> That's fascinating, Curtis. I don't think many > singing teachers deal with this sort of thing, > do they? It almost sounds as though she's as much > an acting teacher as a singing teacher.
The amazing thing about her is that she doesn't just take the usual classical position that I am singing all wrong! Most classically trained (Peabody) teachers would want nothing to do with my nonsense. She really gets and appreciates how different blues style is from classical, and only uses the purest techniques without messing with the feel. She has changed my whole approach to songs and has made singing so much more interesting and expressive for me. Blues guys do stuff out of emotion but rarely understand what they are doing so the knowledge remains state bound. One night it is magic, the next not so much. She is giving me the tools to be more consistent while not making me a robot. It is a fine line that kept me from seeking singing lessons years ago. I was afraid that training would kill spontaneity, but have found that it just gives me a richer pallet to draw from. You are right about the acting connection. It is also a producer's job. She is producing my songs to get the most out of them. The more subtle stuff about awareness may come from opera training also. She is a one in a million find for me that's for sure! I'll have to do some research about what Crudup thought of Elvis. I have read he felt cheated out of money for it. I know Big Mama Thorton heard his version of Hound Dog too. She was a character and a half and played great harp. At the end of one of her tours, miles away from home she announced to her band: "Boys your gunna have to find your own way home cuz Mama done drank up all the money!" --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "curtisdeltablues" > <curtisdeltablues@> wrote: > <snip> > > Now I am working with a classically trained singing teacher who > > is helping me understand all the different ways I can bring or > > withdraw my awareness and emotion while I am performing. I have > > always been what my teacher calls a "generous" performer, laying > > it all out all the time. This is not always a good thing. She > > is teaching me a different wisdom about how much of my self I > > want to spend at any given moment. I am learning more about how > > to draw an audience in with some introspective phrasing, and > > then let them have it when I get to a part where I want to turn > > it up. The emotional dynamics part. By enhancing what my > > audience hears, I am getting a better buzz from the performance > > myself. I definitely need all my synapses firing to pull off > > what I am attempting to do musically. You'll hear the difference > > on my next CD when I get it finished and can post some samples. > > That's fascinating, Curtis. I don't think many > singing teachers deal with this sort of thing, > do they? It almost sounds as though she's as much > an acting teacher as a singing teacher. > > > > BTW, here's Bing Crosby: > > > > I love these guys playing old records onto youtube! > > This was the first one like that that I'd seen, with > the loving closeups of the record player. (I'm a little > suspicious that the sound has been cleaned up, though.) > I'd much rather see the record going round and round > than static photos of the performer. Takes me back, as > they say. > > I recently did a > > search for Big Boy Crudupp's original version of Elvis's first > > recording, "That's Alright Mama" and sure enough some record > collector > > had it up. As a side note, I was blown away at how precisely Elvis > > had ripped off the guy's singing style. > > I went and listened to both. Elvis nailed Crudup's > phrasing but added a good bit of embellishment of > his own. What incredible flexibility his voice had! > Absolutely amazing that this was his very first > commercial recording. At *19 years old*, for pete's > sake. (If there's such a thing as past lives, who > the heck could Elvis have been?) > > Wonder what Crudup thought of Elvis's version. > He must have heard it, right? > > Crudup: > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74vRiqYPCx4 > > Elvis: > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjWnkmfldB0 > > > Back to Bing, that helped a lot, thanks. Now I can hear what it was > > all about. what a mood he created! I went back and listened to the > > guitar piece with much better appreciation. I also realized how I > > like this style of music, when I do. I need the guitar to be in > > breaks in between a chick in a skin tight dress with 40's red > lipstick > > singing the song! Or like Astrid Gilberto backed by Jobim on guitar. > > Each to his or her own... > > > Excellent music day! > > You bet. Thanks for the response. >
