An Occupational Hazard: Part 1 - Diagnosis

Singing is my life: whether it's performing or vocal coaching - and like any professional singer, when you're voice isn't doing what it should be doing it's an incredibly frustrating (and upsetting) thing, especially when you don't know why, and you can't explain it. Well, unfortunately that was a situation I found myself in, and I wanted to share my experience in the hope that it might help someone else who finds themselves in the same situation.

September 2015:
Over the years, those that know me as a singer will know I've had issues and frustrations with a vocal break/cracking right in the middle of my range (The G/Ab/A above middle C, for those musos amongst you). I reached the end of my tether during the summer of 2015, where I found I had no control over when the crack would appear, and just couldn't figure out why. I'm not a belter, I practice good vocal technique having learnt proper warmups and exercises during both my university degrees (and continuing to learn), and I certainly don't smoke. After performing in two shows and hearing and feeling my voice not behave, I really began to freak out - I started questioning my training, and got really upset that I was somehow teaching others bad habits that I didn't know I did, and of course, I feared the deadly nodules.

Unfortunately, at first my frustrations only became more distressing when I took the initial steps of seeing a doctor...

Deciding that I'd had enough I booked myself an appointment with a doctor, and was subsequently even more upset when I was dismissed with the conclusion it was a residual infection from a cold, and was given a prescription for a nasal spray. Now, I really don't believe that the doctor I saw was a bad doctor, I just don't think he grasped how upsetting this issue was for me. I'm a professional singer, and a teacher of singing, I use my voice all day and every day, and now there's something wrong that I can't explain - HELP ME! - If you find yourself in a similar situation, I really do advise following your gut instincts and getting a second opinion, especially when it's something that could be potentially career ending (or at least, it feels that way at the time!) It's your body, you know subconsciously if something isn't right, don't be afraid to push a little harder to get the help you need/want. I did follow my instincts, and subsequently got an appointment with another doctor who, thankfully, really understood how upset I was. He laid out a few options as to what the problem could be caused by, gave me some other medication to try, and got me a referral to an Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist (ENT).

October 2015:
If you never experienced it, let me lay down what and ENT appointment is like - it's WEIRD!! It starts out pretty normally, you have a chat with the doctor about the issues you're having, your voice, your habits, your diet, anything else you spoke to your GP about, pretty standard - then they spray your nose with anaesthetic, and a thin camera gets fed up your nose and down your throat. Even with anaesthetic it's a bizarre sensation, especially when they get you to start making noises (and it takes all the will-power in the world not to gag on the camera!)
- My ENT informed me that me that there was nothing sinister like a polyp or nodules (phew!), but he could see that my vocal folds appeared very dry, and he could see the ever so slight formation of what he called a 'pre-nodular inflammation' - honestly, my heart and brain went from the relief of 'Dryness, ok, I think I can fix that' to the panic and despair of 'Pre-nodule?! What the hell is that? What do you mean that's not sinister??!' in the space of 3 seconds. The ENT gave me some advice regarding food and drink to help with the dryness, and informed me he would be referring me to a speech therapist. I left the ENT appointment with a strange ambivalent feeling: happy to be much more informed and equipped to fix this problem, but still very nervous about the diagnosis - but, at least I now had a diagnosis.

Armed with the knowledge of 'pre-nodules' and 'dry vocal folds', and with the letter informing me of my Speech and Langauge Thearapist (SLT) appointment, I decided that I should start the healing process now - after all, my life and career still had to continue, what with a very active teaching business, a series of big band Jazz concerts, a play and rehearsals for an up-coming musical, 'waiting was not an option'. There were things that I could do that wouldn't interfere with what the SLT would teach me. My appointment letter came with a questionnaire I needed to fill in for the appointment, and in filling it out I came to the conclusion that doing a full review of myself would be rather beneficial. I drew up a time line, looking back at significant times in my life and assessing what my vocal quality/range was like vs what was going on in my life, to see if I could pin-point the exact moment that the 'cracking' issue reared it's ugly head. I noticed a few obvious moments that probably contributed to the problem at hand:

• I potentially weakened my vocal folds in 2002 by trying to push a belt voice (unsafely and without coaching) for a production - slight, but significant (and probably the 'pre-nodule' the ENT was talking about 
• My diet is playing a huge role in effecting my voice (most likely cause of the 'dryness')
• My work load has increased massively, and very suddenly over the last two years (another factor that could be contributing to the fatigue) 

The other thing I decided to do was some research into that fear-inducing phrase, 'pre-nodular inflammation'.....

So, What are 'Pre-Nodules', and how do they affect a singer?
First of all, there is a difference between 'pre-nodules' and 'nodules'. A vocal cord 'nodule' is a small, inflammatory or fibrous growth that develops on the vocal cords of people who constantly strain their voices (either through bad technique or for long periods of time). There are also two types of nodules: 'soft nodules' for which treatment requires modification of voice habits, and referral to a knowledgeable vocal technique teacher, and 'hard nodules' which are more advanced cases and usually require surgery to remove the growth area. Vocal rest is also required in both cases. Vocal cord 'pre-nodules', is also an inflammatory area that develops on the vocal cords, but, significantly, has not yet progressed into a true vocal nodule, and is merely an area of irritation. Again, they respond very well to good singing technique, general vocal health care, and conservation of the voice (no straining, overuse or talking/singing too loudly). Treatment for 'pre-nodules' requires much the same treatment as 'nodules': modification of voice habits, and referral to a knowledgeable vocal technique teacher. Resting the vocal cords a bit by allowing little speaking/singing for several weeks may also permit the pre-nodules to shrink and completely disappear. 

Learning this information certainly was eye-opening for me. There was a whole other side of nodules that I didn't even know about, but, in hindsight, makes sense. Of course there's such a thing as pre-nodules, given that a nodule is accumulative, it doesn't just spring up, so it stands to reason that there must be an initial warning sign stage. I made a decision that I needed some vocal rest, not through fear, but purely because, when I thought back to the last time I actually had time off from both teaching and performing, I started to realize it was a fair few years ago - I made up my mind that some TLC was most definitely needed. I had my SLT appointments booked up for November and December, rehearsals for an upcoming show would stop for December, my teaching would stop over the two weeks of Christmas and New Year, and the only gigs I have booked in those two holiday weeks were for piano only: and ideal time to say 'I'm giving my voice a rest'. 

- Hopefully, with the upcoming information I'll get from my Speech and Langauge sessions, and a two week rest period to iron out any fatigue, my vocal crack will be irradicated - for good!

