Emile

Showing Tag: "word" (Show all posts)

DailySing - 166 (7.15.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Monday, July 16, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Thinking about using words on the fly, as rap, as spoken word, as sung lyrics.

Tonight's experiment went rather well. I decided to riff on  the idea of asking for help with a funky backbeat and bass line as a foundation. The lyrics were then interwoven as accents and counterpoint.

I played with a percussion section, followed by soloing with long tones, and finally focusing on content and meaning of my lyrics. The words from the heart work best...!

This was a solicitation done in song form, and a...
Continue reading ...
 

DailySing - 157 (7.6.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Friday, July 6, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Sweet to sing in the early morning sunshine!

I was stuck trying desperately not to replicate Bobby's Sweet In The Morning, so I let myself drift from idea to idea, exploring each one, but never really gelling with anything until that funky beat that pulled WORDS out of me.

It Feels So Good In The Morning Time
It Feels So Good In The Morning Time
Life Feels Fine.
The Sunshine Feels Fine.
I Feel Fine.
 


To Listen to DailySing - 157, click here... after 7/9/2012

Continue reading ...
 

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.

Continue reading ...
 

DailySing - 123 (6.2.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Sunday, June 3, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
I went about singing tonight with the same "nose to the grindstone" attitude that I had last night. This slogging through my own barriers and obstacles feels like a phase in the learning, and it doesn't feel like it'll end soon. 

I ranged far and wide in my vocal explorations tonight. To keep going in my upper register, several solos were based on the electric guitar with wah-wah pedal. 

There was a smidgeon of spoken word and some rhythmic play and some ballad-like passages.
I am very blessed t...
Continue reading ...
 

DailySing - 122 (6.1.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Saturday, June 2, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Tonight I just put my head down and worked it out. I tried some spoken word right away and that felt semi-ok.

Afterwards, I explored jumping from the groove to a solo and back again.

Toward the end of the session I wanted to go back to the original melody, but couldn't remember it. Exploration outside the box began at that point. Changing rhythms, no rhythm, plenty of soaring long tones for my solo search, etc...

To listen to DailySing - 122, click here.

Continue reading ...
 

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 ...
Continue reading ...
 

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 ...
Continue reading ...
 

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...
Continue reading ...
 

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...
Continue reading ...
 

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...
Continue reading ...
 

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...
Continue reading ...
 

DailySing - 87 (4.27.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Saturday, April 28, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
It's good to be back and able to sing.

Tonight's DailySing felt effortless after being away from the singing universe for a few days. I did find myself drifting into patterns that seem to be my default. I was able to switch my mind and play with my defaults midstream.

At one point in the improv, I tried going into a Grateful Dead style jam which led me into deeper exploration. Toward the end, I even went into some spoken word.

It's easier to divide the 15 mns into three 5 mn sections, because ea...
Continue reading ...
 

DailySing - 84 (4.24.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Wednesday, April 25, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
Well, this DailySing was as different from last night's session as can be. The "IT" that I discovered last night was a wavelength of energy. It's that same energy that "pops" during a screen test or that is referred to as "Pop"by many in the industry. When I listened today, I was reminded of how I let go when I sing in the car. I apparently got so carried away with creating sounds and patterns that I rarely use, that I woke up my wife last night.

Well tonight was much quieter, although just as...
Continue reading ...
 

DailySing - 77 (4.7.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Wednesday, April 18, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
You'd think that I'd try to sing at different times during the day, but it's not been working out that way. However, I have discovered singing in the Element. In the car I have more freedom to let loose and sing big... It's fun!

Tonight's DailySing went places I hadn't expected to go. I was inspired earlier this evening by two events. First, by a friend who's working with autistic kids, using horses to calm, ground and reconnect them. The second, by two of my teachers who have received Sri Chi...
Continue reading ...
 

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...
Continue reading ...
 

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...
Continue reading ...
 

DailySing - 52 (3.23.2012)

Posted by Emile Dyer on Saturday, March 24, 2012, In : Daily Sing 
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.

Continue reading ...
 

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,...
Continue reading ...
 

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...
Continue reading ...
 
 

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.

