Emile

Browsing Archive: May, 2012

DailySing - 120 (5.30.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Thursday, May 31, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
It happened again!
15 minutes and 19 seconds... G-O-N-E-!!
The computer froze AGAIN!!!
So, I rebooted it and double checked my iPod... The Voice Memos file is now blank!!!

It wasn't before I rebooted, but it is now!!!!!!
There's nothing on the computer, because nothing is on the iPod!!!!!!!!! 

To listen to DailySing - 120... You can't...!

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DailySing - 119 (5.29.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Wednesday, May 30, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I decided to shake things up a little tonight. After establishing a groove, the first solo exploration I went into was about flowing some lyrics on the fly. Although I still suck at it, I can see a definite improvement in my delivery and word choices.

That was exciting, but I followed that phase with an exploration of my upper register as I became a guitar, horn section, bass, and finally a whole drum set. In between each foray into town... I had fun!

To listen to DailySing - 119, click here.

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DailySing - 118 (5.28.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Tuesday, May 29, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I am extremely dissapointed!
No, that's not quite true. In reality, I'm extremely pissed off!!! 

I recorded tonight's DailySing, and it was lost in translation when my computer froze  ;~(

I considered writing about what I did, but without being able to listen to what I've described... what's the point?

 It's late and I'm going to bed!


I'd normally write, "To listen to DailySing - 118, click here", but tonight there's nothing to listen to!

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DailySing - 117 (5.27.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Monday, May 28, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I enjoyed myself tonight. I started with a variation on a theme that keeps surfacing from my psyche. To put it to rest, it looks like I'm going to have to record it.

I did explored this melodic theme in more depth than I ever have before. By the time I was a third of the way through my DailySing, I had found variations on the variation I began with. I interspersed the original theme with what I had built so far, and played with different ways to solo.

The whole thing felt like it came in three ...
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DailySing - 116 (5.26.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Sunday, May 27, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
This session had a playful quality for me. After establishing the melodic phrase, for my first exploration, I went all VP on it.

My second exploration centered around the upper range of my voice, the precision and clarity of my tone when I jump from one octave to another.

My third exploration used lyrics on the fly, which wasn't as difficult as I expected, but I kept it short anyway. I then followed that up with different forays into the extremes of my range. Jumping from a bass groove to the s...
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DailySing - 115 (5.25.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Saturday, May 26, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Tonight's DailySing had humor in it. While listening to the playback, I was pleased with the way I was building the jam around the main melody, then breaking everything up with two vp interludes followed by a solo exploration, into a rhythmic approach to the next solo exploration. And that's just the first third of the whole improv.

I seem to be breaking the longer jams into sections in my mind. This one started with a theme that I kept throughout the singing. It essentially has a beginning mi...
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DailySing - 114 (5.24.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Friday, May 25, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Distant... is how I felt while singing tonight's DailySing. I was in a standard jazz headspace for the longest time, and explored all kinds of permutations for solos. 

I then felt the need to change everything and got into a quick highlife beat which devolved into a funk default that I often use. I followed that with a reggae groove which slid into a ballad-like solo. I wound up at another funky default that uses some vocal percussion then back to ballad-like solo, to funky groove, to Afro fun...
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DailySing - 113 (5.23.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Thursday, May 24, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I was struck by the disparity between what we "perform" and what we glean from the playback.

While I was singing, I felt on top of the world. When I listened to the playback, my perceptions were different and I could hear the flaws that had not been evident until after the adrenaline wore off. 

Many brilliant ideas remain, and when I started tonight's DailySing, I was inpired.
There are rhythmic grooves, long strains of solo voice, vocal percussion and a lot more in this session.

To listen to Dai...
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DailySing - 112 (5.22.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Wednesday, May 23, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Tonight's DailySing felt like one long jam! It was fun from beginning to end! Even when I transitioned to different tempi, feel, or genre of music, I held it together.

