SingBabySing™ Voice Blog

Singing With A Voice That Has No Boundaries

2009-05-21T21:27:00.000-07:00

American Idol 2009 is over and the winner is Kris Allen. We all know that, but I’d like you to vote again.

Huh?

Yes, I’d like you to compare their voices simply from one technical point of view, and then vote with your own conclusion based on that one point.

Now, bear with me, a technical point of view doesn’t mean that the viewpoint has to be boring. In fact, the opposite is true. Anyone who wants to know more about singing – that’s YOU - discovers all sorts of exciting things about techniques along the way.

For instance, I’d like to talk about vocal projection, which simply means sending your voice on a journey, a journey to a distant place, past all boundaries and obstacles. After you explore this journey of vocal projection with me, I’ll get back to Kris and Adam, so take a deep breath and let it out slowly (see, I’ve already given you something to do to help your voice).

Where is this distant place where you are going to send your voice? Think of it as a spot on top of a mountain, way over there - somewhere out in front of you. You can see the mountain but you aren’t near it. You’re on top of a different mountain and there is a canyon in between. You can see the highest point, but you can’t get there from where you are.

All of a sudden, you see someone whom you haven’t seen in years standing on the top of the mountain. Someone you care about and love with everything in your being. But you are on this side of the canyon and he is on the other side of the canyon. He does not know you are there and so does not see you.

What to do?

You yell loudly, but the wind is blowing through the trees and the sound is bigger than your voice. The canyon and wind form a boundary line, a barrier for you. So, you yell louder, but the only result is a sore throat and a cracking sound in your voice.

Next, you try jumping up and down and waving your arms, but you are too far away and it doesn’t do the trick.

You consider lighting a fire. That will get attention, but probably only from the fire and police departments. Besides, the fire would just chase your loved one away.

So, now what?

You think back to something your singing teacher (yes, you have a singing teacher, it’s me!) told you about projecting your voice, something you did not fully understand at the time. Quickly, you try to recall what she said and then envision seeing her cup her hands around her lips and calling out to someone. You remember her telling you to do the same, imagining that you have to get your voice through a tiny hole in the corner of the room where the ceiling meets the two walls. Her voice sounded really loud when she did it, almost like yelling, but it didn’t seem like she hurt her throat.

“Do it,” you call out through the wind. “Get over yourself and do it!”

You cup your hands, placing them around your lips, then remembering that she told you to let go of the tension in your hands, your neck, your jaw and your belly, you plant your feet and call out “Hello,” stretching out the vowel “o,” like she did.

The sound doesn’t get very far and it bugs you because it doesn't sound good enough to go anywhere, let alone over to the other mountain. You look down and kick the dirt, berating yourself. When you look up again, you see your loved one starting to walk away, not because you don't sound good, but because he can't hear you. Frantically, you try again.

“Hellooooooooo,” you call out through the wind, “hellooooooo, heloooooo,” with more urgency and higher pitched now, “heloooooooooooo.”

Something connects inside of you. Your whole body feels alive for the first time in years, almost like every cell is tingling, vibrating with power and joy. You realize that you aren't just calling out anymore, but you are singing and your voice is strong, so you keep singing out across the canyon. You begin to hear your voice reverberate against the huge granite boulders and it gets louder and louder as you let it go, not caring how it sounds anymore. You are totally focused on making sure your beloved hears you.

Suddenly, you see him turn his head in your direction and now you can tell that he sees you. He calls back to you and BOOM, there’s an earthquake, and all the boulders fall down around you and you never see your loved one again!

No, seriously, when being heard is so important to you that you don’t care about anything else, you will let go of all your tension and unleash the natural power of your voice. That's what it means to project your voice.

Now, back to Kris and Adam. From a strictly technical point of view, who do you think sent his voice on the furthest projection journey?

For my money, it was Adam all the way. His projection technique was much more developed than Kris's. By the way, when Kris responded to winning, even he seemed to know it...."it should have been Adam...."

I won’t talk about the differences in their energy or pitch control in this article, but there’s no question that Adam knew more about projecting his voice than Kris, although I have to say that every once in a while, Kris did effectively project and break through his own boundaries.

But if you watch the American Idol videos again and compare the two of them simply on the basis of what I’ve written about sending your voice on a projection journey, which one do you think wins?

Seeds and Song

2008-08-19T09:08:00.000-07:00

The bad news is all around us. An emergency NATO meeting in Belgium. Trouble with Russia, Georgia, Poland, Afghanistan, Dafur, Iraq, Iran, Algeria, Zimbabwe, the teetering world economy, etc. etc. etc.

What can I do about it? Stay calm, do my daily vocal exercises, focus like Michael Phelps and offer something better.

