Sing 4 Your Life! THE BLOG For Singers!

THE MISSION CONTINUES – by Chrys Page

(Healthy Inside= Healthy Outside)

Not much of a Spring, huh? Seems like Summer just pushed its way in while shoving Spring aside. For me, as long as I have a purpose, I cannot dwell on what’s wrong with the planet, or my weight, or relationships, or any of that stuff. Not to say these things don’t matter to me, of course they do. However, if I am to avoid becoming one of those people who just suck up everyone else’s air, then I have to stay busy and contribute whatever I can to life.

I notice that as some of us age, we pay a lot of negative attention to our bodies. Encouraged by the mags and tv ads, we find every real or imagined flaw with our physical appearance.  Of course, we are encouraged to eat better, exercise, and generally engage ourselves in activities that are health-promoting and considered “good” for us older folks, but our concentrations are usually on the dark side of ourselves and the world at large.

We may become, overly opinionated,  “set in our ways”. The terms, curmudgeons, cantankerous geezers, even old bitties, come to mind, and sometimes it seems that older people find those distasteful monikers flattering.

Well, I’m no expert on aging, but I remain exceedingly grateful that when I am blue or anxious or feeling angry about anything, I can always go the piano and sing it away, or even write a song about what bothers me. Cole Porter, Rogers and Hart and several of the Tin-Pan-Alley song writers in the early 20^th Century did exactly that.

Of course, as our bodies begin to cause us discomfort, it may not be so easy, and that is why my mission continues. For example, breathing may become difficult at a certain point for some singers. And simple breathing exercises can help to heal that. But I had a student once who was losing his pitch because he kept running out of air. That is not exclusive to old folks is it? But he was so frustrated by it, he was just a “grumpy old man”. I urged him to get a pitch corrector at the music store, and when he finally did, along with the deep breathing drills we did in session, he was once again enjoying to sing.

If you’re on this list and reading this article, then I consider you an artist.

And even artists can slip into feelings of depression as we age, spending too much time in the past regrets of our youth and feelings of not having been good enough to really make a difference for ourselves or anyone else. And it’s not just senior citizens who feel that way. I have students in their 30’s and 40’s who think their lives are over. How sad is that??

It has taken me a while, I’ll admit, but I finally understand that I DO make a difference every day. And I have begun a whole new aspect of my career, going around to Independent Living and Assisted Living Facilities to engage my brothers and sisters of my own generation to sing along with me the great old songs of the past 60 years.

I believe that we human beings come into this world each endowed with certain gifts. Some of us discover very early on what those gifts are, and for some of us, they can take a lifetime to reveal themselves. While others may never find them, many will discover their gifts in the latter period of their earthly experience and wonder why it took them so long to see them.

Still others will merely drift from one day to the next…with thoughts like “mustn’t forget my pills”, “call the doctor about this new pain”, “maybe that drug I saw on the TV will help”, “Nah! Nothing will”. Some of these folks don’t have a clue into their true gifts. It just takes as long as it takes for each individual rose on a rose bush to blossom.

One thing I am certain of however, and it is that every one of us DOES have gifts, and from my view, our only job on earth is to use them for good…and in so doing, find our own passion, vitality, health, and happiness.

I deal in restoring one’s youth and vitality by restoring to them their own love of singing, using their breath to heal their bodies and their souls. After all, what’s a gift for if not to use it? No matter what one’s age may be, if there’s a voice inside, you can learn how to let it out, in singing or even in your speaking voice.

(My 75 year-old sister does voice-overs on the radio.)

When I tell my clients that their gift of song can heal themselves, and the planet as well, I’m not just being dramatic. I’m dead serious about that. How would it be if we just for a day or so, put away the pill bottles and did what we love to do? Put on the stereo and sing. Forget about your excuses of “I’m too old. I can’t hold the notes anymore. I run out of air, etc.”

You might try something simple, like taking up the harmonica to increase your lung capacity.

These quotes below have appeared in many of my articles since 1999, but because our list keeps growing, some of you may not have ever read these, and besides, they are worth reading again, if even you have.

“To sing is to love and affirm, to fly and to soar ,to coast into the hearts of people who listen, to tell them that life is to live, that love is there, that nothing is a promise, but that beauty exists, and must be hunted for and found.” Joan Baez – American Singer/Songwriter

“When I am singing, I am inside of it…I feel, oh, like it feels when you’re first in love, when you’re touching someone–chills, things slipping all over me…A lot of times, when I get off the stage, I want to make love”

Janis Joplin – American Blues Singer

“Once I had a dream to live and love, and this dream became music. It touched all of the beautiful experiences I have searched for or known. Each sound was a color, and each color was a warm feeling, and my heart kept the tempo.” Les McCann – American Jazz Pianist

“The funny thing about enlightenment is that it’s like you’re searching for something–say your hat–and you’re tearing the house apart and suddenly you look in the mirror and you see it sitting on top of your head. Music is where I experience that. I’m in a flow, I’m in a zone, there’s a definite shift in consciousness, without desire, without my ego, without me thinking, ‘oh wow, I’m sounding great’. Just experiencing it as a flowing living moment.”

Vernon Reid – British-American Guitarist

“For a musician, music is the best way to unite with God”. Inayat Khan – Indian Sufi Master “Music is the harmonious voice of creation. An echo of the invisible world [of spirit].”

Giuseppe Mazzini – Italian Patriot and Revolutionary

“He who lets his breath, hence his life force, flow consentingly as a willing sound sacrifice from the depths of his body, sings his life; for singing means to affirm life, to free oneself, and thereby to bring happiness and prosperity to oneself, and consequently to one’s fellow man.”

Marius Schneider

This last quote is the one that gave me the name of my very first website,  Singyourlife.com. I have been literally singing my life since I was 3, and there is nothing, not a single thing I cannot endure as long as I keep singing.

The Runner runs – and it becomes a prayer. For me, singing is my meditation.

I am 73 years young and still singing, teaching, writing, and coaching others in my age range to use their love of singing to replace the prescription drugs they take daily, as they lose more and more of their health and vitality…not to mention their deepest desires. We’re not talking about the ego now. We are speaking of the spirit!

