Emile

DailySing - 54 (3.25.2012)

March 26, 2012
I decided to start with a slow ballad-like melody to push my voice a little, to listen to my tone, to test my vocal control. I dipped, dove, soared, tumbled and spun with my voice. It was like an aerial display for my voice. Like last night's DailySing, I was trying to keep it together at the extremes of my range, by jumping back forth between the melody, the bass and solo motifs.

About halfway through, I switched from improvisation to singing Afro Blue. After a few passes I started to stretch out a little and explore the shape of the words in my mouth as I sang them. Then I played with the order of the verses, the bridge, and the refrain. Finally I felt myself getting swept up in an improvosation based on Afro Blue. I subjectively learned a lot, and eventuallly it will come out as new music.

To listen to DailySing - 54, click here. 

 

DailySing - 53 (3.24.2012)

March 25, 2012
When I opened my mouth to sing this evening, an old song just came out, so I went with it. I normally play guitar with this song, and found myself singing the guitar part along with the melody, since it's all a cappella. It's been so long that it was a bit of a rollercoaster ride remembering where the key was, which lyrics were used, how to make the different parts fit together as I bounced back and forth with my voice. I improvised a lot toward the end, as I was exploring untried possibiliti...
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DailySing - 52 (3.23.2012)

March 24, 2012
What a journey tonight's DailySing turned out to be. I just dove in with both feet so to speak, and found myself warming up my groovebox, then jumping into sung words, over to the land of polyrhythms (sung consecutively), into a rendition of Jobim's The Waters Of March, more grooveboxing, and finally a funky little rendition of Sweet Jane. It lasted over 17 minutes. I am happy and sleepy all at once.

To listen to DailySing - 52, click here.

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DailySing - 51 (3.22.2012)

March 23, 2012
Now, instead of trying to find a theme and coming back to it, my brain wants to just go and explore with no rhyme or reason, just for the sheer joy of discovery and play.

I mean, why not give my brain free license? Something will come of this, It always does.Listening to the playback,  I can hear certain patterns and choices that I always make. Do I simply acknowledge them, or do I try to change them? No, I simply augment them for now. I'll observe what I do then look for alternatives to enric...
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DailySing - 50 (3.21.2012)

March 22, 2012
Tonight's DailySing was a straight ahead journey into the unknown. I didn't put any restrictions on myself, or devise a structure upon which to hang the improvisation. It felt like I was gliding from one idea to the next, making the rules up as I went along. It was a freeing experience! I just opened my mouth and got out of the way! I didn't try to guide the improv, or anticipate the improv. I just rode the creative wave and embraced the process of birthing soundscapes while maintaining no at...
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DailySing - 49 (3.20.2012)

March 21, 2012
This DailySing was a little more coherent than the last one. I was so sleepy last night that I couldn't string together two simple thoughts, let alone describe what was going on in my inner musical landscape while I was singing.

Tonight, I explore my voice as "jazz singer", as another instrument in the band, as a tonal center. Kurt Elling, Al Jarreau, Frank Sinatra or Harry Conick Jr, all can sing in the same register in which they speak, so I tried it. I attempted to keep my throat and chest ...
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DailySing - 48 (3.19.2012)

March 20, 2012
Fell asleep during tonight's DailySing, 3 times. I felt lke I was rambling in sections, while in others, the theme was well in hand.

To listen to DailySing - 48, click here. 
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DailySing - 47 (3.18.2012)

March 19, 2012
I've been into continuity lately, with the several blogs mentioning themes and the ability to return to a melody or passage. Tonight was not that... at all!

 Tonight, I went on what felt like an ultimate exploratory musical journey. I sang melodies, established patterns, and somewhere in the convoluted joy of birthing these musical ideas, I tried to return to an idea, and made the choice to follow whatever came up, whether it was a variation on my original idea, or a new idea springing organic...

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DailySing - 46 (3.17.2012)

March 18, 2012
I'm proud of myself tonight, and feeling better about my ability to keep a theme going. 
I can depart from the original idea, play around, then come back to the main melodic phrase, then explore some other aspect of this thing called improvisation, and again return to the same main melodic phrase. I often come back to a variation of the main theme because I get so lost in my exploration that I forget what the theme is exactly and can only express an approximation of it.

 Tonight, I struck anoth...

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DailySing - 45 (3.16.2012)

March 17, 2012
"Dodging the Judges" should be the title of this blog entry. How to create  beauty yet stay unattached? The line between investing oneself and remaining unattached is undefined for me when I create music in the moment.
 
On the one hand I can stay hyper vigilant, as during a performance where I straddle being in control, yet spontaneous enough to keep the listener engaged. My spontaneous creations demand flexibility and adaptability, yet clarity and pitch can be greatly affected during an impro...
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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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