was on Sunday. It’s crazy that things are moving so smoothly and so quickly in pursuit of this goal. The only thing that can stop this momentum is literally my own mind; 🫥my imposter syndrome mind (is my song even good enough?), 🫥my perfectionist mind (I could have improved the song… is it even ready to be MV-ified?), 🫥my self-conscious mind (what are people going to think about me? Will they think I’m in over my head?), etc. But you know what, despite all of my worries and doubts, I’m moving forward with it. I feel like the stars are aligning too perfectly. And I feel like my grandma is the driving force behind it all, urging me to go forward with it in a way that is so her: gentle yet earnest. She is the clarity behind my doubt. I thought about her a lot during the shoot, both because I was encouraged to do so by the videographer and because I just couldn’t help but feel grateful that she brought me there. It was the most perfect day on the most beautiful set. I’m so excited for what is going to come out of it. I will intro the amazing team in a later post :) (continued in comments) #karaoke #disney #singing #singingcover #hercules #iwontsayiminlove

A turning point?! The “buttery” feeling I mentioned in week 19 might actually be an evolution of my voice. It wasn’t just that one time, it’s now been 3 weeks in a row that I’ve been feeling it. Is it a coincidence? Or maybe just a false sense of progress that’s inflated due to my lack of practice? Whatever the reason.. I do feel like I’m able to reach high notes with more ease, and longer notes with more stability in my breath, along with just a general feeling of “flow” in my voice. This week’s song is Reflection, which you may know that I sing intermittently for the sake of tracking progress within one song. I think this time, I can actually say my voice has shown some progress. Up until now I couldn’t really feel it but if I compare this vid to say, week 2, it makes me feel like I’ve come some way. A penny for your thoughts 🙏 My own critiques of this video: -Decorative frills need work. I’ll experiment with the mini runs in the chorus (the “I” in “who is that girl I see” and the “not” in “somehow I cannot hide.”) I haven’t been doing them thus far but I think I’m ready to give them a try. -The transitions from lower notes to higher notes need improvement. It’s quick but I’ve noticed that in order to reach a higher note I do a little slide (e.g. the “pass” in “I may never pass for a perfect bride,” “part” in “I’m not meant to play this part,” the “who” in “who is that girl I see”). I think my voice is trying to protect itself from hitting the wrong note, going to try and remove that slide and see what happens. -Was feeling short of breath throughout this entire take. I got nervous bc I was on a time crunch and was worried I wouldn’t get it done in time. Figured it would reflect me in a performance setting so I went with this take to show a different side. As always, this one was “good enough!” Should be back to the car next week 😜 Gratitude to karaoke rooms for their unwavering hospitality! Have a great week, and thank you for listening 🩵 <3, T #karaoke #disney #singing #singingcover #mulan #reflection

Late night karaoke room practice round 2. Except they didn’t have this song in their system, so I’m playing it out of my laptop (yes, I brought my laptop with me to karaoke 🤣). The things we do to make it work 🤓 A note about the practice and recording process. Singing truly is a sport. I recorded today’s song about 14 times before I decided to go with Take 8. I usually go through the process of rerecording in hopes that I can get a better version, but all the while having a backup option that is “good enough” just in case. Anyway, once I’ve sung something that many times, whether or not I feel it in my vocal cords, the quality begins to deteriorate. I guess I equate it to a sprinter, who can only practice at their max so many times until their muscles start to give out. I guess that’s why practice is so important, to keep myself “in shape.” I’ll have to increase that stamina over time (cue Taylor Swift treadmill workout? 🏃🏻‍♀️). I’ll say that this week I didn’t get much of it, so I was worried about how things would turn out, but luckily it went better than I expected. I don’t expect to get much practice this coming week either, so I’ll see if I have the luxury of saying the same thing next week! My own critiques of this video: -I tried channeling emotion in this take. Seems like my voice is softer than it could be, but it’s still projecting plenty. I tried different techniques to change the placement of my voice while singing, but when I did that, it didn’t come out as clean. I think part of it is being conscious about using techniques, but also trusting my voice to do its thing when emotion comes into play. -I usually only have vibrato when I’m lucky, and this time I didn’t have much vibrato in my voice at all. At the same time, there is stability in my long notes so it was still okay without. -Riffs could use some work. Small riffs like the ones in this piece are doable for me for the most part, but I still slip (e.g. you can hear that I don’t really land well for the last one). I guess that will come with practice. Thanks for listening. Hope you have a great week :) <3, T #karaoke #disney #singing #singingcover #pocahontas #ifineverknewyou

