Speech and Drama

So I have finally finished my speech for Speech and Drama. So excited to start the season I mean I look forward to it all year long. This will be third year in Speech and Drama and I have loved every I have been in it. My Freshman year I participated in Expository Speaking. I did my speech on Organ Donation. I loved my speech that year and I guess so did the judges because I made it to State! When I got to state I did not make it to the second round. In one of my rounds I actually had a coughing attack. It was so bad I actually had tears coming down my face. But when you are in the middle of a speech you can not stop the timer and restart because as soon as you stop the timer you are done and there is no starting over. Ya sucks right?!? Especially since my cousin and my sister came to see me. Oh well that is done and over with now.
Last year I decided to change it up and so I did Humorous Duo with a friend of mine. We were awful we didn't even make it to finals. I don't know what possessed me to want to do drama when I am good at speech. But it was an awful choice and I am glad I am going back to speech this year I have missed it a lot.
So hopefully this year goes better than my freshman year when I had the coughing attack at state. Probably one of the worst things that could ever happen. It just sucks to make it that far and then just choke literally haha.


I don’t think people realize how big a deal Speech and Drama is for us. I mean it is always such a huge deal when the basketball team makes it to state. But who cares who makes it to state for Speech and Drama. Everyone in Culbertson would go and see the basketball team. But they don’t even care about Speech and Drama or Cross Country. Our Cross Country team made it to state this year and won. And most people didn’t even give a crap. Its things like that that really get to me. It’s always like if you are not in basketball well then you don’t mean crap to anyone. People don’t understand that we work all year on our Speech and Drama pieces. But whatever besides that we are suppose to have our very first Speech and Drama meet of the season on Saturday, however we are being hit with a huge blizzard that is beginning today and will last all weekend so I am praying it doesn’t affect our meet.

Die Young by Ke$ha (and other stuff)

I feel your heartbeat to the beat of the drums. Oh what a shame that you came here with someone. Lets make the most of the night like we are going to die young. Haha those are the song lyrics I am listening to right now I kinda just want to get up and dance. But at the same time I am sick so I can’t sing and dance which isn’t fun so boo. I swear I listen to this song everyday I guess you could say it is my pump up song. Oh and for all for all of you who don’t know what this awesome song is. It is by the one and the only Ke$ha. It is her new hit Die Young. So again it is amazing you all should definitely listen to it.
So yesterday I had a pretty good day and I finally conquered one of my fears. I finally played piano and sang at the same time for the first time ever last night at my youth group. So wooo!! So excited I finally did that. It felt great and I didn’t even mess up one note so it was perfect for the most part. I played and sang Turning Tables and played piano with it. Then I sang the song Anyway by Martina McBride with a CD.
So with all of that being said yesterday was a pretty good and now I am going to try and not talk for a while so I can recover and get my voice back. Haha like that is going to last I couldn’t stop talking if I tried. Oh well I will give it my best.

Senioritis Bad

Hey everyone I’m back. So I have been thinking more and more about college. Yes, I know it isn’t for a while yet but still I want to be prepared. I can’t wait for college I mean I don’t know how much more of high school I can take. Everyone says oh well you are going to regret saying that well I don’t think so. There is no way in heck I am going to miss this place. Maybe that’s why I keep thinking of college because I am just tired of the drama and I can’t wait to leave. Thank God it is only one more year. Because I can’t take much longer, the people are getting to me. I guess what I am trying to say is I have senioritis BAD. But besides that Go Minot Beavers!

Minot State Music Festival Update

So the Minot music Festival was great. It is so much different to be in a big choir like that compared to the choir I normally am in. We went to a concert that the college put on. There was one group that was amazing. It was a group of strings with a girl singing over the top of them. I had never heard anything more beautiful in my life. I can remember just sitting on the edge of my seat and at the end of the song I remember crying. I kept thinking that in a couple years that could be me singing on that stage singing in the college choir.
I love Minot and practically have my heart set on it for college. Hopefully I can go to Minot because I can’t think of anywhere else I would rather go. So with that said Go Beavers!

