What I Would do if I Could Impart Some General Musical Knowledge on the World

The time has finally come; I'm finally writing my musical rant post. This could be long, so I may have to just cut to the chase:

1. There are many wonderful operas in the world. However, regardless of the fact that the title has the word "opera" in the name, Weber's "Phantom of the Opera" is NOT an opera. It is a musical. In the future, when asked what your favourite opera is, please find an actual opera. Please, when I say I study opera, do not ask me to sing something from this. It is an entertaining piece, if somewhat musically simplistic. Full operatic training is not required. Please, please do your research!

2. As a music student, I do not "have fun" all day. God, it's kind of the opposite. I spend hours in practice rooms. I get emotionally destroyed many days a week. I deal with constant stress and criticism. I spend hours on exercises, even just humming, to work on getting technique right. There's a lot more to studying music than just sitting in a circle and sharing warm and fuzzy feelings. Trust me, that does not happen. We all work our asses off and have to deal with being torn apart daily as both musicians and as people. Trust me, it gets personal. If you assume our program is easy, please, become a music student. It's not as much of a utopia as it may sound.

3. Alright, I'm going to turn mega music snob for a minute. Sure, there are many different voices and vocal techniques. However, many modern vocal techniques are destructive. Those pop singers you listen to on the radio? Most are auto tuned, and most are destroying their voices from improper technique. Think about it... when you shout that high, your vocal chords are slamming together and taking all sorts of abuse. People can have different "voices", but 99% percent of the time the differences come from technical issues. I'm not saying that you can't appreciate it, but take it with a grain of salt. Maybe it's because I'm studying it, but I just find it so difficult to listen to such artificial and destructive sounds. There's something so wonderful about listening to a healthy voice and the projection and colour that comes from technical prowess.

4. Classical music is not boring. Often, I have to wonder if we're listening to the same thing when people tell me that they find classical music dull. Operas can be dull (cough, Turandot, cough) but there are some amazing one! Classical music is pure emotion preserved on a page and translated to an audience when performed well. I highly recommend art song for those of you getting into the classical world. Look up the words and listen. Composers use amazing techniques. For example, listen to Gretchen am Spinnrade by Schubert. You can hear the spinning wheel turning in the piano part and a constant drive mimicking Gretchen's obsessive thoughts. Instrumental music is amazing too. I love vocal music because that's my niche, but there are wonderful instrumental pieces. God, I so wish I could lend you my ears. There are some chord progressions that are just so gorgeous that they send chills down your spine. There are a million things to listen for and often a story behind each piece. Seriously, give classical music a chance!

Okay, that's my rant for today. I'm sure I'll think of more things, but those are some main ones. I hope everyone is having a good week. Cheers!

-Laura