Bucket List: Doing Magic.

nadja

Hey everyone! So, my name is Nadja, I'm a 29 year old German "Diva". Well, not yet. There have always been three skills that were so beyond my abilities that they seemed like magic to me. Number one is martial arts (applying locks or hitting pressure points reliably with ease). Number two is drawing things realistically, especially people. Number three is singing. These things seemed so cool but there was no way I could learn them by myself. Figuring martial arts out was relatively easy - tried out a few martial arts places, joined a martial arts school that seemed legit and after years and years of hard, dedicated work, I am now a black belt and teach others how to apply them locks. As for drawing realistically, had a teacher and some books that did not help at all. Then stumbled over Betty Edwards' Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain and after only days or a few weeks and not so hard work I can now do it - turns out you don't need skill but the ability to truly see what's in front of you without labeling it. So the only thing left is singig. KTVA is the first thing I've tried after seeing it recommended by 10secondsongs. So far it seems more like martial arts - something that is made out of many different skills that all need to be covered from the base up and then combined to make a great athlete or singer. I recorded some of my crappy, crappy singing and will re-record the same song maybe once a month to see improvement. Will try to spend at least an hour a day (thankfully I have to be alone in the car a lot - haha).

highmtn

Welcome, @nadja.

You have a good grip on what this bucket-list item is going to take.  Learning a number of physical skills and turning them into memory-muscle automatic responses.  The cool thing is that when you add the magic to it, and put the right words and the right emotion into the process and use your skills to convey those things, that the magic part can really happen (after learning the fundamentals that make it possible).

It will take time, patience, practice, dedication, and focus.

If you've mastered martial arts, and are comprehending translating vision into two-dimensional artwork, you will be able to tackle the alchemy of expressing yourself through song.  It IS a process, and learning it is a journey.  We're all on that journey.  Welcome aboard!

Bob

nadja

Thank you so much, Bob! I had hoped that there were a few easy "tricks" and then you could just do it . But it really does remind me of learning martial arts, the more you focus and work hard on very basic skills and really listen to the feedback your body gives you, the better the entire picture looks (or sounds). I now understand that it requires as much work and dedication (especially doing it on a regular basis and also making sure you get your breaks) as sports would. What's also great that singing seems to release endorphins just like working out does.

ragnar

nadja said:

Thank you so much, Bob! I had hoped that there were a few easy "tricks" and then you could just do it . But it really does remind me of learning martial arts, the more you focus and work hard on very basic skills and really listen to the feedback your body gives you, the better the entire picture looks (or sounds). I now understand that it requires as much work and dedication (especially doing it on a regular basis and also making sure you get your breaks) as sports would. What's also great that singing seems to release endorphins just like working out does.

You will be happy to have learned this already. The principles of good singing are very basic and simple in their essence but can be very hard to learn nonetheless, which is probably why you see a lot of people getting lost in a sea of details that have little to no use.

kaulfers

Halo @Nadja,

 My friend just posted some pictures of a white Christmas this year where he lives in Deutschland. I can just see the steam rising off a nice hot cup of gluhwein.  

Welcome and enjoy the process.