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	<description>Professional vocalist specializing in sacred ceremony and transformational live events</description>
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		<title>A Song a Week Project v. 9 &#8211; &#8220;Crazy&#8221; by Gnarls Barkley</title>
		<link>http://www.heatherhightower.com/asawp-9/</link>
		<comments>http://www.heatherhightower.com/asawp-9/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 19 Apr 2012 21:22:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Heather</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[A Song A Week Project]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[a song a week project]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[barkley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[crazy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fun]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gnarls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lighter]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Song: &#8220;Crazy&#8221; by Gnarls Barkley. Yes, yes I did go there. As just fabulously soulful me with my lighter soprano voice. About choosing this song: I have a propensity towards melancholy songs. It&#8217;s like the ache of the universe can flow through my body and take me there, and it feels good. Therefore, it was [...]<h2>Share and Enjoy</h2>

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Song: "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley. Yes, yes I did go there. As just fabulously soulful me with my lighter soprano voice.

About choosing this song: I have a propensity towards melancholy songs. It's like the ache of the universe can flow through  - http://www.heatherhightower.com/asawp-9/" title="Email this" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Email</a> &bull; <a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/feed/rss/" title="Subscribe to RSS" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">RSS</a>
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<p><iframe src="http://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F40408264&amp;show_artwork=true" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" width="100%" height="166"></iframe></p>
<p><strong>Song: </strong><a href="http://youtu.be/bd2B6SjMh_w" target="_blank">&#8220;Crazy&#8221; by Gnarls Barkley</a>. Yes, yes I did go there. As just fabulously soulful me with my lighter soprano voice.</p>
<p><strong>About choosing this song: </strong>I have a propensity towards melancholy songs. It&#8217;s like the ache of the universe can flow through my body and take me there, and it feels good.</p>
<p>Therefore, it was time to take the beat up a notch. I love this song, bopping along to it on the radio feels good in part because it sits in a key I enjoy.</p>
<p>And, it&#8217;s kind of deep. Yeahhhh. (Check out the lyrics below)</p>
<p>Does it stretch me a little bit? Yes. I&#8217;m absolutely more confident performing Bach or Mozart than Gnarls Barkley, but therein lies the fun of it.</p>
<p><strong>Lyrics: </strong></p>
<p><strong></strong>I remember when, I remember, I remember when I lost my mind<br />
There was something so pleasant about that place.<br />
Even your emotions have an echo<br />
In so much space</p>
<p>And when you&#8217;re out there<br />
Without care,<br />
Yeah, I was out of touch<br />
But it wasn&#8217;t because I didn&#8217;t know enough<br />
I just knew too much</p>
<p>Does that make me crazy?<br />
Does that make me crazy?<br />
Does that make me crazy?<br />
Possibly <em>[radio version]</em><br />
probably <em>[album version]</em></p>
<p>And I hope that you are having the time of your life<br />
But think twice, that&#8217;s my only advice</p>
<p>Come on now, who do you, who do you, who do you, who do you think you are,<br />
Ha ha ha bless your soul<br />
You really think you&#8217;re in control</p>
<p>Well, I think you&#8217;re crazy<br />
I think you&#8217;re crazy<br />
I think you&#8217;re crazy<br />
Just like me</p>
<p>My heroes had the heart to lose their lives out on a limb<br />
And all I remember is thinking, I want to be like them<br />
Ever since I was little, ever since I was little it looked like fun<br />
And it&#8217;s no coincidence I&#8217;ve come<br />
And I can die when I&#8217;m done</p>
<p>Maybe I&#8217;m crazy<br />
Maybe you&#8217;re crazy<br />
Maybe we&#8217;re crazy<br />
Probably<br />
<strong>Recording Credit: </strong>Rob Richmond, of <a title="A Song a Week Project v.8 – Taize and Scripture with “The Voice of God”" href="http://www.bay1studios.com" target="_blank">Bay 1 Studios</a>, yet again performs another iPhone miracle, laying down all the tracks there. He also is responsible for the guitar, bass, percussion, and backup voices. Rob Richmond: He&#8217;s everywhere you want to be. <img src='http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';)' class='wp-smiley' />  Thanks, Rob! You&#8217;re the best!</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Here&#8217;s the original, in case you haven&#8217;t been in the habit of listening to the radio anytime in the past 3 years:</strong></p>
<p><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/emDFExzFGlA" frameborder="0" width="420" height="315"></iframe></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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Song: "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley. Yes, yes I did go there. As just fabulously soulful me with my lighter soprano voice.

About choosing this song: I have a propensity towards melancholy songs. It's like the ache of the universe can flow through  - http://www.heatherhightower.com/asawp-9/" title="Email this" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Email</a> &bull; <a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/feed/rss/" title="Subscribe to RSS" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">RSS</a>
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		<title>A Song a Week Project v.8 &#8211; Taize and Scripture with &#8220;The Voice of God&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://www.heatherhightower.com/asawp-8/</link>
		<comments>http://www.heatherhightower.com/asawp-8/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 12 Apr 2012 07:15:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Heather</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[A Song A Week Project]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[My father has been a large source of inspiration for me in presence &#8211; when presenting, performing, and being present to other human beings. He also happens to have &#8211; or so it&#8217;s been said by others &#8211; to have &#8220;The Voice of God.&#8221; It&#8217;s kind of true. Take a listen above. His deep, rumbling, [...]<h2>Share and Enjoy</h2>

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My father has been a large source of inspiration for me in presence - when presenting, performing, and being present to other human beings.

