Musings

[butterflydreaming]

I'm trying something new. I'm typing this up in Wordpad, because either LJ or my computer (yes, the new one), or both, are acting up. It should be very frustrating, but I've gotten kind of zen about it. I've noticed that things are pretty quiet lately, with everyone's school schedules starting up and such. Doing an update these last days has felt like a quiet talk around a small table.

I've been contemplating something to write. I'm audio-checking a CD that I just copied for a friend, Tori Amos; it's a compilation of all the single tracks off of various CDs (soundtracks, CD maxi-singles and such), and I wasn't sure of the order.

And all the angels
and all the wizards, black and white,
are lighting candles in our hands

Can you feel them,
touching hands before our eyes?

Lyrics like that should be inspiring. I like Tori because she is so lyrically enigmatic. So far, the tracks seem to be flowing pretty well. It certainly helps to know the music very well, when choosing the copying order.

I've also been wondering if I can write something from a current musing... I've been thinking about singing, the act of singing. It started with the idea that I wanted to see if I could do a "Yue singing" scene, since I felt cheated by "Shadows of the Moon". Would Yue sing?

What makes a person sing, and what kind of person is inclined toward song? I've been thinking about how most adults don't sing -- except when alone, such as in the shower or with the car radio. It's difficult to get a person to sing in public.

Once, I stood on the steps outside my high school and sang the entirety of (the original lyric version) "Think of Me", from the Andrew Lloyd WebberThe Phantom of the Opera. This is a pretty difficult song to sing; the range was written for Sara Brightman, not me, that's for certain. A few people passing on the street stared at me. I think that I comported myself fairly well. My voice was in good practice then, even though I was no longer in the school choir.

I've played with the idea of attending church again, just to join the choir. I used to know the Gregorian mass, and what the Latin meant, too, but my memory is pretty fuzzy these days. I have a friend/co-worker who loves Karaoke, and one of these days, I told her, I want to go with her. I love to sing. And I'm not afraid to do it in front of an audience. I have a strong alto-to-soprano voice, and when I was in practice, I had a good vocal range. But like poetry, which many write without wanting to read it, even if people like to sing, they don't often want to listen to others (that aren't professionals).

And that's another funny thing: the status of professional singers. Musicians are much more respected (in American society) than, say, teachers. It's so unusual to hear a guy singing, that the one with the guitar and the good voice always charms the girls. Really -- if the guy you liked serenaded you, would not your estimation of him increase? It's especially significant to see and hear a man singing, because it is an emotionally revealing act. Yet even a woman, if asked to, will declare, "Oh no -- I can't sing!"

Barring amusia and tone-deafness, the ability to sing is less about talent than about practice, I think. As a woman I was speaking to about this today pointed out, we only ever sing "Happy Birthday" and a few Christmas carols. I think we've all heard the tragic versions of "Happy Birthday" that waiters sing in restaurants. Having worked in restaurants, I can assure you that practicing the song was not a regular activity... if it was practiced at all.

Singing, like laughter, induces seratonin production and releases endorphins. It's very good for one's brain. And, while I was watching the lead singer of Kuma do her stuff, I realized that singing is also an incredible workout; you can't be out of shape if you do rigorous singing.

Why don't we, then, sing? Why is it so embarrassing to sing? Why do we look at people as if they were crazy, should they sing in public?

I am thankful for my Latina heritage and my Catholic upbringing, because my mother used to tell me that "When you sing, you pray twice." Singing, for me, isn't about performance. It's about personal expression; it's about meaning something more deeply, pulling that meaning from deep within. It feels better when you can hit the notes, though.


Happy me, cut-and-paste from Wordpad seems (according to the preview) to work dandily!