Music and Emotion

Everyone has a different way of expressing emotion. For me I express it through music. If I feel a certain way   I can sing about it and it makes me feel better. Music is so cool to me because there is so many different kinds. Music has so many different sounds and I think that is why I love music. There are over one hundred instruments  Not including the music we can make using our computer. Most albums now are corrected and made to sound better using computers. Technology has come so far and now we are including it in our music. I have looked at trying to figure out how to make dub step remixes with my computer and I have tried a couple websites but I can't get it just right. Music is so complex and interesting. 

My favorite genre of music would have to be either country or pop. Both have such unique sounds and I like them both for different reasons. I love country music because I want to be a country artist. I love country because it can be a typical country song or it can be a country power ballad. I love to sing songs that are like that. I like pop music because it has a good beat and it is one of those genres you can drive around with your friends to. 

No matter what emotion you are feeling music can express it. When you are feeling sad you tend to listen to sad songs because it can pertain to your emotion you are feeling. I know that is what I do. 

I like all kinds of music right now I am in a pretty good so I am listening to Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson. The song puts me in a good mood because of the kind of beat it has. If you listen to an artists voice when they sing you can tell what kind of emotion they are feeling. 

Music can make you feel so many different ways. Any emotion you are feeling can be expressed through music and that is one of the most amazing things to me because for me nothing else can express the way I feel any time of the day. It is one thing I can always count on. 

I have tried to write my own songs, because then I can express myself and exactly what I am feeling but song writing is very hard because there are so many different songs and I always manage to get a song stuck in  my head and I can't help but thinking of that that song when I write my song. 

I hope someday I can find someone who loves music just as much as me. 

Dreams...How do I get there?

Dreams are a great thing to have but if we never put action into the dream what was the point? My dream for a long time now is to be a famous singer. I think about it day and night. I want to go and try out for the X Factor and my friend said I can ride with him, but my mom doesn't want me to go without her so I asked her if she was ever going to take me. She said she wanted to but it will cost a lot of money. I realize it isn't cheap but if it is for your dream wouldn't be worth it? I have wanted to go on the X Factor or American Idol ever since I was a little girl.
I know what song I want to sing my audition, I want to sing Anyway by Martina McBride. I have been preparing for this moment since I was little and I think I am finally ready to achieve it. But it feels like no one is supporting me. I need some support I feel like they don’t want me to do it. I told my parents that if it didn't work out I would go to college but they want me to go to college first. They keep saying they are going to take me but it never happens and now I have a chance and they said no. I mean why do they not want me to go? It is like they don’t want me to achieve my dreams. I don’t get it.
I am sorry for the rampage but I had to get that out I am just very confused and frustrated. If you have any advice for me please leave a comment below.

College, Future Plans, and Dreams

So for a long time I have been wanting to go into music, I just didn't know what kind of music I wanted to go into. I have finally come to a decision that I want to get a major in Music Education and a minor in Music Performance. I love music and decided to get a head start and get some experience. So a friend of mine asked me to teach their son piano lessons. I immediately said yes, our first lesson was last night it went great. I started teaching him some basic theory and then we learned a couple songs. I also play flute so my band director Mrs.Hekkel said I could come in and help one of her younger flute players if I want. I went in this morning to help her and it is so different to see someone just beginning to play flute because I can see myself when I was little and what a struggle is was for me and how far I have come.
I love music with a passion and I will do whatever I can to get more involved before I go to college. I have looked at many schools for college and one of my top schools right now is Minot State University in North Dakota. I can't wait to go to college and get away from high school. High school has way too much drama and there are too many people I can't wait to get out of my life (those who will not be named.) But seriously I can not wait for high school to end. But since I still have another year so I will try and stick it out.
    I plan on chasing my dream and putting as much effort into it as I can. This summer my friend and I are going to go on the X Factor we are either going to go to Denver,Colorado or Tennessee. I plan on auditioning with the song Anyway by Martina McBride. I believe it shows off my voice and shows what I believe and the genre of music I want to be singing. I have been singing ever since I was a little girl and I can’t wait to finally make my dreams come true i tis the best feeling in the world knowing your dreams are only one step away. All my life what I have worked towards,this is going to be it!