Tags

"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 conscious will contemplation continuity contrasting rhythms counterpoint courage create creating creation creations creative creative drive creative spirit creative stream creativity crfting crooning crossroads cuica dailysing dailysing-162 dailysings dance danceable decrescendo deep purple delicat depth depth of expression didjeridoos discipline discovering divine play djembe dorian double time download drama drive drone drum drummer drumming duet dynamic dynamic quality dynamics dynamite jam ease of delivery echo chamber echo effect echo mic ecstacy effortless electric guitar embody the sound emotional component emotional expression emotional landscape energetic wave energized energy engaging entertained epiphany evolve exhalation into sound exhuberance exhuberant exploration explore exploring express expression facilitate falsetto falsetto solo territory feel feeling fervor flexibility flow flowin' focus foundation frame drum free fall free form improv freedom freeing freestyle fresh friends frustration fun funk funkier funky funky beat genre genres goals golden bridge community choir good beat grammy awards grateful dead grateful dead jam gratitude gravitas grok groking groove groove thang groovebox grooveboxing grooves groovesrhythms groovin' in the pocket guide guitar guitarist gusto half time hands happy accidents harmonic tangent harmonies harmony head hear highlife horn horn section horns horses hum human voice humor humour i burn for you idea development improv improv family improvisation improvisational improvisational lines improvisations improvise improvised improvised pieces improviser improvising improvs in the music influence inner landscape inner musical landscape inner musical landscapes inner soundscape innovative inspiration inspirations inspired instrument instrumentalist instruments intent interlude intervals invert ionian island jam island music jaco pastorius alley jam jamme jazz jazz phrasings jazzed jellied stone jimi hendrix jobim journey joy judgment juxtapose juxtapositons in rhythm jzzy keys kilmer kurt elling landscapes layers lesson liberating life lion's roar listen listener listening listening abilities little wing locrian long tones lost loud love lower range lullaby lydian lyrical lyrics made up language main jam main melodic groove main melodic groove riff main melody main theme mastery measure melodic melodic choices melodic content melodic jazz bass lines melodic phrases melodically melodies melody memories mic microphone mid middle range mining a musical idea mixolydian modal modalities modes modulate mojo moments of silence mood motif motifs motivation mountain mouth move muse music music is the silence between the notes musical musical choices musical current musical currents musical explorer musical idea musical ideas musical journey musical landscape musical landscapes musical path musical sensibilities musical theory musical thread musicality musicalitymelody musically musicians my art my self mystery band nantucket sleighride nayabengi neutral note notes octave octaves odd meter open channel open conduit orchestra orchestral interaction orchestrate orchestration original out of rhythm out of time overdub pact pad palette passage passion pathos pattern patterns perceptions percussion percussionist percussive percussive interlude perform performance permutations phrase phrasing phrygian pianist piano pink floyd pitch places the music takes me play playback playful playfulness polyrhythmic polyrhythms possibilities power practice precision project psychologically pulse quicas quiet quiet mind range raw reality receptive record recording reggae register rehearsal rejuvenating repetitive rhiannon rhyme rhythm rhythmic rhythmic accompaniment rhythmic application rhythmic exploration rhythmic expression rhythmic groove rhythmic play rhythmic sense rhythmically rhythms richard bona land richness riff riffs ritual rock out rock steady rolling 6/8 romantic root rounds sacred sacred play samurai cowboy sang scale scales scating scatting sculptors senses sensitivity session shakers silence simple sing sing big singer singing singing a pattern singing out loud singing universe singing when asked to singing with no map ska sleep slow lazy riff snare solo soloed soloing solos song song play songs songwriting sonic sonic region sonic vibration sonic wall sotto voce soul song sound sound wavews sounded rough sounding soundings soundproof sounds soundscape soundscapes soup of living sounds source spaces speed spirit spirit of improvisation spiritually sated spoken spoken word spoken wordsung lyrics sting story stream of consciousness string strings style sublime sung sung words surge swat sweet sweet child in time sweet in the morning sweet jane sweet spot swing symphonicities syncopation tabla taught teachers tears technique tell my feet tempi tempo tenor text the groove the opening the sweet spot the voice the waters of march the zone thematic idea theme themes thought debris thoughts throat timbre time time dilation time signature time signatures tonal tonality tone tones training transition transitions tribal trippy true trumpet truths tune turn tv un-musical unique sound toys upbeat upper range upper register val vamp variation variations varied verses vinx violin violins vitality vocal vocal drum vocal drum riffs vocal embellishments vocal exploration vocal improv vocal percussion vocal percussion interlude vocal percussion interludes solo rhythmic approach vocal percussion land vocal range vocal travel log vocal trek vocalist vocalizing voice voice qualities voice-dance voioce vp wah-wah pedal walking walking bass line warm rhythms wave weird percussive noises west african music whistled whistling will witching word words words from the heart zimbabwe