So I offer seeds! Yes, seeds. Chia seeds.

As the price of everything goes up, this inexpensive food offers hope for the world.

Sounds silly, I suppose, but it's true.

But what does this have to do with singing? Good health (physical, mental, emotional, financial, spiritual)is essential to good vocal habits.

Chia seeds have many benefits, a few of which are:

MORE Omega 3 oil than salmon

MORE calcium than milk

MORE antioxidants than blueberries

MORE magnesium than broccoli

MORE fiber than flax seed

More energy means better singing, so I'll eat seeds today and sing.

This is the seed of hope I plant today!

Morning Voice

2007-11-09T12:45:00.001-08:00

To make your day go better, do this simple activity before getting out of bed.

Lie flat on your back with your legs uncrossed and hands at your sides
Focus on a point out in front of you, on the ceiling if possible
Take a deep breath, fully expanding your belly and keeping your shoulders from tensing upwards
Purse your lips like a fish and let out your breath with an "sss" sound directed towards the point in front of you, like it's coming from a slow leaky tire. Repeat 3-5 times
Take a deep breath and as you let it out, make a VERY GENTLE "mmm" sound as though you're tasting something delicious, then spin the sound up and down as long as your breath lasts
Do this 3-5 times (or more) before you get up and enjoy your day!

Britain's Got Talent and Babies

2007-11-05T08:44:00.002-08:00

"Britain's Got Talent" 2007 winner, Paul Potts, restored my faith in mankind!

Why?

This mobile phone salesman, whom Simon Cowell called "the underdog" of the competition, sang "Nessun Dorma" and won.

What's "Nessun Dorma?"

Opera, plain, simple and powerful! It's one of the Puccini arias that Pavarotti made famous during his celebrated career. (read about the Puccini Effect)

Even though the competition took place in June, I didn't hear about it until today when I watched a brief Oprah YouTube promotional video on which he briefly appeared. On YouTube alone, the videos of his audition and final competition triumphs have been seen well over 20,000,000 (yes, that's 20 million) times! More than Pavarotti's YouTube of the same aria, I might add.

Potts sang opera and Britain's pop music fans went wild!

But what does this have to do with babies?

As you already know from my previous post, Song in Your Womb, and according to research from academic circles, voice (singing and speech) training starts in the womb and continues throughout life.

The trouble is that most of the academic research never makes it to the general public, which is where it will do the most good.

One of my jobs with SingBabySing™ is to point out the research that can inspire and motivate parents (especially moms), childcare educators and providers to enhance the work they do in raising the babies of the world.

For example, on Friday I had lunch with Dr. Sheila Woodward, a wonderful researcher. You'll remember her from Song in Your Womb. She's the Interim Chair for the Early Childhood Music Education Department at the University of Southern California and sits on the board of the International Society of Music Education, amongst the many other things she does.

She's also the person who recorded sounds that babies hear inside their mothers' wombs and from those recordings discovered important information about language acquisition before birth. With her permission, I would like to quote from her article, "Musical Origins:"

"The acquisition of music and language skills requires the same cognitive auditory processes essential for speech development...the evidence of auditory discrimination, memory and learning which occurs from the fetal stage indicates the vital role which parents, caregivers and society should play in the provision of optimal sound environments from before birth."

Allow me to translate the academic-ese:

"What a baby hears inside the womb will directly affect the way it speaks or sings later in life, so parents, educators and others should expose babies to the best possible sounds before birth."

Other research backs up what SingBabySing™ does, so I'll have more to write on this subject in the future.

Meanwhile, sing to your baby today, whether inside your womb or out!

You are the most important talent he/she will ever hear so...
let us help you give your baby your best!

Song in Your Womb

2007-11-01T06:17:00.002-07:00

I listened to a music education presentation at the Disney Hall in Los Angeles on Monday, October 29th and was totally blown away when Soili Perkiö, the Head of the Music Education Department at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland, played a recording called "Womb Sounds" by Dr. Sheila Woodward from South Africa, who now teaches at the USC's Thornton School of Music.

In 1992, as part of her doctoral thesis, Dr. Woodward placed hydrophones (miniature microphones that work in liquids) inside the wombs of several pregnant women (with their permission, naturally) and recorded the sounds that babies hear inside that watery world.

Guess what those sounds are?

Mom's heartbeat
Mom's voice
Music that Mom plays

I nearly came out of my seat! It was evident that I hadn't been thinking big enough yet. That recording reinforced EVERYTHING I've been doing with SingBabySing™ plus took my ideas to the prenatal level!

If a baby hears her mom's voice around 4-5 months during development inside the womb, and other research shows that this mommy voice highly impacts the baby's later language development (it does), then how much more important is it that moms everywhere be given the opportunity to learn how to use their voices to their fullest beauty and power so that their babies will get the best possible leg up in life!

