Hello TKAMers,
I just made that up, but maybe it will catch on LOL.
I am back with another update on my lessons with the wonderful staff at TKAM! Today I received a vocal (eek!) lesson from Beatrix! I have to say, I am no singer but Beatrix made me feel very comfortable singing and was extremely encouraging, making me feel like I was doing great. Vocal is a very vulnerable instrument Beatrix says, and it is largely because your instrument is within you in your body. To start our lesson off Beatrix took me through some breathing exercises. She told me right away that we have an instinctive tendency to raise our shoulders when we inhale, inhaling from the chest, but she said singers need to breathe into the stomach, using the diaphragm. Doing this allows you to have a much deeper breath in comparison, making it easier to channel breaths while singing.
As we continued, Beatrix had me go through some warm up exercises for my voice. Right away she noticed my tendency to raise my voice up within the exercise, as it is also a natural tendency to rise to the next pitch as you do these exercises. She encouraged me to try to maintain the same level throughout, giving me tips on how to do this, she says she tells her students to focus on one point in the room while going through the exercises, it made a really huge difference just adjusting one small thing, which is very distinctive about using your voice as an instrument.
We bonded over our love for Taylor Swift (who wouldn’t? she’s a musical icon), and she took me through the steps of singing “You Belong with Me”, giving me tips as we went along. She told me that it is important to engage your core while singing, again adjusting a small thing in my body was able to make a significant difference in my singing.
After this we also spent some time getting to know each other and Beatrix gave me some insight into her own musical journey. Beatrix just finished her masters at Wilfred Laurier for Musical Therapy, which is the use of music to address the physical, emotional, cognitive and social needs of an individual. This is extremely interesting as we had also discussed how emotions are really prominent while singing, creating this connection to the music within our own feelings. She also talked to me about the instruments she plays as she sings, plays piano, guitar, cello, and the pipa. She explained to me that she is looking to learn more traditional Chinese instruments, as her family has a strong link to Chinese Musical Culture, holding it in a special place in her heart. It was really nice to sit down and get to know Beatrix and her story, while having fun singing and bonding over music. Beatrix was lovely to take vocal lessons with, and she makes you feel as if you could perform on American Idol, which I know I definitely could not do, but it was nice to feel so supported when putting yourself in a vulnerable position that singing requires. I look forward to getting to know Beatrix better in the coming months!
If you’re interested in taking vocal lessons, or any music lessons, contact us today! Right now you can sign up for Music Lessons at The Kitchener Academy of Music by emailing us at tkaminfo@gmail.com, or giving us a call at (519) 893-2121. We can’t wait to hear from you!
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