I don't want to sing anymore! - let me help you

Darling,

I know, there are some days that really make you wonder if your were made for this. If maybe it would be better if you quit. You stare at the stiff walls and at the piano that is so quiet if nobody is touching it. Maybe you haven't sung for a long time, or maybe you are stuck. And now, everything you have is an unresponsive body, a squeaky voice, no acutes, and the medium register sounds like you would never be able to sing a normal, easy song ever again. You really need some money, because the bills keep coming, and if you receive any more phone calls inviting you to sing somewhere and you sound like this, well, you will go crazy. Taking another job is a complicated thing and it gets you involved more than you initially believe. It makes you leave your heart behind, altogether with everything that you ever dreamed about, worked for and for which you dedicated every fight. This is not a choice anymore, even if you could do it. You have the capability of doing it.

The first thing that I want to tell you is that I've already been there three times. The causes were different, one more painful than the other. But every time, music grabbed me by the hand and rushed into my blood like a lover. It made me believe that the possibility of letting go doesn't exist at all.

Why do you feel like you don't want to sing anymore?

Identify the reason. All the reasons. Do whatever it takes to find out all the honest reasons, all the hidden ones. Write them on a piece of paper. I will help you. I am here for that. This is not a blog post written once in a lifetime and posted on a website just to leave you thinking. My e-mail address is valid.
lettersfromyourmusicteacher@yahoo.com
These are the moments in which you really need to talk to someone that already felt it and understands. Unfortunately, there are two kinds of people who will really understand you: artists that have also struggled, and those who really love you unconditionally and actually feel your pain as if it was theirs.

Reasons why:

- someone dear to you died and you are frozen; everything that needs your vulnerability, implication and heart is kept outside- everything just hurts too much; the same goes to when you get divorced, separated by a loved one; loss always pulls the trigger
- you had to do something else for a long period of time ( I mean, 7-10 months, some years ), and you've seriously lost your inner singer, you can't control your body anymore, the voice is unresponsive and you don't know what to do
- you've suffered failure too much - things just don't go well on stage, you always forget some lyrics, you are off pitch, people told you that you can't go on like this
- your passion and urge of learning and working hard for your evolution as an artist has made the others keep you out of the matter of things - actually, a lot of the "teachers" are just artists that couldn't perform at the given standards and didn't have any choice but become an instructor - but they don't really want to help others to find their inner art, but throw all their personal frustrations on the person in cause; if such a person sees how passionate and hard working you are, even if maybe you are not as talented as he/she was, you will be the victim of all possible emotional attacks; I've seen children and young adults get out of a singing class crying their hearts out - that is NOT acceptable and normal - if you are one, please change your music coach; I have been one of them several times.
- you are different, original and you are being left outside the playground because you can't stick to the "old rules" (that lack creativity, and overall, all kinds of work that people don't want to do anymore because they are bored with their job, they are not paid enough or they simply don't want to be there anymore)
- you are not willing to compromise in order to be accepted (give money or spend a night with a  director, for example)
- important people told you that you are not made for this - that you can't do it, that you don't have enough talent, your voice is not good enough, or you don't have the looks. This is the only thing that I want to remind you:

There might be a million other reasons why.
Yet again, there is only one reason why not.

Reason why not: you still FEEL that you have something to give to others

Translation: You still have a message that has to be delivered, help others find their mission, help them find a way towards themselves, in any given case, help them feel again (because we always make ourselves numb in order to protect our feelings), help them live again (because if we are numb for many years, it feels as if life has drooled out of us). In other words, to be the person that you would want to meet right now, at this crossroads.
You might think that there is nothing left to give anymore. But if you feel differently, please stop all the thinking.

This is the exact thing that defines an Artist. You have a gift not for yourself, but for others. However, through it, you define and you grow yourself every day you stick to it. It's such a beautiful plan, that if you stood still for a minute to see the bigger picture, you would be amazed.

I don't believe in coincidence. I believe that you have read this today for a reason. Believe in it.
And please don't forget to write to me if you need a person who believes you.