Another amazing story that came from that conference was the story of El Sistema, the phenomenal music education program in Venezuela!

But more on that another time.

For now, I simply finish by saying that music and language education start in the womb, not (WOW!) after birth (WOW again!)

It Starts at Home

2007-10-28T16:18:00.000-07:00

Your child will sound like you sound to her as she grows up.

If you get tense emotionally (don't blame PMS, your husband or your child) your voice will tighten up and probably get strident, which usually means UGLY!

She's watching you and listening to you to see how you react to life.

She'll do pretty much the same things you do so...

Do her a favor (not to mention yourself) and learn simple techniques to control how you sound to her:

Tune out what's causing you to get upset

Focus on a point on the wall in front of you

Take a deep breath

Let it out slowly, like a slow leaky tire whose air is directed at the point on the wall

Do it again but smile this time

Do it until she smiles

Twirl around 3 times and laugh at yourself!

Go back to what you were doing and remember this blog!

Morning Sounds

2007-10-24T18:33:00.001-07:00

Adding beauty to the morning sunrise that still managed to show up today in spite of Southern California's current inferno, I spoke softly and gently to Michael about the importance of how we use our voices when we communicate with one another.

As a large coal-colored crow and squirrel vied for dominance over the branched territory of trees that have been smacking the windows because of the Santa Ana winds that emblazoned and emboldened the fires, I realized something crucial about the significance of SingBabySing^TM.

A curious goose-bumpy feeling burned this truth into me:

We must set an example of vocal excellence in our day-to-day communications or we won't help anyone else. And if we succeed, we'll have the opportunity to lead the way to a better world, a world that has learned to control the fire of its negative passions so that the power of its positive ones can prevail.

If not us, who?

And if not you, who?

Control Your Voice

2007-10-22T17:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I wrote about how to control your voice when someone provokes you without cause. Today I'm telling you why it's important to control your voice:

It's like putting water on a fire that's raging out of control instead of giving the fire more fuel, which means less people get burned
It keeps the noise levels down so that you can be heard, which means you don't have to shout and hurt your vocal cords
It keeps the door of communication open for a future time when the person might (maybe they will, maybe they won't) become more rational, which means the possibility of letting in more light

Besides all that, you get healthy sleep at night because your conscience is clear, which means you won't be adding negative energy to the mess in the world.

Sleep well!

Ugly Voice

2007-10-21T19:34:00.001-07:00

This week a close family member really challenged my ability to use my voice in a healthy manner.

I managed to succeed without getting ugly even though he, without any provocation, behaved in an unbelievably ugly way towards me.

So try these voice tips when you're tempted to fight back with your voice:

When someone shouts at you don't shout back
Instead, take a deep breath and release it slowly without letting them hearing you
Focus into the "tunnel" of your voice that's out in front of you and keep breathing deeply and slowly
Find something about them that you appreciate and express it to them in a soothing way
That'll throw them off long enough for you to take another deep breath while they continue to rant at you
Do it again
Take another deep breath and don't let their ugly words reach your soul
Speak without stressing out your vocal cords by slowing your words way down
and speaking more softly than usual
If they won't back down, politely excuse yourself, get off the phone, leave the scene or whatever allows you to "disconnect" from them
Go and do the "Silly Spinning Siren" somewhere out of their earshot
Of course you could always do the "Silly Spinning Siren" within their earshot, although I don't often use this tip myself!

Voice Bursts

2007-08-23T13:51:00.000-07:00

I just returned from teaching 5 workshops at the HSC '07 Conference in Sacramento. I covered a number of topics, including how to strengthen your diaphragm muscles in order to support the tone.

One mom who attended my parent workshop told my group about her 17 year old son who is taking military training but is having difficulty communicating orally even though his written work is superior. He doesn't yet know how to use his voice to gain command of a situation so his superior officers want to fail him.

If only I could have had 2 hours with the young man, away from everyone else. I'm confident I could have helped him with these few simple vocal concepts and the example of my own voice used with authority and power that has come from years of practice:

Stand taller but don't suck in your gut when you breath in because it goes against nature. Instead, use the dog pant to strengthen your diaphragm, the main muscle that controls how you use the air that makes sound waves.
Exaggerate your vowels and consonants, making strong use of your lip and cheek muscles
Send your voice towards the skull area between your eyes. It will make it boom and resonate, carrying it further with more power
Never feel intimidated or embarrassed when you use your voice
Get focused on a point in front of you and think of it as a megaphone as you send your voice through it via the bony structure between your eyes
Loosen your jaw and tongue and let out your air slowly as you feel the sound 'riding' on it

Hopefully, I'll be able to help more people in the future.