Song Writting

When you listen to a song do you ever think of the process it took to write that song. Songwriting is a very precise process. Everyone does it differently, some may start by writing the lyrics and then the music others may start with the music first. But one thing I know for sure about songwriting is the song has to mean something to you or it is going to be very hard to write the song. It is a lot easier to write a song when you can relate to it.
I have wrote many songs over the years the only problem I have with writing is putting the music and the lyrics together. I try to think of what music I want to be with it, but then I start thinking of a different song thinking oh my gosh this is so cool, and then I listen to it and it is not even my song. Songwriting for me is one of the hardest things about music I don’t play guitar so it is very hard to write country music. I play piano but it is so hard to pick out the melody on the piano for me. So anyone out there who writes songs I have a ton of respect for you because I know how hard it is to write the song.
If you have any songs or you would like to share on how your process for writing a song goes leave a comment below.

Hi everyone, a lot of things have been happening this week and I am not really sure how to explain them mabey my next post will make more sense then this one. I know this is confusing I will try to explain in the next post or mabey a song will explain it. Oh and make sure to check out my friends blogs.
If you like Glee then chekc out www.tawniglee.blogpot.com
If you like everything amazing and random check out www.therandombutter.blogspot.com
And if you are a Twins fan then check out www.twinsbits.blogspot.com

Competitions

Well the Teddy Talent Trek is not until March. But like I have said in other post I usually start to prepare a few months ahead of time so I can get my performance to be perfect. This year I have looked at doing a power ballad. Some songs I have looked at are songs by Celine Dion, Martina McBride, and Christina Aguilera.

I have sung country for every competition I have ever done so I decided I wanted to do something different. The Teddy Talent Trek is a competition help in Williston, North Dakota. The winner gets to perform the first show at the Medora Musical. I have competed in the talent show for 4 years now. The only problem with the competeition is it seems every year a person from Williston wins. A couple years ago a girl who was dressed in what I assumed was at least a hundred dollar outfit,went up on stage and raps about her beat up car. Now I have nothing against rapping, but she could not rap or sing to save her life. When they called her name for the winning position the entire audience gasped. After that I hadn't really expected to even place. I mainly go for experience just to get the practice of performing so I can prepare for bigger competitions.

I also compete in many other talent shows throughout the year. I compete in our school talent show when I can. But one of my favorite talent shows is the Texaco Showdown. So many country stars started out from the talent show. This year was the first year I had placed. I participated in two showdowns this year one is Wolf Point, Montana and the other in Plentywood, Montana. I recieved second place at both competitions. At Wolf Point I lost first place by one hundreth of a point the guy who won and myself were neck and neck until it came down to bonus points. And he wrote his own songs so he recieved points. Even though I didn't get first place I had the best time. I sang right before intermission when I got done I walked towards the door to get a drink and a few little girls stopped me and asked for my autograph I was so excited no one had ever asked for my autograph. I signed there papers and walked toward the door again but this time a couple of guys my age stopped me and asked for my autograph I was even more surprised my that because I never thought anyone my age would ask for my signiture. Plentywood was great too but I felt amazing leaving Wolf Point that day.

My whole year consisted of second place medals so, my goal for this year is to be able to get first at at least one of my competitions, that's why I thought a power ballad would be a good idea. I love to sing power ballads it shows off my voice alot which would be a good idea. So all I can do now is wait and see.

Music at CHS

I think music is very important and I really wanted to get a teachers point of view on it because I am planning on going in to music and to have that experience would be great so I know the things to look forward to in the future. I also wanted some outlook on a few other questions.

