In other news, I’ve been taking workshops in professional speaking – I think this will really help my show- and in tying the song messaging together into a better “show.”  I am planning to tie together the ideas of strategic planning (which I do in my consulting work during the day) with songwriting (yes, the speaking seminars are for my consulting business as well).   You see, strategic planning can  be a very difficult concept for people to grasp – so I think if I use songwriting as a metaphor, it will help people understand the elements.  There are very interesting similarities!  I was going to use well-known songs as examples, but the people in the workshop thought I should write some sort of original song that could reinforce the strategic planning concepts.  After screwing up my face with an expression that said, “Uh, like that would be a song anyone would want to hear,” I promised I would “try” – and then of course I got fried for that comment…so I said I “would”  write the song – “no matter HOW BAD it is!”  So, now I have TWO possibly impossible songwriting tasks to try to accomplish within the next couple weeks.   Eek.

I’ll go with the assumption that this is all good for me- I’ve been too busy lately to really do much songwriting, so having a reason to write songs is a good thing.  Stay tuned!

First, it turns out the kid has a good sense of rhythm, and can really get that baby Taylor pounding loud!  She decided she didn’t want to work on her own song at this point, and so I taught her the first few chords of a pop song she really likes.  Now she can’t put the guitar down!

Meanwhile, I had my second vocal lesson with Brian Farrell today.  Brian experimented with my range a little more, and had me play him some of my songs.  He asked very unusual questions:  wanting to know the context that I’d be performing the songs in, and what the intended audience was.  He asked about the meanings of the lyrics, and encouraged me not to structure my vocal rhythm exactly to the guitar rhythm I was using. The essence of it was to get me to sing the meaning out of the words, and make it very personal.   Further, he suggested many minor tweaks to help me sound more confident.  I think I can tell where this is going — which is exactly where I need to go – more time, more conviction, and more authority on stage.  In other words, don’t just sing through stuff in a hurry…milk it for all its worth.   He’s definitely on the money…. I would agree 100% I can use a little more ego (though not DIVA sized) and to relax and take my time more.   Looking forward to where this is going!

Brian has a lovely home in Bearspaw, with a big grand piano, and a keyboard+large-screen computer setup. There was a beautiful view of the snowy foothills out the big windows as we worked.   The lesson started out by talking about my goals for the process. Mainly, I’m looking to improve my range, my confidence throughout the range, and my endurance. I had just sung a 5-6 hour house party gig on Saturday night, and although I managed to sing through it, my voice was thinning out at the end, and really tired the next day. I’ve also found that I since I’ve been trained by different teachers in different ways (classical vs. pop), I didn’t really know what sort of vocal exercises I should be doing to improve things….I usually just try not to burn out my voice when performing…but I don’t really warm it up or do anything to exercise it.

I asked what was probably a dumb question for a singer: Were vocal cords muscles that should be exercised or tissues that should be used sparingly? He showed me some videos of vocal cords in action, and explained that they were definitely muscles that should be exercised, stretched and toned. That was a relief…and then he began giving me a bunch of weird-sounding vocal exercises that would stretch them in different ways. I was really surprised to hear that he could reach the very end of the notes on the piano keyboard (BOTH ENDS) with his own voice!! Oddly, he explained that hitting low notes meant “aiming” them high, and that hitting high notes meant aiming them low in the throat. This was news to me, as I had always strained my neck and leaned upwards to hit higher notes….it will be very interesting to see what he says about this as time goes by!

On the drive home I popped in a DVD of vocal exercises he gave me. It was kind of tough – like going to a first workout at a gym. I couldn’t do all the exercises or hit the end of the range. I think the gal on the CD he gave me was a serious soprano, and I’m more of an alto, but I did the best I could. Not sure I was doing everything with proper technique, but we’ll see how it goes through the next couple weeks of using it, and if he sees any improvement when I return…..good thing I’m keeping those windows rolled up!

In all, this is very exciting…if any of you hear improvements in my voice in the next few months – please let me know!! My mission in this musical adventure isn’t to be perfect, but to at least be a moving target…

Thanks for staying in touch – drop me a note if to say hello if you have a minute – I’d love to hear from you!

Lately I’ve been brushing up on my banjo and accordion and am planning to add it to next show (and subsequent shows)…making for a little fun twist.    So far the accordion is coming back fast (because I never really left it for long) but it beats me why the banjo feels so different from a guitar after all this time…the wee skinny neck and feel of the picks?  Anyway I have always loved its cheerful sound so I’m really enjoying getting back at it.  And I still LOVE the sound of my accordion, which is a Hohner 72-bass I got from the Macen Accordion Studio here in Calgary about 5 years ago.  It has the prettiest tone of any one I’ve heard – so I hope you’ll enjoy hearing it again….

We got a great soundman, Derek, who really knew his stuff and did a great job setting us up; he even gave Gary some good tips we’ll be able to use in our future shows. Because the venue provided us with nice rooms nearby, we stayed over both nights, and got to enjoy shopping in Banff all day Saturday. It was colder and rainy in the morning, but that gave us an excuse to buy some cozy new jackets on our way to hit the candy store! Saturday night was great too, with lots of dancers on the floor as well as several returnees from the previous night. Thanks so much to Grant, Matt, Derek and the rest of the staff at Wild Bill’s – a fantastic venue, and a truly memorable experience! We look forward to returning in 2012!

I’ve also been working really hard on my harmonica and lead guitar lines and they’re really coming together nicely (since we’re playing as a 3 piece this weekend at Wild Bills). Whew – going to be a lotta work playing three full sets as rhythm guitar/lead guitar/harmonica and singing the whole night…..so if you wanna see me drop 5 pounds in front of your very eyes in pure sweat, join us in Banff this weekend!