April was a very busy and demanding month for me that required a lot of practice and focus. What I like to do to recoup is to have fun with music and make time to explore. Something I love to do is go through my songbooks and look for songs I might be interested in learning. I have two Vocal Jazz Real Books that have lots of great songs to learn. Today I was messing around with that song People which is from "Funny Girl." It is hard for me to sing it without crying, so I have to put it away for a bit until I can do so.
It's because the song reminds me so much of my mother who is now very ill and the song brings back a happy memory of being with my mom and sister in Grant Park in Chicago hearing Ella Fitzgerald singing it. The fact that there is a strong emotion that comes through is a good thing though and will work for me well over time. This same thing happened with that song, "Smile" by Charlie Chaplin. I learned it to play for a funeral but it took me many times to be able to sing it without crying. Now when others hear me sing it, they are moved to tears. I think because I truly feel that song. Crying to a good sad song is a good, healing feeling--don't you think so?
I like to find all kinds of songs that would display different moods and memories. Who remembers the Henry Mancini song, "Charade?" I find the melody to be very haunting and it makes a good guitar solo. Check out Chet Atkins' version of Charade.
In my vocal jazz book I came across "A Taste of Honey." Again, this one is an unusual song that many different people have done from the Beatles to the Hollies and Herb Alpert. I messed around yesterday playing this song with Charade --they are both in the same key but have a different mood to them.
This is the kind of thing I like to do when I have time in between gigs. It's a time to explore and see where it leads me. Visual artists do this by exploring new mediums or colors. It's a way to keep things fresh and new.
What is your way to explore? Have fun!
No comments:
Post a Comment