Progress Report. Or the effects of 3 acts of God on 1 active songwriter.

To quote Heavy D & The Boyz: "Now that we found [F6] what are we going to do / with it?"

Well, I don't know.

I've been playing around with that upper range a bit since discovering it but I've also been busy digesting new music and writing press releases for projects that I'm promoting this Fall. I mainly went back just to make sure the whole F6 thing wasn't a fluke and that it was/is still there. It is. So strange.

At this point, my super upper range, as with my chest voice, has two volumes: ON and OFF. Fine. I can work with that. Mark Baxter gave me some interesting exercises to build strength in volumes pp p mf f ff:

one          two               three               four               five

I've been working on "you're an old man" such that it ends appropriately on a D-minor arpeggio from D5 up to D6. So there's that.

Otherwise, I feel like I've hit a bit of a lull. I was working on combining two of my songs (january ballet song and la plus belle but I haven't been able to find a suitable transition from one to the other (one as verse, the other as chorus). For that song, I also wanted to visit and possibly record a class at a ballet studio but, after asking around and emailing Dance New Amsterdam, I've waited for weeks with no reply. I did find a potential translator/collaborator for the French lyrics and collaborating sounds like fun. This feels broader in scope than other songs I've recorded so far, and I'm feeling like I need to equip myself with some composition lessons in order to actualize what I'm envisioning. The same goes for the 4-part hymn "i will grow old and grow apart from all that's dear to me." I got my first copy of Sibelius and started learning it but an earthquake outside of my home county happened in the middle of my tutoring session, then my dad had a bunch of surgeries, then there was a hurricane, then my fall PR projects started. I'm feeling like I could use some guidance. [HELP ME.]

Meanwhile, I've circled back to "laundry" and "you're an old man" because they are more straightforward -- me + guitar or me + ukulele. That'll do for homemade demos, at least.

If I record both of those, that'll be 6 completed demos with about 13 songs still to finish/demo, and about 13 beyond that that I think I'll just let go of. My vocal coach says about 30-50 songs are typically written for each album of music, only 12-ish make the cut. 10 core songs + 2 novelties.

Also worth noting, watching Season 1 of Mad Men is so much easier than writing music.

Step Four: I Can Give You More - Part 2

Further to Step-Four-I-Can-Give-You-More's catalog of songs, here's a look at progress since October. 

Milestones
~Recorded and released first song for free download.
~Had my first press interview.
~Played a prog rock horn gig in Bay Ridge.
~Subbed for pianist/choir director at PSUMC. Also sang ballsy a cappella duet with Leila.
~Worked chest voice up to F4, comfortably. Heading toward C5.
~Writing two new songs.
 
Next Steps

~Arrange and record "Boats & Snow" for piano, horn, vocals.

~Keep vocalizing with my real voice and get rid of all that awful training.
~Buy big ukulele chord chart poster for music studio wall.
~Book voice lesson for March?
~Book horn lesson for April?
~Continue block-buzzing on horn mouthpiece and work range up to C5. (F4) Practice duets and etudes from July lesson.

Play Dates
~Regular meet-up with brass quartet at PSUMC.
~Learn something, anything on uke.

Step Four: I Can Give You More

By the way, did anyone else see NKOTB on New Year's Eve and freak out? All six of the ladies at our castle were reliving their tween years of fake making out with posters.

Also it is the middle of winter now and I want to die until it's summer.

So instead of doing that I'm wearing bright colors, dying my hair red, buying insane lipstick, layering, like, six different kinds of awesome tights, going to the gym a hellalot and making lists of songs that I'm going to record despite myself.

I've trolled some of the archives and decided on these. Of course, this is absolutely going to change but it gives me something useful to do.

songs in line for recording:

ask seek knock (1999)
boats and snow (2010)
one two/january ballet song (2010)
microbiology (2010)
laundry (2009)
la plus belle (2008)
when it rains (2002)
ft. lauderdale first date song (2003)
you're a rescue (2010)
my momma says (2009)
i am a projector (2010)
god only knows (2004)
naked/good man (2004)
regret robot/defense chicken (2010)
red leaf falls on old virginia (1998)

second string songs i don't think i'll do anything with:

pale blue horizon (2002)
raindance (2000)
birds (2008)
red sky (2001)
pluto (2000)
no reason to doubt (2000)
sinking (1994)
another round (2002)
shu-sha (2000)
rita's song (2005)
dandelion (1998)
blessed is the man (2005)
lay you down (1998)
feel the breeze (1998)
red sky (2002)
oh see thats fine (2001)
she flies (2002)
uncle Sam (2004)
crepe myrtle (2000)

Now Available for Download: Ask Seek Knock

Ask Seek Knock can now be downloaded via SoundCloud! (Thanks to Danny Digital for the tip. Why MySpace doesn't allow free downloads of original songs anymore is beyond me.)

Ask Seek Knock by VirginiaBK

Just click the arrow button on the right side of the above audio player and the song is yours to play in your car, transfer to iPod, burn to CD, share, re-post to Facebook or Twitter, wrap as a present and give to your family, what-have-you. (What? I'm just making suggestions.)

Virginia BK - songwriter, producer, lead vocals; Alaska - studio/recording engineer; Mark Corbin of CorbinSound - mix engineer; Matt Gelfer of The New Students - guitars, fiddle, mandolin; Gretchen Poole - tenor back-up vocals; Rachel Zylstra of Rachel Zylstra - alto back-up vocals.

xo
Virginia

In Which My Feelings Are Best Expressed by One Abigail Breslin

Yesterday, the generously talented Matt Gelfer (of The New Students) slogged down Slope with fiddle in hand, to do the unbelievable. For the first time in my whole life, I heard one of my songs actualized, played by the instruments that have been swirling around only in my imagination all of these years.

For the first time my music was . . . outside . . . of me. All of this said, my feelings are best expressed in a scene from Little Miss Sunshine, played by Abigail Breslin.

Little Miss Sunshine - I Won  |  Movies & TV  |  SPIKE.com

Away with Me

Hey, there.

Alaska and I are on vacation but I promise the blog will roll again when I'm back! For now, if you have some extra time, please check out my singer-songwriter friends Rachel Zylstra and Mary Bragg.

Rachel, in addition to packing a highly verbal punch into every colorful piano-based tune, also runs an advice column called Advice Music. You have a question or concern? Email it to her and she'll reply in the form of a song. No lie. http://advicemusic.blogspot.com

"Songbird" Mary Bragg fronts her uncommonly good band with a voice that wields the earnestness of Patty Griffin and the purity of Alison Krauss. She's also in residence at The Living Room in NYC this month. http://www.marybragg.com

Until later,
Virginia!