An old orchestra conductor of mine used to say that to us in rehearsal...I suppose the point is that our minds and bodies are creatures of habit, and we're very good at learning something and then sticking to it. Studying voice should theoretically be incredibly easy since the speaking and singing go hand in hand and we learn how to use our voices from the moment of birth. If only that were the case! I don't know about anybody else, but sometimes I have to work to find this easy place where there is only 'good tension.' It's amazing how conscious and unconscious muscle tension can make all the difference between sounding good in your own head and sounding good in a huge opera house. And of course the whole point of this is to be able to share my sound and use it to communicate to others!
I am currently in the teeny, tiny hamlet of Henfenfeld, near Nuremberg...which could not be more different from Paris. It is placid and quiet, with one church, one bakery, one castle, for some reason two banks, and no grocery store. But there's more breathing room here, so it makes a nice change of pace from the big city. I'll get to go into the Christkindlmarkt soon, and maybe get an ornament or two. It's so nice to see how different communities and cultures celebrate this season!
