Nov 10 2008
Heaven isn’t easy
When people ask me how I like studying at Rimon, I always tell them it’s like being in Gan Eden (heaven). Some of the reasons are obvious, things like it being my life dream, like it being the first time in my life that I’m doing things for myself, and that the things are those that make me happy. The less obvious reasons have to do with the joy and satisfaction that I feel each time I grock something, or each time that I see evidence of a major accomplishment. But the nature of the thing is that it never ends. Each accomplishment is merely a step to another challenge, and each challenge is, make no mistake, difficult.
I’m in mid-second week of the beginning of my third year studying music. At Rimon, each semester starts with a bang and this one is no exception. Although some of the courses I’m taking are really second year courses, they’re far from easy for me. Traditional Harmony is full of nuances and rules, and each rule is riddled with exceptions. Jazz Harmony uses a totally different language that’s based on ones ability to hear specific intervals (the distance between any two notes). If you can’t hear it and think of two or three different ways to notate it, you won’t make it through. The rest of my courses are performance oriented and right now, feel way, way above my head. Lots of challenges. It would be so easy to walk away, to go back to technical writing and forget about the whole thing–uh uh…not me. I love a challenge, even if it sometimes feels like dragging a huge cannonball through a bog. And yes, sometimes it does weigh heavy. I know I’m not the only one struggling though–the high drop-out rate is evidence. Oh, well, if we’re going to talk about people who drop out of Rimon, I must note that some are SOOooooo talented that they drop out because they’ve been snatched up by the industry–my favorite example of this is Achinoam Nini, who I believe attended Rimon for only one year.
Reflux: THE vocal trip-up
Hanging heavy on my head right now is the fact that I had a strange problem with my voice that neither I nor my voice teacher could understand. An examination by a specialist found that I have a slight reflux problem, one of the many possible curses of the professional singer. The early manifestation is loss of vocal range, strength and quality, which is what sent me running to the specialist in the first place. If left unattended, long-term effects can be career-ending. I’m dealing with it in every alternative way I can, and even though I’ve only been doing this for about a week now, I can already feel the difference–after a 1 1/2 hour intense rehearsal with the Gospel Jazz Ensemble today, my voice remained bright and sound. The most difficult thing I have to do to treat this problem is to stop eating at night, and to not go to sleep until at least three hours have passed since my last meal. I’ve been eating around 11 p.m. or midnight and going to sleep immediately for years already, so this isn’t easy at all. But I’m doing it because when the chips are down, if I have to choose between eating a late dinner and singing, guess which is more important? Luckily, the specialist also referred me to a voice teacher who knows how to train people with this condition–she’s intense and expects to see progress, which is good, but she also looks at me as if I’m a vocal first-grader (not my imagination, she actually told me that). That doesn’t feel so good either, but it’s fully accurate. Well, maybe a second grader.
The most difficult part about studying at Rimon
The most difficult part of studying at Rimon is listening to the other students sing. OMG, they are so amazing. Such voices, such vitality, such beauty! There is such a depth of richness in each one (well, not everyone is so good, but a very high percentage is), and each one is different from the next. It’s easy for me to understand why, after watching these talents perform, so many people just give up. Almost every one of my classes this year involves singing, so I get to hear a lot of different people sing. At this point, I’m rather low on the talent totem pole and, believe me, that doesn’t feel so good. But it does help to remember that I wouldn’t be there, and I wouldn’t have been able to raise my placement rating as I did if I didn’t have the ability to reach unexpected heights, and that’s exactly what I intend to do.
Nope, being in Heaven is not easy at all. But I sure do love the results! 