Burnout: knowing when enough is enough

This is a topic that I find has reared it's ugly head throughout my life: as a school student, at
university, in my professional career, and (sadly) watching it take over other people's lives: students, friends and colleagues alike. But what exactly is it? - Essentially, it's stress, your body's 'fight or flight reaction' to certain situations.

Stress: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Some stress is actually good for you, as when we are under stress we can achieve more as our body is primed to fight any situation via the surging of adrenaline and a general feeling of just being more alert. And once the 'stressful task' has been completed, you're often left with a sense of euphoria as you start to relax - you feel good about what you've accomplished. Think about when you've had a deadline to meet (like a work project, or coursework, or even a show) - actually getting everything done on time can be stressful, but when it's all finished you feel great. This kind of stress is good for you.

When you start to push yourself to the limit is when it all starts to go wrong. Stress pushed too far becomes 'distress' which is pretty bad for you. You know you may have bitten off more you can chew if you find yourself getting emotional about everything you have to do (or even just the littlest thing), or you become really irritable, or you're not sleeping as well you used to. This kind of stress is what I call 'instant stress', and it usually comes from a sudden need to get more done, or many deadlines all converging, and, I'll be honest, I've been there. 2nd Year of LIPA I got to a point where the coursework just all piled on, and I was doing 12-hour days with two massive deadlines looming - I hit my breaking point. Bad though it was, however, it's a situation you can recover from pretty quickly, or find a way to resolve if you recognise you pushed yourself too far. In the case of my 2nd year at LIPA, I voiced my concern at not being able to complete the deadlines on time, and it turned out I wasn't the only one feeling the strain, and as a result the tutors spaced the deadlines out to give us all more time. You have limits, and actually, hitting a point of distress can be enough to make you realise you need to pull back a bit, or that something in your life needs assessing/review. However, distress needs to be kept in check, because frequent bouts of it can lead to physical aliments like high blood pressure.

The ugly side of stress is burnout, when your distress goes so far you just cannot cope, in any area of your life. This kind of stress is usually accumulative, and develops slowly over the course of a few months or more. You become mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted, and find yourself unable to meet any demand that comes up in your life - essentially, you've left the fires burning too hard and too long, and now there's nothing left: you have no energy, your immune system may be shot (so you get frequent colds/flu), you may have started binge eating, or not eating, and as a result you've retreated back in on yourself. Most of us have days where feel overloaded or unappreciated (remember that 'distress' I was talking about?), but it's not an all encompassing feeling. Burnout is pretty serious. Left unrecognised and untreated can lead to much more serious health concerns like depression - The good news about burnout is that, because it's accumulative, it can be prevented way before it even appears.

So How do you prevent Burnout:
- Look after yourself: Let yourself get the right amount of sleep, treat your body to healthy and nutritious food, go for a decent walk to clear your head and get some exercise endorphins. There is always time to look after yourself. If you think there isn't, then you're on your way to burnout - you can't look after anybody else if you're broken, so make time for yourself

- It's okay to say no: You don't have to say yes to everything that people ask of you. Know your limits and take the time to really think if you can effectively commit. It can be really flattering to be thought of as the 'go-to-guy', the reliable friend who can help other people out at the drop of a hat - but also remember that people want things done, and they want them done well. If you're taking on too much you're spreading yourself too thin, so you're going to end up giving half-assed results. You essentially end up letting people down by not wanting to disappoint them. If you really can't do it, SAY NO - there's always someone else they can ask (honestly, there always is) You are not superman/wonderwoman - As much as we all like to think we're a superhero sometimes, we're not. We're humans. We have breaking points.

- You can ask for help: Don't ever feel like you have to go it alone, especially if you're struggling to meet demands, or are beginning to feel overwhelmed. Asking for help is the most sensible and mature thing you can do when you're struggling, and it can mean asking someone to help you share the workload, or just meeting a friend for a drink and having a bitching session to get your frustrations out in the open. Talking about what's stressing you out is key to not letting things get on top of you, I think. If you're worried that talking about things is going to somehow get to any higher-ups (and potentially get you in trouble), then try this: Get a notebook, and just start writing. Empty all your thoughts into the notebook until you have no more. When you're done, don't read it. Either leave it unread in the notebook or rip it up / burn it / throw it away. Just getting frustrations out of you can be enough to calm things down and give you new energy.

- Create a 'Work-Life Balance' - learn how to prioritise: We all hear this phrase all the time, but what does it really mean? I read a story once that I think laid this concept out perfectly, so I've provided it below for you all to read, and take in:

When things in your lives seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the two cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things — your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions — and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else — the small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

"Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first — the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

Vocal Coaching

As a professional musician, a big chunk of my career is vocal coaching. The voice is like any other
instrument (and it should be thought of and regarded as an instrument), and requires the same amount of care. I get asked a lot of the same questions all the time, so here's a couple answers to some common things people seem to be wondering about.

What are the benefits of going to a voice coach?
Many, that's for sure.
When I was fifteen I auditioned for a local production of FAME, and ended up with a lead role. I only had an octave range of chest voice, a really crappy break and limited use of my head voice (more on the technicalities of these distinctions later), and wasn't getting any singing lessons so I had to essentially teach myself as to what I needed to do to get better and match up to the rest of the cast - I did manage to extend my chest range and gain a bit more power higher up, although my break remained a huge annoyance, and in hindsight, it was pretty dangerous to attempt all that at fifteen and without a coach, because I probably pushed my voice in a way I shouldn't have, and I could have really damaged myself. A vocal coach would have been able to help me expand my range safely, or improve my vocal power, strengthen my break, or eliminate any bad habits because they know how.  You can teach yourself to a point, there are a lot of couple vocal tutor books by accredited vocal coaches that come with instruction CDs, so it's like getting a lesson from them, but at a very limited rate. You don't have the one-to-one personal care and attention
- Another reason is exams. If you decide you want to take a singing qualification, you need a teacher to do it: for the help picking repertoire, for the support, and even the accompaniment in the exam itself. I physically couldn't have done my Grade 8 qualification without a teacher to help me pick my material, coach me through the exercises and actually play for me in my exam!

Vocal Ranges and Vocal Registers: 
What's the difference?

There is a massive difference. Vocal range covers your total amount of notes you can hit, as well as the natural resonance and tonal quality of your voice. There are 6 standard voice types that are predominantly based on vocal range, but also by vocal tone, colour and natural resonance. I'm using the Italian 'opera' classifications, but they actually apply to all voices across the genres. For the explanations below, consider C4 as being middle C on the piano:

• Soprano: The highest of the standard female voices, brightest in tone, usually have a range of about Bb3-C6. 'Coloratura Sopranos' have the ability to sustain higher than this classification, but with added exceptional vocal agility and flexibility within their upper range. 

