First Day of Vocal Training

Today I got up at 8:30 AM and immediately called Michael as I had promised the night before to make sure that he was awake so that we could be ready for 9:30 when Kendall and her mom came to pick us up for my first day of vocal training with Kendall in Dublin. After some confusion over a situation that arose the night before Michael did not want to be late for the pick-up and came to my house at about ten minutes after nine. We went out to the front yard and we sat on the bricks in the courtyard where I gave Michael lessons on how to smile. Some people call me the smiling expert. I showed him the quarter, half, and full smile and how he could use his eyes to enhance his smile.

Kendall's mom dropped us off at the Fremont BART station and Michael showed us entertaining pictures and videos on his Macbook along the way. Vocal Coach Ruth Anne picked us up from the Dublin/Pleasanton station and we got to her house at 11:00 AM. While Kendall had her hour and a half long session, Michael and I went to get something to eat. We were going to go to this really good-looking waffle restaurant for breakfast but we needed to get Kendall something to eat and we would not have had enough to do so if we went to the waffle place. As a result, Michael dragged me to Burger King. I really do not like to eat at fast food restaurants. I ordered some chicken-fries and we got Kendall some chicken nugget looking things with some french fries. I told Michael that we should eat there because of the fact that I did not want to walk down the street with a shameful bag of fast food in my hand. He wanted to eat at Ruth Anne's house so that we could watch Kendall's session or maybe eat at the pool. We made sort of a compromise. I agreed to eat at the house if Michael agreed to hold both the Burger King bags for the 2 and a half block walk back to the house. He agreed but I ended up holding my little bag because I felt sorry for him.

We dropped the food off in the house and went out to the swimming pool where we ate at table. Michael did not bring any of his swim clothes but dunked his feet in whatever water I was in be it the pool or the hot tub. We had some interesting conversations and I enjoyed singing in the bathroom and the pool shower.

My session was pretty intense. We warmed up for quite some time and I learned some breathing techniques and worked on seamlessly transitioning from head to chest voice. For the second half of the session, we tried to find music for me to perform in her winter concert and to audition for this opera program with. We found out that Care Selve was not the best song for my voice but we fell in love with a song by Handel called total eclipse. I am a counter tenor meaning that I can easily sing in the first soprano range. It was lots of fun.

Michael was picked up from Ruth Anne's house by a friend who needed to practice with him for their Alameda county fairer performance. When I was done, Ruth Anne dropped Kendall and I off at the BART station again and we rode home. 

When I got home I ate chicken and rice and passed out on the bed. I woke up at around 8:00 and watered the lawn. I called my cousin Samuel at around 9:10 and it is now 9:50. I am going to shower and work on my AP Government summer assignment. Until next time.