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JOURNAL ENTRY #4, Feb. 5 to Feb. 11, 2018

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JOURNAL ENTRY #4, Feb. 5 to Feb. 11, 2018

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Padlet was fun to create, so I tried a "streaming" type of padlet for this Journal entry. I combined the Journal Entry ideas #3 and #4 (list of creative people and people in my life who are creative.)

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MARK and KATE:  Creative people in my life who inspired me to take this course!!

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MARK and KATE:  Creative people in my life who inspired me to take this course!!

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MARK:  See his "introduction " video at bottom of his website.  Very insightful and creative, and he GOT THE JOB!!

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I sang, but I never considered myself a singer. The reason I sang is because I'm a guitarist and songwriter - so who else was going to sing my songs? I was skeptical you could learn to sing in the same way you could learn to play the guitar. You were either born a good singer, or you weren't. I was even further skeptical that you could learn to sing online, a process that does not involve a high paid vocal coach watching and adjusting your every note.

However, with my folk duo booking more and more shows, I figured it was time for me to step up and take this "singing thing" seriously. So I bought Aaron Anastasia's online course The Superior Singing Method and made a vow to the universe that I would stick it through until the end, 6 days a week for 8 weeks straight. I was surprisingly thrilled by the results - here is how it went down:

As a previous non-believer, I now admit that you absolutely can teach yourself to sing. The 8 week course felt a little like learning a physical instrument, say guitar, where your hand positions can be literally explained, but also a lot like Yoga, or meditation. Singing is consciously shaping and releasing your breath to form certain frequencies - so no matter how you learn to sing there's going to be a great deal of abstract internal understanding that needs to and will happen along your journey.

The Superior Singing Method (SSM), is designed to slowly build up your voice and ingrain good singing habits. In the first week, you'll only do one or two exercises a day. You may feel like nothing is happening, or be a bit confused - but push on. I begin feeling, hearing, and believing in results at the end of week 2 and had another significant breakthrough around week 7.

Each day Aaron gives a video introduction of a new exercise along with a piano track to guide you. The short videos explain the new exercise's purpose and how/where you will feel it in your body. While Aaron's descriptions are fantastic, at times when an exercise was first introduced I was confused and convinced I was doing it wrong, perhaps even causing more harm than good, but as I continued to do it everyday my body and muscles began to intuitively perform correctly. From a listener's perspective, I comically butchered most exercises the first day they were introduced, but now I could perform nearly all of them in my sleep.

So yes, my singing technique did improve and because of that alone, I believe an outsider would consider my current voice 2x better than the voice I had before the 8 week program - but the improvements go deeper than that.

Confidence is a HUGE part of singing - and I know that's cliché, but it's cliché because it's true. If you don't feel confident and comfortable - the audience feels that. Purchasing the SSM and deciding to stick to its relatively demanding schedule, made me feel confident. Here is why:

By dedicating time and effort into learning to sing I convinced myself that I was taking singing seriously. Now when doubt crept into my head "What makes you think you can sing?" I could at least answer it with, "Well, I'm taking steps every day, and following a system to get better- so back off alright!"

Simply having an answer to your doubting voice is more than half the battle.

So now that it's all over, I would consider myself a 2.5X better singer than I was 8 weeks ago. That's huge. Imagine going to an open mic and deeming one performer more than twice as good as the other. Honestly, that improvement made the money I spent on one of the better investments of my life. Which brings me to price...

The price of The Superior Singing Method (48+ lessons) is less than or equal to the price of one private voice lesson. On top of that, Aaron is a voice coach to big name acts - something you likely won't find in your hometown.

It's true, you are buying a lesson pack - made for the masses - rather than something specifically tailored to where you are and what you need at the moment - but what you need most is to start. To jump in, figure some of it out on your own, prove to yourself that you are dedicated and then worry about finding the "perfect fit." In fact, by taking this course before private lessons you'll learn enough to evaluate different voice coaches and find the "even more perfect fit" when the time is right.

Most importantly - you have to do the exercises. I know that sounds silly, but buying the SSM isn't going to improve your singing unless you do it. So whatever promises or pacts you have to make with friends, lovers, bandmates, or the universe to garner the self-discipline to complete these lessons - do it.

Me, I know if I give myself a little slack - I'll break - so I promised never to miss a day (there is 1 day of built in rest each week). I did these exercises at guest houses, in hotel rooms in Mexico when I had a stomach bug, at odd hours etc. Which leads too...