Joy

Baby Voice

2007-07-31T14:18:00.000-07:00

I'm so passionate about training for moms and childcare providers that I'm in the process of producing my training video to accompany the beginning level CD for babies. There are so many simple things that parents and childcare providers can do to develop a baby's inner musical ears for excellent language development that I just can't hold back that knowledge.

Today, I posted the training demo video on YouTube. Here it is:

Joybug out

Tehnorati Link

2007-02-10T11:32:00.000-08:00

I'm trying a Technorati link for SingBabySing^TM so that people around the world can continue to get singing lessons from me on YouTube and elsewhere.

Joybug

Never Figure It

2007-01-06T13:53:00.000-08:00

January 6, 2007

Did I study to become a web designer?

Of course not! I studied music.

Did I study computer science, recording engineering, electronics?

Nope. Creating songs out of the atmosphere and reaching into the hearts of people with them is my science.

What of business, marketing, accounting?

You MUST be kidding!

So how did I end up in the business of providing information and resources with SingBabySing for teaching the world to sing?

I WILL NEVER FIGURE IT OUT, but against all odds, I'm doing it.

Joybug
Staying the course

New Year - New Site Design

2007-01-05T10:21:00.000-08:00

January 5, 2007

New Site Progress:
I hope to have my newly designed website operational by the end of Jan. ’07. Until it’s up, you can check my new site progress.

Other news:
As of today, I’ve had over 15,000 views of my voice lesson videos on YouTube and Video Google.

A few comments from subscribers all over the world:

“thanx! Ur class! WE WANT MORE!!!” – Ireland

“thank you so much for this! it means so much to me! – U.S.

“kool thanx 4 vid ! your gr8!im beggining 2 understand singing better . – United Kingdom

“You are so cool ,I teach Ennnnggglish in Japan to children and they love to sing ,which I find is the best way to teach them good pronounciation of sounds that are not found in Japanese…after watching you ,I realize i don't even need to be singing songs yet just creating the sounds…Thanks for posting all your silliness ,women are great teachers ,so are men but balance is so important as well.” - Japan

Back to the web design drawing table for now.
Joybug

Song On The Wind

2006-12-01T06:30:00.000-08:00

They were pie-eyed and completely open to anything that came across their path. In this case what came to them was a song on the wind with their names in it.

It was 9 am on a Thursday morning and the children at the child development center were just finishing their good morning activities. I watched and listened to their voices as the teachers led them through their routines.

When they finished, it was my turn. The director introduced me and I began to play a call and response name game with them to see what they would best respond to. We started by extending vowels and calling out "hello" to one another. The older children, ages 3-5, caught on quickly. But the younger ones, 18 mos. - 2 yrs. seemed puzzled by what we were doing and didn't join in. So I worked with the older ones for about 20-30 minutes. They sat in a circle on the floor with me, two teachers, the director and one mom as I continued the game using their names. Everyone joined in.

The song was in these precious little ones and traveled on the wind of their musical inflections as I showed them how to follow the tones of their names. Their eyes sparkled as they discovered that they could match musical pitches.

If someone was listening close enough, that is.

And that's where I came in. I heard what was already in them and how they were trying to communicate, then turned their sounds into a spontaneous and natural singing game.

Later, I asked for notes from Michael about how the session went.

"You have to start with the younger ones because their language skills aren't as advanced."

"And so the older ones overwhelm them?"

"Yes. The little ones need to be the leaders."

"Ah, that makes perfect sense to me."

Each child had a rhythm, a melodic curve, an expression of who they were.

All I had to do was guide them into what they already knew about making music, about singing.

Without informed guidance, most of them will lose this God-given ability before they turn seven.

But maybe if I keep working more than 14 hours a day for SingBabySing, I'll reach a few to sing the song before I die and leave it all behind me.

A grateful Joybug

New Website Look

2006-11-28T19:38:00.001-08:00

SingBabySing^TM will have a fresh new look with many many more voice resources soon. So be sure to check back frequently to see what's going on!

Joybug

Magic

2006-11-21T21:51:00.000-08:00

Guess who I met today?

Magic Johnson. No kiddin'.

I was working out at one of the gyms he owns and he walked in, sat down three machines away from me and began to work out.

I didn't know it was him at first, but I thought he looked like himself and I didn't want to do a "star" intrusion thing, so I just kept crunching my thighs.

Two buff guys walked by, spouting lousy language, talking about how Madonna does at least an hour per day on a treadmill. What she does for an hour on a treadmill is her business. I had done 20 minutes and figured that was pretty good for someone who wasn't famous.