• Mezzo-Soprano: The middle of the female voices, and the most common. Mezzo's usually have a range of about G3-A5, and most women who consider themselves 'altos' are actually mezzo-sopranos, but are just being 'lazy', or are afraid to 'sing high', or think they can't sing high because of 'break' issues. 

• Alto: The lowest of the female voices, has the deepest tone and vocal resonance, and a range of about E3-F5. Proper 'Contraltos' have an even darker tone and can have a range closer to a Tenor - these are rare. There are also 'Counter-Tenors', who are men who sing in the alto register, usually in falsetto. True counter-tenors are also very rare, it's usually baritone's with strong falsetto ranges who sing these parts when required. 

• Tenor: The highest of the standard male voices, pretty powerful and brightest in tone, usually with a range of A2-B4 (often higher!). Most pop and modern musical theatre require this range and tone (Think Freddy Mercury from Queen, or Jean Valjean in Les Miserables!)

• Baritone: The middle and most common of the male voices, with a full resonance, with a range of F2-G4. Often I find baritones have the most problems, particularly in group singing, as they're not high enough to sing tenor, but can't get the low notes of basses, and have to flip around a lot. A lot of true baritone's also try to delude themselves that they are Tenor's because they can get a top G (...ish). Don't forget, it's also about your tone and resonance!

• Bass: The lowest of the low! Basses have a really rich tone with a really dark and 'fat' resonance. Their range is usually D2-E4. 'Basso-Prufundos' can sing even lower with an even darker resonance - for Profundo's A1 is not uncommon (still pretty rare on the whole though!)

Bear in mind that the ranges given are only 'typical'. Many singers have extended ranges beyond their classification. Eg: I'm an Alto, but my range is C3-G6! That pretty much covers Tenor to Coloratura! But I have a deep a full resonance to my tone that classes me as an alto. 

Vocal register is about where those notes come from, so, what your voice box and muscles are doing, where the sound is produced and where the sound is resonating. So many people make the mistake of thinking they are a certain voice type because they 'can't sing high', when in reality what they mean is they can't sing "well" or as they would like to sound in their higher registers, or they can't transition between registers properly. There are 6 vocal registers:

• Vocal Fry: The lowest, gravelly, like a creaking door - when you're voice is croaky in the morning, that's vocal fry. You're voice naturally adopts it either in the morning, or because you are tired, as it is it's natural defence at strain and fatigue. You can use vocal fry to warmup gently before a proper warmup

• Chest voice: This is the voice people usually speak in, and the lowest you can sing in properly. Its deep but bright, and full sounding, and is feels like it resonates in your chest.

• Mix voice: For some, the hardest to achieve. It involves blending the full, bright sound of your chest voice with the lighter sound of a head voice - it's this voice that will eliminate the break/crack. When achieved and done correctly, it feels like its resonating around your mouth, jaw and nasal cavities, a place called "The Mask".

• Head voice: This is where high notes come from. Essentially the vocal chords have thinned out, and vibrate differently, which makes a lighter 'headier' sound - it should feel like it resonates out from your forehead, and the higher you go, out the top or back of your head. 

• Falsetto: NOT the same as head voice. This is generally a vocal range most common to men, and is high like the head voice, but with a different vocal quality. It is usually softer, with less power and a more 'feminine' sound. Example: John Legend's 'All of Me' - he can hit that top Ab in his chest/mix, but when he does that famous descending passage you can here his voice flip into a more feminine quality of falsetto. Contrastingly, head voice singing is like the BeeGees in staying alive. High, but powerful, with a brighter sound.

• Whistle register: The highest vocal range, and not everyone can produce it. Sounds like a high-pitched whistle in its tone (it's not all about how high it is). Anyone who's ever heard Minnie Ripperton's 'Lovin' You' will know there's an insanely high note in there that sounds like a piccolo - that's whistle register. Some people can sing up their but still not be in whistle register - again, it's to do with resonance and tone. 

Once you understand the difference between range and register, it makes it a hell of a lot easier to fix any problems you may have, or extend your range, or for a coach to help you improve as a singer through your tone and resonance.

Vocal Issues and Problems:
Certain issues to do with singing are incredibly common, almost everyone has dealt with one of them at some point in their singing career.

- Vocal Break / Crack: Ah, this old chestnut. Nearly everyone has a 'break' in their voice (only about 2% of the population never have to deal with this problem), and it's to do with your vocal registers not connecting properly. Now, for those of you paying attention, it's not about  range!! I have struggled with my vocal break since I was 13. My voice divides up like so: Chest = C3-G4 Mix = Ab4-E5, Head = F5-G6. My break/crack is where my chest voice meets my mix voice, and for years I struggled with a loss of power where my mix meets my head voice too!  The biggest mistake people make when trying to cope with a vocal break is pushing the chest register up: BAD IDEA! All you're going to do is make the muscles strain, therefore making them weaker, and thusly make the problem worse. There are some excellent tutorials around though to help avoid this and work on mix range.

- Vocal Fatigue: If you do something too much, you get tired and can't do it properly. That's what happens to your voice. Vocal Fatigue is probably the most common issue singers have to deal with. The best cure for vocal fatigue is prevention, learning good habits and looking after yourself. If you do get vocal fatigue, then you need to rest, give your voice time to recover!

- Nodules: this word fills singers with absolutely fear and dread. Nodules are essentially calluses on your vocal folds that build up over time. There are two types: 'Soft', which can be fixed with speech therapy and very careful and precise coaching, and 'Hard', which can only be fixed by surgery. The two main causes of Nodules are pushing the voice too hard (so belting / pushing the chest register up or singing through vocal fatigue), and breathy singing.

My personal pet peeves of bad singing:
Every singing teacher has their own I guess, but I've got a couple which drive me nuts:

- Swooping: Sometimes, a swoop or slide (portamento is the technical term) is a good skill to add in for a bit of vocal colour.... but not on every note! It essentially makes it sound like you can't hit any note accurately. Worst example, Katie Melua singing 'Closest Thing to Crazy'. I like the song, but I can't stand the way she sings it. And there is actually no need to swoop so much in that song.

- Breathiness: It's that almost whispery effect that people put on in their voice, a lot of times it's achieved by flipping from the chest register up into a breathy head voice. Ok, it can (like a slide) have a nice effect, but when it's all the time it's just annoying, and actually, as a singing teacher, it's worrying. As I said before it is one of the main causes of nodules: whispering or talking breathily is really bad for your voice, because it means you have to make your vocal folds rub together - think about a friction burn for a second - hurts right? That's what breathiness is doing to your voice, giving it a friction burn. Do it for long enough, and you're going have some serious problems (like nodules).

