Emile

Showing Tag: "music" (Show all posts)

DailySing - 212 (9.6.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Friday, September 7, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Enthusiastic music tonight...

Optimism and hope are emotions which can be used to influence our work.

Tonight, I tried to work on covering as much in a song as possible simultaneously. I sang the bass line then added a tenor harmony. A percussive pattern to help define the pulse or tempo, then falsetto was added on top. 

I couldn't do them all simultaneously for any length of time, so I jumped back and forth. It's a great exercise to build up my chops by octave jumping, hitting the precise note ...
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DailySing - 208 (8.29.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Thursday, August 30, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I've had a wondrous day, full of wondrous experiences, from the tastes, scents, and sensually rich sounds to the sobering daily reminders of my mortality. Ok, maybe not wondrous, but still a damn good day rooted as it was, in the appreciation of the mundane.

The vitality I felt was transfered to the music I sang. With gusto and fervor didst I enter the funky realm of VP (Vocal Percussion), bass grooves and syncopation!

I felt tonight's division of time was in 2 eight minute segments instead of ...
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DailySing - 204 (8.23.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Friday, August 24, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Free fall...! That's what tonight's session felt like

Once I had a theme, or recurring melodic pattern, it was off to the races. I spent all of my singing time playing with variations on the main theme, as well as ideas of a less traditional nature. 

Rhythm played a huge part in my creative process for this session. I used radically opposing rhythms to define different musical sections, as well as to change the mood and atmosphere of the ongoing jam.

Do yourself a favor, and listen to DailySing ...
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DailySing - 201 (8.20.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Tuesday, August 21, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Tonight's DailySing was a beeline journey where I went from one rhythm to another, morphing the melodic phrase to fit. I consciously looked for ways to jump to new ideas, instead of coming back to a common phrase to tie them all together.

I went with my strengths and didn't focus on working on my weak points. Instead whatever served the music was at the root of all motivation (as it should be).

Using that strategy, I wound up in some interesting place musically speaking. I found old melodic ide...
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DailySing - 200 (8.19.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Monday, August 20, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
A pretty joyous weekend led to the sounds that were generated tonight...

I wanted to have tonight's musical journey be interesting enough to a listener, that they would pay to see me create in front of their eyes. I think I had some moments tonight that worked very well, and while I could occasionally catch a weak transition, the overall effect wasn't bad. I was entertained while listening to the playback.

I starts off rather gently, then I added a soft backbeat while I expanded on the main mel...
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DailySing - 197 (8.15.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Thursday, August 16, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Tonight's DailySing was a tentative return to keeping my pact with myself.

I've been frustrated! Everything I do sounds the same lately, and yet through this process, I realize that I am learning to really mine a musical idea for all it's worth. 

 One of my goals is to be able to start a riff, go through its pattern, create some variations... then, after a bridge and a re-establishment of the main riff, launch into a Grateful Dead style exploration that has cohesion and depth, until coming back...

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DailySing - 184 (8.2.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Friday, August 3, 2012,
During tonight's DailySing, I reached new depths in "allowing" while remaining alert. 

I was literally trying to BE the music, BE the improv, BE the VP rhythms. 

Allowing myself to see the music from the inside as I sing it and bring it into reality was an exercise in duality.

I lost track of time and sang for 16mns.

To listen to DailySing - 184, click here.

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DailySing - 180 (7.29.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Monday, July 30, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
There's an up energy that I have around my music lately. I can hear it in the choices I made in tonight's DailySing, in the choices I make when I randomly pick a sound pattern from a crowded room or the street and riff on it.

I haven't been too worried about going to my defaults lately, but have been working them in new ways and from more of an architectural perspective. Crafting a sonic piece from a perspective other than that of a singer or even of an instrumentalist, but the perspective of ...
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DailySing - 178 (7.27.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Saturday, July 28, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
A bright exhuberant DailySing with plenty of explorations and sections of effusive rhythms and joyfully sung melodies. 

I feel full of effervescent life energy and it's coming out in hearfelt musicality. 
I suggest that anyone reading my words try this.