He also happens to have - or so it's been said by others - to have "The Voice of God." It's kind of tru - http://www.heatherhightower.com/asawp-8/" title="Email this" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Email</a> &bull; <a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/feed/rss/" title="Subscribe to RSS" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">RSS</a>
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<p>My father has been a large source of inspiration for me in presence &#8211; when presenting, performing, and being present to other human beings.</p>
<p>He also happens to have &#8211; or so it&#8217;s been said by others &#8211; to have &#8220;The Voice of God.&#8221; It&#8217;s kind of true. Take a listen above.</p>
<p>His deep, rumbling, low tones used to come over the intercom back in middle school days where he was the principal in Westport, Connecticut for almost 40 years. When kids acted up, he just had to open up and softly speak a few words and that was usually enough to stop any of us in our tracks.</p>
<p>He never yelled, he never shouted, he never accused.  He didn&#8217;t have to. He still doesn&#8217;t. His voice utters a magnitude of being that far surpasses the common communication of most.</p>
<p>Hugging him and just hearing him speak is the warmest subwoofer you could ever experience, your ear pressed to his chest!</p>
<p>Soak it up, this cosmic wisdom in a wise man, kind man on Earth. I&#8217;m grateful to have had the opportunity to do so in such close proximity!</p>
<p>With certain frequency, he read scripture at church, and in my [totally unbiased opinion], he did the best Christmas Eve service reading &#8211; ever. &#8220;And suddenly,&#8221; &#8211; YEAH! &#8211; &#8220;there were with the angels a multitude of the heavenly hosts, praising God and SAYING: GLORY TO GOD [rummbbbleee], GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST.&#8221; [rumbbblllleeee after-wave].</p>
<p>But I digress.</p>
<p>So this past week as I was home visiting my family, I nudged him to volunteer to read a short passage at the Maundy Thursday service.</p>
<p>I grabbed my iPhone so that I could enjoy this gift of presence whenever I want &#8211; and it reminded me how much of an impact he&#8217;s had on my performing and professional life. He&#8217;s not a musician, but he&#8217;s a music lover. He has a musician&#8217;s soul, only not a musican&#8217;s experience.</p>
<p>The piano starts playing at the end of his scripture reading above, and I turned off the camera.</p>
<p>But then I realized that the Taize song we were singing around our dinner table was actually quite lovely and gave me some great points to illustrate here in the next installment of the &#8220;A Song a Week Project.&#8221;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><iframe src="http://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F42789077&amp;show_artwork=true" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" width="100%" height="166"></iframe></p>
<p><strong>Song: </strong>Taize Hymn &#8220;Oh Lord, Hear My Prayer&#8221;</p>
<p><strong>About the Song: </strong>This SoundCloud clip is me singing with 8 other church family friends back home in Connecticut, on our full bellies. My father&#8217;s deep, rumbling voice can be heard underneath mine.</p>
<p><strong>About the Musical Tradition: </strong>The<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiz%C3%A9_Community" target="_blank"> &#8220;Taize&#8221;</a> tradition of worship is one that I admittedly don&#8217;t know much about, but I have been told it&#8217;s characterized by the use of repetitive song for worship. Sometimes, a short hymn like this could be repeated 25 or 30 times, helping worshipers find meditative space. In fact, my boyfriend and I are considering visiting a Taize service soon to experience one for the first time.</p>
<p><strong>A little Musical Pontification:</strong></p>
<p>Personally, I have been drawn to worship services less for words and more for music.</p>
<p>If the music contains words that perhaps I&#8217;m not totally spiritually aligned with, I find alignment with myself and my greater sense of spirit and connection through musical expression. The words almost become irrelevant, and where I disagree with words, or not be inclined to say them in spoken conversation, a space of connection through music can give new meaning to words that in our dualistic, masculine/feminine understanding otherwise fall dreadfully short.</p>
<p>I&#8217;m excited to experience my first Taize service &#8211; simple songs, sung over and over in the presence of other spirits&#8230;well, it sounds rather divine. Like, the power of the symphonic choir made accessible for the every man!</p>
<p><strong>The Power of Simple Songs: </strong>Simple songs, sung repetitively can have a trance-like effect. A lot of people talk about &#8220;chanting&#8221; or &#8220;toning&#8221; &#8211; I prefer &#8220;singing.&#8221; Melodies &#8211; even simple ones &#8211; can take us to far off places within ourselves, beyond ourselves, and between other people.</p>
<p>When I lead music in groups &#8211; whether they be groups of bridesmaids coming together to lift up their beloved friend and sister in song, or humble groups of people who don&#8217;t &#8220;consider themselves singers,&#8221; I always commit to accessing the higher place between us that moment of that day. It&#8217;s a collective experience, and the little melody as our guide benignly takes us to beautiful places.</p>
<p><strong>Another example:</strong> Here&#8217;s a beautiful offering of this same hymn, accompanied by multiple instruments. In my own personal clip above, you can sense the swell of the spirit between us &#8211; one woman had tears in her eyes, breathing becomes full, sometimes clogged with emotion. Notice how the recording below has dramatic, noticeable swelling in its sound and then backs off at the end.</p>
<p>Ahhh&#8230;.music. How you teach us to live!</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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My father has been a large source of inspiration for me in presence - when presenting, performing, and being present to other human beings.

He also happens to have - or so it's been said by others - to have "The Voice of God." It's kind of tru - http://www.heatherhightower.com/asawp-8/" title="Email this" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Email</a> &bull; <a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/feed/rss/" title="Subscribe to RSS" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">RSS</a>
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		<title>The Hour I First Believed &#8211; Creating a Life to Love</title>
		<link>http://www.heatherhightower.com/the-hour-i-first-believed/</link>
		<comments>http://www.heatherhightower.com/the-hour-i-first-believed/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:33:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Heather</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Confidence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[believe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[confidence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[live life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[live the dream]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;Peace does not just roll in on the wheels of inevitability.&#8221; &#8211; The Reverend Dr. John Brown, words spoken at The United Methodist Church of Westport/Weston sometime in the past two years. (That&#8217;s what&#8217;s scribbled on the little yellow scrap of paper in the first shot of this short clip above). Follow your dreams, live [...]<h2>Share and Enjoy</h2>

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"Peace does not just roll in on the wheels of inevitability." - The Reverend Dr. John Brown, words spoken at The United Methodist Church of Westport/Weston sometime in the past two years. (That's what's scribbled on the little yellow scrap of pap - http://www.heatherhightower.com/the-hour-i-first-believed/" title="Email this" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Email</a> &bull; <a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/feed/rss/" title="Subscribe to RSS" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">RSS</a>
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<p>&#8220;Peace does not just roll in on the wheels of inevitability.&#8221; &#8211; The Reverend Dr. John Brown, words spoken at The United Methodist Church of Westport/Weston sometime in the past two years. (That&#8217;s what&#8217;s scribbled on the little yellow scrap of paper in the first shot of this short clip above).</p>
<p>Follow your dreams, live the life you&#8217;ve imagined, go confidently in the direction of your dreams.</p>
<p>It does not always feel easy to feel confident. The evidence of our hard work amasses bit by bit, often unnoticeably.</p>
<p>We often have to choose &#8211; each morning &#8211; to refocus on our dreams, to refocus our attention on what we choose to see.</p>
<p>But the hour you first believe it to be possible &#8211; that&#8217;s the hour &#8211; or the moment &#8211; that you start to make things happen.</p>
<p>Go forth, live your dream. Today. For a minute, for an hour. For a day. Bit by bit, you create a life you may not have recognized before as your own.</p>
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"Peace does not just roll in on the wheels of inevitability." - The Reverend Dr. John Brown, words spoken at The United Methodist Church of Westport/Weston sometime in the past two years. (That's what's scribbled on the little yellow scrap of pap - http://www.heatherhightower.com/the-hour-i-first-believed/" title="Email this" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Email</a> &bull; <a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/feed/rss/" title="Subscribe to RSS" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">RSS</a>
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		<title>A Song a Week Project v. 7 &#8211; &#8220;Marry Me&#8221; by Train</title>
		<link>http://www.heatherhightower.com/asawp-7/</link>
		<comments>http://www.heatherhightower.com/asawp-7/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Mar 2012 13:44:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Heather</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[A Song A Week Project]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ceremony]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marry me]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[music]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[songs for her]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wedding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wedding music]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[One of Charlottesville&#8217;s most popular wedding DJs is Derek Tobler. As fortune would have it, he happens to be one of my neighbors. He&#8217;s the kind of neighbor you&#8217;re glad to have. He&#8217;s also the kind of professional that others professionals say really nice things about because he&#8217;s that good of a guy and is [...]<h2>Share and Enjoy</h2>

