So, it's been a long time since I updated my blog. I got sick in February and never got back to posting. A lot has happened since then.
I completed and got a B in my last college course, Public Speaking. I did Step Up to the Spotlight Six Week Artist Development Bootcamp, and while I wasn't able to stick to the 52 Week Artist Development Plan, I did develop good music practice habits out of it. For the first time since the pandemic I went to a physiotherapist. I got my first manicure, pedicure, and facial. I went to Sarnia, Ontario for my younger sister's wedding, got mehndi done on my hand for the first time since the 90s, had a wonderful time, and in the process discovered that I enjoy travelling, provided it involves luxurious accommodations. I made up my mind that I want to audition for music school. I completed a six week job skills program, some of it while I was travelling. I subscribed to two online music schools, Produce Like A Boss University, which is geared towards home studio musicians, and The Versatile Musician, which teaches piano skills to singers and voice teachers.
Last week I started three of the courses from The Versatile Musician, Piano Skills For Singers Level 1, Piano Improvisation, and Music Theory. I'm working on the exercises in the key of C - I started learning “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac using Brenda Earle Stokes' tutorial because it has only two chords, F and G. But a couple of days ago she released a YouTube tutorial on the Beatles' “Let It Be”, which she also teaches a little in the Piano Skills course section on the key of C. I watched it today and started learning the song. I'll have to watch it a few more times to get the groove and the chord inversions, but it really is easy to learn.
I've also worked on writing chord progressions for eight of my songs in the past week. I'd worked with Brenda's 20 minute piano practice, which includes practicing major and minor triads in the circle of fifths, and that improved my chord knowledge a lot. I'm looking forward to studying the rest of the material in The Versatile Musician, and recording covers and originals with the courses in PLAB University. I'm planning to do some teacher training in singing with my Hindustani classical/Bollywood vocal coach, Neeraja Aptikar.