- The 'Phantom H': This is where people put a 'H' into words where it doesn't belong. The worst example I can think of was I heard someone sing Emilie Sande's 'Clown' as "I'll be your clo-H-own!"
....... ARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!! THERE IS NO 'H' IN THERE!!! STOP IT!!

Mike Sullivan performing 'View to a Kill' - a proper 'Tenor's" song!
(Photo by Chris Tostevin-Hall)

But I can hear some people reading this now - "But what about Style? Isn't 'breathiness just
stylistic? Isn't all this teaching of 'technique' taking away unique style from people?!"....
NO! Having great technique makes you better at singing, and keeps you healthy. Having great technique doesn't mean you lose your unique voice (and you certainly shouldn't be working with a vocal coach who is trying to make you sound completely different), it just means you strengthen your unique voice, and know how to do things properly and safely.

My Top tips: 
- Warmup AND Warmdown: Most people talk about warming up the voice before singing, few talk about warming down. Like you would warmup and stretch before and after a run, you should do the same with your voice. Think of it as an athletic instrument, and treat it like an athlete.
- Food and Drink: Certain foods and drinks do stick in your throat and make singing harder, or dehydrate you, like dairy or alcohol - I'm not going to be a dictator and say 'never eat these' because, well, I love cheese! But learn when you need to cut back or avoid certain foods in order to keep your voice in good shape.
- Water Water Water: Stay hydrated, and drink lots of water. If you're feeling dry or tight in the throat consider steaming (place your head under a towel and over a bowl of hot water and breathe deeply) to moisten and hydrate your vocal folds.

I never leave the house without these
(and, in fact, I stash them round my house!)

- Avoiding excessive use - know when to stop! Never push your voice when you're tired, ill or have just been singing too long.
- Don't smoke - shouldn't really need to say this one!
- If you're worried, seek further help - don't be afraid to ask other singers for advice, or get another
teacher's help/opinion, or get checked out by your doctor if your voice isn't doing what you think it should be. If there is a problem it's better to catch it early.
- Vocalzone: simply the best throat pastilles, specially designed for singers and voice actors. Their website also has some brilliant help and advice from 'The V-Team': www.vocalzone.com

If you're looking for a book-based vocal tutor, I highly recommend the following, either to start you off, or in supplement to coaching from a singing teacher:
- 'Singing for the Stars' (Seth Riggs): The basis of the acclaimed SLS method of vocal coaching, directed by the man who developed it
- 'The Contemporary Singer: Elements of Vocal Technique' (Anne Peckham): A great beginners book by the main vocal coach from Berklee College of Music.
- 'Singing Technique' (Dena Murray): Another beginners book by the main vocal coach from The Musician's Institute in LA.

The Show Must Go On!

One of the many joys I have in my life is being involved in theatre, particularly musical theatre. I've been doing musical theatre since I was 8 years old, and to date I've done 35 productions (not including concerts or revues!) on-stage as a performer, as part of the band or as the musical director. So I thought I'd give a bit more of a detailed run-down of what it's actually like being involved in a production for any of you that maybe love to go see theatre, but aren't entirely sure how it works.

Any show starts out as an idea, and I can assure you, meticulous planning goes into putting on a show, of any size. The production team (Director, Musical Director, Choreographer, Stage Manager, Costume/Set/Props/Lighting Designer) spend literally years organising a show before actors auditions for it even begin. And, for those of you who don't know what they spend those years doing, that would include (and is not limited to): obtaining/negotiating show rights, obtaining a space/theatre, and most importantly, budgeting. Then auditions can take place, and they need to spend a few days (maybe weeks) finalising the casting before drawing up an initial rehearsal reschedule.

Practice makes Perfect! Singing/Choreography/Band rehearsal for
'Summer Holiday' 2014 (Evoke)

Rehearsals are obviously the backbone of getting any production ready for an audience to watch it, and, as you'd expect, take up the majority of anyones time who is involved. In Guernsey, the average rehearsal timescale is usually about 7-8hrs a week across 10-15 weeks, which is roughly 70-120 hours of rehearsal.... that doesn't include tech week! That being said, I've done ten '24-hour Musicals' with the Guernsey Youth Theatre, where you show up Friday night, rehearse for 24 hours straight and then put on the show the following night. Yes, it is possible. Yes, it's not going to be perfect. But, yes, it's one of the funnest (and funniest!) things to be involved in ever. It's truly amazing what can be achieved with a limited amount of time, space and budget!

After weeks of rehearsals, the show moves into the theatre, which can take between a few days to up to two weeks. This includes 'The Get In', 'Tech Week' and 'Dress Rehearsals'. Tech week quite often feels like a massive set backwards, as everything looks and feels really different. The choreographer now has to re-set numbers to accommodate for a change of space, the actors may have to re-set their positioning in scenes due to a change of lighting design, and it takes a few days for the actors to get used to using all their set, and for the crew to get used to how to move it and where to place it, on AND off stage (in a game we like to call, 'Set-Tetris').

Dress rehearsals which usually consist of about two in the rehearsal space, and another three in the performance space, are called so because you are running the show 'in-full-dress', and that means costumes. For some shows this can be incredibly demanding, and things that were easy can be made so much more difficult simply by the addition of costumes, particularly if you have some seriously  quick changes. The quickest I ever had to do was 30 seconds in EVITA - luckily that was only a change of dress, and I had a dresser to help me. Along with figuring out your timing for costume changes, you need to figure out if you need to set any costumes outside your dressing room (again, to facilitate quick changes), if you need help with a change, whether you need to set any personal props in certain places etc. It can take a few runs to get all of this correct, but usually by the opening night you've got your 'Show Rhythm', and things flow smoothly.
- And then there is the run itself: the culmination of all of this hard work finally comes to fruition, and you get to put on your show to a paying audience, which for local Guernsey Theatre is anywhere between 2-15 shows - small scale productions usually do 2-3 shows, and large-scale musicals/pantos tend to be much longer runs

That's pretty much the low-down, but your experience of being involved in a production really does change dramatically for a variety of reasons: whether you're on stage (acting/singing/dancing), whether you're in the pit (musically directing or in the band), or whether you're behind the scenes (directing/crew/costume etc) - and of course, let's not forget the social dynamic. Shows are much, much harder when you don't like who you're working with, or if there's a prima donna or two to deal with! Thankfully, 9 times out of 10 I've liked everyone I've been cast with (... I'll be discreet and not mention who I didn't like!) - I have worked with a lot of amazing people though, and in a variety of ways. So to sum up, I'll give you my own experiences of what it's like to be a part of certain areas of a show.