These articles that I write represent my mission to impress upon you people, the value of your gift of singing to yourself and for this planet?

And it has been shown in scientific experiments that the action of singing, the breathing, the diaphragm activity, actually travels on the same neuro-pathways in the body to the brain as PAIN. Next time you get a headache, or a backache, start singing a song you can get wrapped in all over! Sing the pain away! I’d love to hear what results come from doing this.

I DO believe that you can literally change your age, your body and your mindset, just by singing your song…making your own “sound sacrifice” to heal your heart and that of a lost society.

Well, please do forgive my proclivity for philosophical discourse, but as Nietzsche once said,

“Has anyone ever observed that MUSIC emancipates the spirit? gives wings to thought? and that the more one becomes a musician, the more one is also a philosopher?”

Guilty

“Wherein lies the power of songs? Maybe it derives from the sheer strangeness of there being singing in the world…a mystery like mathematics, wine, or love. Song shows the world that it is worthy of our yearning, it shows us our selves as they might be…The mystery holds the key to the unseen…There are occasions when the bolts of the Universe fly open and we are given a glimpse of what is hidden…Glory bursts upon us in such hours, and reveals the radiance of singing.”

Salman Rushdie – British Author

In the beginning of my web building, back in 1999, I called myself the “Voiceguru”. That was an ego trip. I’m no guru, not of anything, and I can state without equivocation that I have learned more from you than you ever learned from me, singers. Thank you so very much for that.

That being said, go ahead and eat right, and take your walks, and exercise, learn to dance and all the things that Dr. OZ talks about. And while you’re doing all that, why not read some books on music, take some courses, maybe learn an instrument, go to a Karaoke Bar, or, if you don’t want to go to one, host a Karaoke party in your living room, and just SING, SING, SING!!
And continue your love affair with singing. May I invite you to please visit the home page of my website, www.singyourlife.com/ and check out some of the newer features. I continually attempt to make the navigation easier and  I have recently partnered with several respected companies in order to offer you a plethora of products and services to enhance your musical experience.

The truth is that if I can espouse an idea that the musical artist must be about creation and not about competition, then it is reasonable to conclude that endorsing services and products by others is a natural evolution of my own growth and a supplement to your vocal “toolbox”.

Looking for the Standards, but by the artists you remember singing them?

Let me recommend this site. SecondSpin.com. I dearly love hearing the vocalists I grew up with, and while I always encourage you singers to listen to more than one version of particular tune, sometimes you can a lot by hearing the original version first and then notice how has been changed since it was first published and recorded.

So…Need a mic stand? a small keyboard? a book of piano lessons? Piano chords? Guitar lessons? A book of inspiration, theory, history, instructions on techniques, marketing, which my own methods don’t cover enough? I highly recommend the merchants I have researched and posted on the website and here in this newsletter. I shall be adding more information products and physical products for you to look at as we move ahead.
Meantime, please comment, and let me know if you’d like to participate with 8 other mature singers in a discussion about aging on Google Hangout.
Thanks so much, singers!
Chrys

Sooner or later, Singers, you get to a point where you ask yourself, that question. Usually at an age when most folks who work in Corporate America retire, often whether they want to or not.

In a field like Sports, or Arts & Entertainment, of course, it becomes a subjective decision when to call it quits, even if the world is constantly changes and seems to more and more worship youth over experience.

But why should a maturing author quit if he still has stories to tell? Why should an again athlete quit when he or she remains in excellent health and fitness? And why should a singer give up singing if he or she still draws.

Elaine Stritch recently “retired” from performing on Broadway at 88, announcing that she was tired, while Barbara Cook is still teaching master workshops, performing in NYC at 83, and still pulling in audiences.

Roger Feferer, the most graceful and prolific of any tennis player on the planet is past 32, the age when most players call it a day, and still in there, at #3 in the world, in contrast to another #1 of some duration, Pete Sampras who stopped at 28. Roger was number 1 in the world for 302 weeks and has won more grand slam tournaments than any other player ever. And still, the very moment he lost the #1 ranking in 2012 to Noval Djokavich, the “talking heads” were saying he was through., Roger, however, LOVES playing the game for the game’s sake, while some tennis players like Jim Currier, played for money and status.

Obviously, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about this because some people in my world are ever so subtly suggesting that I may have reached my finish line, and I wonder what the factors are to consider in a life changing decision like this.

You, who read this blog may have noticed that I’ve be away for a while. I ran into some health issues that kept me from the day-to-day work at the computer. Gads, when I decided to resume my posting, I saw over 20,000 comments that required moderation before I could even resume my blogging. I had to read every on and choose to approve, edit or delete it.

All that having just been dispensed with leaves me a blank canvas on which to write this latest blabber, so allow me to continue…

As most of you may know, I’ve been on the web since 1999 with my website, www.singyourlife.com.
It’s made me a few bucks here and there, but mostly put me in touch with thousands of singers all over the world who have a passion for music and who wish to be able to sing in some capacity as part of their daily lives. These people have become my niche, my audience. And speaking of audiences, I still perform and get glowing reviews in my town. Am I through because I am in my 73rd year of life?

So when is it over for a singer? Do we have to grin and bare the Sunday morning warbling’s of the old ladies in the local church choir? Or is it okay to gently intimate that its time for them to stop singing?

Back in the latter half of the 60′s, I was singing in a hotel lounge in Anaheim, CA, across the road from Disneyland, about 1/4 mile from Angel Stadium. All the American League baseball teams would stay in the hotel where I sang when they came to play the Angels.

As a gigantic baseball fan, I always looked forward to the start of the season, knowing my beloved NY Yankees would be coming to play the Angels, and one night, I got the thrill of a lifetime when Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford walked into my bar. They grabbed a booth to my left, sent up a generous tip to hear one of Mickey’s favorite songs, and even asked me to sit with them on my break. Now, I couldn’t be more star struck! But as I got close enough to see their faces, I saw what alcohol had done to them, and I suddenly knew why this team was in 10th place in the East.

I’ve long thought that Mickey should have retired years earlier when he was still winning and had a high batting average above 300. But in the last 4 years of his career he just kept slipping further and further down, playing hurt, and drinking to numb the pain. He stayed too long at the fair for sure. But in the end, it was his decision, and no one else’s to make. He himself said to reporter that he should have retired in 1964, but his fans and colleagues kept wanting him to stick it out.

