Hello from Florida
JudyK
2.0 PRO Posts: 6
I'm so happy I found this singing course. I'm a 65 year old Grandma who's passion for singing began when I was a child. I had almost perfect pitch, a very big alto voice for a child and unfortunately a very narrow voice range. My head voice was thin and wispy and sounded nothing like my chest voice. After years of begging my parents for voice lessons I finally wore them down and they enrolled me in the MacPhail Center for the Performing Arts. Sounds promising right? Nope. My instructor had the highest most shrill sounding soprano voice I had ever heard in my life. By this time my voice was a low alto almost baritone. Every time she sang my eardrums felt like they were going to explode and I felt a slight headache. I had read the human threshold for pain comes at about 120 decibels. I didn't think there was a device on the planet that could measure the sound coming out of her mouth. Her claim to fame was she sang one time with the Minnesota Opera. I would guess it was only one time because she hurt their ears too. I begged my parents to let me quit and find a vocal couch who would be a better fit. My parents said "We are spending good money on these voice lessons and you are not quitting"
About the same time Memorex came out with a new ad campaign showing Ella Fitzgerald breaking glass with the sound of her voice. Here's a link for our younger members.https://youtube.com/watch?v=PN8cHwamcJA&list=FL7kgaJC-t3gsr8iBzrAZzHA&index=1
I was so impressed, if Ella could do that with her voice imagine what my vocal coach could do to a glass with her voice. Armed with the sheet music for Minnie Riperton's "Lovin' You" https://youtube.com/watch?v=W_xIBfrdxQU
and a Waterford crystal glass "borrowed" from my mother I went to my next lesson. My coach wasn't there yet so I set the glass down in a spot the grand piano blocked from her view. She came in the room, I handed her the sheet music and asked her if she could sing it. As she began to sing I was getting kind of nervous. I didn't know if her voice would pulverize the glass or shoot it up into space. I started inching toward the door, she looked up, stopped singing and asked me what I thought I was doing? I told her I was bracing for impact. When I confessed I was testing the Memorex commercial she decided I wasn't a serious student and we should part ways. I guess you could call it a big MacFailure.
I continued to sing in musical theater and such but quickly discovered that my voice was not up to par with the great singers out there.I quit singing over 30 years ago and began to use my speaking voice becoming a voice over talent.
My hope is by working Ken's incredible course I can finally know if I have any talent or not.
JudyK
About the same time Memorex came out with a new ad campaign showing Ella Fitzgerald breaking glass with the sound of her voice. Here's a link for our younger members.https://youtube.com/watch?v=PN8cHwamcJA&list=FL7kgaJC-t3gsr8iBzrAZzHA&index=1
I was so impressed, if Ella could do that with her voice imagine what my vocal coach could do to a glass with her voice. Armed with the sheet music for Minnie Riperton's "Lovin' You" https://youtube.com/watch?v=W_xIBfrdxQU
and a Waterford crystal glass "borrowed" from my mother I went to my next lesson. My coach wasn't there yet so I set the glass down in a spot the grand piano blocked from her view. She came in the room, I handed her the sheet music and asked her if she could sing it. As she began to sing I was getting kind of nervous. I didn't know if her voice would pulverize the glass or shoot it up into space. I started inching toward the door, she looked up, stopped singing and asked me what I thought I was doing? I told her I was bracing for impact. When I confessed I was testing the Memorex commercial she decided I wasn't a serious student and we should part ways. I guess you could call it a big MacFailure.
I continued to sing in musical theater and such but quickly discovered that my voice was not up to par with the great singers out there.I quit singing over 30 years ago and began to use my speaking voice becoming a voice over talent.
My hope is by working Ken's incredible course I can finally know if I have any talent or not.
JudyK
Comments
That is a fun story! Welcome to KTVA, I think that you will find the experience to be much more satisfying! I would suggest that you demphise the thought of "talent," as that is rather subjective. I think you will find that if you do the work you will find your voice and excel. Although, I doubt that you will be breaking any wine glasses.
Glad you liked my story. She seemed quite upset when I innocently asked her if she had to replace the windows in her house. LOL This lady told me if I hummed a lot it would grow my voice more and if that didn't work I should do headstands while humming.
You are so right about talent. When I started listening to Ken's youtube videos it all the missing pieces started falling in to place. Not one vocal coach I had ever mentioned vowel modification, open throat singing etc.
I'm really having fun learning with this incredible course.
I guess we'll never know what she could have smashed with her voice. LOL
I think Ken is amazing. This course is what I needed at 16.