[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
57
marked by the formation of a false membrane in the throat and other air passages causing difficulty in breathing
58
any malignant growth or tumor caused by abnormal and uncontrolled cell division; it may spread to other parts of the body through the lymphatic system or the blood stream
APEL: You Can Learn to Sing © ICMA 1995 2003
helpdesk@voicetraining.biz http://www.voicetraining.biz
17
Alcohol and smoking are injurious to singing APEL Truth.018 Being a non-smoker and non-drinker
I have never been able to appreciate the need to smoke and drink. On the contrary, there are millions of
good singers who smoke and drink. These habits will not hinder you from singing, but you could do
better without them.
Persons who smoke and drink excessively run an especially high risk of developing cancer of the
larynx. It can be treated by X-ray therapy, especially if diagnosed early, and by surgery. Surgical
procedures include partial or total removal of the larynx. In instances of total removal, the patient must
learn a new method of speech that involves, in part, swallowing air and bringing it up again. Various
other surgical techniques have been developed to replace the removed tissue and restore speech of near
59
normal quality; for example, insertion of a prosthetic device through a tracheoesophageal puncture
60
(tracheotomy ) has shown a promising rate of success in test patients.
Methods of looking after your voice in particular (and not the instrument itself) will be discussed in
the complete training guide..
59
an artificial substitute for a missing part of the body of humans or other animals is called a prosthetic device, or prosthesis
60
emergency operation in which windpipe is cut and a tube inserted to permit breathing when air passage is obstructed
APEL: You Can Learn to Sing © ICMA 1995 2003
MY STORY
I grew up on a farm. My dad was the principal of the only high school in the area. The area in which
I grew up was very isolated to the north, there was a range of mountains, to the east, and south and
west were rivers.
Most of the children in the area did not have the same advantages as I had. My dad being
academically inclined endeavored to expose us to as much privilege as was practically possible then
at least that is how I saw it. We had encyclopedias and many other reading materials, and although
there was no television in South Africa back then (in 1969 through the early 70's) we watched a movie
at least once a month on average.
The point therefore is, I had nothing but the farm to occupy my entire thought life (of course,
61
education was part of the normal activities); and besides the fantasies about cinematic unrealities
which I was exposed to, the only other thing I had going for me was my imagination. I dreamt a lot, I
developed a very strong vision about my future.
A YOUNG MAN S DREAM
That is the place where I learned to believe in the impossible. I did not know the difference between
what was possible and what was not. It should not surprise you that in that period, I 'manufactured'
cars for the local teenage community; I was in fact a toy factory, because to me, if it could be imagined,
it could be done.
My elder brother and I constructed a movie projector, or the closest we could get to a movie
62
projector and composed mini cartoon animations and charged the local boys one to ten cents to
come and view. The cartoons were more static than animate, but we did it.
At one time, we started on a 'helicopter project,' and then there was the karate and boxing tournament.
There were hundreds of projects, or inventions if you wish, that we embarked on because as far as I
knew, everything was possible, ALL YOU NEEDED WAS TO FOCUS YOUR MIND TO IT. Nothing is
impossible to a believing heart APEL Truth.019
What I am trying to tell you is that there is no height unreachable, and no goal unattainable and if
it were not for this attitude, I would not have discovered this miraculous technique of training wounded
voices.
61
of or pertaining to or characteristic of the cinema
62
a film made by photographing a series of cartoon drawings to give the illusion of movement when projected in rapid sequence
helpdesk@voicetraining.biz http://www.voicetraining.biz
19
A SMALL SEED OF HOPE
When I was in Standard 9, I had grown into a very sociable character, and everybody in my high
school knew me and had actually spoken to me (At least once or twice). By then, we had moved into
the urban area of the country away from the farm.
When opportunities of school activities and trips arose, I was always available to participate; and
this one time, a trip was being planned to the then capital of South Africa, Pretoria, to visit an
63
Afrikaans high school as part of the public relations program .
The excitement about the trip was very tangible and in fact, intoxicating. It had then become difficult
to even pay attention in the classroom. I remember when the English teacher came for her class once;
we could not get into the spirit of the lesson. A friend of mine, who I guess was just as crazy about the
trip as I was, got up and started to sing an old traditional Gospel song called 'Telephone to Glory'. He was
the most musical of our bunch in class.
In the excitement of the moment, I got up to join him. I started to do what I then thought was singing
a harmony part to his tune when the class shouted me down, it dawned on me that I was probably
not singing right, to put it mildly.
At that moment, fellow students (assuming that I was mature enough to take it like a man, and not
emotionally thin-skinned), started hurling truthful but harmful accounts of what they had just
witnessed me do. One fellow, echoed by the rest of the class said, "You are a whiz kid, you are very
intelligent, but don't just assume that God has given you the talent of singing as well!" Painfully
truthful!
A TALENT DENIED
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]