In February 1969, Mantle reported for spring training with the Yankees intending to play for one more season. But on March 1, he announced his retirement. “I can’t play anymore,” he said. “I don’t hit the ball when I need to. I can’t steal when I need to. I can’t score from second when I need to. . . . I never wanted to embarrass myself on the field or hurt the club in any way or give the fans anything less than what they are entitled to expect from me.”

My son took me to see Frank Sinatra in concert toward the end of his career. It was 1994, and Frank was
78. I had idolized him since age 4, and was thrilled to be sharing the same air as this legend, but even I had to admit, that the “voice” was pretty much gone. He, who had taught me how maximize my breathing, how to phrase, and how to articulate and express the lyric, could now not hold a note longer than a quarter note, sing through a diphthong, or get through a single song without a prompter. And although we tried and true fans and lovers of Sinatra could still feel him singing just to us and no one else, it broke my heart. He retired the following year and and in 3 more years he would be dead at 82.

Well, these are examples of people who in my humble opinion, may have stayed too long at the fair, and also those who are a decade older than I am and still doing their thing.

AND I AM DOING MY THING! So to anyone in my family, or in my circle of friends, acquaintances, students, or promoters, or anyone at all who worships at the feet of Justin Bieber, or Taylor Swift as the god and goddess of vocal music, I say to them, I SHALL GO WHEN I NO LONGER LOVE TO SING AND TEACH AND COACH OTHERS TO SUCCESS, AND NOT ONE NANOSECOND BEFORE THAT!

As Roger Federer responded to a reporter’s question, “when will you start thinking about retiring from the game”, He answered, “I haven’t given it any thought at all. I love my life, my wife, my kids, my profession, every I do. So why would I consider retiring at all?”

I really need your help, readers! Your remarks to this post will be genuinely appreciated. Maybe you could consider this a chance for you to teach ME something, okay??

In my 72nd year on planet Earth, I still do not seem to be able to operate in a world where one must strictly adhere to RULES that seem unfair, oppressive, suppressive and repressive, or just plain stupid!!
So please help me out here and educate me on how to exist in a world I don’t seem to fit into sometimes.

Have you noticed how sometimes, Life’s lessons come with a tsunami of insults, or humiliation and embarrassment, often with a lot of pain and upset? This could actually be why we put off learning most of these valuable lessons, for who wants to feel that pain? Certainly, not I!

However, there comes a time, sooner or later, that we have no choice but to learn the lessons,
which Life has been trying to teach us, and we are forced to act upon them in order to salvage or just maintain the important relationships in our lives, or fix something we broke. And… it can often be a turning point…for better or worse depending on what action we take.

If a young singer auditions for a part or in a competition and is rejected, he or she could decide
to take that business course the parents recommended and forget about a career in music, or…
he or she could find a new resolve to continue on the path that holds their dream and come
back stronger and with more than conviction and committment than ever before.

Barbra Streisand wrote in her autobiography that it was her Mother, who berated her on a daily basis and never uttered a whisper of praise during Barbra’s upbringing that contained praise or encouragement, which gave her the drive to succeed…if only to show her mean mother that she could.
That requires a lot of moxxy (gumption or spunk), and a good amount of work, commitment, and drive!

Other singers can hear one sentence of criticism from someone like Simon Cowell and immediately shrink
from a dream that had been growing in them for years before that moment, and watch it die right before their very own eyes.

So what is it that reveals to the person which action will be taken? Is it the way in which
we are raised by our parents that determines how we respond to negative situations? Maybe.

I wonder if it might very well be not so much HOW we were raised but WHERE??? Why do people think one way in a large metropolis and in another way in a small town?

I think that there exists in communities across the globe, a collective consciousness that dictates a person’s thinking and behavior, which may be acceptable in one community but not in another. And this
factor alone can make life very hard for an individual who is let’s say, naturally comfortable in his skin, fairly true to himself and accepting of his or her natural proclivities and idiosyncrasies.

If one comes from a very small town somewhere where doors are never locked and people say
“good morning” to everyone they meet, and then happen to move to a larger town in another section of the country, with a much larger and diverse population, where doors are always locked and it’s safer to remain aloof and be so quick to say “good morning” to everyone they meet…that person could find
that he needs to adjust certain habits in order to peacefully co-exist in the new environment. That’s just common sense!

Well, I have seen something else at play here, something far deeper than just locking your doors and not being too generous with your speech. What I have found in some communities is an undercurrent of “social behavior RULES” that stifle individuality, passion, self-acceptance, and self-expression, and this can create a myriad of problems for many people…including artists…NO…ESPECIALLY artists!

Lets say one comes from a large metropolis like Los Angeles, or Chicago, and moves to a smaller town where there seems to be a diversity of cultures on the outside, but when we dig a little deeper, we may find a false sense of security, some distrust, considerable isolation, and one discovers that it may be prudent to hold’s one tongue for fear of offending someone or something.

On one extreme, one can stand on a street corner in NYC, and exercise his 1st amendment right to free speech, for example, by screaming at the top of his lungs that the Martians have landed in Long Island, while simultaneously one can witness the populace of NYC walking by and completely ignoring that “nutcase” with the flyers, unmoved and completely unbothered by the rants of this person on the soap box.

But behavior like that in a small town can scare the heebie-jeebies of out the proletariat, and even
cause it to turn against the offending individual in a flash!

Maybe because we are in an election year where political viewpoints are so varied and vocal
that I tend to see opinion as a consequence of one’s location rather than any other factor.

And in a community where free expression can be viewed as threatening, even an innocent
remark that disagrees with what is widely considered acceptable behavior, an expressive artist can wither and die.

For if we can’t express ourselves, even through our art, where it’s supposed to be okay, then
where are we? What are we doing in a place that won’t permit one’s own healthy viewpoint about
anything?

Shall I be responsible for a person’s comfort level if I say or do something that makes him afraid, insecure or threatened? Really? Is that my job? Even if what I said or did was in no way whatsoever
threatening, but was simply my own opinion? Is this what we’ve come to? A Stepford Society?