Focus on a positive or happy thought or feeling. Let it build and swell until it's in your heart/gut... then open your mouth to sing. Don't anticipate, don't think... remain blank in your mind, while allowing your heart/gut to run riot.
What comes...
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DailySing - 176 (7.25.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Thursday, July 26, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I have to say that the timbre of the last two DailySings has been joyful and bright.

Today, I sang as soon as I came home out on the balcony. I did attract a little attention from a few passersby, but it didn't matter. The music was exhuberant and energized. One of these days, I'll do it in the park.

The traffic and other ambient sounds provided a nice backdrop or pad for my improv. I found a melody and was able to come back to it with no problem. I was also able to stick to the same groove wit...
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DailySing - 172 (7.21.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Monday, July 23, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
There are times when the musical landscape that I traverse is irksome to me, bleak and scarred and deserted.

That's how singing feels tonight... Just so empty.
I can find nothing that points to my present feelings. I'm just devoid of all creativity, curiosity and will.

I'm sure that this too shall pass. I am hesitant to download the recording that resulted from these feelings.
I'll decide in the next few days.

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DailySing - 170 (7.19.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Friday, July 20, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
In keeping with last night's discoveries around keeping happy thoughts while singing, I did just that and am a little surprised at how obvious it is. My joyous mood is affecting the music I chanel,  which leads me to tonight's discovery.

The most effective way to be creative in the moment with vocal improv, is to not rely on our brains, but to allow it to step aside while other senses take over. Just a light touch is all that's needed.

To listen to DailySing - 170, click here. 


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DailySing - 169 (7.18.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Thursday, July 19, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Not only do our thoughts create our own reality, but they color and influence everything we feel and do.

Tonight, I stayed focused on very happy thoughts and positive feelings while doing my exploratory singing. While I didn't find a direction influenced by my mood, I did find a distinct flavor to my musical choices.

I also found that thus occupied, my mind wasn't looking for ideas to come up with. It was all right there at my fingertips, as long as I didn't push too hard to lead and be in char...

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DailySing - 168 (7.17.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Wednesday, July 18, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
My thoughts were lyrical in nature and tonight's DailySing reflects that.

A friend and fellow drummer and singer turned me onto Symphonicities, an album with Sting backed up by a classical orchestra. I was able to listen to a song called I Burn For You, in which the orchestration was simultaneously rich and sparse to great effect.

I imagined my musical co-conspirator and I exchanging patterns, riffs, and ideas ad infinitum, with vocal variations on the main melody and rhythmic textures to excit...
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DailySing - 160 (7.9.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Tuesday, July 10, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I was back in the car getting lost in the music! It was great!!!

A soft repetitive melody in my low range served as a solid bass. I was even able to depart and go way outside without forgetting the main melody when it was time to get back to it. Guiding this felt very light and effortless. Less is certainly more!

I enjoyed the funkiness of the bass line and all of its permutations. We bridged into jazz, rock, and some imitation neo-soul.

The vocal solos were all different, yet were inspired by t...

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DailySing - 159 (7.8.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Monday, July 9, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Memories are an excellent conduit for creativity, whether it be for actors, scuptors, or musicians.

In the same way that an actor accesses his or her emotions through memory, so too can a singer bring forth rich material as inspiration, as subject matter, as an entry to places where we can transport a listener or an entire audience.

Tonight, I revisited places, emotions and states of mind from this past week, from the bitttersweet to the sublime. 
The trick is to not let oneself get distracted f...
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DailySing - 150 (6.29.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Saturday, June 30, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Listening to tonight's DailySing, I am surprised at how dynamic it sounds.

 I definitely took myself, as audience, on a true musical journey, not just through changes in rhythm, tempo, or melodic content, but in mood, and atmosphere, along with perceptions altered by musical choices.


 There's an emotional component to the very production of sound, to every facet and aspect of music.


 It felt like I was taping into a wide variety of choices, and a deep rich pool of musical possibilities.


To listen...
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DailySing - 148 (6.27.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Thursday, June 28, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
What started as a fun island sounding groove morphed into something a little funkier and even more fun!