Myself and Chris Swift as 'Eva & Che', "EVITA" 2008 (Evoke)
(Photo by Graham Jackson)

Being the/a lead role: A huge responsibility, and not to be taken lightly or for granted. If you've been cast as a lead, then you probably proved yourself to the production team in some way, and they are literally trusting you to bring their vision of the show to life, so you need to respect that! You'll have at least three times more work than everyone else in terms of lines/songs and maybe even choreography, and you need to take the responsibility seriously, and, in my opinion, actually lead! By that, I don't mean boss everyone around (that's the directors job!), but I mean be a leader by example - you have more lines/songs to learn, so make a point of having them all learnt quickly, that way no-one else can complain they 'haven't got time' to learn it all. I've had the good fortune of being a lead role about five times now, and I usually give myself bout four weeks to get my script down.


Being a supporting role: The description is in the title there - you should be supporting. Depending on the show, supporting lead roles vary massively in size - for example, in EVITA the lead role of Eva Peron covers about 85% of the show, whereas the only other female 'lead role' has literally one song - in 'Summer Holiday' however, the lead male has a lot to do, followed by the three supporting males (who are in nearly as much as the lead), followed by the female lead and the three supporting females (who have pretty much the same amount as each other) - 'Summer Holiday' is much more of an ensemble show, which requires more work on the supporting characters, and much more time spent together.

'Let Your Freak Flag Fly' - the joy of being unique in an ensemble!
'SHREK' 2015 (GADOC)

Being in the Chorus: Usually the most social role of any production. If you're in the chorus, you're going to get to spend a lot of time with your other chorus members, and you'll have a lot of fun learning everything together - and, when it's not going so well, you've got a core bunch of people who all feel the same, so ranting about it is not a problem because everyone understands. That's not to say that the chorus don't (or rather, shouldn't) work hard, however! Often, in terms of 'prestige', the chorus are under-appreciated. It takes great skill to be able to work just as hard to create tiny little characters who maybe most of the audience never acknowledge, but if they weren't there the show would be really lame. 'Shrek' is a prime example of great chorus. Everyone is cast as an individual fairytale character, which means even though you're an ensemble part you need to find a way to push through and be individual to keep the show alive. I know a lot of people go, 'ugh, I'm in the chorus, that sucks!' - Well, a part is what you make of it, no matter how small.

MD-ing is easy when the band is friggin' awesome!
'The Last Five Years' 2014 (GADOC)

Being the Musical Director: musically directing comes with many strands of potential responsibility. You're essentially responsible for teaching the cast the music, rehearsing all the songs, directing the leads vocally on how to perform a song (a lot of people forget this one!), rehearsing the band, and eventually conducting the band, which, as has been the case with every show I've MD'd, means conducting with your head and face because your hands are too busy playing the piano! MD-ing is really fun, but really exhausting, and you definitely need to have a good sense of how to teach if you're going to do it properly. If the MD teaches the cast well from the beginning, the show will be great, and (in my opinion), that doesn't mean teaching at the pace of the slowest learner. You can't go at the speed of the fastest, because no-one else will learn anything, but then if you go at the speed of the slowest and just 'assume' the others will pick it up on their own, they'll feel ignored and actually not work as hard as they could. You need to find a middle ground that pushes those who struggle, and keeps those that find it easier engaged, and that in-turn will speed up the rate of learning, but also keep your cast bonded as they learn together.

Being in the Band: from my experience of being on-stage, I find the moment that the band and the actors come together, the show comes alive for the first time. Little nuances in the score that don't come out in rehearsal can really lift a scene - prime example was the recent production of Sister Act, and our fabulous guitarist Casey-Joe Rumens, who would put in these little licks and tricks that weren't there in rehearsal, but made the whole cast go 'Wow!' and lift their performance. As an aside, as an audience member I always make a point of staying in the theatre until the band finishes playing their 'play out/exit music' number to give them a final applause, I just think they deserve it, and sometimes people forget how hard they work. 

All in all, being involved in big productions, particularly musical ones, is incredibly rewarding. You get people who say things like, "I don't understand why Music and Drama are taught in schools" or "What on earth are you going to learn about life doing 'Performing Arts'?" - well, you only have to read through my post to see how much discipline, how much self-sacrifice, how much team-work, and how much passion is required from every single person involved in a show in order to get it on the stage, let alone make it a success! Life isn't a musical, but if it were, we might actually get a lot more done! 

Excellent teamwork makes an excellent show - for me, this was 'The Dream Team' - 'The Last Five Years' 2014 (GADOC) 

Charlotte New Music Festival, USA: Day 14 - the end of an adventure

These beautiful people :)

It's finally come to an end :(

It really has been an amazing two weeks for me - I've learned so much, refreshed parts of my knowledge that were hiding away in the corners of my mind, written some great new music and worked with some absolutely amazing musicians (composers and performers alike). This workshop has definitely reignited a fire and a passion for the music I'm creating, and I am so very pleased I did this. Because I was 'the token brit' on this course, many people were asking me over the course of the workshop how I actually heard about the Charlotte New Music Festival - and the answer is: Google. I typed 'composer opportunities' into Google and this popped up, so I read through the info, decided it sounded amazing, then realised it was the last day of application so I hurried through my application form, sent it off (promptly forgot about it), and then amazingly I was selected to take part. I am so very happy I took that chance - there's a lot to be said about 'taking chances / risks'. If the worst that can happen to you is being exactly the same as you were before, you have to go for it.

So, nothing actually happened as part of the festival on Sunday, other than slowly watching everyone pack up and go home until it was only myself and Calvin Hitchcock left. So I thought I'd do a highlight of my favourite moments of the whole festival across all aspects

"If it's worth saying once...."