Q: Why do you love music?
A: I like the challenge aspect of it. Like when you look at a piece of music and think that you will never be able to play that, but then you start to break it down.Then you play it for a concert perfectly and you remember that moment when you couldn’t play it and you feel that sense of pride set in.

Q:Why do you think students should get involved in music?
A: I think students should get involved because you can express anything through music. I mean singing one song can make your entire day better. Also studies show that students who are in music have better grades because in music they are working on math they are learning history and english too.

Q:What is your favorite part about teaching music?
A: I always like seeing students succeed its always the best thing.

Q:What would you like to see happen for the band or choir in the next year.
A: be able to have the confidence that we can get a one at festival. Also to be able to take a choir and band trip.

Q:Why did you decide to get a degree in music?
A: I had always gone to music camp and I always remember seeing seniors that had already graduated at camp and i was wondering why they were there and then i realized that they were going in to music, but that i could never do that. I was originally going to be a math teacher but then i started to think about music and i went to talk to the administration and she said that they would sign me up for some music classes and as soon as i walked in the room i knew it was right.

Q:Why do you think stage performance is a big part in music?
A: Absolutely, if we went out on stage looking slouching and insecure the audience is going to have a hard time connecting with the music. But if we go up looking confident and putting emotion into to the song it portrays a better image.

Q:Do you think knowing the story helps connect with the song.
A: oh absolutely because when you know the story its like actually telling the story and not thinking so much about the music. But at the same time if you don't tell the audience the story like with a band piece you can make it happen with the music.

Q:What is your favorite artist, genre, and song.
A: My favorite artist is Garth Brooks favorite song is Concrete Angel and my favorite genre is Christian.

Q:Why do you believe music is important?
A: I like music because it’s so powerful in Russia they actually banned some music because the message was so strong and powerful.

Q: What do you think the world be like without music?
A: So lame because everyone is impacted by music. There is no one who can go all their life and not listen to music. Its everywhere in movies and all of the sounds made are some form of music. There is no one who can listen to silence all their life.

Bullying and Music

I've been through alot in my life and no matter how bad things get I can always rely on music to be there for me.

For most of my life I have been bullied,it started in elementary when people found out I had a disease. Everyone judge me and thought that if they touched me they would contract the disease so they played a game where if you touched me you had to touch another person or you would have contracted the disease. I don’t think people realize how much bullying can affect a person’s life. I have never been able to forget that and I never will. But even when I had no clue what to do I would go sit by the wall at recess, play my music, and completely block out the world. I believe music is what kept me strong all these years. It kept me confident that I would make it through my surgeries and that one day I would be away from all of these people.
Without music I don’t believe I would be here today. It kept me strong and it always will. Whatever life throws at me I look to music.
Bullying is a terrible thing and I wish I could end it all. But I can’t do it by myself there is always going to be something new. I have tried to talk to people about bullying and I am now writing a speech on bullying and I will be competing in Speech and Drama. This way I can get the word out about bullying and be able to compete. I will post on how things are going with my speech and once I get my speech done I will post it online.
There have been many cases of bullying and I think that if people realized what kind of damage they are doing to a person’s life. I would have rather been hit then called mean things all the time. Because a bruise will heal, but the words will always stay with me.
Words hurt and will stay with you, but you have to keep strong and always believe that there is a way out. I believed in my music and it got me through it. If people could see all of the kids that have been bullied it think it would change their lives just a little bit. Too many kids are living with constant fear of the next time they have to face the bully some even stay home from school.
This is something that is very important to me and I hope it is important to others too.

I've been through alot in my life and no matter how bad things get I can always rely on music to be there for me.