This didn't last all that long. The funky island fun groove became an exercise in staying awake, then when I did doze, it became about singing for the full 15 mns. Forget modalities, scales and musical theory. This was about something primal like survival. Like keeping my promise to myself! By the end it just involved making sound... producing sound... For 15 mns...!

To listen to DailySing - ...
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DailySing - 144 (6.23.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Sunday, June 24, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Tonight, I experienced a true journey through my musical landscape. A part of me was the detached observer, yet I was still able to focus completely on what I was doing.

It was thrilling to watch ideas morph and grow through repetition. Each time through, the part I was singing would change in service to the song, sometimes getting more complex, but most often getting simpler and clearer.

There was a VP (vocal percussion) section where I was able to visit 4/4, 6/8, and jump from beatboxing to V...

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DailySing - 141 (6.20.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Thursday, June 21, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Tonight's DailySing started with confusion. My friend Will talks about a "sit up" place, which I think I've discovered quite by accident. As I understand it, it's a musical transitional moment of discomfort or "turbulence" , when we don't feel as confident. Maybe our voice wavers, we feel vulnerable, we back off instead of singing with confidence.

This is the place where the real work needs to be done. This is the place that calls for courage, the courage to feel the discomfort, the constricti...
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DailySing - 138 (6.17.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Monday, June 18, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I started tonight's DailySing with a blank slate, so that I could be true to whatever was coming through me.

While the BP helped ground the music with a mean backbeat, I left it out for long periods of time to explore my voice qualities when I solo, without the distraction of a groove. I never thought I'd ever say THAT!

Other times, I changed the beat from a straight 4/4 to a 6/8 feel to see where the different peception would take me. It made for a varied and entertaining creation.

To listen to...
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DailySing - 134 (6.13.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Thursday, June 14, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I did it again. Just as I was sitting down to sing, I had all of these musical ideas come into my head. It took a conscious will to ignore them and just open my mouth while keeping a blank mind.

The intros are rough with this method, because I'm trying to fit what I'm hearing into a pattern for something already established, yet I'm trying to do just that very thing while establishing a rhythm.

The solo exploration was revealing as usual, about where I put my voice in my throat and chest along ...
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DailySing - 129 (6.8.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Saturday, June 9, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I lost track of time again, and I was so into it!

Tonight's DailySing was inspired by my Improv Family, which consists of people who have taken any of Rhiannon's advanced workshops. It's a pleasure to sing with them, to connect different musical sensibilities and styles into a cohesive whole. So far we've done different permutations of Orchestra and Mystery Band.

DailySing - 129 is inspired by the session I just came from with my Improv Family. I explore the crafting of different sections tonig...
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DailySing 126 - (6.5.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Wednesday, June 6, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Tonight's DailySing was about holding on, for me. After establishing an island sounding riff, I gave myself over to an exploration of solos.

I wonder, how does your instrument affect how you interprete a piece of music? 

As a guitarist, I'll listen for melodic and rhythmic cues to follow.

As a percussionist, I'll listen for a pattern between the rhythms and the melody.
As a vocalist, I listen to the silence in between the notes, and try to taylor my musical ideas to fit.
As a pianist I listen to t...
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DailySing - 121 (5.31.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Friday, June 1, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Tonight was special!
 
I let go of whatever tension/stress/angst I've been holding inside myself. It was therapeutic! I sang with no filter and was rewarded with an interesting and varied DailySing.

I gave myself permission to make sounds that are considered un-musical, and mashed them up with riffs that I was spittin' earlier.

I took radically juxtaposed rhythms and fitted them into something altogether different. Right here in my own living room, I felt the same freedom as I feel when singing i...
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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 - 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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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 - 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 - 80 (4.20.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Saturday, April 21, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
So much for getting to my DailySing in the morning on the balcony. Maybe tomorrow...

Tonight's session was based on a riff I came up with many years ago in college, before I considered this a cappella thang. I revisited whistling the melody and its variations, as well as a vocal percussion interlude, and finally juxtaposed wildly constrasting rhythms to help me launch explorations I might not ordinarily gravitate towards.