But I didn't like their language and thought they might benefit from working harder on their mouths than their biceps.

I didn't say a word. I just kept crunching my thighs.

When I was finished, I got up and walked past the two buff, lousy-mouthed guys who were talking to Magic.

Then I decided to turn around and go back.

What the heck, I'll talk to him.

When the two guys saw me coming, they walked away and I walked over to Magic Johnson and introduced myself, putting out my hand.

He shook it firmly as he flashed those incredibly bright teeth of his in a grin as big as he is. But he didn't stand up.

Boldly, I asked him, "What was the biggest challenge you encountered in life?" My idea was to see what he might be able to tell me that would help me SingBabySing's singing lessons out to the world in a bigger way, but I didn't mention my business. I figured that whatever he said would give me some wisdom.

I could tell it wasn't necessarily a question he got asked a lot (or at least not so quickly), because he had to think about it a bit. I didn't mean to throw him off guard, I just didn't want to waste time. I figured I might never get another chance in life to ask Magic Johnson how he overcame obstacles to achieve what I consider real success, which is being able to help others in a big way.

This is what he said:

"You have to have the right information"
"Get the right team around you - those who care about you and believe in your vision"
"Be disciplined"
"Work extremely hard"

"By right information you mean not what the world tells you you can't do, right?

"Yeah, and you have to have a team around you that can get the right information to you. People who have succeeded in what you want to do."

I asked him where he was raised and we chatted about other things, then he said, "You also have to work really hard," to which I replied, "I never understood that 8 hours a day work thing. I always want to ask people if they mean the first 8 hours of my work day or the second 8 hours of my work day."

He laughed out loud, "Exactly. You got it!"

Then I asked him if he ever mentored people and he enthused, "Oh yeah. I have 200 kids I helped to get into college. Kids who don't have enough money to go."

"For sports?"

He stood up as he corrected me, "Oh, no. Academics!"

Then I saw how big he really is. And not just in height.

"Cool."

"Yeah." There was that big smile again.

He put out his hand to shake mine and we beamed at each other as I thanked him for his time and for how his sayings, posted around the gym, have encouraged me.

He was truly humble about that and as I walked away, I put my hand over my heart and thanked God for the opportunity to meet such a great guy.

YouTube and Me

2006-10-27T09:55:00.000-07:00

Quickly this morning I write. I've been fooling around with
YouTube to see what's happening there and decided last night to start a few groups about children's voices as I continue to make my Alaskan dream come true, which in part is to:

Pass on my knowledge about music and the voice
Reach people in locations outside (or inside too) of major metropolis areas where voice teachers are rare
Make help affordable
Bring awareness to parents and educators about the importance of voice training from birth onward
Help others get over the fear of using their own voices
Bring hope
Pass on my knowledge about health and how it affects the voice
And oh, so much more

That's all I want to write because there is so much work to do today.

Joybug out

Perseverance

2006-10-12T18:08:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's really hard to keep keepin' on, but if I quit where will my knowledge go when I die?

And since goosebumps, chills, tears and laughter are now a regular part of every presentation I give, why would I want to give up those things? They're what make my struggle worthwhile. They don't happen when I seek only my own pleasure. They happen when I'm giving to others what I'm supposed to give.

When young mothers ask for my advice as they hold their precious little children near them, everything seems right in the world.

And today Trish Therrien, the director at the Van Nuys Civic Child Development Center told me that what happened with the children at the recent parents' presentation night was "magical."

So I keep moving forward, passing along the knowledge I have in hopes that I'll leave something worthwhile behind me when I leave this weary old world.

Perhaps it'll be the voices of my SingBabySing family that I'll hear in heaven when I enter into that rest.

Joybug

I'm Singing Through the Spoof

2006-10-06T16:38:00.000-07:00

I've had to spend untold hours trying to solve a spoofing problem with my SingBabySing^TM email.

A number of unscrupulous people have been using my domain to send out emails that are not from me. Nasty business. Nasty people. Shame on the nasty people.

May all the time I've had to take in the past 2 days trying to resolve this problem (it gives my business a bad name) be multiplied a 100-fold back to me in increased contact with the people I love to work with, namely, moms, babies and early childhood educators!

And may the nasty people who can't find anything better to do in their lives than to cheat others find a way to a better life....

May they learn to sing a better tune....

I'll keep singing in spite of their nasty spoofs.

Joybug

Prioritize!

2006-10-05T15:21:00.000-07:00

I'm attempting to work from a priority list for daily tasks.
Today the list tells me I'm supposed to post a blog, so here it is:

Last night I had a most wonderful experience with the parents and staff at the Van Nuys Civic Child Development Center. The great people there really understood what I taught and demonstrated and were very open to learning and utilizing the tools I'm offering so that their children can learn to sing on pitch and develop excellent language skills.