For most of my life I have been bullied,it started in elementary when people found out I had a disease. Everyone judge me and thought that if they touched me they would contract the disease so they played a game where if you touched me you had to touch another person or you would have contracted the disease. I don’t think people realize how much bullying can affect a person’s life. I have never been able to forget that and I never will. But even when I had no clue what to do I would go sit by the wall at recess, play my music, and completely block out the world. I believe music is what kept me strong all these years. It kept me confident that I would make it through my surgeries and that one day I would be away from all of these people.
Without music I don’t believe I would be here today. It kept me strong and it always will. Whatever life throws at me I look to music.
Bullying is a terrible thing and I wish I could end it all. But I can’t do it by myself there is always going to be something new. I have tried to talk to people about bullying and I am now writing a speech on bullying and I will be competing in Speech and Drama. This way I can get the word out about bullying and be able to compete. I will post on how things are going with my speech and once I get my speech done I will post it online.
There have been many cases of bullying and I think that if people realized what kind of damage they are doing to a person’s life. I would have rather been hit then called mean things all the time. Because a bruise will heal, but the words will always stay with me.
Words hurt and will stay with you, but you have to keep strong and always believe that there is a way out. I believed in my music and it got me through it. If people could see all of the kids that have been bullied it think it would change their lives just a little bit. Too many kids are living with constant fear of the next time they have to face the bully some even stay home from school.
This is something that is very important to me and I hope it is important to others too.

I've been through alot in my life and no matter how bad things get I can always rely on music to be there for me.

For most of my life I have been bullied,it started in elementary when people found out I had a disease. Everyone judge me and thought that if they touched me they would contract the disease so they played a game where if you touched me you had to touch another person or you would have contracted the disease. I don’t think people realize how much bullying can affect a person’s life. I have never been able to forget that and I never will. But even when I had no clue what to do I would go sit by the wall at recess, play my music, and completely block out the world. I believe music is what kept me strong all these years. It kept me confident that I would make it through my surgeries and that one day I would be away from all of these people.
Without music I don’t believe I would be here today. It kept me strong and it always will. Whatever life throws at me I look to music.
Bullying is a terrible thing and I wish I could end it all. But I can’t do it by myself there is always going to be something new. I have tried to talk to people about bullying and I am now writing a speech on bullying and I will be competing in Speech and Drama. This way I can get the word out about bullying and be able to compete. I will post on how things are going with my speech and once I get my speech done I will post it online.
There have been many cases of bullying and I think that if people realized what kind of damage they are doing to a person’s life. I would have rather been hit then called mean things all the time. Because a bruise will heal, but the words will always stay with me.
Words hurt and will stay with you, but you have to keep strong and always believe that there is a way out. I believed in my music and it got me through it. If people could see all of the kids that have been bullied it think it would change their lives just a little bit. Too many kids are living with constant fear of the next time they have to face the bully some even stay home from school.
This is something that is very important to me and I hope it is important to others too.

I've been through alot in my life and no matter how bad things get I can always rely on music to be there for me.

For most of my life I have been bullied,it started in elementary when people found out I had a disease. Everyone judge me and thought that if they touched me they would contract the disease so they played a game where if you touched me you had to touch another person or you would have contracted the disease. I don’t think people realize how much bullying can affect a person’s life. I have never been able to forget that and I never will. But even when I had no clue what to do I would go sit by the wall at recess, play my music, and completely block out the world. I believe music is what kept me strong all these years. It kept me confident that I would make it through my surgeries and that one day I would be away from all of these people.
Without music I don’t believe I would be here today. It kept me strong and it always will. Whatever life throws at me I look to music.
Bullying is a terrible thing and I wish I could end it all. But I can’t do it by myself there is always going to be something new. I have tried to talk to people about bullying and I am now writing a speech on bullying and I will be competing in Speech and Drama. This way I can get the word out about bullying and be able to compete. I will post on how things are going with my speech and once I get my speech done I will post it online.
There have been many cases of bullying and I think that if people realized what kind of damage they are doing to a person’s life. I would have rather been hit then called mean things all the time. Because a bruise will heal, but the words will always stay with me.
Words hurt and will stay with you, but you have to keep strong and always believe that there is a way out. I believed in my music and it got me through it. If people could see all of the kids that have been bullied it think it would change their lives just a little bit. Too many kids are living with constant fear of the next time they have to face the bully some even stay home from school.
This is something that is very important to me and I hope it is important to others too.