Unexpectedly, I felt trapped by this riff. It was ingrained so deeply tha...
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DailySing - 79 (4.19.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Friday, April 20, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Tonight's DailySing felt like it was all over the place. My improv wasn't exciting to me because I felt out of sorts. I felt out of sorts because I tried to record several times earlier in the day, but couldn't because of technical difficulties. I felt inspired then, but by the time I got it fixed, I wasn't in the mood to sing anything at all.

I did do some experimenting with whistling. I whistled the main melody I was working with, then added my voice at the same time. I sound like a "musical...
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DailySing - 76 (4.16.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Tuesday, April 17, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Feeling run down and not like singing at all, but it' s turned out to be invigorating!

I do remember that at one point I fell asleep, but that comes later in the playback. So far I sound inspired. I'd listen to this if it were on a CD. That should be my project, to create a CD from all improvized pieces, then go back, overdub and flesh them all out. 

The way I'm singing tonight, it could work... Inspired creativity in the moment. I start with a riff and explore it, move away from it, come back ...
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DailySing - 63 (4.3.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Wednesday, April 4, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
By this time, Will said that his practice was becoming the center or cornerstone of his day, that his day revolved around his singing time, that his schedule somehow magically made room for the singing... Good for him!

I'm not having that experience. I go about my day, then come home and do the family thing, then the daddy thing where I put baby girl to bed and read her a story, then start working on music for the choir. By now, I'm exhausted and all I want to do is go to bed, but then I remem...
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DailySing - 62 (4.2.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Tuesday, April 3, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I survived April Fool's Day. Actually it was a great day! I learned Vinx's Tell My Feet, and Maggie and I taught it to the choir. We all had a blast!!!

Tonight, when I did my DailySing I found myself enjoying a free form improv, when about halfway through I started noodling with Tell My Feet, which I then improvised around. My inner musical landscape was very happy and positive as I explored making it my own for our upcoming concert. I suspect that these positive feelings are in part an extens...
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DailySing - 61 (4.1.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Monday, April 2, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Gratitude, gratitude and more gratitude... is what I've been feeling all day today and yesterday. I thought that it could be a reaction to my friend Anne's death, but realize it doesn't matter how I come to appreciate my riches... Just that I appreciate them! 

I've really been enjoying being a dad lately. It's not necessarily been easy, but it is worth it. Witnessing my child's growth and development is like being part of an action adventure/drama/comedy/documentary/reality epic. Parenting imm...
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DailySing - 59 (3.30.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Saturday, March 31, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Today, I learned of the death of dear friend, beloved singer and fellow improviser Anne Potter. I will miss her sharp wit, quick mind and wicked sense of humour. When we improvised together, I always felt like we went to similar creative places for our inspiration, and I thought of her as my "creatin' cousin". I love her a lot and was thrown for a loop as the news of her death trickled through my body. I remembered an unflinching explorer pushing me to stay outside my comfort zone, who stayed...
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DailySing - 58 (3.29.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Friday, March 30, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
While I feel like every 15 mn session teaches me much and allows me to go deeper into my vocal exploration, I still don't feel like my day revolves around this practice yet. It's usually tagged on as a last task of the day, even when I think of doing it earlier in the day, it still gets relegated to the last thing I gotta do today.

That being said, I had a great time singing tonight, because I let it come through me without controling it which I haven't done in a while. No agenda of trying to ...
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DailySing - 55 (3.26.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Tuesday, March 27, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Tonight's vocal exploration felt like a journey along a linear path... Kind of like a Grateful Dead jam, you know... Lots and LOTS of improvisation, for long periods of time!!!