I went to some "outside" places for tonight's session. I literally just held on for the ride. The all vocal percussion section near the ballad section, near the jazz section, etc...

To listen to DailySing - 112, click here.

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DailySing - 111 (5.21.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Tuesday, May 22, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
What struck me first about tonight's DailySing was the smoothness of the transitions from one idea to another. I always expect them to be tight, but tonight they felt inspired.

The second thing that struck about tonight's session was the arc of the improv. There was a beginning, middle, and end with several bridges and side trips into various modes of improvisation.

The rhythmic application of non percussive vocal sounds, the beat established by the use of my hands drumming on my chest even whi...
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DailySing - 110 (5.20.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Monday, May 21, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I took it old school tonight, and literally didn't sensor any thought as it came to mind. When an idea was fully explored, I felt perfectly fine with changing melodies or grooves immediately, and launching into a new world of exploration.

At one point, it was all about the rhythms I was playing and singing out about. It felt very avant-garde and experimental, and yet familiar at the same time. I played percussion on my chest while doing VP and really enjoyed the richness of the textures out he...
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DailySing - 109 (5.19.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Sunday, May 20, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Tonight's DailySing was the expression of a satiated spirit, slow, loose, easy and relaxed. Maybe a little too relaxed as I dozed off five times.

I started in a slow ballad mode, and during the playback, I can hear myself sounding more and more tired, and less and less coherent musically. I was very content with what I was experiencing and stopped mid-phrase. A few seconds of dead air, then I come back in as if nothing had ever happened.

I even added some syncopation to the melody in lieu of a ...
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DailySing - 108 (5.18.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Saturday, May 19, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Surreal is how tonigh's DailySing felt. I came home at 11:30 pm and didn't have any time to waste, so I went down to the car. Sitting in a dark parking garage with only the glow of my iPod on the dashboard to see by. This time, none of my neighbors walked by the car while I was clapping, making weird percussive noises, and singing at the top my lungs.

I didn't sensor myself and allowed whatever came through, to come through unchecked. I explored the upper register of my voice while soloing, an...
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DailySing 107 (5.17.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Friday, May 18, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Tonight's DailySing was weird to say the least. I did improvise, but in a slightly different way.

I've lately been fascinated by all things Kurt Elling and recently fell in love with the song Samurai Cowboy. I decided to see if I could sing this piece in any way shape or form, possibly interprete it a la Emile, and finally to find out what improvisations could come from this. 

This was one of those nights where no matter what you did, it sucked! I learned a lot though. Musically, Kurt Elling is...
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DailySing - 106 (5.16.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Thursday, May 17, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
When I opened my mouth tonight, rhythms came out, and I went with it. I tried layering different parts until I couldn't handle singing so many parts at once. I came back to a simple groove.

The next phase was adding a bass line to the groove along with some body percussion. From there, it was time to add a little solo in my upper range, boucing back and forth between that and the bass line.

After exploring various permutations of the groove line, I went into Nantucket Sleighride by the band Mou...
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DailySing - 105 (5.15.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Wednesday, May 16, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I was proud of the way I started tonight. As I got ready to sing, my mind was racing with ideas and possibilities, so much so that I wished for some quiet... just so that could feel "the opening". I found it at the last possible nanosecond. My mouth was open and so many ideas were clamoring to be heard that I literally closed my eyes and some totally unknown music came out of my mouth. It was sweet!

Of course, I then had to develop whatever this was becoming and mine the possibilities for all ...
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Dailying - 104 (5.14.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Tuesday, May 15, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Tonight's DalySing started as a fast jazz oriented walking bass line which quickly morphed into something a little funkier, and after several permutations , my solo voice sang sotto voce and building to a bluesy passage.

I sang in the living room while my wife sat by and spun yarn. I wasn't embarrassed nor was I using her as an audience to work that energy up in myself. However, I think her presence affected my performance in some subtle way.