I've been through alot in my life and no matter how bad things get I can always rely on music to be there for me.

For most of my life I have been bullied,it started in elementary when people found out I had a disease. Everyone judge me and thought that if they touched me they would contract the disease so they played a game where if you touched me you had to touch another person or you would have contracted the disease. I don’t think people realize how much bullying can affect a person’s life. I have never been able to forget that and I never will. But even when I had no clue what to do I would go sit by the wall at recess, play my music, and completely block out the world. I believe music is what kept me strong all these years. It kept me confident that I would make it through my surgeries and that one day I would be away from all of these people.
Without music I don’t believe I would be here today. It kept me strong and it always will. Whatever life throws at me I look to music.
Bullying is a terrible thing and I wish I could end it all. But I can’t do it by myself there is always going to be something new. I have tried to talk to people about bullying and I am now writing a speech on bullying and I will be competing in Speech and Drama. This way I can get the word out about bullying and be able to compete. I will post on how things are going with my speech and once I get my speech done I will post it online.
There have been many cases of bullying and I think that if people realized what kind of damage they are doing to a person’s life. I would have rather been hit then called mean things all the time. Because a bruise will heal, but the words will always stay with me.
Words hurt and will stay with you, but you have to keep strong and always believe that there is a way out. I believed in my music and it got me through it. If people could see all of the kids that have been bullied it think it would change their lives just a little bit. Too many kids are living with constant fear of the next time they have to face the bully some even stay home from school.
This is something that is very important to me and I hope it is important to others too.

I've been through alot in my life and no matter how bad things get I can always rely on music to be there for me.

For most of my life I have been bullied,it started in elementary when people found out I had a disease. Everyone judge me and thought that if they touched me they would contract the disease so they played a game where if you touched me you had to touch another person or you would have contracted the disease. I don’t think people realize how much bullying can affect a person’s life. I have never been able to forget that and I never will. But even when I had no clue what to do I would go sit by the wall at recess, play my music, and completely block out the world. I believe music is what kept me strong all these years. It kept me confident that I would make it through my surgeries and that one day I would be away from all of these people.
Without music I don’t believe I would be here today. It kept me strong and it always will. Whatever life throws at me I look to music.
Bullying is a terrible thing and I wish I could end it all. But I can’t do it by myself there is always going to be something new. I have tried to talk to people about bullying and I am now writing a speech on bullying and I will be competing in Speech and Drama. This way I can get the word out about bullying and be able to compete. I will post on how things are going with my speech and once I get my speech done I will post it online.
There have been many cases of bullying and I think that if people realized what kind of damage they are doing to a person’s life. I would have rather been hit then called mean things all the time. Because a bruise will heal, but the words will always stay with me.
Words hurt and will stay with you, but you have to keep strong and always believe that there is a way out. I believed in my music and it got me through it. If people could see all of the kids that have been bullied it think it would change their lives just a little bit. Too many kids are living with constant fear of the next time they have to face the bully some even stay home from school.
This is something that is very important to me and I hope it is important to others too.

I've been through alot in my life and no matter how bad things get I can always rely on music to be there for me.