If that’s the case, then I gotta say, I am as happy as pig in mud that I have more years behind me than in front of me, for, as an artist, I could never and WOULD never deliberately stifle my expression just to make someone feel better about themselves…while at the same time, would I go out of my way to deliberately offend someone just to pump myself up.

So, what’s your take on this? I’m interested. Please leave your comments here, or send your
thoughts privately to my email.

And have a great day!!

You’re aware, are you not, that according to an immutable law of physics, a thought is a thing? It has mass, very much like a table or a chair. It is the reason you can have a thought and make it into a reality. You can think something and focus on it for days or years, and with enough concentration on it, see it in your physical environment. According to studies done by scientific minds, THINKING is a key to getting what you want…, like lotsa money, a new car, a better job, etc. Unfortunately, thinking can also give you a lot of what you don’t want as well.

Even the Bible tells us that “As you think, so you are”.

An inventor will dream up something with an idea in his head, start drawing a prototype or whatever and with sufficient intention and attention on it, end up with an automatic cheese slicer, or an automobile window shade, or a computer application…there is just no end or limit to what a human brain can dream up and make into a reality.

On the other side, you can carry a gun around or mace, or have pad locks on your front door from top to bottom because you are focused on protecting yourself against something evil or dangerous, and with enough focus and attention on THAT, you can become a victim of a burglary or a mugging or even worse, some bodily injury. It all seems to begin with the thought!

In my practice, I have encountered hundreds of students who have talent, and who sing professionally all over the country, or in the schools and churches, or at a plethora of performance venues in their communities, and still they will announce to me that they simply could not stop worrying about hitting that high note, or whether or not they had enough air to finish that phrase they worked on for so many hours, or what that man or woman in the front row was thinking about how they were doing up there, or if their hair was okay or was their outfit too revealing or not revealing enough…good grief, the list goes on into infinity…and almost every single case, those thoughts would act as a distraction from their performance and indubitably, CAUSE a forgetting of lyrics, or of one’s place in the song, or a missed a high note, or even change in one’s breath control resulting in bad phrasing, or even sliding off or above the correct pitch. In essence, the entire performance could be negatively impacted by the singer’s THOUGHTS alone.

So how do we prevent these little demons from insisting themselves upon us? I have some students who can practice for hours and hours on end for a performance, and still, once the day of reckoning is upon them, go to pieces in front of an audience. So, clearly, it appears, endless practice and rehearsal is NOT the answer, and it could almost be a detriment. How?

Well, for one thing, when we practice or rehearse something past the point of certainty with the notes, and words and general idea of where we wish to go with it, or how we wish to express it, we’re already on the other side, and start doubting the effects of all the practicing and rehearsing we’ve done. We are in essence, setting ourselves up for failure. This act alone opens the door to those little demon THOUGHTS! The voice in our head now has sufficient ammunition to declare, “after all this practicing, you better NOT be making any mistakes!” So going past certainty and comfort can be one reason why we can’t shake these messages of insecurity in our heads.

Another reason that too much rehearsal is not the answer can come from simply too much focus on the opposite what we want the result to be.

When I lived in Texas, I spent a lot of time and many dollars to keep bugs away from my house. I was obsessed with my disdain for bugs of any kind. The guy next door would sit on his porch and read his newspaper and never be bothered by mosquitoes or those nasty June bugs or Palmetto bugs, (flying roaches), but I couldn’t even go to the mailbox without something landing on me or flying into my face. My pest control service company made a fortune from my fear and over-the-top incessant attention on bugs! And my rep would say to me, “You need to embrace the critters here in Texas, Miss Page.” EMBRACE? Was he kidding?
I couldn’t do it and I ultimately left Texas for that reason alone.

And I’ve had students who quit singing and performing because of the thoughts that would invade their consciousness during performances.

Okay, so what’s the answer?

Archimedes, a Greek philosopher-scientist is famous for sitting down in the tub one day
and then running naked through the streets of Athens shouting “Eureka!�? Eureka in Greek means “I found it”. And what he had found was the “Law of Displacement” which he had discovered when he sat in the tub, and noticed that some of the water that was in the tub spilled out of it to make room for his body. This was the birth of the Displacement theory of physics.

Fast forward to Albert Einstein and others who went further to discover that no two identical particles of matter, could occupy the identical space at the identical time, which for us, in the present can be interpreted to mean, that no two thoughts, (particles of matter) can exist in the same exact space at the same exact time.

Therefore, by displacing the negative thought and REPLACING it with another more positive one is the answer to banishing these little demons back to the ether and out of our heads.

So here comes that little bird flying over our heads and dumping its offering on into our hair. “You better take a bigger breath for this part or you’re not gonna make it”. What do ya do?

You REPLACE it with a an original thought like, “I am more than prepared and can easily sing this phrase with confidence and expression from my heart and soul.” and you can even throw in a little, “so get lost, little bird”, if it helps.

Sound silly? Yeah, I’ve heard that and even felt it myself at times. But see, by seeing these thoughts as coming from somewhere else, and not your brain, and by briefly acknowledging them and telling them to scat and replacing them with positive, encouraging thoughts, and spending enough intention and attention and focus on THOSE thoughts rather than the negative ones, it becomes your HABIT to think good thoughts and express the lyrics of your songs in such a way that has a fabulous effect on your listening audience.

And even if you think I’m full of “you know what”, it cannot hurt you to try this trick next you find yourself on stage and are worrying about the sound system, or the drummer who’s too loud, or the intro that you had not heard before…and see if you don’t just sail through it to a great performance!!

As always, your comments are welcomed.

Sin[g]cerely,

Chrys

Written on July 2nd, 2012 by Chrys Page
The whole idea of a blog seems to have become just some guy or female ranting about something or another…to get their 15 minutes. Not me!

I shall continue to blog on the importance of staying the course with the dreams you have of singing, for this is my mission.

As long as there is breath inside of you and the deep longing to sing your life’s story into the ether, I am here to encourage that act and the courage it takes to keep that flame going long after those around you have decided that it’s just too late and that it’s time to grow up.

They say that we tend to TEACH that which we need to LEARN the most. I believe that’s true. In fact, I KNOW it! It is the reason I CAN NOT and WILL NOT let go of the passion that I’ve had for music since the age of 3.

