Day One of Practice Bootcamp

I am going to make this quick, because I am so tired and I have to wake up at 6 am in order to get a head start on tomorrow's 4-hour practice requirement. I started at my normal 11:00 time today, but I can tell I will have to plan better for some days. I was able to get 2 hours of consistent song practice done in the early half of the day, but I had to get the other 2 worked out this evening, after my lessons. Does teaching piano lessons count as practice? No... unfortunately it does not.

I kept track of my practice in a word document to make sure I was really practicing for 4 hours. I broke everything up into 20 minute intervals. 20 minutes of vocal warm-ups, 20 minutes of piano improv, 20 minutes of each song. It's exciting that I have enough material to fill up 4 hours. Since I went through 5 out of the 6 original songs we have this morning, I decided to spend an hour singing a few of the songs a cappella. A cappella practice was David insistence, um I mean, idea. I resisted it at first. Mainly because I find it boring. I don't know what to do with my hands, so I did some wrist exercises while I sang... I'm such a multi-tasker (or am I just A.D.D?) Turns out he was right. A cappella singing forced me to fine-tune some of the melodies I have been singing.

Ok, that's it for tonight. I'm so tired.... need sleep.

Cracking the Whip

Today, I have to begin practicing for 4 hours a day. Even if it is 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours at night. For the past 4 months or so, my daily practice goal has been 2-4 hours. Now, David has made it clear that I need to work 4 hours a day. I agree. At some point in any artist's work, you have to become more committed and spend more time on your craft than anything else. That means that everything else gets scaled back, including the blogging. My posts will be shorter, but because I am putting less pressure on myself to write long posts, I will be able to update the blog more often. That could be good news for this blog. I always wondered how other bloggers are able to post everyday.... I always thought it would be nice to be one of them.

So... look forward to shorter but more frequent updates on my thoughts on music as well as the progress of my practice. I will try to check in tonight to let you know how day one of practice bootcamp goes.

Peace & Music,
Bella

Someone Save My Life Tonight

If I didn't despise the taste of alcohol so much, I would be addicted to AA meetings at this point. Instead, I have decided to drown my worries and concerns in music. I have listened to Funeral by Arcade Fire four times, Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music by Ray Charles two times, Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys once, July Flame by Laura Viers twice... and I think that's it...  all since yesterday afternoon. I am afraid to remove my headphones. I even tried to wash my face with them on, but then I realized that it would be impossible to not potentially ruin a very nice pair of Marshalls, so I took a 2 minute break in the name of personal hygiene.

There are moments when I just want to scream. There are moments when I feel alone and sad. Most days, my go to fix is an old Sarah Silverman episode on Hulu, but I was really beginning to think the TV watching was becoming problematic. I remembered my high school days when life seemed to permanently suck, and I remembered the many, many hours I spent in my room absorbing music. I thought it was time to revisit that era. Wow. Big difference. Reality seems to change once the headphones are on. Like really change. Normally I listen to music through regular speakers and the only time I use my headphones is when I am running. To sit down and really listen to music with headphones is a completely different experience. There is no division between you and the sounds. They are literally going into your body and vibrating with you. Why don't I do this all the time???

Once again, music is saving my life. No matter what is going on, I always have music. If my ipod is dead, I have my piano. If my piano is far away, I have my voice. No matter what happens, there is always, always, always music.

Charles Limb: Your brain on improv | Video on TED.com

Just saw this fascinating video. I love when science marries music:

Charles Limb: Your brain on improv | Video on TED.com

Still Here, Just Waiting

I hate it when a whole week goes by and I don't have an idea for a blog post. So far I have had nothing to say for two weeks. I have been quiet in my personal life too. Lately, I find it easier to listen than to speak. I find myself unwilling to use my voice unless it is absolutely necessary. In the past two weeks, I have only written one song. Something is definitely up, but I am not sure what it is.

I remember when I was a kid, I found inspiration everywhere. It was a rare moment when I had anything critical to say about any particular song or artist and I loved all forms of entertainment. I could spend hours in the woods pretending to be an explorer and then go inside to play fashion model dress-up with my sister. As time goes by, I have become so particular. It's too bad, actually. I look around and I see so much to be inspired by. In Los Angeles I can be hypnotized by the street fashion alone and I have to say music is getting more interesting, especially with Pandora and satellite radio so easily available.

I had a conversation last night with a casual friend. It was one of those conversations that make me believe in angels, because the timing is just so perfect. He told me that when you are in a transitionary period it is normal to feel blah but one day, the passion comes back and life is exciting again. I'm skeptical, but I want to believe him. Since I started the transition from legally attached person to liberated adult, I have dealt with a lot of ups and downs. I have weeks where I write 2 blog posts and melodies jump out of my head and onto the piano and I feel enthusiastic about life and the future. But then there are weeks when I have to remember that eating is necessary for human survival and that even though it seems like a burden, sleep is important too.

Something happened a few days ago. I was singing and David was in the other room. He told me that something was changing in my voice. It was hitting a nerve in him that felt different from before. I can feel it too. My voice is growing up and I can feel that the pain of a dramatic life transition is finally fading away. If my life were a movie, I think this would be the part when the musician finally begins to get crazy productive again, discovering singing techniques that had been difficult before and becoming confident in ways she never imagined. Of course, that is *if* my life were a movie, because right now I am just sitting in a Starbucks listening to the new Feist album, trying to get some inspiration.

I seriously hope this transition moves quickly. Lack of blog inspiration is definitely equal to lack of songwriting inspiration. See you guys soon?