For most of my life I have been bullied,it started in elementary when people found out I had a disease. Everyone judge me and thought that if they touched me they would contract the disease so they played a game where if you touched me you had to touch another person or you would have contracted the disease. I don’t think people realize how much bullying can affect a person’s life. I have never been able to forget that and I never will. But even when I had no clue what to do I would go sit by the wall at recess, play my music, and completely block out the world. I believe music is what kept me strong all these years. It kept me confident that I would make it through my surgeries and that one day I would be away from all of these people.
Without music I don’t believe I would be here today. It kept me strong and it always will. Whatever life throws at me I look to music.
Bullying is a terrible thing and I wish I could end it all. But I can’t do it by myself there is always going to be something new. I have tried to talk to people about bullying and I am now writing a speech on bullying and I will be competing in Speech and Drama. This way I can get the word out about bullying and be able to compete. I will post on how things are going with my speech and once I get my speech done I will post it online.
There have been many cases of bullying and I think that if people realized what kind of damage they are doing to a person’s life. I would have rather been hit then called mean things all the time. Because a bruise will heal, but the words will always stay with me.
Words hurt and will stay with you, but you have to keep strong and always believe that there is a way out. I believed in my music and it got me through it. If people could see all of the kids that have been bullied it think it would change their lives just a little bit. Too many kids are living with constant fear of the next time they have to face the bully some even stay home from school.
This is something that is very important to me and I hope it is important to others too.

Stage Presence

Stage presence is one of those things that is very important to any performer. The way you act on stage determines everything,for instance, if your song is a very upbeat song you can't just stand there and sing. You have to make the performance interesting and one way to do that is by your stage presence. I have had trouble with my stage presence over the years just because I was so used to going up in church and just standing still and singing. And since it was church music,and stage presence wasn't such a big deal. Most people in the church just wanted to hear the song.

But over the years, I have competed in very many competitions and a big part of that was stage presence.

I think one of the first things to being able to connect with a song is listening to its lyrics and figuring out what the song means and if it means something to you. It is absolutely pointless to sing a song that has no meaning to you. When working on stage presence you have to start with a song that you know you can easily connect with. For me that song was Anyway by Martina McBride. The lyrics mean everything to me.The song itself is not as important as the lyrics. Its like when you read a story the words matter. Without them the story would be pointless.The song “Anyway” talks about how people might try to knock you down but you should ignore them and do it anyway.

Also when doing stage presence you wanna make sure that the choreography fits the song. I mean you are not going to start doing the air guitar in the middle of an opera song, it just doesn't work.

So when performing you need to make sure everything fits and you probably will not get it right the first try. Usually when I work on my stage presence it takes me months to get right. Eventually when I get really good it won’t take much to get stage presence down because I will know from past experience what to do. Exactly why the quote “Practice makes perfect” plays a big role in music. You will never be able to sing a song absolutely perfect the first time, you have to keep practicing. Usually when I get ready for a competition I start practicing about 3 months ahead of time.  That way I have one month to work on the song itself and then one month to work on stage presence and lastly I will combine them together.

Stage presence is a very long process, but once you get everything put together and that moment when it becomes absolutely perfect, there is no better feeling in the world than when you can connect to a song. Because it is something new that you can relate to. And that song will never go away you can always sing it again.

Music will always be there for you. You may know that the song means something to you but you have to show the audience and try to convince them why it is important that they listen to you. When I sing I sing because I have something to say and I want people to listen.

Another thing that is very important in stage presence is eye contact. That moment when you can look someone in the eye it makes you seem very confident. Something my music teacher Mrs.Hekkel told me is “when you can look someone in the eye it changes from a girl singing to a woman singing.” I think that is a perfect way to put it, it is saying that you have a lot more confidence. When you are looking at the ground you look scared and nervous, but if you put your head up and have that confidence it makes a world of difference in your performance. And this is a very hard step for some people because it does take a lot to be able to look someone in the eye. That’s why you can look right above their heads and it still gives you that confidence without having to look directly in their eyes.

Stage presence is a huge part of performing, it makes the entire performance come together. And that’s what makes the performance extra special.