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One of Charlottesville's most popular wedding DJs is Derek Tobler. As fortune would have it, he happens to be one of my neighbors. He's the kind of neighbor you're glad to have. He's also the kind of professional that others professionals say - http://www.heatherhightower.com/asawp-7/" title="Email this" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Email</a> &bull; <a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/feed/rss/" title="Subscribe to RSS" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">RSS</a>
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<p><iframe src="http://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F40414813&amp;show_artwork=true" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" width="100%" height="166"></iframe></p>
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<p>One of Charlottesville&#8217;s most popular wedding DJs is <a href="http://www.djtobler.com/">Derek Tobler</a>. As fortune would have it, he happens to be one of my neighbors. He&#8217;s the kind of neighbor you&#8217;re glad to have. He&#8217;s also the kind of professional that others professionals say really nice things about because he&#8217;s that good of a guy and is great at his craft.</p>
<p>So I decided to have him over for coffee.</p>
<p>He&#8217;s the kind of guy who used his morning babysitter time to have a courteous get-to-know-you conversation.</p>
<p>After I brewed him really bad coffee &#8211; you know, the kind of poorly brewed coffee that makes you feel embarrassed about your basic domestic skills &#8211; when he decided it would be fun to record a song in his personal home studio, I of course said yes!</p>
<p><strong>About the Song: </strong> &#8220;Marry Me&#8221; by Train came out in the fall of 2010, and still it&#8217;s a popularly requested song for weddings ceremonies. Derek said he&#8217;s still getting requests for this song on a fairly regular basis.</p>
<p><strong>About the alternate &#8220;Her&#8221; version: </strong>The lyrics to &#8220;Marry Me&#8221; were written to be sung to a woman. So, I changed around the second verse slightly and we recorded a &#8220;Her&#8221; version in case any of the ladies out there wanted to serenade their man, or propose to her guy.</p>
<p><em>&#8220;Together can never be close enough for me</em><br />
<em> Feel like I am close enough to you</em><br />
<em><strong> I&#8217;ll</strong> wear white and <strong>you&#8217;ll</strong> wear out the words I love you</em><br />
<em> And you&#8217;re beautiful</em><br />
<em> Now that the wait is over</em><br />
<em> And love and has finally shown <strong>you</strong> my way&#8221;</em></p>
<p><strong>Here&#8217;s a peek at the action!</strong></p>
<p>Derek played the backing track, and I laid down the vocals. Then he mixed/balanced/did whatever techie guys do when they&#8217;re getting the song ready to be shared.</p>
<div id="attachment_585" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 234px"><a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/photo-12.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-585" title="Derek Tobler sound studio" src="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/photo-12-e1332280824741-224x300.jpg" alt="Derek Tobler recording &quot;Marry Me&quot; with Heather Hightower" width="224" height="300" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Derek&#39;s basement set up with his mixing table and gear. View from my mic!</p></div>
<div id="attachment_589" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 468px"><a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/photo-23.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-589 " title="Heather recording at Derek Tobler" src="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/photo-23-e1332281951692-764x1024.jpg" alt="Heather recording &quot;Marry Me&quot; with Derek Tobler" width="458" height="614" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">At the mic! Recording &quot;Marry Me&quot; by Train with Derek.</p></div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<div id="attachment_591" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/photo-42.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-591" title="derek tobler sound waves recording equipment" src="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/photo-42-300x224.jpg" alt="Sound waves for Heather Hightower" width="300" height="224" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">What my voice looks like in image form. <img src='http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p></div>
<p><strong>Lyrics: </strong></p>
<p>Forever can never be long enough for me<br />
To feel like I&#8217;ve had long enough with you<br />
Forget the world now we won&#8217;t let them see<br />
But there&#8217;s one thing left to do</p>
<p>Now that the weight has lifted<br />
Love has surely shifted my way</p>
<p>Marry Me<br />
Today and every day<br />
Marry Me<br />
If I ever get the nerve to say &#8220;Hello&#8221; in this cafe</p>
<p>Say you will<br />
Say you will</p>
<p>Together can never be close enough for me<br />
Feel like I am close enough to you<br />
You wear white and I&#8217;ll wear out the words I love you<br />
And you&#8217;re beautiful<br />
Now that the wait is over<br />
And love and has finally shown her my way</p>
<p>Marry me<br />
Today and every day<br />
Marry me<br />
If I ever get the nerve to say &#8220;Hello&#8221; in this cafe<br />
Say you will<br />
Say you will</p>
<p>Promise me<br />
You&#8217;ll always be<br />
Happy by my side<br />
I promise to<br />
Sing to you<br />
When all the music dies</p>
<p>And marry me<br />
Today and everyday<br />
Marry me<br />
If I ever get the nerve to say &#8220;Hello&#8221; in this cafe<br />
Say you will<br />
Say you will<br />
Marry me</p>
<p><strong><br />
</strong></p>
<div class="mceTemp mceIEcenter">
<div id="attachment_590" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 234px"><a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/photo-32.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-590" title="Derek checking levels" src="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/photo-32-e1332282198934-224x300.jpg" alt="Derek Tobler checking sound levels" width="224" height="300" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Derek checking the levels.</p></div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">After completing this project, I discovered through Derek that there&#8217;s actually a duet version of this song out now featuring Martina McBride. Do you think Derek was hiding this from me so he wouldn&#8217;t have to sing a duet with me?? I&#8217;m thinking maybe now we have to do the duet&#8230; what do you think?</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">
</div>
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One of Charlottesville's most popular wedding DJs is Derek Tobler. As fortune would have it, he happens to be one of my neighbors. He's the kind of neighbor you're glad to have. He's also the kind of professional that others professionals say - http://www.heatherhightower.com/asawp-7/" title="Email this" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Email</a> &bull; <a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/feed/rss/" title="Subscribe to RSS" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">RSS</a>
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		<item>
		<title>A Song a Week Project v. 6 &#8211; &#8220;Someone Like You&#8221; by Adele</title>
		<link>http://www.heatherhightower.com/asawp-6/</link>
		<comments>http://www.heatherhightower.com/asawp-6/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:18:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Heather</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[A Song A Week Project]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[a song a week project]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[adele]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[asawp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[someone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[someone like you]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.heatherhightower.com/?p=562</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#160; Song: &#8220;Someone Like You&#8221; by Adele. Who: Me and pianist, Ashleigh Russell. Ashleigh came to me like an angel, through my a music minister friend at the Catholic church. He said to me, &#8220;Ashleigh&#8217;s always looking for a fun project to do.&#8221; And, so I lucked out with this piano-playing angel who plays pop [...]<h2>Share and Enjoy</h2>

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&nbsp;

Song: "Someone Like You" by Adele.