I find myself stretching my capacity to sing octaves, to jump back and forth and land squarely on the note. A little like life.I am stretching my capacity to ask for what I want, for what I am worth and for what I deserve. I am expanding myself enough to see a glimpse of my core and that place that recognizes my self wo...
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DailySing - 54 (3.25.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Monday, March 26, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
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...
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DailySing - 49 (3.20.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Wednesday, March 21, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
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 - 47 (3.18.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Monday, March 19, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
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 - 45 (3.16.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Saturday, March 17, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
"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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DailySing - 40 (3.11.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Monday, March 12, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Our emotional landscape directly affects the content of the music, the method of performance, and the energy invested. Seems rather obvious, but the visceral experience is noteworthy. 
I had quite a good day, first breakfast with my daughter India, followed by teaching at choir, India's friend Philina's birthday party, where one of the other parents played piano while I jammed with my voice and beatbox rhythms, pick up my wife Billie from a workshop that she loved, then home for pizza from Mam...
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DailySing - 39 (3.10.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Sunday, March 11, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Once again it was late when I finally sang. I thought to change things up and energize myself by starting with made up language, but that didn't work. Not only did I not feel as energized as I wanted to be, I left the made up language behind and started singing. I occasionally threw in words, but that only lasted a few bars before I started reading words out loud randomly as accents to what I was singing. Words on the TV screen, words on the fridge, words on a letter, words on business cards,...
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DailySing - 34 (3.5.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Tuesday, March 6, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Why is the listening especially sweet tonight? What makes the same music move me one night, and bore me the next? Why does one person's unrefined delivery bring us to tears, while the trained vocalist can sound like a machine? 
It feels to me like a spirit versus brain question. If I feel it and channel the feeling and the intent into my words, no matter what they are, the emotion will come through to the listener. When I sing Spirit, when I am the song, when my intent is one with my sonic vib...
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DailySing - 29 (2.29.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Thursday, March 1, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Leap Year Day! This rare and wonderful energy exists on this unique day. It sent me back to basics for my DailySing, I just explored my voice with some simple melodies. I alternated using the echo mic and singing without it. I was more focused when I used it and my concentration drifted when I didn't. The novelty of the new toy is helping me to maintain my focus. When I "drift", I do go into some amazing musical places that I don't want to give up! Tonight's session lasted over 16 mns. I can ...
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DailySing - 27 (2.27.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Tuesday, February 28, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I'm two for two! I did not leave my body for unexplored inner musical landscapes while improvising tonight. I was able to maintain focus while staying receptive and open to source. I also jumped into my improvisational arch nemesis... Made up language! I love rhythms, melodies then harmonies to play with. Words are a distraction, and made up language has been too close to words, for me to enjoy the musicality of the sounds. I really tried tonight and I was able to make the leap, although my i...
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DailySing - 26 (2.26.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Monday, February 27, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
OMG!!!!!! 
I had so much fun with tonight's DailySing! I sang through a kids toy called an Echo Mic. I got one for myself and one for my daughter India earlier today. She loves it, and I apologize profusely to my wife Billie for the sounds my daughter insists on sharing, but it's a stellar addition of my arsenal of unique sound toys. It's basically a Lion's Roar but the size of a thick-ish mic, with a curved bowl in the top of the mic to create an echo effect, and a spring in the base to ampli...
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DailySing - 24 (2.24.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Saturday, February 25, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I did it again! I closed my eyes and started to sing, and when I opened them it was 17 minutes later. I can't take credit for what I sang as I don't remember doing it. I must've gone away when I sang this. I remember it as I listen, but I don't remember doing it originally. Trippy!!!
I bonded over beers with the guys from work, then came home and sang. It was very late and I didn't want to miss it. I did it, but fell asleep immediately afterwards, and woke up at 2:23 AM to write this blog.
It s...
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DailySing - 19 (2.19.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Monday, February 20, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I'm not using my full listening abilities when I sing. I read what Will wrote about listening, and the depth of immersion required pushes the boundaries of my comfort zone. I like to bounce in, dazzle/play/jam, then exit... Wham Bam Thank Ya Ma'am, which is rather superficial... on many musical levels. I am good at this improv thing and that requires that I be a good listener. However, in order to achieve the results I want, and to exemplify the behavior and work ethic to those I work with, I...