The earliest performance of mine that I can recall was at about 5 or 6 years old, standing on a picnic table in a family friend’s back yard and singing a “La Vie En Rose�?…
And feeling the praise and love from all those around me, I wanted that to go on forever.

There was never a thought in my head as a small child that I would ever wish to do anything else with my life…only to sing and keep on singing…cause that’s where the love was…at least where I felt it the strongest.

But there were moments in which I allowed my own lack of courage to go after my dreams for fear of possibly meeting with disapproval from my loved ones, and that kept me from my life’s dream. And although I made a life and a living from singing, and am still doing so, (Gads! It’s been over 50 years), raising my children and gaining respect and admiration form fellow musicians…

Well…In the words of Terry Malloy, the character in the movie, “On The Waterfront�?, played by probably one of the top 5 greatest actors of all time, Marlon Brando, “I coulda been a contender. I coulda BEEN somebody…�?

Now don’t misunderstand me here! I am not by any stretch whining about the fact that I never DID get to sing at Radio City Music Hall, (Hey, it could still happen…). I tell you this because the ONLY real joy we get to experience in this life, is the joy that WE OURSELVES CREATE! The “yeah, but’s�? that our loved ones shower upon us may be meant well, but only keeps us from our dreams.

I can’t help but think about Jimmy Roselli, an Italian singer from Hoboken, NJ, who died a year ago at age 85, and whose voice was touted as being brilliantly tender and exquisite, but whose misguided choices made him a target of the NYC mobs in 50’s, and who during some hard times, had to sell his records out of the back end of his truck because he wouldn’t play “nice�? with the wiseguys. He was black-listed in New York from all the clubs and even the radio stations, and threatened to be “disappeared�? more than once. But call it defiance, arrogance or just total confidence in his own talent, Jimmy Roselli was ultimately able to bring the Mafia to its knees. They never did make good on any of their threats, and when Jimmy demanded 65K for a concert appearance, he always got it right up into his late 70’s, in London, Rome, Naples, and yes, even New York City!

Maybe he’s not the best example to follow…after all, the world has changed since Jimmy Roselli went up against the NYC syndicate, or even since I made MY “escape�? from my own entanglements with the mob, (that’s another story…for a later time), but it still takes courage to follow your passion and not give up.

I can say this to you because I am in my 72nd year of life and I am still going strong, making music with world class musicians, doing workshops for those who want to learn the art of Performance, and singing my life into the ether!

What about you?? You gonna rock in that chair ’til the angels come for you…or ROCK OUT on a stage, doing what you love to do??

Sin[g]cerly,
Chrys Page

www.singyourlife.com/
www.singyourlife.com/blog

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written by Chrys Page – June, 2012

I’m sure you are all familiar with the story of the boy who lived in a bubble. If not, briefly, it tells of a boy who was born without the antibodies to fight off bacteria of any kind and so any germs flying around in his environment had the potential of killing him.

His doctors suggested that his parents build him a sterile environment in their home to protect him from becoming victim to illnesses, and that he live there safely for the rest of his life. He would have no physical contact with his family, no hugs, no kisses, never see the sky or taste a raindrop or snowflake, but he’d be safe from the environment that could kill him in an instant.

So as the boy grows older, he begins to feel imprisoned rather than protected, and starts to sneak out of the bubble for periods of time to experience more of life. He gets stronger each time and in the end, rides off on a horse with his girlfriend.

So why am I telling you this story?

Because, we all, every one of us, live in a bubble of sorts. No, not to protect ourselves from germs and physical illnesses, but one to keep us from experiencing painful emotions, insecurities, and real or imagined dangers.

These “bubbles” contain certain opinions about the world and our place in it that we have formed throughout our lives, and we hang onto them as if they were a suit of armor.

If someone comes along to challenge or disagree with one of those opinions, we can get very upset, even combative.

But as singers, performing artists, don’t we want to grow and get better, and wouldn’t we want to get constructive critiques from one who may know just a wee bit more about it than we do? Isn’t that a part of learning the art of performance? Certainly!

So the question becomes, how do we know when we are acting from our fears that live in the “bubble” we constructed, or a desire to learn something new?

The answer lies in how we respond to the critiquing we receive, singers. Do we have a hissy fit and argue with the coach, name-call or simply quit?

Or do we examine the possibility that something we are doing as a performer isn’t working for us, and that discovering a better way to do it could vastly improve our performance?

It takes some maturity, but I have found over the years that my “ah-hah” moments have come from a teacher or coach coming along and popping a hole in my bubble once in a while, like popping a balloon, and letting some light shine in, and some hot air OUT! Yes, it can be embarrassing, even humiliating in the moment, but once I can understand it, I make quantum leaps in whatever it was I was trying to learn.

Please, singers, open your minds and hearts to the experience of seeing something you have not seen yet. Pop your bubbles and let the light in!

You will be surprised how freeing it can be to let go of the very assumptions you have been guarding so tightly, and which have been holding you hostage!

The path to excellence is paved with mistakes, embarrassments, and humiliations, singers. Be BRAVE!!

I was involved in a project with about 5000 others online a couple of years ago now.
We were each discovering things about ourselves and seeking ways to have an impact on the world we live in. What I learned about my self and my motivation charged my spirit with all sorts of new ideas for the future.

As I write this, I am acutely aware that some of what I am about to talk about with you guys will be received by you in a variety of ways. Some of you will think, ‘Yeah, she’s right. It’s exactly like that’, while others will disagree totally.

I suspect that most of you will be somewhere in between because as artists we are fairly, albeit faintly aware of what goes on behind our eyes, and in the deepest part of ourselves, even those parts we keep hidden from the rest of the world outside of us.

That being said, I start by saying that I believe we human beings come into this world each endowed with certain gifts. Some of us discover very early on what those gifts are, and for some of us, they can take a lifetime to reveal themselves. While others may never find them, many will discover their gifts in the later time
of their earthly experience and wonder why it took them so long to see them.

One thing IS certain though, and it is that every one of us DOES have gifts, and from my view, our only job on earth is to use them for good.