Singing Lessons Are Weird

At times you'll feel and appear crazy. Most of these exercises are loud, weird and annoying. Roommates and neighbors may look at you funny. You can explain it to them - and they'll likely respect your desire to improve, or you can just not care what they think, because that's another good lesson to learn as a performer.

Another thing, you may get a little over confident/excited about your new voice, and show up to a party, have a few drinks, and then get wayyyyy to into singing Justin Bieber songs... anyway....

So now that it's all over, I would consider myself a 2.5X better singer than I was 8 weeks ago. That's huge. Imagine going to an open mic and deeming one performer more than twice as good as the other. Honestly, that improvement made the money I spent on one of the better investments of my life.

Thanks for reading!
***The links in this post are affiliate links, which means that if you purchase through the links on my site, I earn a small commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you, and helps me justify the time I spend creating useful content. Most importantly, I ONLY make recommendations on products that I personally use and fully believe in.If you ever buy something through my site let me know! I always appreciate the support and hello's!

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I sang, but I never considered myself a singer. The reason I sang is because I'm a guitarist and songwriter - so who else was going to sing my songs? I was skeptical you could learn to sing in the same way you could learn to play the guitar.

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Kate and Mark:  CREATIVE PEOPLE IN MY LIFE , continued

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Kate and Mark:  CREATIVE PEOPLE IN MY LIFE , continued

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(JEOPARDY QUESTION:   ......who are my two oldest kids?)

EXTENSIVE KNOWLEDGE BASE:  Developing.... both love to teach themselves what they want to know-- So much more than they loved school.
Mark graduated with highest honors in finance, is self-taught on guitar, and self-taught in video production.  He now has a job creating videos for a new blockchain financial company.  And, he and his fiance write and record songs.  He loved learning and trading stocks with finance, but hated  office "work", so he set out to find ways to freelance in his creative interests, and is finding his way.
Kate:  She has always scored in 99th percentile on all standardized tests, knows so much, but had to be constantly encouraged to stay in and finish school (elementary through college!).  Although married, she and her husband don't live with other millenials in the city-- they live on a mini-farm with her chickens, dogs and cats.  She teaches herself:  knitting, photography, cooking, crafts, etc.  She is trying to make her "own" social media company promoting hobbies with a "try it" attitude.
OF SPECIAL NOTE:  both Mark and Kate have significant others (one married, one engaged) that were homeschooled k-12, but college educated.  These significant others truly encourage their "self-taught" skill development.
RISK TAKER:  Both were given college educations, went the "safe route" and were successfully employed by large companies.  But, both have chosen to leave that work grind and live a life where they have to struggle to make ends meet. They took a RISK to live a creative life! ( As a parent, you do worry!!).  In fact, even though Kate doesn't take this course, and hasn't formally learned that creative people take risks,  her website is titled:  RSK (Ready, Set, Kate), with a tag line:  "take a risk".
SELF-CONFIDENT:  Yes.  I think these two are self confident, but not conceited- they are likeable!  Even though I am their mom, and I see the value of happiness that they have created for themselves, I do think their confidence is a bit "over rated", but it seems to be a product of their generation, too. ( This generation has grown up thinking they can be a Steve Jobs or a Mark Zuckerberg... just try it!)
My much younger. other child is not as confident, yet maybe even more capable!  And in contrast, he sees his limitations and adheres to his "in the box" life and job vs. taking a risk.
Risk taking:
Interesting!

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So, what do you love do in your spare time? If you're like most people, you love to wile away some of your extra hours on Instagram, but I'll betcha a nickel that Ksenia spends her Instagram time a little differently than you do.

Ksenia is the Russian artist behind Instagram's @cats_in_food - and if you love cats, or love food, then trust me: this Instagram account will fill a void in your life you didn't even know you had.

If you don't love either cats, food, or both, I have to ask... what are you even doing on the internet???

For example: Look at this face. LOOK AT IT.

Inspired by Cheeto (@princesscheeto), a thoroughly modern insta-cat known for her pop-art style and food-shaped hats, Ksenia thought "Maybe I should try to merge cats with food, but in a different way."

So, she combined her graphic design skills from her day job with her love of all things cats, and lo! @cats_in_food was born.

Have you ever heard yourself say "I love what I do, I just don't like where I do it or who I do it for"?? ^^^ Jazz up your spare time by using your skills in a way you love for whom you love: your fabulous SELF.

