It has been more than a month since my last blog post, so I suppose it’s time to write a new one. Things have been a little bit hectic since my last post, since I’m fully immersed in my studies again. Sometimes I think I must be a little bit crazy to be both working and studying full time, but I’m committed to it, and since it’s only going to be for one semester (at least for right now), I feel that it’s doable. It just means that my music has to take a little bit of a back seat for now, but that’s ok. It’s only temporary. And I still do take some time for it every now and again, as I couldn’t be without it entirely.
In some ways I feel that it’s really perfect timing that I don’t have so much time for my music right now, and that I have to wait until the summer and fall before diving into it fully. Once I rediscovered my passion for music and began writing and working on my voice again last year, it didn’t take long for me to realize that I wanted to record a new album. However, I also soon understood that just because I have rediscovered my passion and the creative juices are flowing again, doesn’t mean that my skills are quite where they need to be. Since I have also decided I want to produce my own music too this time, and not hire another producer to do that for me, I have quite a big learning curve ahead of me. And of course I’d also like for this second album of mine to be better than the one before. I want to go deeper and take things to another level. In order to do that, I have to not only get my voice back in shape, but to take it further than before. I have to improve my skills on all levels, and of course that isn’t done overnight.
Although part of me is impatient, and would like to have this album of mine recorded and released yesterday, I have had to realize that in order to do it right, I need to give myself some time to get there. I have to allow time to find my voice, so to speak. Finding my voice as an artist, as well as also literally finding my singing voice again. I need time to keep working with my vocal exercises and explore my voice, so that I can rediscover what I had, but also find new aspects of my voice to cultivate.
I believe that your voice, and this applies whether you are a singer or not, is an organic part of you, and your voice expresses the essence of who you are. It is like your signature, your thumbprint, and each voice is unique to that person. I also believe that everything is energy, or vibration. If I was going to take this one step further, I would say that we as human beings are made up of unique vibrations, and our voices are an extension of that. What makes up a person’s unique vibrations are that person’s physical, emotional, mental and spiritual makeup. So this means that all those aspects affect our singing voice too. As singers I’m sure we can all agree that our mood affects our voice and how we sing, so then I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that our vibrational makeup can affect our singing voice.
During my 10-year hiatus from singing, I did a lot of work on myself that affected my own vibration. I believe that all sorts of work that you do on yourself, from traditional talk therapy to healing work and yoga impact your overall vibration, and that in turn has an effect on your singing voice. This is something that I never really understood fully until I began working on my voice again recently. Although vocal exercises are of course important to strengthen your vocal cords and your voice in general, there are other things that affect your voice too. I have come to find that working on your overall vibration as a singer is an important complement to regular vocal exercises, and can help improve and elevate your voice. This is something that I’m focusing on in my own vocal work these days, experimenting with energy and how that can impact my voice.
Just as who you are as a person is constantly changing and evolving, your singing voice also changes and evolves right along with you. This is also true when it comes to who you are as an artist, and how you express yourself to the world. I believe that the most important thing as a singer and an artist, is to express your own truth. Being authentic and true to yourself at any given time is the name of the game. This is true for how I sing, and also when creating music, from text and melody, to production. I want my music to express my truth as it stands right now. So of course, then it’s just reasonable that I want my music to reflect who I have become, and for my music to evolve right along with me.
In some ways I have become more demanding in what I expect from myself and my music these days. On the other hand of course, it’s important to not get caught up in the perfection game, and at some point I just have to be happy with what I have and get it out there. We always continue to evolve and grow, and so will hopefully my music. To bring out what is in my soul through my artistry, my singing voice, my songwriting, is a skill that needs to be honed, and is really a lifelong craft that is perhaps never really perfected, yet I always strive to get better at it.
Over the course of the past 10 years, authenticity has become very important to me in all aspects of my life. Being true to myself isn’t something that only comes through in my artistry, but also in how I live my life on all levels. And I believe the more true to myself I am in all aspects of my life, the more authentic I can become within my art also. It’s a two-way street, and it all goes hand in hand. And right now I feel that in order to fully express what I want with my music, I need time to let it grow and mature. So being in school right now gives me the time I need to keep working on myself on all levels, including my voice. And hopefully I will be where I need to be come fall. Although of course, the work will continue beyond that time and doesn’t end there…
That wraps up my post for this time, but I’m excited to keep working on my voice and my music and continue to share my experiences with you along the way. Feel free to contact me with comments and questions, and until next time, I send you love & light!
Sweet Annie Sounds 
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