Who: Me and pianist, Ashleigh Russell. Ashleigh came to me like an angel, through my a music minister friend at the Catholic church.

He said to me, "Ashleigh's always looking for a fun project to - http://www.heatherhightower.com/asawp-6/" title="Email this" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Email</a> &bull; <a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/feed/rss/" title="Subscribe to RSS" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">RSS</a>
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<p><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/S8gg42zH-qc" frameborder="0" width="420" height="315"></iframe></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Song: </strong>&#8220;Someone Like You&#8221; by Adele.</p>
<p><strong>Who: </strong>Me and pianist, Ashleigh Russell. Ashleigh came to me like an angel, through my a music minister friend at the Catholic church.</p>
<p>He said to me, &#8220;Ashleigh&#8217;s always looking for a fun project to do.&#8221; And, so I lucked out with this piano-playing angel who plays pop and classical equally well and is a totally great person.</p>
<p><strong>Why: </strong>Who doesn&#8217;t love a little Adele? She&#8217;s the listening musician&#8217;s saving grace on the radio, she&#8217;s soulful, she swept away all the Grammy awards, and she shows the world that you don&#8217;t have to be rail thin to be wildly successful and appealing. I love belting this song out in the car, so when Ashleigh and I discovered our mutual love for her, we decided this would have to be recorded for the next in the <a title="Contact Me" href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/introducing-a-song-a-week-project/">&#8220;A Song a Week Project.&#8221;</a></p>
<p><strong>Behind the music, H1 style&#8230;er&#8230;Heather Style:</strong></p>
<div id="attachment_577" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 234px"><a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/photo3.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-577" title="Recording at home" src="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/photo3-e1332215058108-224x300.jpg" alt="Heather recording at home" width="224" height="300" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">My &quot;recording studio&quot; at home. <img src='http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p></div>
<p>Thanks to Rob Richmond at <a href="http://www.bay1studios.com" target="_blank">Bay 1 Studios</a> for the equipment and making it fool proof! <img src='http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>What&#8217;s on the horizon: </strong>Ashleigh and I will be recording some classical rep next week in a real studio. And we&#8217;re making plans for some Alicia Keys. <img src='http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
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&nbsp;

Song: "Someone Like You" by Adele.

Who: Me and pianist, Ashleigh Russell. Ashleigh came to me like an angel, through my a music minister friend at the Catholic church.

He said to me, "Ashleigh's always looking for a fun project to - http://www.heatherhightower.com/asawp-6/" title="Email this" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Email</a> &bull; <a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/feed/rss/" title="Subscribe to RSS" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">RSS</a>
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		<title>A Song a Week Project v. 5 &#8211; Haydn Lord Nelson Mass and The Oratorio Society of Virginia</title>
		<link>http://www.heatherhightower.com/asawp-5/</link>
		<comments>http://www.heatherhightower.com/asawp-5/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 20 Mar 2012 03:13:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Heather</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[A Song A Week Project]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.heatherhightower.com/?p=564</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A little background to this week&#8217;s song post: The past couple of weeks I&#8217;ve spent a fair amount of energy in rehearsals for a choir I belong to called &#8220;The Oratorio Society of Virginia.&#8220; Choral work is a huge part of my life and identity as a musician, and the more I know about business, [...]<h2>Share and Enjoy</h2>