• Composer Bingo: A game that was invented - during dicussions/panels/presentations various words tend to come a lot (see picture). The overwhelming winner was 'commission' (although I think we need a recount because 'Bowling Green' wasn't included on the list)
• The Miniature's Concert - speedwriting galore featuring the Beo String Quartet and concert toy-pianist Adam Scott Neal, it was a superb array of new music. Although personally, two things stuck out: overall winner Bill Heize's incredibly witty quotation to 'The Rite of Spring', and Calvin Hitchcock's genius piece which had Adam singing in a southern-country drawl. #classic
• The #bantermobile - there are a lot of favourite memories from this beast of a vehicle, but two in particular spring to mind - Daniel Choi's fabulous rendition of 'A short ride in a fast machine', and Jeff Nicholas's hilarious 'hit-on-and-run' incident. 
• CNMF Karaoke - just the best night out, with everyone having a grand old time and good old go (and no-one too proud to not make an arse out of themselves either!)
• Lawrence Dillon's presentation - it was life changing, I don't really need to say anymore
• The compliments - as a musician it's always wonderful when people compliment you on your music, but a CNMF my music resulted in some hot under the collar flustering, some sexual-orientation questioning and a marriage proposal - that's a whole new level of flattery right there!
• Performing at Petra's Bar... Twice! - Singing my Shakespeare setting ('Sigh No More') on the open mic night was amazing - singing with the Jazz musicians at the Open Jazz session was incredible

And finally, because I got to share these last few weeks with an incredible bunch of people, I think I should share them with you all as well (there's a few missing, hopefully these will fill in!):

- Clay Allen: www.clayallenmusic.com
- Richard An: http://richardanmusic.weebly.com
- Andrew Binder: https://soundcloud.com/andrewhbinder
- Cody Brookshire: https://soundcloud.com/codybrookshire / www.CodyBrookshire.com

- Daniel Choi: https://soundcloud.com/djkcmusic

- Luciano Correa: https://www.facebook.com/LucianoCorreaComposer

- Marc Cortes: https://soundcloud.com/marc-mig-1

- Lydia Dempsey: https://soundcloud.com/lydia-dempsey

- Marissa DiPriono-Pike: https://www.jdmdmusic.com/home-1.html

- Michael Goodman: https://soundcloud.com/michael-goodman-music

- Ian Gunthrie: http://ianguthriecomposer.com

- Bill Heinze: https://soundcloud.com/bill-heinze

- Calvin Hitchcock: https://soundcloud.com/calvin_hitchcock

- Dana Kaufman: https://soundcloud.com/dana-kaufman

- Olivia Kieffer: www.oliviakieffer.com

- Chih-Liang Lin: https://soundcloud.com/chih-liang-lin

- Matthew Magerkruft: https://soundcloud.com/matt-magerkurth

- Trey Makler: www.soundcloud.com/Trey-Anthony-Makler
- Rachel E. Matthews: https://soundcloud.com/rachel-e-matthews

- Zack Merritt: www.zackmerritt.com 

- Jeffery Nicholas: http://www.jeffreynicholasmusic.com

- Jeremey Parel: https://soundcloud.com/jeremy-parel

- Zack Pentecost: https://soundcloud.com/zack-pentecost 

- Carter John Rice: http://carterricecomposer.weebly.com

- Jacob Sandridge: https://soundcloud.com/jacobsandridge

- Ben Stevenson: https://soundcloud.com/bjstevensonmusic

- Cassie Wieland: https://soundcloud.com/cassiewieland

- Adam Scott Neal: www.adamscottneal.com 
- Elizabeth Kowalski: http://www.themusicqueen.com
- David Schneider: http://davidschneidermusic.com

- The Great Noise Ensemble: http://www.greatnoiseensemble.com
- The Beo String Quartet: http://www.beostringquartet.com/#beohome
- Loadbang: http://www.loadbang.com

And myself: Lydia Jane Pugh: www.lydiajanepugh.com  /  soundcloud.com/lydia-jane-pugh 

Please, follow the links and celebrate new music -
This is me, signing off from the Charlotte New Music Festival 2015: it's been incredible
#overandout

Thank you #CNMF2015

Charlotte New Music Festival, USA: Day 13

Unlucky for some (day 13), but not for us - Saturday was, for most of us a chilled out day. No lessons, no presentations, just rehearsals for the composers taking part in the co-lab music and dance concert (which I'll talk about shortly).

#bantermobile - aka, team awesome! Gonna miss you guys!

First, I want to talk about the joy that was the #bantermobile. Jeffery Nicholas, Daniel Choi and myself made up the core of this epic machine, with a rotating 4th member, who most often was Clay Allen. You boys picked me up from the airport, and the epic adventures began - sing-a-longs to everything from John Adams to John Denver, hit-on-and-runs from gay men (who you can now elope with quite happily Jeff!), and of course, the streams of epically witty banter.
- We spent our afternoon mooching round the arty-bohemian district of Charlotte: used books stores, record shops, vintage clothing - heaven for me! But we also spent the afternoon dodging the absolutely bucketing rain. A little taste can be viewed on my instragram:
https://instagram.com/p/4emxQZhkJG/?taken-by=lydiajpugh

Col-lab com#posers

The Dance Co-Lab was a project that some of the composers were undertaking for the run of this workshop, some solely, some whilst also taking part in the speedwriting or other commissions/concerts. Essentially, these composers have collaborated with a choreographer to create pieces that consisted of both new music and new dance. From speaking to those taking part in this project, it's pretty clear that it's had a profound impact on all of them. As part of the collaboration the composers were required to attend dance classes, but also at one point choreograph, and at the same time the choreographers had to compose, which I think was an amazing role-reversal which I'm sure helped everyone understand each other a little better. Both Trey Makler and Calvin Hitchcock told me that they found the process somewhat life changing, and everyone I've talked to from this project just seems to have really enjoyed every minute of it, and are now inspired to continue to write for dance. I think, should I ever decide to do this festival again, I would want to partake in the Co-Lab, give myself a new challenge.

The final concert of the workshop was indeed the Dance Concert, where the rest of us got to experience the hard work and fruits of our fellow composers labour, and one final performance from Great Noise Ensemble. It was amazing to see, essentially, two minds meld and work as one to create some beautiful performance art. Some collaborations were better than others in my opinion: when I watch dance I want to see the choreography work with the music, and the dancers really feel and understand the music, otherwise what's the point of the music being there? In particular, I have to give a massive congratulations to Cody Brookshire and his choreographer for their piece "Quiver" - for me, this demonstrated the perfect blend of music and dance, and Cody's use of electronics, both in sound and theatricality (as the dancers themselves controlled the electronics) was inspired. Absolutely one of the high points, and an amazing way to round of the concerts and workshops for the Charlotte New Music festival.

Composers, Choreographers and musicians

Charlotte New Music Festival, USA: Day 12

The last day of composer presentations, and boy was it a big one! Five of us all in one go - it's not surprising everyone was a little sluggish and quiet (especially with questions!), but still, a great set of presentations none-the-less!

