Control Your Voice

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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'

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

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

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

Called bein' human
Called won't you lend a helpin' hand?
And maybe it's old-fashioned
But people, people, people

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

Called bein' human
Called won't you lend a helpin' hand?
And maybe it's old-fashioned
But people, people, people

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

Called bein' human
Called won't you lend a helpin' hand?
And maybe it's old-fashioned
But people, people, people

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

Called bein' human
Called won't you lend a helpin' hand?
And maybe it's old-fashioned
Yeah, maybe it's old-fashioned
But people, people, people
Maybe it's time to be human once again

(Copyright 2005, Joy Sikorski. All World Rights Reserved.)