Yours faithfully,
Your music teacher

3 ideas of (rock/metal) song lyrics

Darling,

I've promised to give you a sample of my own lyrics and maybe get inspired by them.
These are 3 of them. Enjoy and... please let me know what doesn't go right when you start writing. I will most definitely help you. Use the comment form below or write an e-mail.


Burning the ashes

My eyes are turning away from the sun,
My heart is breathing through the mist,
My veins keep trying to forget
The name of the one you have been.


Believing in love is not enough to find
The truth about  your own desires,
Cause love has a way to bring our mind
In deep oceans of chaos and raging fires.

Refusing to see the reality of life
Surrounds you with fear and darkness,
The howl of the past follows your loneliness,
And when you least expect, you feel its knife.


Interlude:

Silence always speaks louder than words,
And brings you down into yourself,
But silence between you and me,
It burns the bridges that we’ve built
So long ago and every day since then.
Turn the page and find me
In another breath of destiny,
But still somehow embracing your heart.


Chorus:

Burning the ashes, I tie my hands
And don’t let myself reborn for us.
I free you from me, but we’ll always exist
Tornados and volcanoes, dust to dust.


Final:

You’ll never know why,
I’ll never know how,
But us, we will forever belong
To each other’s essence.


Piano
 
Lakes and shivers down my spine,
Blind eyes seeing colors shine,
Hands in prayer, feeling cold,
Winter roses, white and old…


As life goes by before my eyes,
I sink into the deepest skies,
I worship every ocean there,
A sea of thoughts which I don’t share,
A heart so tender and yet cruel,
Whose blood finds in every dream its fuel.


Beginnings lose their mind in sorrow,
Cause endings never come alone,
Resentment somehow will follow,
It’s written there, on my roughest stone.


Storm pours her memories into my shoes,
And golden halos heal my bruise,
Eleven million drops of pain
Descending with the breath of rain.


In these days left in my cup of tea,
I spend my mornings beneath the tree
Whose leaves touch water every time
A wind blows stronger through my mind.


A willow telling stories that will fly
Away where dreams begin to sigh… 


Game of Humanity

Breathe inside the story, ring the bell of truth,
Come and climb the stairway to everywhere,
Behold the glass of infinite youth,
Live today and face every nightmare.


R: Wherever life goes, I’m still a rock
That sleeps on the earth for ages,
I dream eyes opened,never really talk,
I lift my soul full of soft, pure rages.


The secret of living is no secret at all,
Cause when you don’t rise yourself,you fall
And when you don’t crowl down, you ascend
Into the deeper you, always unknown land.


R:….

Solo…


Looking out for answers is forgetting inside,
And that’s the way to sink into pride,
Injustice is far as long as you know
As human, to hear beneath your ego.



Yours faithfully,
Your music teacher

How to write lyrics for your songs

Darling,

I've been waiting so long to talk to you about this wonderful thing that I have always loved doing at nights, especially when I had a symphonic metal band and I was composing for it. Mainly, my occupation was creating the song lyrics and the vocal melody for myself, and the other members of the band were doing their part on their own, helping each other blend on the way.
Also, I have some song ideas for you and an online course that I have recently found that helps you get creative and focused on exactly this purpose: songwriting.

