Browsing all posts in "Overcoming Fears and Obstacles".
Combating opera’s death sentence with a Guerilla-style attack!
by Emily Šaras “IS OPERA GOING EXTINCT?” asks a well-meaning friend, worried about my future as a young singer embarking upon a career in opera. I have heard the question myself a million times, usually coupled with suggestions to “try out for American Idol instead” or to “find a more stable career.” Nothing can be [...]
Stop Self-Sabotage and Commit
by Erica Papillion-Posey As you are aware I was out for the count with the dreaded FLU. It knocked me out physically and mentally, forcing me to ‘be still’ for an entire week. I hadn’t been sick in quite some time and ironically, just days before, I was having a conversation with my husband about not having been [...]
Baskets of Wisdom
by Christie Connolley I walked into my voice lesson one week last month and received a gift from my voice teacher, McD, aka Dr. James McDonald. (I learned about name-dropping in yesterday’s Question of the Week! , did I do it right?) The gift was a book titled Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections [...]
“Just Do It”: How I Became Fearless Through Improvisational Theater
by Christie McNeill I came to improvisational theater almost accidentally on purpose. I was at important cross-roads. My Mother’s battle with cancer put my whole life in a different perspective, and for the first time, in a long time, I began thinking about what mattered most; what I wanted to do, not just what I [...]
Fear of Sight-Singing? Take a Number!
by Melissa Wimbish Ah, sight-singing. Probably the next best thing to having your larynx removed and crushed in front of you. In case you didn’t know, it’s not a favorite among the singing community. If you’re not very good at it you can quickly become the subject of ridicule when collaborating with other musicians. It [...]
Talk About Your Fears
by Emily Martin We have all been there. You walk into the room before an audition and there are 10 other singers waiting. After you have warmed up at home, had the coaching a few days before and worked diligently on your music, you felt good when you arrived at the audition. As soon as [...]
Are you afraid to succeed?
Erica’s featured article will not be published today as she has been struck down by the cold/flu/gunk that is going around. In lieu of her always insightful words, Operagasm presents a thought provoking article about overcoming your fear of success. __________________ Fear of Success by Corey Wells I call the fear of success the undiscovered [...]
Eliminating FEAR through Practice & Meditation
by Richard Slavich No one would argue with the idea that the musician finds daily musical sustenance in practicing. As Dr. Suzuki reminds us, we need to practice “only on the days we eat.” But what about our diet? Can we make our practice hour more “meaty”, more productive? Some perspective can be gained by [...]