I have spoken to you guys about this before and quite often I know, but while I was researching material for the 6th eBook, I came across some quotes by musical artists that truly touched me very deeply.

When I tell you people that your gift of song can heal the planet, I’m not just being dramatic. I’m dead serious about that.

What’s wrong with the planet is from my perspective really quite simple to diagnose. We are lost! And we are standing at the top of a hill, looking down into a valley, thinking, ‘is that the way…there?’
suddenly, we hear a small voice, behind us, like a child, and turn to look at it and THAT’s when we see the road back. All we needed to do was turn our heads.

But we are so preoccupied with day-2-day survival game we are forced to play on this planet, that we cannot appreciate the value of LOVE, and that’s what music is, you know…LOVE.

“To sing is to love and affirm,
to fly and to soar,
to coast into the hearts of people who listen,
to tell them that life is to live,
that love is there,
that nothing is a promise,
but that beauty exists, and must be hunted for and found.” Joan Baez – American Singer/Songwriter

Do you think that human beings who are feeling that kind of love would be interested in raging wars for profit?

“When I am singing, I am inside of it…I feel, oh, like it feels when you’re first in love, when you’re touching someone–chills, things slipping all over me…A lot of times, when I get off the stage, I want to make love” – Janis Joplin – American Blues Singer

Would a CEO feeling like that create a mission statement to lay off a million people just to make a few more dollars?

“Once I had a dream to live and love, and this dream became music. It touched all of the beautiful experiences I have searched for or known. Each sound was a color, and each color was a warm feeling, and my heart kept the tempo.” Les McCann – American Jazz Pianist

Can a person who understands this quote spend his afternoons spreading ugly rumors about his/her neighbor over the backyard fence?

“The funny thing about enlightenment is that it’s like you’re searching for something– say your hat–and you’re tearing the house apart and suddenly you look in the mirror and you see it sitting on top of your head.
Music is where I experience that. I’m in a flow, I’m in a zone, there’s a definite shift in consciousness, without desire, without my ego, without me thinking, ‘oh wow, I’m sounding great’.
Just experiencing it as a flowing living moment.” Vernon Reid – British-American Guitarist

Can you recall a time in your life when you were so full of joy you wept? Was your ego involved?

“For a musician, music is the best way to unite with God”. Inayat Khan – Indian Sufi Master

The Runner runs – and it becomes a prayer. For me, singing is my meditation.

“Music is the harmonious voice of creation. An echo of the invisible world [of spirit].”
Giuseppe Mazzini – Italian Patriot and Revolutionary

Singers – SEE your place in this miraculous creation!

“He who lets his breath, hence his life force,
flow consentingly as a willing sound sacrifice
from the depths of his body,
sings his life;
for singing means to affirm life,
to free oneself, and thereby to bring happiness
and prosperity to oneself,
and consequently to one’s fellow man.” – Marius Schneider

This is the quote that gave me the name of my first website. I have been literally singing my life since I was 3,
and there is nothing I cannot endure as long as I keep singing.
How can I impress upon you people, the value of your gift for this planet?
How can I make you see that your voice + my voice + all the singers’ voices can make so much music, that the entire earth will be continuously singing.
You can make this happen just by singing your song…making your own “sound sacrifice” to heal the hearts of a lost society. It’s your job….TO SING!

Well, please do forgive my proclivity for phlolisophical discourse, but as Nietzsche once said,
“Has anyone ever observed that MUSIC emancipates the spirit…gives wings to thought? and that
the more one becomes a musician, the more one is also a philosopher?”

Guilty.

I leave you with this thought to ponder, and I invite you to leave your comments on the blog as soon as this is posted there. I know you must have some remarks to make about my attempts here to stir things up in you. Don’t be shy. There IS a way to leave a comment anonymously, so go for it!

“Wherein lies the power of songs? Maybe it derives from the sheer strangeness of there being singing in the world…a mystery like mathematics, wine, or love. Song shows the world that it is worthy of our yearning, it shows us our selves as they might be…The mystery holds the key to the unseen…There are occasions when the bolts of the Universe fly open and we are given a glimpse of what is hidden…
Glory bursts upon us in such hours, and reveals the radiance of singing.” – Salman Rushdie – British Author

See ya soon, Singers!

DEVELOPING YOUR STYLE

It says this on my business card: Discover the Voice Inside You.
Over the weekend, I gave it someone and she asked me what that phrase meant.
I thought about it for a sec and told her this.

“Well, when we’re learning how to sing, it’s not unusual to try and sound like someone else, usually some singer who we admire and have listened to often. As we grow in technique and confidence, we start to trust our own interpretations of the songs we’re singing and rely less on the imitation of other artists.�?

She replied:
“So once I develop my own sound, I shouldn’t imitate anyone else?

“Well�?, I continued, “Yes and No. Actually its not just developing your sound, it’s your personal STYLE that you’re developing and it goes even further than that. Your own personal style will certainly be your own and no one else’s, but you must realize that you’ll never sing every song the same way with the same style, so while you’re developing your own voice and style, you are also learning to respect the music you sing by singing to each different song as IT dictates�?

My companion seemed totally confused by this so I went on to explain further:

There are 3 levels of artistry a singer develops.

The first level is singing to him/herself.
This is learned in bedrooms across the globe in front of one’s mirror with a hairbrush as the microphone. Many singers never get past this level and fall in love with the sound of their own voices. It doesn’t matter what song they sing, they always sound the same on every single song, and they like it, even if no one else does.

The second level is singing to an audience.
This is a dangerous level as it is often dictated by the listeners rather than the singer, and therefore may contain all the right notes and words but absent of personal expression which is the true measure of an Artist! It’s also where the temptation to start sounding like someone is most insistent. And we’re all subjects of this temptation because we want to meet with approval from our audience…it’s totally natural to want to please them. And it’s also okay to…AS LONG AS we remain true to our own personal style while doing so. If you’re singing a Celine Dion song that the audience has heard a thousand times, you can still sing it as YOUR personal expression, even if there’s a pull to hit all of Celine’s notes and imitate her mannerisms. There’s only one of Celine Dion, but there is only ONE of YOU TOO. Remember that! Performing is about expression and not impression!

