Notes

1. Title – You might think it’s “Everybody Must Get Stoned,” but it’s not. It’s “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35, and someone will bust you for calling it “Everybody Must Get Stoned.”
2. Songwriter – Sometimes it’s not the person you think. For example, a lot of people probably think that Patsy Cline wrote “Crazy,” but guess what! It was Willie Nelson.
3. Version – Most people know the Talking Heads song “Take Me to the River,” but Al Green wrote it, and a band might play that version if you call the song.
4. Original key – You can go online to musicnotes.com and find out or ask a musician.
5. Your key – Work with a professional or figure it out yourself, but the original key is not always the best for everyone to sing.
6. Groove – Grooves have names like swing, shuffle, funk, and rock. If you don’t know the name of the groove, you can at least use the time signature like 4/4 or 12/8.
7. Tempo – Either check the sheet music on musicnotes.com to see if they’ve included it on the first page or use a bpm app to tap along to the song to find out what it is.

Here’s an example of a chart Ted Ervin and I wrote with all those items right at the top:

Studio will be closed during Guilford School’s Winter Break

Winter break in Guilford is Monday and Tuesday, but I will be going away this weekend, so there will be no lessons on Saturday, February 14 or Monday, February 16.

Who doesn’t have a Crescendo Music System T-Shirt?
If I have your size in stock, I’d love to get you one!

Reserve the dates for the Spring Recital (Friday, June 7) and Crescendo Cafes now!

Crescendo Cafes are scheduled for Fridays, March 20th and May 1st.
Get more info.

Dana Shelton calls it “Opera Open.” I love it!

The issue is that beginning singers are just not USED to having their mouths open that big and wide – except for maybe the dentist and when yawning, and you’re usually not talking or singing during either of those activities. So it feels really weird, and you’re sure you look like a horse.

Try this exercise:

1. Check out one or more of the following You Tube videos to see just how wide the divas and divos of the world are opening their mouths while singing (skip to later in the video to see “Open Open”): Idina Menzel, “Defying Gravity” (you can skip to the end) – http://youtu.be/MslDnwerQRA, Josh Groban “You Raise Me Up” – http://youtu.be/Beloi9yluaI, Christina Aguilera “Hurt” – http://youtu.be/KJzQCWQF6zE, Mick Jagger and David Bowie “Dancing in the Streets” (hilarious video from who knows how many years ago) – http://youtu.be/9G4jnaznUoQ, Stevie Wonder “Isn’t She Lovely” – http://youtu.be/8r92A7ndnZk
2. Sing a little something in the mirror.
3. Compare how open your mouth is to theirs.
4. Try to get it to match.
5. Feel the weirdness.
6. Try to emulate the weird, “Opera Open” feeling every time you sing.

Let me know how you make out!

[youtube=http://youtu.be/zNEgo9OSZ3k]

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/77320087″ params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

After much thrashing about, the videos from our Christmas Recital 2012 are posted on Crescendo Guilford’s You Tube Channel.  I even learned how to make a playlist.  Please let me know if any of you would prefer that I make the videos private.  I, of course, am very proud of all your performances and want to show them to the world, but I understand that others enjoy their privacy.

Enjoy!

Click Here for YouTube Playlist

I’m looking forward to seeing all of you in the New Year of 2013!  Check out my Winter 2013 Lesson & Rate Schedule.  It is PACKED with very important information.  In fact, it is so packed and important, I am putting it in three places:  on orange in my studio, attached to this post, and on its own page under “Rates” on this website.  Please look through it carefully and put dates for lessons, MMGs, and Crescendo Cafe on your calendar.  I have put in a vacation for myself in February, so pay close attention to those lesson dates!  If you don’t know which MMG you are in, check out the class assignments on the Music Mind Game page.

I hope all kinds of people will come out to hear Crescendo Music Studio’s Christmas Recital 2012.  It will take place at 7:00 p.m. at the North Guilford Congregational Church on 159 Ledge Hill Road in Guilford.  The program will last about 90 minutes and include 25 performers.  Milk and cookie reception to follow in the library.

Performing tonight will be:

• Ali Afonso
• Ned Allen
• Abigail Connolly
• Rachel Connolly
• Sandy Connolly
• Zachariah Connolly
• Jaimie Cretella
• Samantha Foggle
• Sarah Fournier
• Betty Freeborn
• Hannah Grasso
• Michelle Guerra
• Lindsey Hiltz
• Jack Liebler
• Olivia Liebler
• Lily Mackey
• Ava Palumbo
• Elle Petra
• Cadence Richmond
• Leila Ruser
• Emily Song
• Anna Yaggi

Special guests include Julie DeNeen and her students Taylor Gregoary and Joshua Lee.