Monique, one of the teachers that attended my teacher workshop at the facility on Saturday (9/30/06), was very excited about how the SBS CD is changing the atmosphere, making things calmer and happier for the children and the teachers. She was also very proud of her daughter, age 3, who had learned the SBS song in just a couple of days time. Way to go, Monique!

If I could work with people like you everyday, I'd be happy all my life!

Thanks to all the parents and staff (children too) at Van Nuys CCDC! Welcome to my SingBabySing^TM family!

I'm looking forward to when we see one another again.

Joybug

Voice Update

2006-09-24T10:58:00.000-07:00

It seems ridiculous that it's so hard for me to maintain a daily routine for blogging. I suppose I need to give a bit more thought as to why I actually have a blog to begin with. But I don't feel like being analytical today.

I just want to voice my opinion, like anybody else.

So much of today's world swirls at a techie-imposed tempo that I often wonder how I ever managed to survive in the wilderness of Alaska without RSS feeds, Vlogs, XHTML, CSS or Google's Adsense and SEO tips.

That being said, I admit that it also feels great to pick up my pace now and then.

Today is such a day.

Afterall, this is all about the human voice, how the vocal cords work, why people are shy when asked to speak or sing in front of an audience, why it's important to build credibility with VOIP, why early childhood is the best time to begin voice training for singing and speech.

That's why you can hear me letting out a high sigh right now....if you're listening, that is.

Joybug

More Excuses

2006-07-13T11:59:00.001-07:00

Months jangle past me like a skeleton on a hook in front of a snow blower.

I've been writing my Alaskan story, various articles for SingBabySing™, presenting at conferences, taking an online accounting course and developing 8 new voice games.

Yet, I am not undone. Rather I am taking to the wind like a kite set free, which is to say that I am also working on a kite story for a new musical and a screenplay concept.

Which is to say I need to get back to my other work now.

Joybug out

Excuses

2006-01-24T22:29:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I last wrote anything for this blog, but hey, I have excuses like anyone else!

Here are a few of them:

I'm writing other articles, complete with affiliate links, that are getting published online, not to mention that I finally found the story structure for my Alaskan book. Whew! That was not an easy thing to do. But it also means that I will probably need to make a trip up north to get some detailed writing work done. Which means I'll probably have speaking and workshop engagements there, as well as a radio interview or two.
Then there's the pre-school conference coming up in May. I'm happy to report that I will be doing 3 workshops in 1 day for the BEST Arts (Building Educational Success through the Arts) VII Conference that will be attended by 700-800 pre-school educators in the Southern California area. It originated through the Arts in Education wing of the Los Angeles Music Center and dear Joan Boyett put me in contact with Ilean Rabens, its co-founder and director.
Speaking of the Music Center, its Founders' Hall is an inspiring place and I was happy to make new friends with the Symphonians when I recently performed for them there. The life-sized portrait of Dorothy Chandler made me stand tall and proud as I remembered back to a time when I sang for coins tossed near me as I sang by the fountain. I wonder if young artists are allowed to do that anymore?

Or how about the new holiday song Michael and I wrote together, called Carry Me Away, which I also created a webpage for and sold online?

NOTE: The podcast is on the back burner for the moment until I can shake myself a bit more free from this computer chair and also find some tech people to help me out.

That's all for now,
Joybug

'All Quiet On The Baby Front'

2005-11-13T10:08:00.000-08:00

I just returned from the 2005 Portable Media Expo for Podcasting in Ontario, California and was blown away by what's happening in this movement.

Basically, I learned that I'm right in the pocket with my podcast idea and should be able to launch it soon.

I'm linking with the Los Angeles Podcaster's group and also with an amazing young woman who thinks my idea is BBC worthy.

This inspirational lady, who reminds me of my oldest daughter, currently works for MTV in the UK, previously worked for the BBC, and prior to that worked as an environmental law attorney in Washington D.C. for the Humane Society (she passed both the California and Washington D.C. bar exams - not an easy thing to do!). She's a dynamic example of the 21st century female. Smart, sexy, articulate and utterly successful in a challenging male-dominated media-driven world.

As for my part, I was pleased to have coined a phrase at the conference, which she and others want to use in their work.

GGR=Global Grass Roots

GGR stands for the global grass roots audio and video podcasting movement that is shaping the face of communications in the early part of the 21st century.

Media delivery systems are changing at such a rapid pace that scarely anyone can keep up with them.

SingBabySing^TM intends to be an integral player in this GGR movement.

Stay tuned.

Joybug out

United Airlines and Vision 47

2005-11-03T21:45:00.000-08:00

It's pretty great. I heard tonight from Michael that our Vision 47 piece of music is being featured on United Airlines Ted Flights.

