As I gaze in horrified fascination at the cars, ships, rooftops, and chunks of roadway being carried along by a massive wall of water mowing down everything in its path, I realize, yet again: the things we work so hard for, material things, important things, can be lost to us in a moment.

What will we have left?

Today, Rick Warren, author and pastor, tweeted: “The work you do on earth will fade away but the lives you touch will leave eternal fingerprints.” If that’s true, then we must ask ourselves these questions: “What am I spending my time and effort doing?  Is the fruit of my labour going to carry weight and importance in people’s lives, even after I’m gone?”

As singers, we instinctively understand that some of the most lasting things in this world cannot be physically touched and handled.  You can’t hold a song nor can you see the shape of the memories invoked every time you hear its familiar melody.  Yet these things are undeniably real.

Join me in these affirmations I’m making with renewed vigour:

• I’m living a life that counts for something.
• I’m working hard and on my way to being the best me, and to make a positive investment in people’s lives.
• I may buy cars and houses along the way, but what drives me is my passion to live life out loud, loving God, myself, and my neighbour.

Because THAT, my friends, is the essence of real life.  Long after the waves have gone back into the ocean.

One thing that stands out, loud and clear: it’s the little details that count.  Many times the difference between a gold medal performance and one that BARELY missed the gold for a silver, is in the little things:

• as the performer entered and exited the stage – were they focused, in character, and ready to perform?
• did the costume support the mood & message of the musical presentation?
• were there seamless transitions between different sections or elements of the performance?
• did the singer/musician use any variations to add interest to their piece?
• did the performer seem emotionally connected to their selection?

The performers who nail the little things are the ones who score big points with audiences.

As singers, we are called to communicate a message with our voices via songs. We must be committed to this process. All the great performers in all genres have instinctively understood this, and have worked tirelessly on honing the little details that made them great.

As I write scores and critiques on contestants’ marksheets, I often wonder if I myself am committed enough to the principles of consistently hard work, developing an eye and ear for detail, and being willing to be emotionally authentic as an artist.

If I am, then I’ll be well on my way to being not just an artist who earns money, but an artist whose commitment to her craft earns for her – and keeps – a place in people’s hearts.

The song and the montage are both very significant for me.  For one, the song is a return to the accoustic format I used for all the tracks on my debut CD, ‘Journey’.

Secondly, the montage features pictures I sourced on Flickr, and licensed under Creative Commons.  This is a wonderful copyright licensing scheme that allows creators of copyrighted works to share their content free of cost, with users who will adhere to conditions of usage, including attributing the work to the owner.

Whew!  That was a mouthful!  But I learned of this method of sourcing material when I read of an indie band using Flickr-sourced Creative Commons images to create their video of their summer release.

Is that indie/DIY or what!!!  This is one of the many positives of the internet age: free/low-cost access to learning, new markets, and cutting-edge business tools.

So: here’s my little “Creative Commons montage”.  For full photo credits, please go to: thinkinginc.wordpress.com/promise_photocredits.

“Bowl of Clouds” by Kevin Dooley

“Rainbow_aerial” by “Cessna 206

“Empty” by Andy Mabbett

“Light” by Kevin Walsh

“Christ in clouds” by Diego Silvestre

“Gloucester Road” by Kevin Lowe

“Memorial Day” by Nina Нина (Link to photographer’s profile)

“My Little Pot of Gold (I Wish)” by Richard West

“Prayer is the Language” by Leland Francisco

“Into The Promised Land” by Patrick Feller

“Standing Over The Clouds” by donabelandewen@flickr

“The Mysterious Door” by artnow314@flickr

Sunset Time-Lapse video clip sourced from Stock Footage For Free

www.stockfootageforfree.com

All while holding down very responsible jobs, caring for a husband, bringing up children, building a home.  Fighting cancer.

I know she wasn’t perfect, because she was, you know, human.  But somehow this human being was able to look beyond her own needs, and consistently, PERSISTENTLY reach out to other people.  She apparently made the decision to see the ups and downs of her own life in the context of God’s goodness, faithfulness and sovereignty.  He has the final say.

As I sat in that funeral service, I thought about my own attitude.  I try to be thankful, but more often than not I am anxious, worried, fretful, and given to complaining.  I get bogged down my own struggles and shut out even the very people who care about me.

That morning, God gently reminded me, yet again, to be THANKFUL.  To look beyond the challenges of my own life and career, and trust Him to know what’s best.  To consistently, persistently, faithfully get up everyday and use the gifts, talents, skills and opportunities He’s given me to enrich my life and the lives of the people around me.  To know that as I keep pushing against that rock that seems not to be budging, the struggle makes me stronger.

Life is bigger than the struggles of  business, family, economics, politics.  At the End of Days, we all will give an account to our Maker for how we used what He entrusted to us.  Did we hide and complain, or were we thankful, making the most of every opportunity to make a difference?

Today, I will be thankful.