First up was Jeffery Nicholas (for anyone who's been following, the driver of the #bantermobile) - Jeff has this way of talking about his music which is.... well, rather self-depricating! And I'm not entirely sure why, because I really enjoy listening to his music! His opening piece, a solo suite for piano does show some heavy influence from Bartok and Prokoviev, which he admits he was influenced by (mainly due to his composition teacher at the time), but I really enjoy it, and I'm sure pianists would enjoy playing it. In particular I really loved his choral piece "The Snow Man" - as predominantly a choral writer myself I love exploring new choral works, and I think Jeff writes really well for voice. I thought it was interesting how he says he writes 'via counter-point' first (moving lines, for those of you who don't know), because this piece, to me, seemed to be much more about the block harmony and focus on the word setting, which I thought was great. Jeff, like myself in fact, writes 'accessible' music, which is no bad thing at all - I think people will really want to play and hear his music, and maybe he needs to be a little less hard on himself and just write for his own enjoyment a bit more.

Ben Stevenson was up next, giving an overview of his works from the last couple of years, including 'Ghost Metropolis'; an ambient and spacial piece based on a circular harmonic movement, and 'Tracer'; and orchestral piece inspired by a painting. Ben stated that he didn't consider himself and 'intuitive composer', but he does believe that each piece has to find it's own way - you can't force anything. Ben's orchestral piece was really quite evocative, and made great use of imagery (especially a particular section meant to imply a bald eagle). There was some discussion about the logistics of an effect/dynamic he wanted for the Tam-Tam, which is actually not possible (I know, I am a percussion player) - this just highlights for me the importance of a) knowing the instruments you're writing for, and b) if you don't know, get someone to play it for you! I think many composers these days are quick to rely on just imputing scores into sibelius/finale (I know, I can be lazy like that sometimes too), so having people play your work, even just as an initial reading is so beneficial for a composer.

Next up was, in fact, me! I decided, like Ben, to present a cross-section of my work from the last few years, or more accurately, the last decade, presenting; 'Canne del'acqua', 'Concerto for Electric Bass and Rhythmic String Orchestra', 'Northern Star', 'A la Perchoine', and one of my singer-songwriter tracks 'Island of Silence'. General feedback on my work was really positive, with the consensus that I really know how to write beautiful melodies, especially for my choral music. Carter Rice also praised my use of counterpoint, particularly in 'Canne del'acqua', which I wrote when I was 17. He said it was unusual to have that kind of knowledge at that age - so I guess I have my mum to thank for that one, as she's the one who taught me! Like Jeff my work is very accessible, and also very memorable, and quite a few of the group either had suggestions for groups to submit my work to, or even wanted copies themselves to submit to people they know, which I'm really pleased about. So all in all, a great presentation for me! - you can find all my presented pieces by going to my soundcloud page:
http://soundcloud.com/lydia-jane-pugh

After a short break we were back to it with Rachel E. Matthews. Rachel also chose to present a cross-section of works, starting with some of her very early music, which was a piece for Oboe and Harpsichord. She originally wanted to write for Oboe and Banjo, but switched to harpsichord because one wasn't available. Although it is a (strangely) logical substitution, Rachel's writing did show she wasn't that comfortable writing for harpsichord, as her knowledge of the instrument was not as apparent. What was lovely about the works Rachel presented, however, was seeing her truly develop and improve - her final presented piece for percussion entitled 'Atmosphere' showed great command of writing for percussion, and great use of counterpoint. I feel like a lot more thought went into this piece, which is, of course, typical when you're studying and improving. I really like Rachel's music: like me she's a sucker for melody and harmony, and I hope to hear more in the future.

Finally, Marc Cortes presented the last composer presentation of the workshop. Marc is from Barcelona, and his music does reflect the romantic European ideals. He is also tremendous as orchestrating, as showed by his piece "Epitahium", which was inspired by the works of another composer Hans Rott. Marc's writing for strings is beautiful, and I loved the concept of writing a piece to pay homage to an under-appreciated composer whom people may never have heard of. Another of Marc's piece that I adore is his String Trio, which is essentially a theme and variation, with each theme being written in the style of famous composer (like Clementi or Wagner) - this piece is delightfully witty and elegantly written, and the Wager variation even induced a really nerdy outbreak of laughter from the group as we heard very typical Wagner-esque themes.

#Team Cello

After a chilled out afternoon off, we were off to hear the fruits of our labour for the Speedwriting Concert of Miniature's. Presented in the New Modern Art Gallery downtown, it was an ideal setting for completely new music. The Beo String quartet performed our music in a variety of combinations, and there was even the inclusive of Toy Piano as performed by Adam Scott Neal. Considering that everyone was writing music inspired by North Carolina folk tunes, there was an amazing variety of styles across all composers. My particular favourites were written by Calvin Hitchcock; which had hilarious theatricality and a definite southern twang, Bill Heinze; who managed to include a very funny quotation to Stravinsky's 'Rite of Spring', and Cassie Weiland; just stunning duet string writing in my opinion! My piece, 'Carolina's Jig' was performed on solo cello by Hannah Whitehead, and I'm so very pleased with how it came out, and wonderfully, Hannah want's to add the piece to her repertoire, so I'm thrilled! The added element of 'competition' in the form of an audience vote added to the fun, and the overall winner was in fact Bill Heinze, winning himself the glorious prize of a cloak and paper crown. I have to say, if there'd been an extra prize for 'best title' that would have definitely gone to Carter Rice for his aptly named 'Folk the Police'.

Bill, you are the King of Speedwriting

It was a truly great concert, with an incredible amount talent on display. And, as we all know, after a truly great concert you need to chill out and unwind.....

.....naturally, with Dominos Pizza, beer, and Cards Against Humanity! Wooo!

Nothing going on here officer.... BEEEEEES!!!!

Beo and their groupies

Could Cody look more happy with himself about this pizza?...

Charlotte New Music Festival, USA: Day 11

Hanging out on the CPCC Overcash steps

Thursday at the festival began as typically as the other days at the festival, and slowly but surely progressed through the realms of awesome - as you will read below:

Shawn Milloway was up first for the presentations, opening with a solo trombone piece. Shawn’s writing for trombone is very idiomatic, and the funk/jazz elements of the piece was brilliantly displayed by his performer (who, it turns out, has played with Ray Charles!). There were also elements of Shawn’s piece that sounded reminiscent of The God Father, which to me is no bad thing! Among the other pieces Shawn presented was a piece for percussion ensemble, which he admitted was now laid out particularly accurately (as evident by some frightening moments between the marimba and xylophone that turned out to just be bad layout by Sibelius - ‘Sibelius-isms’ is the industry phrase) - Despite that, his percussion piece was incredibly well received by the group, and in fact Marissa made a suggestion that he send the piece to college percussion groups (in particular freshman groups) as good percussion music for these standard and types of groups is hard to come by. 