I'm happy sleepy and as I dream tonight, my prayer is that many people will be soothed by it.

I'm grateful to Ronny S. for placing it for us.

Joybug

Bein' Human

2005-10-28T13:11:00.000-07:00

This is an audio editorial comment to a blog that's being featured on the Los Angeles Times during the week of October 24-28, 2005. The blog, "101 Days at Sea," is written by Janet Eastman, a teacher who blogs from a ship that travels around the world as part of an educational program called Semester at Sea. My daughter, Arianna, is on that ship too, and her life is being changed even as I write. The title of this audio editorial is "Bein' Human." Here are the words:

There's a narrow window op'ning
Just a diff'rent point of view
Time to look around you
Gotta lot of work to do

They got boobs hangin' out in Hollywood
They're a dime a dozen there
But ain't no tents in Pakistan
Just the cold night winter's air

Tsunami came and went I'm told
Rita, Wilma, Katrina too
Iran wants to blow the Jews away
Iraq's like a Viet Nam zoo

They got a little food in Africa
And some aid for lots of Aids
China's comin' on strong they say
But the piper's gotta be paid

The Christians hate the Muslims
The Muslims hate the Jews
The White Sox beat the Astros
But we gotta pay our dues

The cruise ships sail to ev'ry port
An' their folks feast on more than bread
Well maybe it's time for a Gandhi
Time to fast instead

And I hear the cry of the children
And I can't shut out their pain
Time take the blind fold off
Be human once again

Interview on Wild Child Publishing

2005-10-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

Read an online interview of me by Wild Child Publishing then come on back and visit me again.

Joybug

Store Open

2005-10-05T23:04:00.000-07:00

It's done. People can order from my singbabysing.com site now.

I stayed the course and against all odds, completed the task. Hurrah for me!

Now comes the arduous work of getting the word out about what I have to offer, and the more I consider what that is, the more impassioned I become about reaching people with it.

However, at the moment, the amount of energy I have had to expend to get up and operating is so enormous that I need to sleep....for a long time!

Joybug out

Blow Off the Roof!

2005-09-26T23:02:00.000-07:00

Here's a story that needs to be told.

To my utter surprise, a Yahoo tech person in Houston answered the phone today when I called for help to get my storefront operational.

Now, you might say, "So what?"

Ah-ha. Here's the amazing part.

She never left the city when thousands were evacuating and getting stuck on the roads.

So?

She stayed home in an old farmhouse she's lived in for many years.

Uh-huh (yawn).

She's weathered at least 2 other hurricanes successfully and wasn't about to leave the city for Rita.

Yeah, yeah, come on.

We chatted cheerily for a short time and then I asked her how it was to be in Houston when Rita hit.

She casually mentioned that her roof had blown off and then immediately wanted to get back to helping me with my tech questions.

Whaaaa.....?

Exactly.

But what's the point?

Hey! She's the kind of person that makes this country great and her story should be on every news cast in every city across this country!

It's the perfect example of the kind of integrity and grit we need.

I didn't get my storefront operational because the Yahoo engineers were working their kabooties off to solve other problems caused by the hurricane.

But I did get the roof blown off of whatever might keep me from boosting my own operational grit.

Which is to say that I'm going to keep singing baby.

Which is to say that I'll rise above this present storefront tech storm.

Finally!

2005-09-25T20:05:00.000-07:00

I sold my first SingBabySing^TM CD yesterday to a dear grandmother whose grandson has some learning challenges. I will be eager to see how the the Puccini Effect principles used in SingBabySing^TM Interactive Calming Music helps him, for I am confident that they shall.

Meanwhile, the storefront is still not operational because of technical difficulties, which is to say that the Yahoo consultant who is supposed to help me for 60 days for free has fled Houston because of Hurricane Rita. The tech support person who waited until the very last minute to leave town couldn't help. The coding issues were too difficult for him. This makes me wonder what in the world I will do with all the coding needs...now and in the future.

Thank God for Marci.

Another grandmother told me today that her grandson is starting to mimic the sounds on the CD, particularly the high baby squeals and when I do the 'scoopy siren' sound.

I'm quite excited about the future and the potential for children and mothers to benefit from the hard work that went into making SingBabySing^TM possible.

This week will be great.

Joy

Singing is a miracle

2005-09-16T23:53:00.000-07:00

I'm still singing today even after so much hard work and no pay. No pay yet.

And that's a miracle, my friend.

And that's all I have to say tonight.

Joybug bugging out. Signing off? No. Bugging out.

Pretty amazing!

2005-09-15T22:35:00.000-07:00

Okay. I realize that it's no big deal for most people to have a blog or a website or an online store.