Like most of the internet, Ksenia loves cats: particularly Scottish Folds (shoutout to Olivia and Meredith Swift!), and is lucky enough to have the love of a new kitten, a 6-month-old cat she rescued from the streets, but she'll work with any type of cat that comes her way. In fact, her request list is so long that she's started charging $5 a picture just to keep her workload manageable.

Yeah, I know, chew on that jelly sandwich, because that is definitely the best hobby "problem" you can possibly have.

A swipe through the @cats_in_food grid reads like a Meet n' Greet list at the fantasy Cat Con we'd all love to attend: the gorgeous @atchoumthecat, @coleandmarmalade, and @goyanggy, just to name a few.

And people love her work. The feedback, Ksenia says, has been overwhelmingly positive.

A quick search shows that @dogs_infood and @animals_infood are also floating around the Insta-verse, but the internet is made for cats - don't you agree?

If you'd love to try something new but don't know what to try, consider digital illustration.

It's like busting out your old paint set, but without the mess.

If you love the output, I'd love to see it! Tag me on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #TakeaRSK and show me what you've got!

Love Ksenia's work? Follow her on Instagram: @cats_in_food.
For all your photo-nerds - Ksenia uses Lightbox and Photoshop to create her eye-candy. Do you have a cool hobby, or did you recently try something new and want to tell the world? Let me know! Shoot me a message on Facebook, DM me on Instagram or Twitter, or just plain-old email me at Kate[at]ReadySetKate.com.

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So, what do you love do in your spare time? If you're like most people, you love to wile away some of your extra hours on Instagram, but I'll betcha a nickel that Ksenia spends her Instagram time a little differently than you do. ...who?

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EXTENSIVE KNOWLEDGE BASE:  What can't she do?  She has learned the business of communications from anchor to actress to owner.
RISK TAKER:  Who would ever dream that one person could  create this vast empire?  She took risks to try new things.
SELF-CONFIDENT:  She exudes self-confidence.  She is one person that I feel compelled to "follow"... she seems generous and worldly and competent.

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EXTENSIVE KNOWLEDGE BASE:  I am amazed at the variety of styles that these two artists have recorded over their many years in the music business.  They obviously have an extensive knowledge of music!
RISK TAKERS:  Musicians must follow their own path to success, often taking risks in music styles and  composition .
SELF-CONFIDENT:   Their many SUCCESSFUL  years in the music industry indicate that they had a belief in their talents and they made themselves popular musicians.

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EXTENSIVE KNOWLEDGE BASE< RISK TAKER<SELF-CONFIDENT
Everything said about Bill Gates (see below) could apply to Mark Zuckerberg, although he is about 30 years younger, and his product, Facebook, was a different "animal" from Microsoft.

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EXTENSIVE KNOWLEDGE BASE:  An overachiever (Harvard student) who was obviously exceptionally intelligent, but who cultivated a knowledge base as he built his business.
RISK TAKER:  Dropping out of Harvard is a risk!!
SELF-CONFIDENT:  If he dropped out of Harvard to create his business, he had a vision and a confidence that he could succeed.

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Last night I had a dream that I lost my iPhone and no one had one that I could borrow!!  It was a nightmare, really.  Did Steve Jobs  create a new, indispensable product for mankind??!!  I read his biography and found:
EXTENSIVE KNOWLEDGE BASE:  Developed all his work in his "audit classes" in his drop out years in college, his hands-on work in his garage creating the Mac, and his decades-long work with experts in the computer field.
RISK TAKER:   He dropped out of college, alienated people (socially), and had a vision to "create" his products, despite all the risks and failures he went through.
SELF-CONFIDENT:  Many people feel he may have been on the autistic spectrum, but he obviously had a confidence that he could create his Apple products (and make people do it with him and for him).

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An Ocean of Creative People float in my mind, and I used Journal Entry Suggestion Ideas 3 and 4 to try to generalize about the ones I know and the most famous ones I've read about.  What makes a creative person creative?  Three of my generalizations: 

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An Ocean of Creative People float in my mind, and I used Journal Entry Suggestion Ideas 3 and 4 to try to generalize about the ones I know and the most famous ones I've read about.  What makes a creative person creative?  Three of my generalizations: 

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Generalization:  Extensive Knowledge Base,   Risk Taker,   Self-Confident