I played with rhythm a lot, yet, I was able to balan...
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DailySing - 103 (5.13.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Monday, May 14, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I didn't have an easy time of it this evening. I started with a melody that just wouldn't stick in my brain, so I kept doing variations whenever I tried to get back to the head (top of a song).
 
I finally just started playing a djembe rhythm on my chest which helped cement the melodic phase I had in mind at the time.
I was able to flesh out different ideas that came to mind. Melody with rhythm, unacompanied melody, vocal percussion as a verse, vp as a bridge, drastic juxtapositions in rhythm, a...
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DailySing - 102 (5.12.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Sunday, May 13, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Tonight was fun! I still feel the effects from our Improv Family session last night. One of the people there has a unique interpretation of rhythm. She is steeped in West African music and I find myself not simply drawn to her rhythmic expression, but entranced by it. Her phrasing is also very West African. I find strips of Wolloff, Serere and Bambara rhythms in her choices. Singing with her is deeply satisfying... like comfort food. Melodically, her sense of phrasing is unique... very Africa...
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DailySing - 101 (5.11.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Saturday, May 12, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I've been enjoying these last few DailySings because of the dynamic quality that's come through each session. Tonight was no different, but the cause was unique.

Tonight was the first meeting of what I like to call Improv Family. Several of us got together and improvised in different configurations. I then left and got dinner out in downtown Culver City. By the time I was ready to do my DailySing, I had the richness of this entire evening to draw upon.

Towards the end, I even tried to sing word...
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DailySing - 100 (5.10.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Friday, May 11, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I was tired and sleepy when I started tonight's DailySing. As groggy and grumpy as I was, I've now been energized!

I began with an exploration of my voice in its middle range, then ventured into falsetto solo territory. I explored different avenues, but eventually found myself playing with a riff from Deep Purple's Sweet Child In Time. This allowed me to play with various rhythms on my chest while exploring how to sing best with fists and hands slapping my sternum.

Vocal percussion came to the ...
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DailySing - 99 (5.9.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Thursday, May 10, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Dynamic...! That's the best way to describe today's DailySing. I've been listening to Carlinhos Brown and Kurt Elling lately and I could feel the bits and pieces I've been picking up, start to gel and make sense inside me.

I started with a rhythm which I then layered (a la Carlinhos Brown) into polyrhythms using my hands and mouth. I then added my actual voice, played with made up language, and rhythmic counterpoint. Later on in the improv, I explore how I use my voice to solo with my falsetto...
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DailySing - 98 (5.8.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Wednesday, May 9, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I was proud of the way I started tonight. I had had several very cool ideas and improvs throughout the day, but by the time I was to sing, I had a particular idea I wanted to revisit. I caught myself, and when I opened my mouth, I allowed anything to come through. I was rewarded with a direction I had not considered.

I was a little dissapointed about the fact that I fell asleep 3 separate times during my improv. Last duty after an unusually long day. Whatcha gonna do?

To listen to DailySing - 9...
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DailySing - 97 (5.7.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Tuesday, May 8, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I feel totally uninspired and mechanical. However, when I listen to the playback, it doesn't sound half bad and I wonder at the role of perception in my life. We (humans) alter our appearance, what we say, and even what we think in order to be perceived a certain way.

I had fun exploring my upper register again, but a harder time returning to the melody... and it changed all throught the 15 minutes. 

To listen to DailySing - 97, click here.

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DailySing - 96 (5.6.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Tuesday, May 8, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Well... it didn't happen. I was so exhausted I fell asleep after putting my daughter to bed, and woke up at 12:30 AM.
I had been meaning to sing all day, but never got around to it. Always, later later later...

Well, the best thing to do after you fall off your horse, is to get right back on.

I'll sing and blog tomorrow!

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DailySing - 95 (5.5.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Sunday, May 6, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I literally started this DailySing with 14 minutes left in the day. I explored that jumping back and forth  between holding down the groove then singing in my extreme upper range, as I imitate different solo instruments, guitar, piano, trumpet...

