Music

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

Hello and thank you to those of you who recently followed me :) I’m honored and humbled that you are here. For some background about me - in my very first Insta post, I shared “My Story” where I describe what brought me to where I am today. In summary, it’s been a long decade, and a long time that my heart was aching for something more than it had. At the end of last year I couldn’t sit still anymore, and now the energy is breaking free. So here I am, more fulfilled than I ever have been, and just so grateful to be where I am now. Yesterday, I went to my lesson on very little sleep because of way too much coffee. Caffeine is my Achilles’ heel. We focused on relaxing my vocal cords through semi-occluded exercises with straws, and some massage. I recorded this video immediately after the lesson, so I was all warmed up. Of course the best preparation for optimal performance is good sleep, but it’s amazing what relaxation can do to help. My own critiques of this video: -I’m actually pretty happy with how this turned out, given I spent about 20 minutes total on learning the song + recording (bragging much). No, but in all honesty, today’s video made me feel like I’ve come a long way since I first started out these weekly posts. It’s taking me a shorter amount of time to notice the detail in a phrase to learn a snippet, and to get my voice to respond in the way I want. The other part of it is that I’ve learned to embrace “progress over perfection” more. So you might be seeing less perfected stuff 🙃 -Some instability around holding the long notes. Probably less of an issue if I’m standing. I also might need more work around breath control. Just texted my teacher for tips! To end, a quick thank you to all of you who have been following me along this journey. I can’t believe how happy I already am but there is so much more room to grow. Can’t wait to see where this takes me and to share it all with you 🩵 T P.S. Please reach out if you are a singer or musician and would be willing to collaborate with me! I am especially looking to expand my network in the Bay, but would love to collab digitally as well. #karaoke #disney #singing #singingcover #frozen #intotheunknown

During this past weekend’s lesson, My teacher heard a“stickiness” in my voice and mentioned an overall tension in my body. We focused on massage to help relieve my vocal cords and tongue of tension and tightness. She also recommended I get a full body massage because, “You need it.” I learned today that dryness of my throat before a performance can be an indication of a tight tongue, so in those moments it isn’t necessarily that I need water, which I thought was the obvious remedy, but instead, a stretch and massage of the tongue and voice box area. Will try that for the next performance. It’s been a while since I‘ve sung this version of Reflection, took me a couple takes just to get the lyrics right and I don’t know if I’m remembering the riffs correctly… but here it is. Could definitely use a little more practice to get it right, but I’m thinking I’ll try to brush it up, maybe make the riffs more fit for my style, and get it all ready for a future performance somewhere. My own critiques of this video: -Good key! This version is 1.5 steps lower than the Disney version. I felt so much more comfortable here than I usually do in the Disney version. I’m going to attempt to sing the other one in this key and see what happens. -Riffs obviously need polishing. My plan is to break them up into baby pieces and learn piece by piece so I can understand what’s going on and my voice can execute on something more concrete. These weeklies haven’t been a place where I really dive deep into something.. Maybe an idea for another regular post? 🤔😏 Thank you for watching, for reading, and for all the support ❤️ #karaoke #disney #singing #singingcover #mulan #reflection #christinaaguilera

Continuing with a series of sad/touching songs as I try to cope with grief in my own life. I had never heard this song before (I don’t remember watching Toy Story 2) but gosh just watching the music video made my heart break for Jessie. I’ve recently been trying not to get too attached to material objects because I just don’t see an end to the mountain of toys that are accumulating in our house, but it’s a nice reminder that something as simple as a toy can conjure up so many emotions and memories in a way that our minds can forget. My own critiques of this video: -High notes: relax into them. If I strain and try to just belt them out, it will reflect just that - strained. Not to mention, it probably will do some damage to my vocal cords. Also, I’m still having trouble understanding how to reach clarity with high notes. I feel a vibration that causes my voice to come out with friction, or at least it feels that way. Which leads me to the next point. -“In my range” - I had always believed the statement “IF I improve at singing THEN I will be able to reach high notes” was true, but I’m starting to understand that this isn’t necessarily the case. While there are always ways to improve my range, the quality of my voice is for the most part something that is fixed. I have been trying to come to terms with this. I see people who reach super high notes with amazing clarity, and to cut to the chase, I’m jealous. There’s an “awe-factor” that comes with being able to sing high notes, and I’m realizing that not all of those notes are able to be sung by me. My takeaways: I need to remember that the voice is an instrument, and there are instruments (like the saxophone) that have multiple types specifically made for different ranges. I don’t fully rule myself out of being able to reach high notes, but I realize that not all songs are meant for my voice and vv. I also need to respect the authenticity of my voice for what it is. Sometimes it might not be the right fit for a song, and that’s okay. With the right song choice, my voice can serve a unique purpose. And that’s where I can focus. #karaoke #disney #singing #cover #singingcover #toystory2 #whenshelovedme

I found a homey little practice room in a music shop near my house so I gave it a try today. After a long week and a half I finally got in some solid singing practice and even got to jam a bit to a song I’ve always loved. Excuse the mistakes 🙃 🎵: Drops of Jupiter by Train #train #singing #singingcover #dropsofjupiter #piano #solojam #jam #musicroom #allegromusicfremont

Sometimes life throws curveballs at you and you’re put to the test. In those moments, all you can do is what you believe is the rightest thing, and put your all into it. If the stars align, you’ll be propelled to continue on. Either way, your fate will take its course in the way it’s meant to. Everything happens for a reason. Last weekend, I was put to the test. I took away, among many things, a few learnings: 1. I can do a lot on very little sleep 2. I can focus and compose myself in moments of extreme emotional distress 3. I can trust my body to execute on everything it has practiced, even if my mind feels unsure 4. When it’s go time, my mind and body will align I realized that in these months of practice, what I thought I was trying to do was get to my perfect and optimal voice, which I was and still am, of course. But more than that, I realize that I was building the mental strength to trust my voice to do what it needs to do when it really matters. Throughout my life, I have known to be my own worst critic. But over the course of the past week and a half, my voice had a chance to prove that it has a life and energy of its own, and it prevailed. It’s not about me, it’s an energy within me that I need to nurture and help bring to life through my singing. So, the stars have aligned and my voice continues on. My own critiques of this video: -Phrasing is so important to highlight vocal abilities. Before, I thought that it’s the quality of voice that proves everything, but now I realize that no matter how ready my voice might be, if I don’t have the right plan for the rhythm and the structure of the song, I can’t prove it. -Keep my voice in the front of my face. I kept going into my throat, esp since it’s a lower song mostly all in the chest voice. -Relax and smile :) #karaoke #disney #singing #singingcover #tarzan #youllbeinmyheart