Invisible and Incvincible

Always pretending this is me

But this is not who I want to be

I hide within myself

Just so I can please everyone else

But what does it matter

If I constantly feels like I’m going to shatter

Into pieces, open and exposed

All my secrets, everyone now knows

But at the same time I feel peace

Knowing that everyone finally knows the real me

But will they accept me, or will things go back to the way they use to be

I guess if that day comes I will be ready

And I pray I will be strong and steady

I wonder if anyone else ever feels like this

Or am I the only one who feels unwanted just waiting for that bliss

Or even just that one kiss

I pray I’m not alone

And that someday a guy will come along

Make me feel safe and forever strong

I will finally be who I dream to be

And nothing will break me!

Why do I Love Music?

Why do I love music? Such a simple question, but I can’t seem to find the words to explain. I guess that’s why I love music so much because when words can’t describe what you are feeling the music can.
When people ask me what my favorite song is, I never reply with a song that is on the radio and that everybody is listening to. My favorite types of songs are the ones with meaning not with a good beat. One of my all-time favorite songs is Anyway by Martina McBride. This song talks about how people will try to break you down and tell you that you can’t succeed but the song says not to listen to them and to do it anyways. I have sung this song for many different competitions this year and have done very well with it. I think I do well with it because I believe in it. And so I’m putting emotion into it.
I love songs that can explain how I feel and can explain my life. I feel like I can connect with a song better when I can relate to it.
I have been involved in music since I was a little girl and I have loved it ever since. It has gotten me through so much. Whatever the emotion is, music can describe it. Whether it is something stupid like being excited for an upcoming competition or something serious like waiting to find out about my surgery, I believe music is important to me because of those very reasons.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWumGJfMHZE&feature=plcp This is a video of me singing one of my new favorite song  Defying Gravity from the Broadway musical Wicked I have decided to sing the Glee version however which in my opinion is still very remarkable. So please enjoy and I would love your feedback.

About Me

The crowd is roaring as I finish my song. I can see flashes of light from all of the cameras. I can hear a buzzing noise from all of the cheering my ears are ringing with delight. I walk off the stage seeing everyone smiling everywhere I walk I am receiving hugs. Once I see my parents I can tell they have been crying, my mom’s eyes are red. As I walk up to them they are hugging me with pride. I feel a sense of accomplishment and joy. I can now say that at that very moment I have never felt better in my life.
My name is Elizabeth Hendrickson when I was five years old I was diagnosed with Ornithine Trans Carbamalace. OTC is a disease that makes it so your body can’t handle protein because the liver is missing a urea cycle in the liver. I had to live with this dreadful disease for eight years. Living with constant dread of my next hospital visit. And dreading if I will live through it. 1 in every 1000 people are affected by OTC. It is very rare and even deadly. Most people with OTC don’t live past the age of 2. However I was lucky and at the age of 12 I received a liver transplant. I was in the Denver children’s hospital for 4 months. When I was in the children’s hospital I also became sick with pancreatitis and gastritis. I had to have several surgeries when in the hospital and had to go back for one more. It’s been five years now since my transplant and I am feeling great. I only have to take 5 pills in the morning and 3 at night.
This year I was able to go to The roundup river ranch transplant camp. I met a lot of good friends there and even hope to go back next year. One night at the camp they had a stage night where you could perform I decided to perform a solo. I guess people liked it because a month later they asked if I would come back to sing at the fundraiser and that they would pay for all of the expenses. I was so excited and said yes right away. We started out the night with dinner which was a five course meal. Then I performed and then the auction started. I was amazed on how many people just gave money like it was nothing. Three guys actually gave 50,000 dollars and the fundraiser ended up raising over 400,000 dollars.
Someday I plan to go on American Idol or The Voice. And maybe be able to give back what those people gave to me.

With this blog I plan to write about my upcoming competitions, videos of my music, recitals, and also what is going on in my music room. I also plan on putting videos of our classes online so you can see what our school does for music on a day to day basis. My music helped me so much through my life by relaxing me during stressful times in the hospital. And with music I can express myself in a way that words can’t. I love music and I plan to go into Music Education when I graduate.