Here are some ideas on how to work on your lyrics so that they are truly unique and profound (because you actually want to spread a message and make a difference):
1. Find yourself a comfortable place where you can help your mind relax a little bit after a full day and your soul respond - sometimes this is the hardest part; we tend to start writing just because we have a deadline or we really need those lyrics ASAP, but this is not the way to do it when you want to make a good product that really gets into people's subconscious; the only method is by getting into yours
2. Use tools that you love and that you have connection to: maybe a certain pencil, pen, notebook, journal, something that means "I am leaving the outer world behind and I am only in my own one now" - maybe you think that this is not important, but it gets you closer to yourself, it makes yourself feel more comfortable, more open
3. It's OK to try "sketching" a song or a verse before you get to something that you actually like; myself, I have always written on the paper anything that feels right, even if the words or the link between them made no sense at all - write expressions, full sentences that sound beautiful just from the artistic point of view; don't make it as if it has to please a lot of listeners, but to please your own soul: make it shout the pain, linger with the feeling of missing someone, embrace the loneliness. The only truth that I have to tell you about this part is this: your song will become realistic and beautiful to others only as much as you can do it realistic and beautiful to your inner self; if you are ready to get into yourself more, it will be closer to others. A song is the binding between you and your public, between souls in general, and we all feel loss, pain, love - the same way. You HAVE to make that connection. Keep sketching until something begins having sense.
4. When you already have a full verse, or maybe something that sounds like a chorus, you can begin thinking about a concept, about a main idea, something to write everything else about. Go make some "soul research" about it - for example you want to write about loss, go and look up some expressions and idioms are on the subject ( a good tool is www.thefreedictionary.com )
Also, you can listen to some other songs about loss or maybe read some quotes, or a book. This is the time to expand your wings and enter into the state of FEELING the loss. Think about someone you've lost recently or in the past, and dig into it, surrender. Yes, this is the hardest part of the process. Putting your own struggle into the song.
5. Time for getting out of your sensitive zone and putting your mind back on track; this is when you check your lyrics for grammar mistakes, when you put everything in order, where you complete your sentences that were left without a meaning, where you find a connection between the phrases - organize! You might not like this part - maybe you have a very close friend or family member that can help you here and see the process from outside. Sometimes, after such hard word with everything but your comfort zones, it gets really hard to detach yourself from the feelings that had to be turned upside down during the composing part. Use anything that helps, drink some water or leave the song there for some hours and do something else.
6. Maybe after a couple of hours, read again what you wrote. See how you feel about it. Add words, idiom phrases. Sugar and spice.
This is it ! You've made it ! Be proud of yourself, because this is not just a songwriting process. This is about going deep into yourself, being brave, being conscious and unconscious at the same time. This is, actually, being an ARTIST. Congratulations!

Now, HERE is where you can find some examples of lyrics for songs that I have wrote for you:
And THIS is the online course I've been telling you about that can actually improve your songwriting skills in no time!

Yours faithfully,
Your music teacher

For the relaunchers

Darling,

If you are one of those who find it hard to begin again with your singing, or acting, or dancing... if you are one of those who can't even start talking about it because there is so much disappointment, so much pain associated with the subject, please, please make an effort and stay here with me. Don't push the "X" of this browser's window.
I am here to encourage you and to make you believe in yourself again but let me tell you the biggest secret: I am hurt as much as you are. Maybe differently, but very much alike. I have my own disbelief, my failures, my hopes that were crushed and a lot of work that came to nothing because I didn't know someone who knew someone else, or didn't afford or choose to pay my place into anywhere. Also, because of a lot of defeat, I was unprepared some times and I failed. Is it OK for a teacher to tell her students that she failed? Well, I promise I will always be as honest as any good friend would be. Your voice cracks, you are off tone, your sweaty hands make the microphone a bit unsteady, you forget the choreography, the words, the next thing that you have to do. But it's OK, you know? It's normal. All of us go through it. The secret is how you manage to transform the moment. Make ridiculous become funny, make unacceptable become motivational, make awkward moments develop you into resourceful. Of course the fight is serious, of course you will want to crash all those walls before your eyes, of course you will get mad, frustrated, feel ashamed, not good enough. But you can rise above that. You know why? Because all those mixed up feelings show that you are so sensitive, so different than the grand majority of all the people you know, that you are special, that you want to make a difference. Yes, it's all about that, about who is capable and also willing to fight this special fight that needs your full commitment in all the fields you could imagine. Because once you start on this path, you can't really go on another one. You're a believer, a warrior, or you're not.
First of all, you were born to try. If you're gonna tell me that you already tried it all, you must try it again. It's a matter of not stopping to improve yourself in any possible way and also not stopping all the trying part. And the believing part.
Secondly, taking a break is also OK. Focusing on other activities for a while, maybe another talent that you've put on hold, or just making some peace with yourself. Nobody will tell you what to do when you are at a crossover, because everything will always be theoretical to others. So this would be the perfect time to use your intuition (which you most definitely have if you are reading this and resonating with it) and follow it as much and as brutish as you can. If it feels fine, it actually is. Always double check with your heart everything that your mind decides.
And one last thing: the best way to know if your voice is ready to relaunch itself, is when it starts singing again. The place and the audience doesn't matter; it might as well be your cat.

