Emile

Showing Tag: "vp" (Show all posts)

DailySing - 211 (9.5.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Thursday, September 6, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
At some point in this process of singing every day, you hit a wall. A great wall as thick as anything you can imagine. It takes a tremendous act of will to break the lethargy and inertia.

The rolling funky fun fresh beat of tonight's jam is rhythmically varied and often interspersed with VP (vocal percussion) interludes. From a rhythmic standpoint, this sounds like a lot of fun.

I feel that my choices for solo voice in my upper range always sound the same. I'll see what I can do to break it up ...
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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 - 194 (8.12.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Monday, August 13, 2012,
I'm just back from an event called Family Camp in the Santa Cruz mountains... where I led about 120 people singing sacred chants, exploring beatboxing, vocal percussion, and vocal improv among the redwoods. It was AWESOME!!! My heart is sooooo full!

...So why am I having discontent and resentment around continuing my DailySing practice? Why do I get this feeling, after a long day that I couldn't be bothered? This is my thing, right? It's what I do, so what's the problem?

I am looking at this th...
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DailySing - 185 (8.3.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Saturday, August 4, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Tonight's session was created from a snipet of a sound... Tooky-tooky!

A funky little groove surrounded my "tooky-tooky" sound at first. Then I added a percussive bridge before coming back to "tooky-tooky". By now, chest claps are my snare drum, and I start soloing in my upper register, sometimes on a jazz riff, sometimes on a 6/8 bell or clave, and even around Nayabengi. I call it the "We Will Rock You" rhythm.

Towards the end of the jam, I played with polyrhythms by combining VP with BP durin...
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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 - 182 (7.31.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Wednesday, August 1, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
In order to change a result, you have to do things differently. To get a different result when doing vocal improv, one needs to set up parameters, or a structure before proceeding.

Tonight, I decided, no rhythmic component, which meant no VP, and no BP. I may have slipped once or twice and put some stank on it, but just for a couple of seconds. The whole thing sounded like a ballad, but with no swelling violins in the background.

It worked! The end result was much different from what I usually ...

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DailySing - 181 (7.30.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Tuesday, July 31, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
P.H.A.T, funky, fresh... That's what tonight's DailySing felt like as I was creating it.

Very scary to try for words right off the bat, but it wasn't too bad, even though I went back to scatting sounds as soon as I was able. 

I liked the idea of soloing in between the lines of the bass line, but I made it too dense, so there's really no room to do anything spectacular but hit a couple of notes in the short time alloted.

I like my little vocal percussion (VP) section, along with the breaks in 6/8...
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DailySing - 153 (7.2.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Tuesday, July 3, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
The question for tonight turned out to be, how many ways can I make any departure from the main groove fun, exciting and engaging without being repetitive. 

I tried several things. At first I added VP to the groove, then went into a percussive exploration with the kuika as the main time keeper. I then checked out soloing using voice, guitar, strings and horns as inspiration. I interspersed all of this with VP and BP (Body Percussion).

To listen to DailySing - 153, wait until after 7/9/2012, the...

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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 - 142 (6.21.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Friday, June 22, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Tonight's DailySing felt like a jam straight through. Departing from and returning to the main melodic groove riff was fun, but I know that at some point early on, I came back to a slight variation and wasn't able to shake it to find the true original.

Oh well, I worked with that and it was all good.

The next sonic region I explored was VP-land. I went from straight beatboxing to different forms of stylized VP. I call stylized VP, any vocal percussion where the varied drum and percussive sounds...
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DailySing - 140 (6.19.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Wednesday, June 20, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Tonight I had odd meters on the brain before I started singing, so I guess it shouldn't have been a surprise when that's what came out of my mouth. The tempo was rapid and had a little swing to it. I didn't know if I could maintain. It wasn't a problem.

I skipped around between meters, like 5s, 7s and 9s, mostly because I really have to concentrate when I deal with odd meters, and I felt like I was on a runaway train that I had to hang on to for dear life.

I decided to give the VP free reign at...
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DailySing - 139 (6.18.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Tuesday, June 19, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
A funky beat is what came out tonight. As usual, I was thinking about the bass and the rest is history. Many a song or chant has begun with a slammin' bass riff.

As I listen to this, I am struck by how little is needed to make sounds, and by how much is needed to make the "right" sounds. This doesn't happen, unless there is some intense concentration involved.
I can feel and hear the wall that I'm hitting, when I concentrate.

