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Location: SoCal | Originally posted by cliff:
play it. I don't know who the person is who posted this, but it's the best advice.... |
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April 2006
Posts: 1017
Location: Budd Lake, NJ | I usually have to practice them until I get to the point where the emotion is still there, but just not overwhelming.
Case in point--when I sang "Hold My Fragile Heart" for the last NJ get-together, I was fine; but then, I tried to sing it for my daughter, and since it talks about her dad, we were both shot by the end of the first verse. I managed to get through it, because I wanted her to hear it and see how far I've come in the grief process, but it wasn't easy.
And I've found that a song that really touches you can blind-side you, even months later...and that's o.k., because only dead people don't feel.
--Karen |
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Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Originally posted by Beal:
Someone else said think about cabbage instead....... Baseball Stats! |
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October 2007
Posts: 283
Location: Portland, OR | Direct it. Some of the most effective communication is from the heart. Let go. Just do it. If it's for a person special to you or their memory, think of the light-hearted times. It will work. Pauses may be necessary, but that's OK. I've had to give funeral talks and hate the fear of anticipation, but I try to remember that it's a gift to whomever and just do it. |
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January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | Baseball stats, good idea!
Letting a little show is OK if it's appropriate, most of the time it's not. Quite often we are just the delivery system of the song and we want the audience to feel the impact of what's being said, not get distracted by(and then feel sorry for) the singer with tears. |
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Posts: 3619
Location: GATLINBURG TENNESSEE :) | I started having some difficulty with that about the (first) time I turned 40. I think it has a lot to do with MANopause.
No really... I have had difficulty holding my own every time I hear the national anthem or taps played, since the time I was in the Marine Corps. My freedoms and those who paid the price for them will always hold a special place in my heart. |
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Posts: 747
| Originally posted by Beal:
Letting a little show is OK if it's appropriate, most of the time it's not. Quite often we are just the delivery system of the song and we want the audience to feel the impact of what's being said, not get distracted by(and then feel sorry for) the singer with tears. I agree.
It's effective to convey emotion in a subtle manner when appropriate and to some extent it might help the audience abstract into the song but choking in the middle of a line is just a distraction, breaks up the delivery and may be regarded by some as self indulgent. |
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Posts: 7233
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | "and may be regarded by some as self indulgent. "
You say that like it's a bad thing.
You put on the right clothes, tune up, plug in, get behind a microphone, and stand under a spotlight trying to get every person in the room to be watching, listening and otherwise paying exclusive attention to you... and your worried showing "emotion" might seem self indulgent????
Now granted, if it's to the point where it ruins the tune... that's something else. Time and practice will/should get you through it. |
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Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | pull an Ashley Simpson on it... |
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January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | I guess that's just the answer, play it till it gets old. It's not so much about not showing emotion, it's keeping the emotion from interfering with the tune.
Just "Play It" as that masked man said............
JFDI |
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September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | On the flipside, maybe not every song you know has to be for public consumption.
It's a rare gift to come across a song that gets to you that way. To play it over & over until the personal magic is lost would be a shame. |
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February 2008
Posts: 747
| Originally posted by Mr. Ovation:
"and may be regarded by some as self indulgent. "
You say that like it's a bad thing.
You put on the right clothes, tune up, plug in, get behind a microphone, and stand under a spotlight trying to get every person in the room to be watching, listening and otherwise paying exclusive attention to you... and your worried showing "emotion" might seem self indulgent????
Now granted, if it's to the point where it ruins the tune... that's something else. Time and practice will/should get you through it. Not sure that I understand what you’re getting at.
I was simply remarking upon something that “may” happen.
You’ve taken the last clause from my post out of context from its accompanying remarks.
Moreover, it’s clear from what I said that I was referring to someone choking up in the middle of a line to the point of it being a distraction and not someone just using vocal inflection or whatever to convey a bit of emotion. |
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December 2001
Posts: 7233
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | I was being sarcastic.. not combative.. Just struck my giggle-string to see any performance referred to as "may be regarded by some as self indulgent"... I thought being self indulgent was THE point of any performance... LOL |
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February 2008
Posts: 747
| Yeah, I suppose there is a certain amount of self indulgence in any performance but then there's the angst ridden types who go way over the top and every second line is a portrayal of world weary misery which can get old real fast for an audience. For those ones there should be a warning on the back of the ticket that says: "may be regarded by some as self indulgent."..lol |
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February 2008
Posts: 747
| http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USafrOU3e88&NR=1 |
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December 2006
Posts: 6995
Location: Jet City | I suppose it depends on the situation for me. There's a few songs I do that are pretty emotional and I use it to my advantage and let it show through.
However, that would be just a regular performance. When I played at my grandmother's memorial service earlier this year, I totally broke down in the middle of the song. I had played it over and over again and thought I'd be good, but when the time came, I couldn't make it through. |
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November 2005
Posts: 4832
Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | I got a good gig/experience out of losing it!
Was at a writing seminar and one exercise lead to me reading out 3 paragraphs on a traumatic childhood incident. I choked up and teared a little reading it but continued through.
As a result, I was invited to Vancouver to spend a day working with a Nashville pro writer who wanted to write a song about a parallel situation.
Don't underestimate the value of 'losing it' at the right time, for the right reason. |
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How do you get past it?