Which brings us to 3rd level of artistry. Singing to the SONG!
When we sing to the song, we are confident enough to allow the song itself to dictate our style. It’s not possible to sing every song exactly the same way, which is why I always admonish my students to choose the right songs if they want to showcase their true talent.

Singing to the song means that the words, and the notes and the accents of the song must conform with the inclinations of the performer.

And basically what that means is that if someone wants to hear “Crazy�?, when I’m performing somewhere, I don’t have to sing it like Patsy Cline, BUT, I shouldn’t sing it with a Jazz inflection either simply because the song dictates a certain style and vocal turns that are the opposite of the way Jazz does. So what do I do? I sing the song as my own personal expression of the words, remembering that performing is all about the CONVERSATION and not so much about each individual note. So it ain’t Patsy Cline, but its pleasing to the crowd, and I kept my own artistic integrity, see that?

If I sing a song in Portuguese, the song is going to dictate where to put the accents, so I am careful to choose foreign language songs will compliment my own style without making me sound false or forced.

I have become quite impressed with this young Country artist on this season’s American Idol. He’s definitely a Country singer, but his willingness to explore what’s beyond his natural roots in that music and reveal something else lurking in his soul, demonstrates exactly what I mean when I say, “Discover the Voice Inside You�?

You are invited to read all my archived blogs and articles on singing and performing by visiting my Singers Social Network!!

And here are additional websites where you will find my bloggings. We are very busy putting together a compilation of all of my meanderings for the last 10 years. Please come back and stay tuned for when that eBook will become available!!

http://www.selfgrowth.com/experts/chrys_page.html

http://www.singyourlife.spruz.com/blog.htm

http://www.singyourlife.com/blog

http://www.mysingersblog.blogspot.com

And thanks for stopping by to read.

Sin[g]cerely, – Chrys

At a point in my development as a human being I became a part of a program called the “Boundless Living Challenge.�? It was a place where I participated with others, spending 45 days at a time focusing on a specific intention or desire for my life.
It could be anything I desired to do or have, or it could be something about myself or my situation that I would’ve liked to change, but somehow have felt unable to do so.

I found that using deliberate intention, I CAN achieve things I never even dreamed of, and I had multitudinous a-ha moments of clarity, insight and wisdom by being part of the Boundless Living Challenge.

I also learned interesting and valuable lessons, one of which I want to talk to you about this month.

It can be a great thing to enter into a process of self exploration to discover the real YOU, the powerful and talented person you may never have allowed to come out and play before, but there CAN be a danger too.

The danger lies with the ego…and the possibility of becoming self-absorbed, which can lead to thoughts of fear, resentment, even embittered envy toward others. This can happen IF we lose sight of the fact that our talent is a gift and NOT something we ourselves created. This gift doesn’t make us better or more special, (although what we DO with our gifts DOES make us very special.)

The danger in self-exploration can also lead to comparing ourselves with others and in doing so, feeling competitive and wanting to WIN. It’s at these times that we really need to start changing our thinking from the competitive to the creative, and with complete and utter gratitude, use our talents for the good it can do in the world.

That, of course, does not mean that you must only be relegated to singing in your church choir and cannot have a wonderful life and earn a sizeable income from your talent.

When I say use your talent for good in the world, of course, I am including the good it can do for your own world as well as those you touch. It’s more the quality of joy you bring forth than anything else…do you see this?
I want you to OWN your talent and be proud of it, but not to flaunt it, or make others feel bad about themselves because they don’t seem to have it.

I have come to understand that music is not part of “arts and entertainment” as the newspaper section would have us believe. It’s not a luxury, a lavish thing that we fund from leftovers of our budgets, not a plaything or an amusement or a pass
time.

Music is a basic need of human survival. Music is one of the ways we make sense of our
lives, one of the ways in which we express feelings when we have no words, a way for us to understand things with our hearts when we can’t with our minds.

A piece of music has the ability to crack your heart open like a walnut; it can make you cry over sadness you didn’t know you had. Music can slip beneath our conscious reality to get at what’s really going on inside us the way a good therapist does.

I bet that you have never been to a wedding where there was absolutely no music.
There might have been only a little music, there might have been some really bad music, but I
bet you there was some music. And something very predictable happens at weddings-people
get all pent up with all kinds of emotions, and then there’s some musical moment where the
action of the wedding stops and someone sings or plays the guitar or something. And even if the music is lame, even if the quality isn’t good, predictably 30 or 40 percent of the people who are going to cry at a wedding cry a couple of moments after the music starts. Why?

Music allows us to move around those big invisible pieces of ourselves and rearrange
our insides so that we can express what we feel even when we can’t talk about it. Can you imagine watching Indiana Jones or Superman or Star Wars with the dialogue but no music?

What is it about the music swelling up at just the right moment in ET so that all the softies in the audience start crying at exactly the same moment? I guarantee you if you showed the movie with the music stripped out, it wouldn’t happen that way.

Music is the understanding of the relationship between invisible internal objects.

If there is a future wave of wellness on this planet, of harmony, of peace, of an end to war, of mutual understanding, of equality, of fairness, I don’t expect it
will come from a government, a military force or a corporation. I no longer even expect it
to come from the religions of the world, which together seem to have brought us as
much war as they have peace.

If there is a future of peace for humankind, if there is to be an understanding of how these invisible, internal things should fit together, I expect it will come from the artists, who might be able to help us with our internal, invisible lives.

Please be proud as a peacock for your talent, but also be grateful, okay Singers?

See ya next time!!

Our Singers’ Network is growing daily and from what I see, it’s becoming a real resource for our members. Let me encourage those of you who have been part of the Sing Your Life family by reading the newsletters to take that next step and join the community of singers we have created for you at www.singyourlife.spruz.com

I think I have figured out why many of you are reluctant to join. I think as we mature, some of us become extremely private and do not wish to expose ourselves to the trivial chatting that comes with being part of a social network. And with Facebook and Twitter out there, It DOES seem like overkill to some of you, right?
Even my SoCal contingent, who have supported me for years have been laying back from coming into our “family�? for fear of having unwelcome emails showing up in their inbox on a daily basis.

