Acquiring resources for personal improvements requires research, discernment, commitment, and execution. Creating a constant supply of knowledge encourages mental stimulation and brings understanding to complex situations. This is the basis for my motivations and current inspirations.
Health, mind training, and artistic development have been three major focuses to improve my quality of life. Many things inspire me to advance within these topics and I look to these inspirations regularly for encouragement. In general, no particular inspiration holds more weight than another. Their usefulness resides in their timing and implementation.
Health has become a central focus of my life, specifically, how the body functions and the food it needs to perform optimally. The phenomenon of human physiology and my lack of knowledge on the subject reinforced the responsibility placed on me to safeguard my body. The human body is an incredible machine that houses and protects the soul within. Its chemical properties adapt to various situations by detecting danger and dopamine which helps the body navigate life. It is truly remarkable.
Learning about the foods we eat and how the body responds to ingredients was the beginning of my research. Furthermore, it was interesting to find out how the body takes certain ingredients and processes it into something different. I researched food ingredients, various diets, intermittent fasting, vitamin deficiencies, and hormone imbalances.
My research centered on the classic American diet and how it is highly concentrated in processed, ultra-processed, and refined foods. This includes refined carbohydrates and refined sugars. Oils, white flour, bread, crackers, pretzels, pancakes, waffles, pastries, cereals, donuts, candy, chips, and french fries are a few examples of foods that are highly processed and contain poor body-enhancing components. Ingredients such as modified starches, maltodextrin, natural/artificial flavors, refined oils, high fructose corn syrup, and sugar alcohols, are found in a substantial amount of foods. They are used as filler and flavoring ingredients to over-compensate for the lack of textures and flavors Americans find addictive.
The lack of transparency and overuse of processed components has shaped my diet and thoughts around food tremendously. I find joy in looking through labels and cooking whole foods rich in antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, minerals, and vitamins.
Training the mind has been a top goal considering the weight negative emotions have on the average person’s life. Finances, family dynamics, health, school, house duties, and career paths, are a few examples of stress aggravators that can cause detriment to one’s quality of life. Resting the mind and changing perspective combats life’s natural pressures while providing balance. There are various ways to train the mind whether that be through yoga, pilates, meditation, religion, aerobics, or breathing exercises. Finding a routine that fits in your schedule and giving it priority is most important. Similarly, embracing new viewpoints and being adaptable showcases levels of tolerance during arguments. We will all inevitably find ourselves in conversations or situations we do not agree with. Prepping the mind for these circumstances may diminish stress factors.
Artistic development involves exploring the emotional depths of a character or piece of work to enhance the experience of performance for the entertainer and viewer. The process of channeling emotions is often done in practice sessions by finding the motivation behind each scenario. Molding this skill takes time, perseverance, and vulnerability. As an opera singer, analyzing the composition and understanding fellow characters’ lines and reactions, supports the maturation of your character’s development. Humans are complex beings with a range of emotions fueled by perception. Reexamining all scenarios repeatedly should greatly elevate one’s portrayal of emotions during a performance.
Studying respectable entertainers is a fantastic way to improve artistic development. Watch for facial expressions, body movements, eye movements, inhalations, and exhalations. It is equally important to pay attention to their actions during non-singing moments and interpret how they continue to stay in character. The fine line is drawn at copying rather than creating through inspiration. My studying process involves finding moments in others’ performances and evaluating what made the character convincing. Seeking out those moments requires focusing on the relationship between the expression and the text, the reaction to other characters' lines, the emphasis on certain words to give shape to a line, and posture.
I am always inspired by coloratura singers and lately have used their performances as motivation to better my agility. I spend a significant amount of time studying this technique as it does not come naturally. However, seeing the progress over the years has had a positive impact on my practice sessions. At the beginning of my music studies, I genuinely thought it was an unattainable technique and often avoided addressing it out of fear. In fairness, I had quite a bit to catch up on and other topics took priority. With a solid understanding of how to produce a good sound, I am elated to incorporate coloratura in my daily practice sessions and often explore unconventional techniques for improvement.
There are two factors I analyze when watching a coloratura singer. The first factor is the mouth cavity movement during the phrase. Many passages sweep through the different registers of the voice and navigating through those registers is difficult. I look for the stages of movements and shapes of the mouth and listen to the advantages or disadvantages of those actions. It is meticulous but has helped me greatly. The second element is the vowel produced as a result of the shape of the mouth cavity. It may be necessary to utilize different vowels based on the range of the coloratura passage. However, the purity of the vowel should be well established where possible to maintain text integrity. Paying attention to the placement of darkness and brightness on particular notes has played a significant role in my development. Lastly, it should be no secret that the key to truly understanding coloratura is mind training. Allowing the mind to initiate and execute the coloratura while the mouth follows suit, has made monumental strides in my agility.
Faith and my belief in God will always be an inspiration to make better decisions and be a better person. Eating healthier, being mindful of music lyrics, appropriately giving and receiving genuine advice, showing empathy, setting boundaries, and being pleasant company contribute to respectable practices. Life without mistakes and consequences does not exist. Therefore, it is crucial to have self-awareness and learn from them. Otherwise, these moments can cause chaos, stress, anxiety, and depression, and have the potential to negatively impact one’s life. Exploring avenues to bring balance to life’s challenges reaps many benefits. Whatever avenue that is for you, I encourage you to constantly tap into it.
My inspirations over the last few years have enhanced my life in indescribable ways. I am thankful for everyone who has been a part of my journey and helped me mature in many aspects of life. I can only hope that I have a positive impact on someone I cross paths with as a gift in return.
Sources
CBS Creating Tastes and Enhancing Flavor
The Top 11 Ingredients to Avoid on Food Nutrition Labels
https://realfoodbar.com/blog/ingredients-to-avoid-on-food-nutrition-labels
What Are Natural Flavors And Why Are They In Everything At The Grocery Store?!
Cecilia Bartoli 'Agitata da due venti' - Vivaldi
Agnes Baltsa "Nacqui all'affanno" La Cenerentola
Thank you Jess for writing this. Having discovered you a couple of years ago, I have become increasingly fascinated by you both as a brilliant and talented musical artist and analyst as well as an almost intimidatingly intelligent person with an endearing complement of charm, grace, lovliness and an absolutely wonderful personality. One of the things I most enjoy about watching your reaction vids is your animated physicality which provides an extra level of expression of what you are actually feeling from the music. Music, in particular really good music, elicits in me a visceral physical reaction which is probably why I find your reactions so compelling.
Anyway, I have often wondered "How does she do this? What makes her…