Now my new site to browse is The Melbourne Music Festival. They have a list of artists. I think I'll go through the list, and learn what I can about each one. Oh, but no....not planning to write a blog post on everyone.
Right now, I'm looking at an a cappella group called Aluka. I like what is said about them on the Melbourne music site. The Aluka Ladies were perpetually frustrated by the false notion that you are either a ‘singer’ or a ‘musician’, and that a solo vocalist was somehow less of a technical artist than someone with an instrument in their hands. Perhaps they started the a cappella group to prove a point.
I'll say amen to that.
A few months ago I jokingly suggested to Tim that I might sing with this musical group he knows. I LOVE to sing. Okay, so maybe I wasn't 100% joking. Let's say it was maybe 75% joking.
Tim said no. He said these musical people were judgmental towards people who sing without knowing how to play an instrument. That kind of hurt my feelings and made me feel frustrated. I actually considered learning how to play a guitar or something.
I mean....is it even fair? Are people who play instruments required to sing? Tim plays the cello very well, but he's not super great at singing.
I mean in a perfect situation someone would know how to act, sing, dance, juggle, play the guitar, be a pianist, and do their own stunts. But not everyone is that blessed.
What has really cheered me up about singing is The Sing Off. It's a reality TV talent show, and I usually hate those passionately. But this one...well, it seems it was made specifically to please me. It's all a cappella. No instruments allowed. So it makes me feel okay about not knowing how to play an instrument. The judges aren't cruel and awful. They're SUPER nice. I love them. They need to clone themselves, and be passed out as parents, teachers, coaches, etc. They know how to be critical without gratuitous cruelty. They always find something positive in a performance, even if it's something like You have great charisma! Yet they don't shy away from giving CONSTRUCTIVE criticism.
Now unlike certain other talent contests, they don't show initial auditions. We get to see only the finalists. So I don't know if they're more harsh with the people who are less talented. Hopefully, not.
I was thinking I could probably do well in an a cappella group. I have a pretty okay voice....at least I think so. Some people might disagree with me, but that's life.
The main problem is I'm horrible at learning lyrics. And I may be the queen of misheard lyrics. Okay, like the lyrics, Wise Man said....only fools rush in. I heard that today, and for the first time it sounded clear to me. Usually, I feel it sounds more like, White man said only fools wear shorts.
Once my sister and I were at the lake house. There was some singing game show, and we were laughing hysterically. They had the song,"Cupid". Oh, it was a lyrics game. Anyway, my sister and I both realized we have always had the lyrics of that song totally screwed up. She always thought they were saying Hey kid instead of cupid. And I thought they were singing Straight to Martha's heart for me instead of straight to my lover's heart for me.
So, I think if I am ever blessed with finding people who want to sing a cappella with me, I'll be one of those who do the accompaniment singing instead of the lyric stuff.
Anyway, I'll leave you with a video of Aluka performing.
And here's a performance from The Sing Off.
If any of you are reading this at Christmas time....Merry Christmas. If you're reading it after your Christmas, I hope you had a lovely holiday.
Right now, I'm looking at an a cappella group called Aluka. I like what is said about them on the Melbourne music site. The Aluka Ladies were perpetually frustrated by the false notion that you are either a ‘singer’ or a ‘musician’, and that a solo vocalist was somehow less of a technical artist than someone with an instrument in their hands. Perhaps they started the a cappella group to prove a point.
I'll say amen to that.
A few months ago I jokingly suggested to Tim that I might sing with this musical group he knows. I LOVE to sing. Okay, so maybe I wasn't 100% joking. Let's say it was maybe 75% joking.
Tim said no. He said these musical people were judgmental towards people who sing without knowing how to play an instrument. That kind of hurt my feelings and made me feel frustrated. I actually considered learning how to play a guitar or something.
I mean....is it even fair? Are people who play instruments required to sing? Tim plays the cello very well, but he's not super great at singing.
I mean in a perfect situation someone would know how to act, sing, dance, juggle, play the guitar, be a pianist, and do their own stunts. But not everyone is that blessed.
What has really cheered me up about singing is The Sing Off. It's a reality TV talent show, and I usually hate those passionately. But this one...well, it seems it was made specifically to please me. It's all a cappella. No instruments allowed. So it makes me feel okay about not knowing how to play an instrument. The judges aren't cruel and awful. They're SUPER nice. I love them. They need to clone themselves, and be passed out as parents, teachers, coaches, etc. They know how to be critical without gratuitous cruelty. They always find something positive in a performance, even if it's something like You have great charisma! Yet they don't shy away from giving CONSTRUCTIVE criticism.
Now unlike certain other talent contests, they don't show initial auditions. We get to see only the finalists. So I don't know if they're more harsh with the people who are less talented. Hopefully, not.
I was thinking I could probably do well in an a cappella group. I have a pretty okay voice....at least I think so. Some people might disagree with me, but that's life.
The main problem is I'm horrible at learning lyrics. And I may be the queen of misheard lyrics. Okay, like the lyrics, Wise Man said....only fools rush in. I heard that today, and for the first time it sounded clear to me. Usually, I feel it sounds more like, White man said only fools wear shorts.
Once my sister and I were at the lake house. There was some singing game show, and we were laughing hysterically. They had the song,"Cupid". Oh, it was a lyrics game. Anyway, my sister and I both realized we have always had the lyrics of that song totally screwed up. She always thought they were saying Hey kid instead of cupid. And I thought they were singing Straight to Martha's heart for me instead of straight to my lover's heart for me.
So, I think if I am ever blessed with finding people who want to sing a cappella with me, I'll be one of those who do the accompaniment singing instead of the lyric stuff.
Anyway, I'll leave you with a video of Aluka performing.
And here's a performance from The Sing Off.
If any of you are reading this at Christmas time....Merry Christmas. If you're reading it after your Christmas, I hope you had a lovely holiday.
What would our world be like if we
knew for sure there
was life after death, and
we could easily talk to our
dearly-departed on the Internet?
The Dead are Online a novel by Dina Roberts