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DailySing - 18 (2.18.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Sunday, February 19, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
As I listen to this playback, I am filled with utter joy and fascination at the power, beauty and depth of expression in the human voice. It's a good thing to revisit, like Miles' quote from DailySing-17, it reconnects us to the basic truths we take for granted and eventually forget. I remember singing this... and at the time, my moving forward was powered by solid emotion!
I was singing  my emotions, even when I turned the tones into words, I was operating from a primarily emotionally charged...
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DailySing - 16 (2.16.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Friday, February 17, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I finally did it! I fell asleep whilst singing. I did a good job of floating on the ethereal musical whims of my muse, and jumping in with what I thought of as courage as I leapt from one musical idea to the next, keeping my mind wide open. I realized while listening to what I did that at some of these junctures or focii of change, I am actually falling asleep and singing out loud whatever stream of dream is coming through me at that time. I actually fall asleep for many seconds of agonizing ...
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DailySing 12 (2.12.2012.)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Monday, February 13, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I am upset and unable to focus consistently. I heard about Whitney Houston's death while at choir, then saw the tributes at the Grammy Awards. When I started my 15 minute sing, a catchy little tune drifted down through me, but it morphed into something more melancholy, which drifted into a lyric from "I will always Love You". From there I couldn't grow the chant idea that was coalescing. I kept drifting from one musical idea to another with little rhyme or reason. It felt like I was singing a...
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DailySing - 10 (2.10.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Saturday, February 11, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Here I am once again at the witching hour feeling both drained and energized. I went away again, but I wasn't all the way gone. There was a thin veil through which I experienced the here and now while I was in the music in some other place. This inner journey that comes about every time I sing in this way is intriguing. I feel the weight of the symbols behind the flashes of imagery and behind the story birthing the melodies that are coming through me. My voice stayed in the lower registers th...
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DailySing - 7 (2/7/2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Wednesday, February 8, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
The repeated huffing of Timbu, the male of our twin cats, led to an approximation of rhythm which started this little foray into unknown waters. I didn't stick to a musical path or idea, but neither was I a completely free and open channel. I was aware of drifting in and out of knowing where I was musically, and in and out of caring. Tonight was another last minute dealio, where I hit the record button at 11:44 PM. I feel restless and disjointed inside, and that's what I hear in the music dur...
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DailySing - 6 (2/6/2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Tuesday, February 7, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I decided to start my singing earlier in the evening, just after putting my daughter to bed, and today's exploration was inspired by my wife. I was humming the bass line for Come Together just as Billie started talking to me. The musicality of the way she was speaking and the tones she was hitting, turned what I was doing into a minor "thang".The rhythm of her spinning wheel was a part of my backbeat, and the dropped knitting needles became percussive accents to the sound salad. One of the ca...
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DailySing - 5 (2.5.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Monday, February 6, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I really didn't feel like singing tonight! All I wanted was to sleep, but as I've made a pact with myself, I did my duty. I actually feel better for it. When I keep my attention on the song, I simultaneously take many a journey along my inner landscape. The split that occurs is almost automatic. The secret is to stay in the sweet spot, the groove, the zone with a part of myself singing, thinking, creating, allowing, while my spirit goes to be fed in the different places the music takes me.
The...
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DailySing - 2 (2.2.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Friday, February 3, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I got lost... Why didn't I simply open up and give voice to whatever came through? Instead, I gave voice to an old idea that's been in my head for years.

I did get lost on this level as well... I zoned out, went into a trance of sorts where time and space merge, and suddenly, I heard the timer. After 7 seconds, I tried to end gracefully. It feels exhilarating in a funny way to be meeting daily for my little ritual. It's like I've got a sweet little secret!

While I sing, thoughts come to mind ...


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DailySing - 1 (2.1.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Friday, February 3, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
This is a day of firsts!!!

- I will speed walk every day, for 20 minutes minimum, for one year!
I want to walk to increase my stamina, lung health and to lose weight.

- I will sing for 15 minutes a day for one year.
I will record these sessions and I will blog my impressions and feelings.

All day yesterday I felt like this was my last day of freedom... How weird! Because February 1st feels like walking through a doorway into the rest of my life, I somehow have to "have a Last Hurrah," like a...


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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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