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A little background to this week's song post:
The past couple of weeks I've spent a fair amount of energy in rehearsals for a choir I belong to called "The Oratorio Society of Virginia."
Choral work is a huge part of my life and identity as a mus - http://www.heatherhightower.com/asawp-5/" title="Email this" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Email</a> &bull; <a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/feed/rss/" title="Subscribe to RSS" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">RSS</a>
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<p><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/61XuK7Opimc" frameborder="0" width="420" height="315"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>A little background to this week&#8217;s song post:</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">The past couple of weeks I&#8217;ve spent a fair amount of energy in rehearsals for a choir I belong to called <a title="A Song a Week Project v. 5 – Haydn Lord Nelson Mass" href="http://www.oratoriosociety.org" target="_blank">&#8220;The Oratorio Society of Virginia.</a>&#8220;</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Choral work is a huge part of my life and identity as a musician, and the more I know about business, the more I believe that all things in life and business aspire to the same consciousness and level of reality that those in choral music actively know and understand as the fundamental principles of &#8220;the way the world works.&#8221;</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">The awareness skills I&#8217;ve gained and honed as a chorister in excellent choirs directly translate to any gathering of 2 or more people, and I especially turn on my &#8220;group awareness&#8221; skills when I sing in sacred settings, tuning in and tuning out of what is going on in every inch of the room, with each person, grounding the sound and energy for the best sound to come out.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>This week&#8217;s song: </strong> It&#8217;s not really a &#8220;song&#8221;, per se &#8211; you are hearing a tiny excerpt of a much larger &#8220;work&#8221; or &#8220;masterwork&#8221; that is about an hour long, written by the 18th century composer, Haydn.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">You can read more about Franz Joseph Haydn&#8217;s 1798&#8242;s &#8220;Lord Nelson Mass&#8221; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missa_in_Angustiis" target="_blank">here.</a></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">The work includes different movements, which correspond to parts of the Catholic mass, and the choir performs with a 40 piece orchestra and 4 soloists.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Back in the day, it was very common for the great music to come out of the churches &#8211; the patrons with the money were with the church and paying the church musicians to create. Thus, gifted musicians making glorious music. Often in the name of God. Often in the form of musical mass settings.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">This mass, as well as W.A. Mozart&#8217;s &#8220;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vespers">Vespers</a>&#8220;, were what we performed on Sunday 3/18/12 for our first spring concert.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>About performing in a group this size: </strong>In case you were wondering, you don&#8217;t just &#8220;throw together&#8221; a performance like this unless you&#8217;re one of the most elite symphonic choirs full of singers who habitually rehearse masterworks in just a few rehearsals.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">The Oratorio Society worked on these two hours of music for the last 10 weeks, so this represents the culmination of about 25 hours worth of work as an ensemble.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">The following clip is NOT from our performance, but you may recognize this angelic piece &#8211; it is a part of the Mozart Vespers and appears after one of the darker, more stirring fugues, the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w_ueAlILFM" target="_blank">&#8220;Laudate Pueri&#8221;</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">I&#8217;ve sung this &#8220;Laudate Dominum&#8221; at a wedding as a prelude.</p>
<p><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/51u3QBYA2EA" frameborder="0" width="560" height="315"></iframe></p>
<div id="attachment_565" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 501px"><a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/photo-11.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-565  " title="Oratorio Society rehearsal 1" src="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/photo-11-1024x1024.jpg" alt="Rehearsal for Oratorio Society of Virginia" width="491" height="491" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Conductor Michael Slon leads us in learning Haydn and Mozart. We meet weekly for two hours and he keeps us moving and learning.</p></div>
<p style="text-align: left;">I snagged the excerpt as I ran into dress rehearsal a few minutes late on Saturday morning after seeing <a href="http://youtu.be/SzzLsw7JepA" target="_blank">jean theory:</a>through to its opening on the Historic Downtown Mall. This sound clip is so short because I had to hustle to my place on the front row!</p>
<div id="attachment_569" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 501px"><a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/photo2.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-569  " title="Oratorio Society rehearsal with orchestra timpani" src="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/photo2-1024x764.jpg" alt="Oratorio Society of Virginia Dress Rehearsal" width="491" height="366" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">I nestle in right behind the timpani and the trumpet. Tra la! (I love being a first soprano)</p></div>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Who:</strong> <a href="http://www.oratoriosociety.org" target="_blank">The Oratorio Society of Virginia </a>is a 90 person choir based out of Charlottesville, Virginia. The conductor is Michael Slon, who is also the Director of Choral Activities at the University of Virginia.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">I love singing for Professor Slon &#8211; he was my undergraduate advisor and choral conducting teacher 10 years ago, and he consistently takes ensembles to the spiritual place within pieces, getting there through precision of musical execution.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">He always said, &#8220;Conduct at every opportunity you get &#8211; even if it&#8217;s just a whole note on the lawn. You show up and you conduct that thing with everything you&#8217;ve got.&#8221; It&#8217;s a great philosophy of dedication and commitment to making music &#8211; musically.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">He inherited this choir this past fall and has done amazing things with it in the short period of time he&#8217;s been involved.</p>
<div id="attachment_566" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/photo-21.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-566" title="Oratorio Society Dress Rehearsal" src="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/photo-21-300x224.jpg" alt="Oratorio Society Dress Rehearsal at PVCC" width="300" height="224" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Oratorio Society dress rehearsal with orchestra and amazing soloists. This is the view from the first soprano section.</p></div>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Why: </strong>Once I finally grounded in one city and not backpacking around the world, joining a choir is one of the most logical next steps.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">I could pontificate at length about the benefits and beauties of being in a choir, but it is probably most easily summed up as I wrote on my friend&#8217;s Facebook wall the other night:</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><em>&#8221; The beauty of choirs&#8230;exercises in collective consciousness and connectedness to the body. Most sublime thing!&#8221;</em></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">I have found no other activity that challenges the brain and the body of both one person and a group of people to coordinate in such a way that can create the highest level of beauty possible such as singing in choirs can. Truly, new energy portals are opened up with excellent choral performances. Add some strings, brass, and stars and voila! We&#8217;ve got ourselves a super nova in the human realm.</p>
<div id="attachment_568" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/photo-4.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-568" title="Michael Slon conducts Oratorio Society" src="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/photo-4-300x224.jpg" alt="Michael Slon conducts Oratorio Society" width="300" height="224" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Last minute prep for Oratorio Society concert (we really need a professional, artsy photographer at these events - so many magical moments to capture!)</p></div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>And God said, &#8220;Let there be light.&#8221;</p>
<div id="attachment_567" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 501px"><a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/photo-3.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-567  " title="Oratorio Society prep" src="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/photo-3-1024x764.jpg" alt="Oratorio Society sings before concert" width="491" height="366" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">And there was light. Amongst the choristers.</p></div>
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A little background to this week's song post:
The past couple of weeks I've spent a fair amount of energy in rehearsals for a choir I belong to called "The Oratorio Society of Virginia."
Choral work is a huge part of my life and identity as a mus - http://www.heatherhightower.com/asawp-5/" title="Email this" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Email</a> &bull; <a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/feed/rss/" title="Subscribe to RSS" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">RSS</a>
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		<title>A Song a Week Project &#8211; v. 4 &#8220;What a Wonderful World&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://www.heatherhightower.com/asawp-4/</link>
		<comments>http://www.heatherhightower.com/asawp-4/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 07 Mar 2012 03:22:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Heather</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[A Song A Week Project]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bay 1 Studios]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jazz]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Louis Armstrong]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[What a Wonderful World]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[(Trouble loading the song on the page? Check out the clip HERE) Rob Richmond of Bay 1 Studios and I teamed up again to bring to you a spin on Louis Armstrong&#8217;s classic: &#8220;What a Wonderful World.&#8221; We added our own wistful touch to the tune, and Rob especially added a lovely guitar solo towards [...]<h2>Share and Enjoy</h2>

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(Trouble loading the song on the page? Check out the clip HERE)