You gotta know your scales... PERIOD!!!

 It's also time to start playin...

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DailySing - 136 (6.15.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Saturday, June 16, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I felt like Reggae tonight, but what came out, while funky, was a far cry from Reggae. The accented beat was all wrong for Reggae, but it was danceable and had a good breat.

I went through a few different ways to approach soloing, but what really stood out was the vocal percussion or VP! What started out as just a section in the improv, turned into a full scale study of how I make the various sounds, how they can be modified, how different time signatures can all hang on the same tempo.

For exa...
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DailySing - 135 (6.14.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Friday, June 15, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I did it again... Got so lost in it that I went over by almost a minute before I realized that I could stop.

I originally let a fast paced jazz idea be the launching platform, once it was sufficiently developped. I felt the need to move into a solo from my upper register. I found different melodies to use in my next solo, and even went into a bridge. That was so much fun, I then decided to indulge myself with a vp solo before getting back to the main melodic line, with variations of course.
 
Af...
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DailySing - 133 (6.12.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Wednesday, June 13, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I tried to stay open tonight, but nothing was working at first. I couldn't keep the main melody in my mind to save my neck. 

About a third of the way through, I felt better, and even went into the first of two vp solos of the evening.

Once I was able to establish a groove that I could remember, it was easier to go off exploring. My second vp solo of the evening had a North African flavor, as I was channeling a Middle - Eastern frame drum and laid down a thick pad against my chest whilst singing...
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DailySing - 131 (6.10.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Monday, June 11, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
The first 10 mns of tonight's DailySing just flew by. All of a sudden, there were only 5 mns left to go.

I was able to come back to the main melody time after time this evening with no trouble.

 The explorations involved switching rhythm and tempo, spoken word, sung lyrics, solo tone work, along with body and vocal percussion.


To liten to DailySing - 131, click here.

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DailySing - 128 (6.7.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Friday, June 8, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I got lost in the improv and didn't realize that time was up for an extra 38 seconds.

It started as a slow, lazy riff and meandered through various musical landscapes before picking up speed at the bridge and becoming a raucous island jam for a few measures, before dropping back down into the funk of the slow, lazy riff.

I even went for lyrics and they weren't half bad, if I do say so myself.
 
There was a moment where I inserted VP into the melody, which led to focus on the rhythm section, which...
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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 - 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 - 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 - 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 - 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 - 69 (4.9.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Tuesday, April 10, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
My journey tonight feels non descript, or a bit bland. It feels like I am being safe. I set up a pattern and keep coming back to it after several excursions into soloing as a voice or being one of the instruments. It feels like I stay safe within the confines of my structure...

Now that I listen to the playback, it sounds richer and more dynamic than when I was actually doing it. Perceptions are everything, it seems. 

Using my chest to beat on while I sing is not technically VP, but it really h...
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DailySing - 68 (4.8.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Monday, April 9, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Wow, my first DailySing in a couple of days! I'm still shaky but over whatever it was, for the most part.

Tonight, I went on a travelog to stretch a little, switching from blues to jazz to Afro-Cuban to spoken word, and finally to vocal percussion. My wife listened to me and suggested that I sing standing up instead of sitting at a desk or on the couch. The dynamics would be different, she says. She's right. In fact, I should try doing my DailySing practice at different times of the day, to ri...
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DailySing - 25 (2.25.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Sunday, February 26, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
A lullaby from Zimbabwe was my launching place tonight. I don't know why, but it's the first thing that came out of my mouth. I've been training myself to go with whatever comes out at any given time, whether I like it or not. When I went blank and sang, the song Si, Si Si came out. Once that was explored, I kept myself blank and open. It's always educational and entertaining to listen to the playback. Some of the coolest stuff, I don't even remember singing, which is a little trippy. Listeni...
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DailySing - 13 (2.13.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Tuesday, February 14, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Started out with a plan... First mistake! If you're going to improvise, then improvise, don't plan! Planning is the opposite of improvisation!!!
Thought I'd begin with some vocal percussion (vp), and explore how to develop those ideas for the full 15 minutes... Hah!!!
First of all as soon as I had that great idea, I could no longer come up with any vp parts. My brain shut down and I had already begun the 15 mns of improv. I tried desperately to come up with parts in a vacuum, where there were 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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"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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