Karaoke without a mic? Suggested no one ever… until I didn’t have my car handy and needed a place to record myself without waking the kids. 😅 I thought the mic (echo and all) would make the sound quality better but it ended up sounded better without so I scratched the mic’d takes. The phone mic seems to get confused about the source of sound. For today’s post I sing Defying Gravity from Wicked, except I naively thought that the musical version and the movie version were gonna be the same and the timing ended up being VERY off. So here is that: the Cynthia Erivo version instrumental with the Idina Menzel version vocals. That and I am dueting myself 🙃 Maybe someday I’ll record a proper version, definitely did not do it justice this time (sorry Cynthia and Idina). I wanted to take a step back for a moment and look at my journey so far. I originally started this weekly series to track my progress over the span of 6 months starting on the day I began singing lessons. I’m at week 19, which means that I only have 6 more videos until I finish this series. I will be recording the last video for this weekly update on May 31st (the day after the full 6 months is up). So what am I going to do next? That’s the question I’ve been asking myself. But first, some reflections. This series has taught me so much. My major learnings: 1. First and foremost, about the importance of progress over perfection. If I could sit there and record takes until I was happy with them, I would never get around to posting a video, ever. Just feeling like something is “good enough” and going for it is such an uncomfortable and anxiety inducing feeling that I don’t know if I will ever get used to it. It’s such a huge leap of faith. It’s also a huge lesson in trusting the process, not the outcome, and in the importance of keeping at it. With every video, I’ve been having the opportunity to practice it. I hope and trust that there is something that will come out of being consistent. (continued in comments) #karaoke #musical #singing #singingcover #wicked #defyinggravity

I think we’ve found my lower limit 😆 (hint: it’s a low C, and I’m barely hitting it) I have never so carefully studied this song until today but I didn’t realize how stable yet decorated it is. It made me realize that songs these days are so full of lyrics and fast-paced, and although that makes it fun, there is also a lot of room to hide behind everything that’s going on. This song brought me back to the beauty of simplicity and the difficulty in the stillness of a simple melody - I feel very exposed singing this song. Not to mention that the low end of Carmen Twillie’s range is mind-blowing. I went into the song thinking I would be able to reach it, but dang that note is looooow (also sometimes I’m delusional). Try singing it - can you reach it? (It’s the “more” in “More to find than can ever be found”) On another note (hah🎵), I had my first ever singing recording experience yesterday. Recording something feels like such a commitment for me. For perfectionist me, it’s the epitome of an anxiety inducer. I was so nervous leading up to it, but working with an audio engineer who gets it (the talented Ms. Emma @sendingskylights ) has been an amazing experience so far. She reassured me that it’ll be fine, that she’s got me covered, and helped me go into the session feeling comfortable and natural. I can’t wait to share with you all what is to come. In the meantime, stay tuned :) My own critiques of this video: -Needs more stability, especially around low notes. At the same time, part of this goes back to what I said about honoring my voice’s natural range. Our vocal qualities are all different, but we all belong somewhere. -There is a natural vibrato that I hear throughout. It’s not a vibrato that I’ve heard come out of me very much before. I wonder what it is and where it’s coming from? I guess we’ll see if it keeps coming back. Honestly, it’s pretty exciting for me to hear it, but it’s also puzzling in that I have no control over it. Grateful for the fact that I’m able to sing. Have a great weekend 🩵 #karaoke #disney #singing #singingcover #lionking #circleoflife

You know how when life happens, it never happens evenly, it just happens all at once? Yeah last week was (another) one of those weeks for me. All of my commitments decided to throw a party at the same time and I felt compelled to attend all of them. It was a cycle of sleep deprivation, caffeine the next day, working too late at night, waking up early, repeat. Needless to say, I’m a bit drained. The good news is that the things I’m working on are meaningful so it’s mostly a “good busy” but of course, busy-ness and overdoing things takes a toll on the body and mind. In these moments, I think I need to take a step back and remember to check in with myself. Why am I doing all of the things I’m doing? What is truly important in my life? Also, how can I design my days better so that I can maintain a baseline level of energy in order to be positive towards myself and others? Questions that I need to ask myself often, but I don’t do it enough. Any tips, advice, or encouragement you have for me about things that have worked for you are very welcome 🙏 My own critiques of this video: -Need to hold out notes longer at the end of a phrase. I have a tendency to close my jaw too early and thus cut my notes short. -I have this thing where I often slide into a note, I think a big reason is because I’m afraid of not being able to reach it in a clean way if I just jump into it straight. This is probably something that I can adjust as I practice a song more. -The range of this portion seems to fit my voice pretty well. I attempted to sing the final portion of this song, but it was too much for me to handle in my state on this day 😅 To good sleep! #karaoke #disney #singing #singingcover #encanto #waitingonamiracle

Tuesday morning to myself 🙏 #singing #singingcover #piano #solojam #jam #musicroom #michaeljackson #maninthemirror #allegromusicfremont