Rob Richmond of Bay 1 Studios and I teamed up again to bring to you a spin on Louis Armstrong's classic: "What a Wonderful World." We added our own wistful touch to the tune, and  - http://www.heatherhightower.com/asawp-4/" title="Email this" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Email</a> &bull; <a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/feed/rss/" title="Subscribe to RSS" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">RSS</a>
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<p><iframe src="http://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F38919251&amp;show_artwork=true" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" width="100%" height="166"></iframe></p>
<p>(Trouble loading the song on the page? Check out the clip <a href="http://soundcloud.com/heather-hightower/what-a-wonderful-world" target="_blank">HERE</a>)</p>
<p>Rob Richmond of <a title="The Top 3 Misconceptions About Singers" href="http://www.bay1studios.com" target="_blank">Bay 1 Studios</a> and I teamed up again to bring to you a spin on Louis Armstrong&#8217;s classic: &#8220;What a Wonderful World.&#8221; We added our own wistful touch to the tune, and Rob especially added a lovely guitar solo towards the end.</p>
<p>Rob has also convinced me to open up to the world of <a href="http://soundcloud.com/heather-hightower/" target="_blank">SoundCloud </a>- the music geek&#8217;s audio file sharing tool. Instead of a YouTube clip with video, you have access to the music file in a form that you can share and interact with by leaving comments directly on the song, at the second of the piece you want to comment on, inviting a more dynamic musical conversation.</p>
<p>Ok, ok, I acquiesce. (I like the fool-proof ease and communal experience of YouTube) He had me at mention of the ability to, within SoundCloud, create my own thematic playlists that I can share with others &#8211; which is much more attractive than YouTube links splattered around everywhere in emails.</p>
<p>But I digress.</p>
<p>This week you get audio &#8211; just click on the thumbnail above to enjoy!</p>
<p><strong>About the Song: </strong>Like last time, I&#8217;ve got the vocals and Rob covered everything else &#8211; guitars, bass, percussion, recording.</p>
<p><strong>About the recording: </strong>Like last time, we did this on the iPhone app &#8220;<a href="http://www.sonomawireworks.com/iphone/fourtrack/" target="_blank">FourTrack</a>.&#8221;  Wonder of wonders, miracles of miracles&#8230;.</p>
<p><strong>Lyrics:</strong></p>
<p><strong></strong>I see trees of green, red roses too<br />
I see them bloom, for me and you<br />
And I think to myself<br />
What a wonderful world</p>
<p>I see skies of blue, and clouds of white<br />
The bright blessed day, dark sacred night<br />
And I think to myself<br />
What a wonderful world</p>
<p>The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky<br />
Are also on the faces, of people going by<br />
I see friends shaking hands, sayin&#8217;, &#8220;How do you do?&#8221;<br />
They&#8217;re really sayin&#8217;, &#8220;I love you&#8221;</p>
<p>I hear babies cryin&#8217;, I watch them grow<br />
They&#8217;ll learn much more, than I&#8217;ll ever know<br />
And I think to myself<br />
What a wonderful world</p>
<p>Yes, I think to myself<br />
What a wonderful world<br />
Oh yeah</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Personally, singing our version of &#8220;What a Wonderful World&#8221; evoked a similar sentiment &#8211; drawn from and accessing a similar fount within myself &#8211; that I experience when I listen to Martina Sorbara&#8217;s 2004 version of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfXlX1imh7c" target="_blank">&#8220;Most Wonderful Time of the Year&#8221;</a></p>
<p><strong>Update on the &#8220;A Song A Week Project&#8221; &#8211; </strong>I&#8217;m so glad I set the goal of getting a song a week out because it has forced me to form partnerships with people I might not have otherwise had the chance to connect with and team up with to make music. Recording music is quite a different process than live performance (I&#8217;ve been a recording artist far less than performed).</p>
<p>Now that I&#8217;ve assembled a bunch of clips that were too lame to share here due to lack of proper equipment and space, I&#8217;m excited for what&#8217;s continuing to evolve.</p>
<p>In upcoming weeks Rob and I will continue to bring you some yummy goodness, but there will also be some surprise guest collaborators from the Charlottesville wedding industry. Get excited! Woot woot!</p>
<p><strong> <a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/category/a-song-a-week-project/" target="_blank">Access the other &#8220;A Song a Week Project&#8221; songs posted so far.</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>Want the weekly song </strong><strong>delivered to your inbox</strong>? Just drop your name in the web form on the right hand side of the page and I&#8217;ll deliver you a little dose of happy once a week.</p>
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(Trouble loading the song on the page? Check out the clip HERE)

Rob Richmond of Bay 1 Studios and I teamed up again to bring to you a spin on Louis Armstrong's classic: "What a Wonderful World." We added our own wistful touch to the tune, and  - http://www.heatherhightower.com/asawp-4/" title="Email this" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Email</a> &bull; <a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/feed/rss/" title="Subscribe to RSS" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">RSS</a>
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		<title>The Top 3 Misconceptions About Singers</title>
		<link>http://www.heatherhightower.com/the-top-3-misconceptions-about-singers/</link>
		<comments>http://www.heatherhightower.com/the-top-3-misconceptions-about-singers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 05 Mar 2012 20:39:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Heather</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Create the Perfect Ceremony]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Amongst singers and Gleeks, singers are a vastly understood bunch. What’s not to understand about spontaneously bursting into song, sublime pleasure at a perfectly sung 8-part harmony, and the collective consciousness required to execute a group piece, or solo piece with accompaniment, to angelic, hair-raising perfection? Duh. Right? Sometimes I remember, though, that not everybody [...]<h2>Share and Enjoy</h2>