Lydia Demspey (the ‘other’ Lydia) is going into her 3rd year at Bowling Green State University. He first piece entitled ‘Tahka’ scored for soprano, harp and percussion was an instrumentation Lydia stated she wouldn’t have thought to write for herself, but she ended up loving it - and I can see, and hear why. Firstly, Lydia has a great ability to write atmospherically, and her voice leading comes from a very natural place. This was also her first time writing for harp, but I certainly wouldn’t have known that. Other composers will tell you, harp is an instrument we like to conveniently forget out - it’s a scary prospect writing for all those pedals and whatnot, but Lydia went about it the right way: sticking to the simpler pedallings and wholly idiomatic writing. Matt Makler made a note of how effective the voice/percussion relationship was in this piece, in particular the setting of the word ‘Tahka’, where the voice will sing the ‘tah-‘ syllable and the percussion with react with a ‘ka’ sound. One of Lydia’s other presented pieces was a piece for A clarinet and cello, which was written as part of a 48-hour composing project. Essentially, composers and musicians are assigned to each other on Friday night, and the composer has 24-hours to write a piece, and then the performer has another 24-hours to rehearse it for a performance on Sunday night. Having done many a 24-hour musical in my time, this concept completely agrees with me, and is something I’m very keen to develop a version of for composers and musicians back on Guernsey to have a go at - watch this space on that one!

Scott Miller initially started out as a rock band performer, learning guitar, and (in his own words), "realising he was the worst at guitar and so became a bass player”, and didn’t become a composer until much later when he realised that “not all composers are dead”. Knowing his rock background it was fascinating to me just how different his sound was to what I was expecting: much more atonal and experimental. That being said, Scott’s eye (and ear) for intricacy and detail is amazing, and his layering of sound is very effective. In particular his solo ‘Etude' for double-bass (played by himself on the recording) showed some tremendous command of the extended techniques and capabilities of the instrument, and I especially like his use of pizzicato harmonics on a double bass - most effective. 

Our final presentation by a guest composer for the festival was Lawrence Dillon (who had a piece performed at the first concert). I don’t think it would be too bold to say that Lawrence’s presentation had a profound effect on everyone. There’s something about the way he talks - he’s able to say truly deep and philosophical things with an air of absolute honesty, so you really believe in everything he said, and that he cares about, not only music, but the continuation of new music. He talked about how, like a novelist shouldn’t be smarter than the characters they create, a composer should not be smarter than the piece - essentially, you have to let a piece develop from a natural place. It is really obvious when a piece has been forced into a certain idiom that doesn’t suit the composer, or it’s rammed with ideas that don’t corollate, and Lawrence stated that when writing stylistically composers should use what they know, or have learned or are learning, but that honesty is the most important thing. “It’s our job to show the world how we think.” Make sure everything you write expresses you. The second half of Lawrence’s presentation was more focused on composer ideals, and work related ideals. He talked about the four key elements of composing:

• Rational: Structure/form, method and language  
• Intuitive: Improvised ideas, listening, general flow 
• Emotional: Imagery, feel, visceral reaction/responses
• Sensational: Textures, Timbres and instrument techniques

Most composers usually have one of those which is dominant, one which is significantly weaker, and the other two somewhere in-between. He discussed these components in relation to 'writers block', and how writer’s block is usually because a composer is focused almost blindly on one particular aspect (say for example, if you’re obsessing over the form of a piece, you’re obsessing over the rational aspect of composing) - he suggests that the best composing comes from being somewhere in the middle of these four ideals, and that finding time to compose no matter what will improve you and help you thrive. Another aspect he discussed was the three stages of composing:

• Initial Stage: time to let ideas flow and be completely uncritical
• Body Stage: when you’re fitting ideas together and developing
• Detail: intricate reviewing of your work, be highly critical at this point

The concepts Lawrence presented are wonderful lessons for anyone who considers themselves a composer (or songwriter) to learn. I almost feel like I’ve learned more in Lawrence’s two hour presentation than I did in my year long master’s degree. His presentation was wholly intelligent, un-egocentric and truly caring, and I think (and hope) everything he said will stick with me forever.

Carolina BBQ + Whiskey - absolute heaven

Speedwriting also means speed rehearsing! After writing my 3-minute solo cello piece for Hannah to play (cellist with Beo String Quartet), I only have 15 minutes with her today to get in a practice room and have a go at it! I’ll admit, I’ve not written an easy piece - it’s inspired by elements of North Carolina folk music, but also my experience in my years of playing cello with the Irish session band from the Cock & Bull back in Guernsey - so I know what I’ve written is playable (I spent a lot of time miming cello in the common room last week), but it’s very different suddenly asking another cellist to not only play it, but rehearse in very little time for a concert performance. Hannah’s tackled it really well however, and I think she’ll do a great job - she seems to really enjoy what I’ve written for her, and wants to continue practicing it for possible further use in solo gigs in the future, so I’m really happy with that! 

"Loooooov-in' yoooouuuuuuu"

One unusual part of today was realising that we had no concert to attend, and did in fact have the night off. I took the time to have dinner with Katie Kellert from Great Noise Ensemble to discuss the more finite details of planning a new music concert series, and what elements are needing to make the time of performances GNE do possible somewhere like Guernsey (I have ideas, I’m just putting that out there!). It was fantastic to be able to pick someone’s brain about this type of thing, and especially someone from a professional group like GNE, and someone who already likes my music as well. Plus, we went to Midwood Smoke House: finally got myself some quality North Carolina BBQ, so an absolute win all round.

The rest of the night was spent, essentially, filling the concert void: Karaoke. My word, I can’t remember the last time I had that much fun at Karaoke. A smaller group of us (a cross-section split of faculty composers, workshop composers and 75% of the Beo String Quartet) frequented a sports bar called ‘Steamers’ and essentially descended the evening into hilarious carnage. I would a say you’ve not lived until you’ve seen Adam Scott Neal perform Karaoke - the man is an entertainment legend, and I feel honoured to have shared the stage with him for our ’stunning’ rendition of ‘A whole New World'. I have to say a massive thank you to Adam ‘Mercury’ Scott Neal, The 'System-of-a-Neukom' Brothers, Elizabeth ‘my humps’ Kowalski, Olivia ‘Lauper’ Kieffer, ‘Enter Sandro’, and David ‘Vogue’ Schneider for making utter tits of yourselves - it was truly epic, memorable and hysterical! 

As a special treat, follow this link to instagram to watch 'System-of-a-Neukom in action!

https://instagram.com/p/4Z0hw2BkDE/?taken-by=lydiajpugh

• And remember #Don’tStopBelievingCNMF2015 (from Lydia ‘Lovin’ You’ Pugh)

Yes, we took over the whole bar.... what of it?...