Today I was giving a voice lesson and my little student wanted to sing "On My Own' from Les M.iserables. She loves the song (really, who doesn't?) but she's WAY too young for me to assign it to her and I really want her working in her head voice anyway so it's not right for her right now. My response to her was that I wasn't going to assign it for voice lessons but that she should ALWAYS feel free to sing anything that she loves to sing because if you love to sing it, it's good for the soul.
Why is it that I hardly ever take that advice? I remember in high school I'd sing all day and night- all of my favorites that NEVER got assigned in voice lessons- M.iss S.aigon, G.rease, Les Mis.erables etc. etc. I hardly EVER sing like that anymore. (Which my neighbors probably appreciate!)
Teaching private voice lately has made me want to sing that old stuff that I used to sing (my students are way into musical theater). One of them was singing "Till There Was You" from "The M.usic Man" and I was transported back to high school.
It never ceases to amaze me how the older we get, the easier it is to romanticize the past. High school really feels like such a distant and fuzzy memory to me lately and it's like I can barely remember the parts that I didn't like but the parts that I loved are amplified- this crazy nostalgia is so funny! It must be one of the consolations of aging- nostalgia and selective memory!
2 comments:
I don't miss high school, but I do miss the fairly carefree days of undergrad! Those were the days! :)
I've been thinking lately that I need more music in my life - not the stuff that I teach. Maybe I would wake up at night with something other than concert lit in my head??? Keep singing honey!
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