That applies to my music.  I’m VERY hard on myself musically.  When I perform live, and especially when I record, I hear EVERY off-note, EVERY missed beat, EVERY wrong-timed inhalation, EVERY unsteady movement on the keyboard… You get my drift.  And I won’t stop until I get it JUST right, one way or another.

Which can be a good thing.  However, for me, many times that strong desire to have everything be JUST right, can end up with me doing NOTHING.

NOTHING is unacceptable.  It’s better to do SOMETHING. It’s better to take a risk, begin the effort, work hard to complete it, then… STOP.  Complete the project, wrap it, tie the bow, and presto!  You’ve done SOMETHING!

Like this song I’m currently working on.  I’ve attempted recording the keyboard track at least 8 times.  Hated every single one of those efforts.  But then I decided, “Nix, just record the thing.  There WILL be mistakes.  So, correct them and move on.  Or else the song will NEVER be done… and what will I have to show for that great song idea when I’m 60?

If I live to be 60, I don’t want to be savouring memories of dreams that could-have-been.  I want to be smacking my lips over memories of a life rich with 100% all-out efforts at doing SOMETHING with my gifts, my talents, my life.  Somethings would have turned out wonderful, some not so great, but it would be SOMETHING, not NOTHING.

And that’s music to my ears.

Since procrastinating is part of the reason my blog is out-of-date, I thought I’d try kick-starting it again, with this gently motivating article.

Enjoy!  See you soon.

Confessions of a Reformed Procrastinator

Can I tell you though?  I’m scared stiff.  Every morning I wake up ruing the day that I sold the vision to the other artists who’ll be joining me onstage for this show.  I keep wondering WHY I called up my friend who ended up saying enthusiastically, “Oh cool!  I’ll produce that show for you!” – and now she’s heading my production team.

Truth is, it’s easier, safer, to keep ideas and dreams in your head.  That way you don’t risk anything, and you can’t fail.  Truth is, while I pray and hope and work and daydream about success, I also think about failure on a daily basis.  After every meeting, email, phone call, it hits me afresh  how much I’m putting myself out there.

And now the date and venue are confirmed; I have a creative team and a production team; proposals flying left, right and centre; people talking to me about setup and pull-down and sponsor benefits and and budgets (and everyone who knows me KNOWS how my eyes glaze over at anything REMOTELY mathematic).  And I’m thinking, WHOSE IDEA WAS THIS???!!!

Well, it started out as MY idea, then it became OUR idea; and now that I’m accountable to WE, and WE’VE all cast our dreams into this one pot, I’ll stay in the kitchen and keep on cooking (you’d think I’d use a musical metaphor, but – there you have it).  Then when it’s all over, and I’ve gone to bed, I’ll allow myself the luxury of freaking out.  That’s when my whole avenue will hear an ear-splitting shriek: “WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING???!!!”

Then, the next morning, God willing, the sun will rise like it always does, and I’ll wake up, and, whatever the outcome, I’ll say, ‘Lord, thank You leading me through this.  What’s next?’

I’ve always tried to write my goals down, but I tend to forget the first 2 tips mentioned in this article:

1. The rules can change… Circumstances change, so all plans must have some flex built-in!
2. Don’t beat yourself up… Encouraging yourself is W-A-Y more productive.

Check this out!  Even if you’re not a musician, the principles will still be helpful.

A Musicians Roadmap To Setting Goals for 2010 – MTT – Music Think Tank.

Yes, other musicians struggle with fear, nervousness, tension, lack of confidence.  But it’s a tad easier for them to fake it, because they play instruments that are external and separate from their bodies.

For us singers, our instruments are actually part and parcel of our bodies.  So it’s almost natural for every influence, emotional and physical, to show up in our voices. Exhilaration, fatigue, restfulness, stress – if we’re feeling it, it’s pretty much a guarantee that at some point, it will be heard in the singer’s voice.  And when a singer is criticized about his singing, it’s very difficult for him not to take it personally.  Because a singer and his voice feel like one entity.

Which is why we singers have to learn to be objective and to encourage ourselves, in situations where there is extreme stress, or where our self-confidence and self-esteem come under threat. I have worked with students who at some point had been told that they absolutely could not sing.  So in response, they retreated, closed up, stopped singing. OR their singing deteriorated rapidly, almost immediately.  All because they may have had a few pitch problems, breath management issues, or their tone quality may not have been very pleasing to the listener at the time.

As a voice teacher, a major part of my job is to help the student to R-E-L-A-X. A stressful work day or a careless, confidence-shattering critique, may show up in the singer in so many ways: as tension in the neck, back, shoulders, and throat.  That tension will result in diminished vocal range, or unsteadiness, or shortness of breath, or pitchiness, or vocal fatigue.

In addition, I increasingly find that my role as a teacher involves building, or many times, RE-BUILDING my student’s confidence: helping the student to become comfortable with the SOUND of her voice; to stop cringing if he misses a note or ‘cracks’ on a high pitch.  Because a singer’s instrument – the voice – cannot be punished and brutalized and flagellated into beautiful, free production.

A singer’s voice must be loved and coaxed, encouraged and gently challenged, into reaching its highest potential.