My Goals

November has come. (Gorillaz reference). And it is beautiful. Kind of a pain in the ass because of the temperature extremes, but beautiful nonetheless.

Setting goals seem to be a good idea. It started when my vocal lesson went particularly well yesterday...

I had been having second thoughts about my major for a while. I practiced and worked so hard, yet all my progress was trivial. Minor improvements in breath control. Marginally better Italian diction. Slightly more expressive performance technique. I was pretty dissatisfied with how I sounded.

For some reason, my coach assigned me some new vocalises yesterday. When I sung them for her, something clicked. Something felt different. And I sounded different. Much MUCH better. So much better that it was exactly the kick in the pants that I needed.

After that lesson, I decided that if I am going to do this, I am going to do it right. I know I have put a lot of work into my voice... but I am going to do more. I made a small goal for the week: to perfect the emotional interpretation of my American art song. It's in English, hence much easier for me to connect with than my Italian repertoire. Next week is my lesson with an accompanist. And I am going to sing that song to my standards. Not much is expected of undergraduate vocalists at UCSD... but it is probably for the best that I am my harshest critic.

On another note, I am going to incorporate more produce into my diet. Sweet potatoes, bok choy, celery, lean meats, legumes, you name it. Not eating out for a week should cover that. That is my slightly larger goal.

But the big goal I have set for myself... preparing repertoire. I need to build up a complete set of performable music with which to audition. First for a reputable summer program in 2011. Then for conservatory.

Ready, set, BREAK!