Yours faithfully,
Your music teacher

The sacred fire

Darling,

No, it's not make-believe. All the rush, the heartbreaking and at the same time heart-lifting passion, the craziness, the breathless moment that never stops from being grandiose, exhilarating and magnificent to you... no, you are imagining nothing. It's alive, and it's as much earthy at it is godlike. Sumptuously losing yourself in a note that has ended moments ago, stopping your breath in order to feel more, to touch the silence, to taste the vibration that it creates in the eyes of your public... it's not a shame, my darling, and it's alright to admit it: you live for these moments. They are opulent and modest simultaneously, they are your fountain water, your tropical fruits, your bread and your finest champagne. There is nothing to explain about it. There is everything to explain about it... But to begin with, let me tell you: I understand you. The excitement, the perfection of that dazzling excitement just puts the tip of its fingers on your purest corner of soul. That corner that is always in prayer and in levitation towards the sky. That corner that gives birth to all your instincts and that knows no touch of the ration. That corner that produces only love and knows no pain, but knows how to surrender to the most painful cry of the universe, if the music says so.
You live for the thrill and the struggle of being that corner of the soul only and nothing more.
That makes you an artist.
That makes you everything that you need to be.
Follow that, allow only that to shiver your existence.
Anything that is not that, is not your mission in life.
Maybe ego, maybe a moment of feeling lost, but not your highest mission.

Remember that I believe you. Because I feel the same way.
And if someone else doesn't believe you, it's because they don't have it in themselves.
Allow yourself to drown in it, no matter what.
Yours faithfully,
Your music teacher

When Opportunity kicks

Darling,

My coffee is fresh and it smells like the streets of Morocco. Dusty, mysterious, secret streets that hide messages to everyone that dares to search for the unseen. Coffee inspires me. It brings me face to face with my own questions and brings out the best answers my mind can come up with.
I've promised to tell you what the main ingredients for grabbing a spontaneous opportunity would be. Spontaneous opportunities can, actually, bring you fame. They don't come often in life, but when they do, be sure to step up and take everything that you are being served!

These are my suggestions to you, so that you are always prepared.

• never, never ever stop training - your voice, your skills, your eyes, ears, body, focus, sensibility - if  something shows up for you today, you might just want to be in a great shape to take full advantage of it
• being prepared doesn't only mean singing/playing your instrument every day, taking into consideration that creativity is also developed in so many ways, so I encourage you to find as much methods as you can to train your creativity - I will be sending you another letter with some ideas that might help you!
• keep up with your healthy eating & exercise - you need a strong, healthy, body if you are going to go on a tour or at a lot of auditions
• check your progress with me (your teacher), other teachers and other musicians - believe it or not, many times you can evaluate yourself by paying close attention to other artists, their technique, their results - I don't mean to copy their technique, not at all ! But sharing experience, studying various show ideas, some approaches, watching concerts of other artists online or going at shows and actually buying the tickets to show your appreciation and support - these are good methods to improve yourself as an artist
• develop your talking in public skills, your manners, your walk and gesticulation, your way of talking without making big pauses, with confidence and in a friendly way - what I am trying to say is that you must be a pleasant person to talk to, to entertain any kind of an audience; you can't only get up on a stage and "do your job" (OK, maybe in an orchestra you will do that, but otherwise...); also, keep an eye open to self spiritual and mind development, so that you became a more profound being on every level
• don't add up to your age by not taking care of yourself - drink a lot of water and get a reasonable amount of hours of sleep per night; ladies, use that make-up remover every evening, to prevent wrinkles and try to be a positive person as much as you can-it might change a very important person's opinion about you one day!
• use the word "No" as it is: if you don't feel that the proposal that you have received is a real opportunity for you or if you have a bad feeling about it, refuse it immediately; also, if some of the conditions don't suit you, be free to negotiate
• don't compromise your heart; instead, put all the time and effort in something that is being proposed to you, make changes, adjust, practice more, try a new approach - everything in the limit that your morals and ethics allow it to coexist with all the other aspects of your life

I hope that opportunity kicks in as soon as your are ready for it. So ... try to be ready Now!
Yours faithfully,
Your music teacher

Do you want to be a star?