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<div id="attachment_518" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 240px"><a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Photo-on-2012-03-05-at-15.34-2.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-518  " title="Confusion and misconception about singers" src="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Photo-on-2012-03-05-at-15.34-2.jpg" alt="Top 3 Misconceptions about singers" width="230" height="173" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">&quot;Wait. I&#39;m confused.&quot;</p></div>
<div id="attachment_519" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 240px"><a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Photo-on-2012-03-05-at-15.34-3.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-519  " title="Clearing up confusions about singers" src="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Photo-on-2012-03-05-at-15.34-3.jpg" alt="Top 3 Misconceptions about singers" width="230" height="173" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">&quot;Ohhh. I see now. I get it!&quot;</p></div>
<div id="attachment_520" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 240px"><a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Photo-on-2012-03-05-at-15.34-4.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-520  " title="no more confusion about singers" src="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Photo-on-2012-03-05-at-15.34-4.jpg" alt="Top 3 Misconceptions about singers" width="230" height="173" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">(Yep, I did just earn another notch in my goofball case.)</p></div>
<p>Amongst singers and Gleeks, singers are a vastly <em>understood</em> bunch.</p>
<p>What’s not to understand about spontaneously bursting into song, sublime pleasure at a perfectly sung 8-part harmony, and the collective consciousness required to execute a group piece, or solo piece with accompaniment, to angelic, hair-raising perfection? Duh. Right?</p>
<p>Sometimes I remember, though, that not everybody is living with me in musical paradise every day and that…stunningly…not everyone sees the world through the lens of a song.</p>
<p><em>Shocker!</em></p>
<p>With a certain frequency, us vocalists find ourselves needing to explain ourselves to friends and colleagues so that you can better understand who we are, what we do, and why we do things the way we do.</p>
<p>In case you’ve ever found yourself wondering what on Earth makes one vocalist is “professional” versus somebody else, or if you don’t know why you would want to actually <em>pay</em> someone to sing for your event when you’ve got to be worrying about flowers and finger foods, read on.</p>
<p><strong>Misconception #1: It’s no big deal to just open your mouth and sing. </strong></p>
<p>The key difference between one-shot singers who come out of nowhere and dazzle the world and those who create a career behind it is one word:</p>
<p><em>Consistency.</em></p>
<p>In a reality-show age where every week we’re fed with stories of breakthrough singers, underdog talent, and miraculous failure-to-success stories, it’s easy to think that the “out of nowhere” culture is the optimal breeding ground and badge of musical success.</p>
<p>It’s not.</p>
<p>What does it take to be a successful performer, consistently?</p>
<p>Over 15 years of private vocal study, ensemble work and solo performance has taught me some secrets to just this.</p>
<p>The consistent performing vocalist has committed time and resources to<strong> </strong>learning her craft<strong>, </strong>developing a deepened relationship with her body and how to care for it on the physical and mental/emotional planes, building relationships with fellow performing musicians, and other subtle performance skills.</p>
<p>While I am a firm believer that everyone can sing and that there shouldn’t be a barrier around the act of singing, it <em>is</em> a big deal to be able to open your mouth and perform – well – when the pressure’s on.</p>
<p><strong>Misconception #2: That the same song sung somewhere else requires no extra thought or work and it’s like hitting the “repeat” button on the CD player.</strong></p>
<p>No two moments in time are the same, which means that no two musical offerings are ever truly the same.</p>
<p>While they may resemble each other in sound, the internal experience and external receiving of the song will be completely different days, minutes, or even moments apart</p>
<p>This uniqueness is what can be so incredibly precious about a musical moment, and it can also be why sometimes a musical offering shines one day and appears somewhat lackluster on another.</p>
<p>An offering of song is, in only one dimension, an offering of melody. The offering on the deeper levels is constantly in flux.</p>
<p>The adept singer responds to this while she’s singing, but also leading up to and after she’s finished.</p>
<p><strong>Misconception #3: That singers only are “at work” for the few minutes it takes them to sing their song.</strong></p>
<p>Here are some common questions that are symptoms of not understanding the full process and deep offering of song in a transformational manner:</p>
<p>“Wait, so you only sing for less than an hour?”</p>
<p>“Why do you have to go to the rehearsal the night before?”</p>
<p>“Why do you need to show up early?”</p>
<p>“You <em>just</em> sing?”</p>
<p>There are others, but you get the idea.</p>
<p>The minutes you hear me sing are backed by 24 hours/day, 7 days a week devoted to my own practice of artful living and making music.  It means that my cup is filled and from this space, I can give to you and your guests deeply, from a place within me that is not accessible if I were to be running on empty, spiritually, physically and mentally.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s why we show up early, it&#8217;s why we tune in to exactly what&#8217;s going on, and it&#8217;s why I don&#8217;t hesitate to dive deep with what&#8217;s going on emotionally the day of the event.</p>
<p>Song is truly a transformational force in the world – the musician is the alchemist of space.</p>
<p>A sensitive touch means a brighter shine.</p>
<h2>Share and Enjoy</h2>

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Amongst singers and Gleeks, singers are a vastly understood bunch.

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		<title>My Ideal Student: A Venn Diagram</title>
		<link>http://www.heatherhightower.com/my-ideal-student-a-venn-diagram/</link>
		<comments>http://www.heatherhightower.com/my-ideal-student-a-venn-diagram/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 25 Feb 2012 18:58:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Heather</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Vocal Coaching]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[This morning one of my students came for her weekly vocal coaching lesson. We found ourselves laughing, making weird faces, and giggling about Trekkies. Here&#8217;s what she sent me after our time together: &#8220;Heather Hightower&#8217;s Ideal Student (musical aptitude is a given)&#8221; &#160; In our ridiculously long Facebook wall chat that ensued, a few important [...]<h2>Share and Enjoy</h2>

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Here's what she sent me after our time together:

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<p>This morning one of my students came for her weekly vocal coaching lesson. We found ourselves laughing, making weird faces, and giggling about Trekkies.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s what she sent me after our time together:</p>
<p><strong>&#8220;Heather Hightower&#8217;s Ideal Student (musical aptitude is a given)&#8221;</strong></p>
<div id="attachment_495" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 564px"><a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Heather-Hightowers-ideal-student.png"><img class=" wp-image-495 " title="Heather Hightower's ideal student" src="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Heather-Hightowers-ideal-student-791x1024.png" alt="Heather Hightower idea student " width="554" height="717" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">A Venn Diagram made by one of my star students after our lesson today. Can we say, &quot;Love&quot;?</p></div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>In our ridiculously long Facebook wall chat that ensued, a few important things surfaced and came to light:</p>
<p>THIS IS AMAZING and wonderfully creative. Creativity is a natural extension of letting your light shine, and using the voice is a great way to get the juices flowing.</p>
<p>As translated by my boyfriend, &#8220;To bring out the awesome, you have to bring out the goofball, the geek and the good stuff.&#8221;</p>
<p>We had a little discussion whether KNOWN musical aptitude is necessary.</p>
<p>In fact, many people who love to work with me are not people who would self-describe as musical, but when push comes to shove, they are typically inclined to burst out in the shower singing show tunes, movie themes or channel their inner Barbara Streisand, Beyonce, or Bono in the car. They&#8217;re inwardly musical, even if they&#8217;re not actively outwardly musical.</p>
<p><strong>Here&#8217;s my extended Venn Diagram, inspired by her work above. The 4th, inner circle is my attempt at representing what &#8220;Musical Aptitude&#8221; could do to the circles.  </strong></p>
<div id="attachment_498" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 722px"><a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/HeatherSIdealStudentAndMusicalAptitude.png"><img class=" wp-image-498 " title="HeathersIdealStudentAndMusicalAptitude" src="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/HeatherSIdealStudentAndMusicalAptitude-791x1024.png" alt="Heathers_Ideal_Student_And_Musical_Aptitude" width="712" height="922" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Musical aptitude is not a prerequisite for &quot;Awesome.&quot;</p></div>
<p><strong><br />
</strong></p>
<p>But, as she said, &#8220;I don&#8217;t own silver pants, know the lyrics to Kesha or believe in Atlantis.&#8221;</p>
<p>So, tells you how much good is does to delineate music is to the overall equation. Apparently it&#8217;s not so important! Or, it&#8217;s just a given. Not sure which.</p>
<p>And it also tells you how awesome my student is for putting this one together so spontaneously. And awesomely.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Awesome.</p>
<h2>Share and Enjoy</h2>

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Here's what she sent me after our time together:

"Heather Hightower's Ideal Student (musica - http://www.heatherhightower.com/my-ideal-student-a-venn-diagram/" title="Email this" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Email</a> &bull; <a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/feed/rss/" title="Subscribe to RSS" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">RSS</a>
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		<title>A Song a Week Project v. 3 &#8211; Kyrie, a simple canon for multiple voices</title>
		<link>http://www.heatherhightower.com/asawp-3/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 23 Feb 2012 21:45:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Heather</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[A Song A Week Project]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Welcome back for my next installment of my &#8220;A Song a Week Project&#8220;! Today I bring you the simple joy of a cappella music AND a behind the scenes discussion with my song partner, Beth Neville Evans, the fearless Director of The Ixtatan Foundation, a foundation dedicated to the socio-economic growth of San Mateo Ixtatan [...]<h2>Share and Enjoy</h2>

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<p>Welcome back for my next installment of my &#8220;<a title="Introducing the “A Song A Week Project”" href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/introducing-a-song-a-week-project/">A Song a Week Project</a>&#8220;!</p>
<p>Today I bring you the simple joy of a cappella music AND a behind the scenes discussion with my song partner, Beth Neville Evans, the fearless Director of <a href="http://ixtatan.org/">The Ixtatan Foundation</a>, a foundation dedicated to the socio-economic growth of San Mateo Ixtatan through education. The following clip is a simple tune from a small book of sacred hymns.</p>
<p><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IpR5KDTacuU" frameborder="0" width="420" height="315"></iframe></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Since meeting her in 2005, Beth Neville has been a friend, guide, mentor and musical partner in crime. She and I have led many classes with just a cappella tunes for new and experienced singers. I spent a year in the highlands of Guatemala teaching music to the students of the school her foundation helped set up, and upon my return to Charlottesville, Virginia, I&#8217;ve teamed up with her in the past at her church to help lead music with the congregation there.</p>
<p>&#8220;A Cappella&#8221; means &#8220;without accompaniment&#8221; and, in my humble opinion, can be one of the most sublime forms of music-making between humans.</p>
<p>And, welcome &#8220;Behind the Scenes&#8221; or&#8230;dare I say&#8230;&#8221;Behind the Music&#8221; (VH1 style) as we chat about our connection to singing, and how a cappella songs sung by groups of two or more people can be a fabulous addition to your wedding ceremony.<br />
<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/3ySUE6MLevY" frameborder="0" width="420" height="315"></iframe></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>More about today&#8217;s music and how a cappella music can be woven into your wedding ceremony</strong></p>
<p>This little, pocket-sized book of sacred hymns traveled with me to Guatemala in 2006 and has stayed by my side ever since.</p>
<div id="attachment_484" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 376px"><img class=" wp-image-484  " title="little book of sacred canons" src="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/photo-2-e1330032415434-764x1024.jpg" alt="little book of sacred canons and hymns" width="366" height="491" /><p class="wp-caption-text">This little book is packed full of delightful sacred goodies for multiple voices to sing.</p></div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<div id="attachment_483" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 501px"><a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/photo-1.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-483  " title="Kyrie canon " src="http://www.heatherhightower.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/photo-1-1024x764.jpg" alt="Kyrie Canon for multiple voices" width="491" height="366" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The simple, three line tune can be looped over itself creating harmony. This is called a &quot;canon&quot;.</p></div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Where the composer&#8217;s name would typically be, there is just &#8220;Surinam&#8221;, which to my best guess means that this song comes from (or the editor thought it comes from) <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suriname" target="_blank">Suriname</a></p>
<p>Singing without accompaniment is not just for church choirs or classrooms without piano playing teachers. There are many styles to explore &#8211; everything from barbershop, to <a href="http://www.student.virginia.edu/~newdoms/music.html" target="_blank">college a cappella</a>, to <a href="http://www.mambazo.com/" target="_blank">soulful groups</a>. <a href="http://bobbymcferrin.com/" target="_blank">Bobby McFerrin</a> in many ways is considered the king of improv, and he takes a cappella music to the extreme. You could also think of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbxnnC22gwY" target="_blank">Arvo Part</a>, the king of wacky, ethereal harmonies, or <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Tu9moIJ3uM" target="_blank">Rachmaninoff</a>, the kind of angelic harmonies and incredibly low basslines&#8230;or, just think of you and me.</p>
<p><strong>How can this kind of music be used in a wedding ceremony?</strong></p>
<p>Singing a cappella with even just one other person &#8211; or three, four, five, or more people &#8211; can be quite sublime. You can have the duo or ensemble greeting guests as they transition from the cocktail hour to the ceremony seating on the vineyard hillside. You can have the ensemble singing as people are being seated, or even during or after the ceremony.</p>
<p><strong>Is a cappella music best for just one voice, or multiple voices?</strong></p>
<p>Singing a cappella when you are JUST ONE voice can be awkward, depending on the circumstances and the song selection. If you aren&#8217;t sure what I mean, go to an open mic night and watch what happens to the room when an otherwise gifted singer stands alone and sings. The bar will fall silent and people hold their breath. This isn&#8217;t typically my preference for performance, unless all other things fail.</p>
<p>If you&#8217;re Catholic, you might be familiar with the tradition of the cantor singing by herself into the microphone &#8211; these chant-like selections lend themselves to solo singing better than, say, a pop tune.</p>
<p><strong>How much ensemble rehearsal do you need?</strong></p>
<p>Typically, for groups of three or more people who aren&#8217;t in the routine of meeting regularly as a group, extra rehearsal is not just a good idea &#8211; it&#8217;s a best practice. Expect at least a few hours of the group&#8217;s time, but probably more if it&#8217;s a group of fabulous musical perfectionists.</p>
<p>Energy of weddings are prone to causing emotional and performance hiccups in all but the most trained. I&#8217;d even dare say that very receptive singer, no matter how trained, is still is prone to picking up on and responding to the energy and bubblings-ups of the day. Rehearsal is key.</p>
<p><strong>Can you lead my family members in singing for my wedding?</strong></p>
<p>Sure. Their skill level and time availability the day before or the day of the wedding will greatly dictate the song selections. Part of my undergraduate degree included a focus on choral conducting, so one of the joys I take in making music with other people is effective leading, or &#8220;evoking&#8221; of sound. It&#8217;s a sweet balance between precision, identification of sound issues and kind leadership that points to the spiritual and present at all moments.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Thanks for coming back for another week of song! </strong></p>
<h2>Share and Enjoy</h2>

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Today I bring you the simple joy of a cappella music AND a behind the scenes discussion with my song partner, Beth Neville Evans, the fearless Director of The Ixtatan Foundation,  - http://www.heatherhightower.com/asawp-3/" title="Email this" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Email</a> &bull; <a href="http://www.heatherhightower.com/feed/rss/" title="Subscribe to RSS" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">RSS</a>
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