After a while it's no longer about the kind of instrument or the different melodic choices made because of the nature of the instrument, but the examination of my extreme upper range and that dead space that comes after my highest note.

When that's ove...

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DailySing - 94 (5.4.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Saturday, May 5, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Jumped at the chance to sing in the car again. It was late and I was burnt out after a long day.

Even though I started out calmly, the more I sang, the more exhuberant I got, the more chances I took, and the more boundaries I pushed. I thoroughly explored the high end of my range tonight.

I had fun jumping from holding down the backbeat with bass and VP, to flying high in a solo at the apex of my range, and back again.

To listen to more of DailySing - 94, click here.

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DailySing - 93 (5.3.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Friday, May 4, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Tonight's DailySing felt like a jumping marathon. I jumped from one idea to the next to the next to the next to the next... without fleshing any of these brilliant ideas out.

Abandonning the rhythmic component while I explored spoken word and vocal soloing was exhilarating. The lack of rhythm gives me more freedom, but less structure. Musicality is maintained by occasional references to the melody. A little rhythm and no melody works well for spoken word also.

To listen to DailySing - 93, click...
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DailySing - 92 (5.2.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Thursday, May 3, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Tonight's DailySing came on the heels of the one that got away. I was so tired last night, that I fell asleep on the couch and woke up at 12:45 AM.

I let the spirit guide me tonight and it felt like having to readjust to a feeling of familiarity.
It didn't feel like me singing, and I didn't like it.

I am tired. Maybe things will make more sense in the morning.

To listen to DailySing - 92, click here.

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DailySing - 90 (4.30.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Tuesday, May 1, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Singing felt like slogging through molasses tonight. Every foray into solo exploration was a chore. I wasn't inspired and kept finding myself sliding into default mode. I had to force myself to break whatever pattern I was slipping into, with each exploratory foray.

I tried improvising with words, with cuica sounds, with different rhythms, and with singing this piece as a ballad. Breaking it down into separate categories helps my brain monitor what I have and haven't worked on.

Still, I feel th...
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If you can talk, you can sing


Emile Hassan Dyer I believe that singing is our birthright, and that it is good for our brains, bodies, and spirit. Singing releases oxytocin in the brain, and many studies have shown a correlation of oxytocin with human bonding, increases in trust, feelings of calmness and security, as well as reductions in anxiety. In other words, SINGING IS GOOD FOR YOU! I get high making up music on the spot. I get high(er) when I can do it with several people at once. There's nothing like riding the crest of a creative wave, linked harmonically and rhythmically, supporting, leading, following, creating, coaxing, cajoling, p-l-a-y-i-n-g... THAT'S MY BLISS! Singing for 15 minutes a day means trusting yourself. It means clearing your mind, opening up and discovering what sounds can come out through you, if you allow it. To listen to each of my daily sings, click on the "songs" link on the left in the grey field above the most recent post or on the link at the end of each post.

Categories

My DailySing practice is inspired by Will Hewett's Sing15 practice.

You can learn more about Sing15 at www.willhewett.com.

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"creative wave"percussive lyrical vocal solos melody "richard bona "sing out loud 'vp guy" riffs sounds patterns 4/4 4/4 feel 4/4 time 6/8 6/8 bell 6/8 feel 6/8 time a cappella a cappella thang abandon accented beat accents act of singing actors adaptability addendums aeolian african vocal delivery afro blue afro funk afro-cuban air flow alive ambient apex approach arc arc of the improv architecture arrange arrangements arranging art artless aspect of music atmosphere attacked the singing audience backbeat background hum balance ballad ballad-like bass bass line bass lines bass llne be the sound beat beatbox beatboxing beats berimbaus berzerker bird song birthday birthing the melodies blog blues bluesy body percussion body rhythms bp brain brassy bre bridge bridges burst carlinhos brown catchy tune cd channel chant chants choices choir chops chorus clapping claps clarity classical clave climactic crescendo codification of play cohesion color compose compositions concert conduit 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