Photo credits: Satine Diamond

Darling,

I wonder if being a Musician means to you being a Star. A music star, a movie star, a Hollywood, Bollywood, Broadway, Opera, Club, Rap, Hip-hop, Electronic, Rock, Metal, Folklore - star or any other example you wish. Being able to sing, and doing it really well - doesn't necessarily make you a star for others. Being able to sing and perform other things such as acting, dancing, etc. - doesn't make you one either. But what does being a star really mean?

The www.freedictionary.com offers the explanation.

    a. An artistic performer or athlete whose leading role or superior performance is acknowledged.
    b. One who is highly celebrated in a field or profession.

So if you are acknowledged or highly celebrated, you are a star. And what if you're not?

What if you are a terribly talented young person who is known only by friends who are completely in love with your skills and always ask you to lead the karaoke or campfire nights? What if you are the soul of every Christmas, because of your unique way of caroling like no other? What if you are part of a really cool band that succeeded in creating some personal songs, maybe a quite exquisite album and have some shows, but not many people know your name?

Often, good musicians are not very famous. They are not what today's business calls a star. They are nor on TV, neither on well-known, glittery and bombastic stages, in clubs or theaters that sell expensive (and they should be!) tickets that allow you to enjoy the show.

If I were to be honest, my true belief is that good musicians nowadays are not a good business. They don't sell. Not shocking at all, right?

Why don't real artists sell?

•     real artists can't be manipulated

•     real artists want their art to be unique, personal, and not "in line" with the "trends"

•     real artists want to have the space and time to think about, choose and implement their own resources and they don't need a lot of "helpers" to do the job for them (as opposed to some other "artists" that need a full-time team of everything-doers that are actually real artists that remain backstage everytime - and obviously, are underpaid)

•     real artists are ingenious, smart, informed, free-thinkers, creative and often a threat to those people who only copy and paste what they see that sells (those ones bring a lot of money though, so real artists are on queue)

•     real artists have integrity, they don't commit for money or for fame (talk about music full of Illuminati messages, nudity, vulgarity, superficial lyrics and common melody,etc)

•      & so many more reasons

Clearly, you already know that the biggest, most impressive painters you read about have been poor or undervalued at their times. Also have the composers, poets, sculptors, and so on. Vincent van Gogh has sold only one painting during his life, even if his entire work of more than 2000 paintings had a lot of success after his death. Edgar Allan Poe has been a starving artist all his life, and Franz Kafka earned his living only because he used to work as an insurance officer. Being a "Starving artist" is actually a concept and I've found quite an article about it here.

Also, wikipedia has a quite big vision upon it too:

    A starving artist is an artist who sacrifices material well-being in order to focus on their artwork. They typically live on minimum expenses, either for a lack of business or because all their disposable income goes toward art projects.

Taking all this into consideration, you might already be quite discouraged. I advise you not to! There are still a lot of real, fair and true opportunities for talented hearts that are in seek of their place in this big world. Myself, I have left the path of trying to be famous. Truth be told, I would rather be the best I can be as an artistic entity, than being famous for a short period of time or life-long famous but not able to keep up with the things that I must do in order to please everyone along the way. No one can tell you what you can or can't do for your own future: you decide for yourself every step of the way, while taking the journey. If you find something that you are not comfortable with, change it ! Step out of it ! Or see where pushing your limits brings you ! Research, try, experiment. It's your life. It's your art.

However, if you decide that fame is what you are looking for, be sure to have all your ingredients prepared for when the moment comes. I'm going to pour myself some fresh coffee and start a new letter for you ASAP. Is that OK?


I'm just around the corner of your voice...
Yours faithfully,
Your music teacher