But I'm talking about me here.

I'm a composer, a performer, an artist, poet, you name it.

html? css? pocasts? accounting? me?

YES!

I have 1.5 hours left to meet my deadline for getting my site up and operational. There are only a few things left.....oh, like important stuff....you know....legal language to protect everyone in the whole wide bloomin' world.

SoonBabySoon.

Marci........is.........the.......best!

And my first product shipment arrived safely today!!!

I'm gonna take half a day off tomorrow. What a concept.

Joy

Urgh, Argh, Seeds and Artichokes

2005-09-14T23:02:00.003-07:00

Urgh.

Argh.

Headache.

Huge.

Too much work.

No fun.

Except playing with Aurora today (you too, Marci).

She was SO happy to see me that she walked me right down the street in her socks! Not until after we had played the blue pen game though. And you might wonder what that is?

Ah, that's simple. I put the blue pen between her toes and she takes it out and hands it back to me so that I can do it again.

Then there was her lunch. That was fun too. Marci is a great mom who feeds her baby the BEST food. Great bread from Trader Joe's, avocados and smoked turkey. What a feast.

Marci and I had a great salad with fresh chard and basil from her neighbor's garden, lots of other veggies and my famous seeds recipe! Those seeds (pumpkin, sesame, chia, flax and sunflower) are filled with protein and produce lots of energy.

Once, a dear friend of mine, asked me what kind of drug I was taking the first time he saw me cut loose with Impropera (my unique improvisational 'music of the moment'). I just looked at him as if to say, "Huh? You think I'd be doing drugs? No way!" Then I told him it was the seeds. I was flying high on the seeds. I'm not sure if he believed me, but he soon grew to realize that I was pretty much flying high like that most of the time.

Musta been all that salmon in Alaska. Or the fact that I finally have all the sunlight I need after years of darkness in the Great Land.

Tonight I cooked artichokes and my original recipe for tuna/kidney bean/egg/pasta salad.
They are for lunch tomorrow. I wonder if Aurora will like them?

What fun is there in life if you have no one to eat artichokes with?

Joy

Joybug ready to sing

2005-09-13T23:30:00.000-07:00

Yes! It's working! I even changed some of the html on this blog to make sure that the colors begin to coordinate with the SingBabySing^TM website.

Today I had the best day because I got to play with Aurora, my first Joybug baby! What an amazing little girl she is.

Marci, her marvelous mommy, is helping me build SingBabySing^TM and today we published all the files we had already created. Marci is the best!

Well, except for Aurora, that is.

Aurora and her mommy have been playing the SingBabySing^TM Interactive Calming Music CD and today when I was playing with Aurora (this was work?) I listened really really carefully to her, tuning into her baby pitches and sing-songy voice, which is super soft right now so it's not that easy to hear.

To my absolute surprise and delight, she paused for a moment and got this far-away look on her face, as though she was inwardly focused and had tuned out everything around her. Then she cooed? she hummed? she sang? ever-so-faintly, the first line from the song: "sing baby."

I got chills and must confess that I thought I might be imagining it. But then I listened even more carefully and just a few seconds later, I could hear her saying? singing? cooing? "we will sing......"

Granted, these words were not sharply or clearly articulated. The vowels seemed to flow into one another and the consonants were not super distinct, but I have very good ears (partially because I lived many years in the isolated quiet of Alaska's wilderness) and I know that I heard her say/coo/sing these things.

However, someone else will have to hear her before anyone will believe me because it's so amazing.

I can hardly wait for tomorrow when I get to work with Marci, er, play with Aurora again.

Now for sleep...........ahhhhh.

Joy

Dreams Coming True?

2005-09-05T21:20:00.000-07:00

I wouldn't say that I really dreamed about creating a business.

I didn't really think that what I learned about singing and babies over the years would develop into a business.

But I did dream in Alaska about reaching people in remote areas where they might not have access to a voice teacher for their children or themselves. I wanted to make it possible for anyone to have voice lessons, not just a chosen few.

And I am turning that into a reality.

Finally.

But I never imagined how hard it would be to get to this point.

How can anyone foresee the lack of sleep, the money going out but not coming in, the countless hours of startup prep time, the delays, disappointments, computer crashes, criticisms, fears self-doubts, weariness and sacrifice of a personal life that all define the word 'business?'

As I prepare to launch my online storefront in less than 2 weeks, finalizing website design, setting up merchant accounts, creating audio files, waiting for my merchandise to arrive and attending to asundry other stress-inducing deadline tasks, I figure that the knot in my belly is just part of the definition for doing business.

What a far cry from my log cabin in Alaska but thank God I'm here!

Joy in the morning