So let me once again, make this very clear. My Singers’ network is a safe and nurturing space, where YOU decide what messages you get in your inbox, YOU participate in whatever way you choose to:
• you can read what your fellow singers are expressing about their singing lives,
• or watch an instructional video by yours truly,
• or post some music
• or simply lay back and stay pretty much anonymous.
It’s totally up to you, singers!

So let me tell you what we’ve got coming up.

Coming soon:
We will cover some of the issues you wanted addressed with the Q&A series of videos, but which require more in depth responses like:
1. How to sing with Emotion
2. Being totally comfortable on stage
3. How to put together a show
4. How to hold your audience for the duration of the performance

I will coax some of my friends to join me as special guests many of whom have been conductors for many famous artists, to offer their unique perspectives on what it takes to truly succeed on any stage.

We’re also continuing with the mini-lessons on vocal technique, and the Q&A series on video.

And I want to start having monthly tele-classes which will be free of charge to our members to discuss whatever singing and performance issues you have. There’s so much we can gain from each other as long as we share, singers!

OKAY! On with this month’s featured article!!

With the “hoop-lah�? buzzing over with this season’s “American Idol�?, I became inspired to write another book as a companion to the “The Art of Singing�? series, we’ve had on the market now for 7 years.

Those books have hit a resonant chord with singers of all ages, all skill levels, all genre preferences, and from all corners of the earth.

The first book teaches basic singing technique to give the singer the correct way to sing as an automatic cell memory so he/she cam perform without ever having to think about how to breathe, how to “attack�? notes, but just concentrate on communicating with the audience.

Book # 2, on Stage Presence, which is offered on our singers’ network as our gift to our members, talks about the ego’s interference and other distractions when we get up onto a stage to perform.

The 3rd Book is all about musicality, and seeks to teach the singer how to understand the notes, rhythms, and harmonies of the songs he/she sings, and how to know his/her range and keys he/she sings in, and how to count the beats of music.

And the 4th Book is all about Promotion, and how to navigate through the labyrinth of “come-ons�? and move from the hyped up salesman speak to controlling one’s own destiny with regard to a career in music if that is the desire.

And NOW, since watching this season’s American Idol, where it became pretty clear that the outcome had been planned to be exactly what it became, I decided upon a serious guide book of rules for the aspiring singer, which I am naming, �?Get Off The Bandstand�?. Generally speaking, this book is meant to keep you in a state of total gratitude for your talent, and in the mood to share it always, but with respect for it and for yourself!

Have you ever been to a wedding where one of the guests approaches the bandstand to request that “Aunt Sally�? be allowed to come up and sing for the happy couple? After many moments of Q & A with the band members, which might go somewhat like this:
“What would you like to sing?�?
“Um…Gee, I can’t think of anything.�?
“Well, how ‘bout a nice wedding song?�?
“Uh, Yeah…I know um…the “Hawaiian Wedding song?�?
“Okay, key?�?
“Huh?�?,
“What key do you sing it in?�?.
“Oh! Dunno! Wait! Someone once told me I sing in C. Does that sound right?�?
“whatever!�?
Aunt Sally sings the song, in the wrong key and forgetting most of the words, but nevertheless, the wedding guests, wishing to be polite and supportive, enthusiastically applaud her efforts…which she reads as artistic approval, (wrong read…entirely), and so she decides to sing more songs. The problem is that Aunt Sally cannot really sing, doesn’t really know any song all the way through, and after the initial support from the crowd, they are restless, embarrassed, clearly uncomfortable, and the band doesn’t know how to graciously get rid of this person, as she has most assuredly worn out her welcome…big time!

My book will serve as a guide for aspiring artists who have the urge and desire to sing, but do not yet understand the correct protocol for doing so. Whether a professional singer or not, if you choose to perform, please know when you do, you represent an art form that celebrates personal expression of the deepest level and therefore MUST be treated with reverence and respect, even awe!

I suppose it was inevitable that mediocrity would eventually creep into the world of the Arts! And indeed, some would say, it has always been here…hiding in the shadows. I suppose that’s correct. And I can remember my parents absolutely despising the 50’s doo-op songs, but their disdain motivated them to take us kids to the opera and expose us to big bands, or insist that we listen to the Greek Hour every Sunday. And my parents’ parents probably thought Benny Goodman was as dangerous as Elvis, so sure…it’s a matter of personal taste, and I get that!

And it could also be said that although commerce dictates the “trends�? in music, and that the bubble gum sounds of the Disney Channel represent a segment of the listening public who keep the music business’s economy running, this fact alone is not enough of a reason to relegate music into some insipid “entertainment�? category, much the same as video games and gambling. Shouldn’t we be maintaining the importance of music in our lives as more than some superficial “feel-good�? pill? Especially for those of us who SING to express ourselves, it IS so much more than that, isn’t it?

“To sing is to love and affirm, to fly and to soar, to coast into the hearts of people who listen, to tell them that life is to live, that love is there, that nothing is a promise, but that beauty exists, and must be hunted for and found.�?
Joan Baez – American Singer/Songwriter

“When I am singing, I am inside of it…I feel, oh, like it feels when you’re first in love, when you’re touching someone–chills, things slipping all over me…A lot of times, when I get off the stage, I want to make love�?
Janis Joplin – American Blues Singer

“Once I had a dream to live and love, and this dream became music. It touched all of the beautiful experiences I have searched for or known. Each sound was a color, and each color was a warm feeling, and my heart kept the tempo.�?
Les McCann – American Jazz Pianist

“He who lets his breath, hence his life force, flow consentingly as a willing sound sacrifice from the depths of his body, sings his life; for singing means to affirm life, to free oneself, and thereby to bring happiness and prosperity to oneself, and consequently to one’s fellow man.�?
Marius Schneider – German Musicologist who found musical symbols in German Mythology

I know I’ve used these quotes before, but I write them down here again to remind you of the value of the gift you have been given of a singing voice. It’s a gift to be grateful for and to be cherished and treated with care and respect, always!

Note: I am gathering stories about experiences you may have had either as a singer singing with a band, or as a band member dealing with a singer on stage. Please send me whatever you have, funny, sad, outrageous, whatever. Feel free to change names so no one’s embarrassed, okay?

See ya next month, Singers!!

Sin[g]cerely,
Chrys