Maximum Learning Speed 5G

[Benjamin]

8,001 more posts to go until you reach the goal!

[Ampersnd]

Do you mean 9,000 more? What happens at 9/10 thousand posts? Do I transform into Shannon?

Day 23

Goal #3:
The Chronicle of the 20th Century; year 1940
A System of Logic by John Stuart Mill; page 439
A Story of Philosophy by Will Durant; at page 339

[Have at ye]

Day 22,

Goal #4: Made a breakthrough today with my voice teacher by repeatedly singing an E4 in 'ahh' (e.g. law, awesome) vowel in full voice, albeit with many vocal hangups. But this had never been done before. D4 can be sung with very little strain, and was described by my voice teacher as "gorgeous" and "perfect". She also said that as a bass-baritone, I wouldn't be going much higher - probably to F4 - in order to keep to my voice specialty. In the pop-rock world, however, I could work on increasing my range with this sort of timber, but without the fullness.

@Have at ye; what do you mean by 'crazy vocal range'? What sorts of notes can you reach in 'full voice', even if it isn't in your fach? What kinds of songs can you sing in the pop-rock world. And what's the approach to get to your level?

Wall of text incoming.

Currently, C2 to G4 (although the G is quite shakey and really depends on the context. Still working on them extremely high notes, from E4 on up. It's going well, I'll get there eventually). Then again, there are certain bass parts that actually require that huge a range (f. in. Baron Ochs in Strauss' Rosenkavalier, or, dunno, Caludio in Haendel's Agrippina). I think that Ab4 is the upper limit for me, and I won't be going any higher (no point in that, TBH - there's only, like, a handful of parts for the low male voice that require it).

Your teacher is quite right - bel canto's definitely all about the quality of the sound, not a "who's got the highest/lowest notes" competition.

I'm best at stuff that requires a lot of range and includes both extremes - high and low (say, Osmin, Boito's Mefistofele, Claggart, stuff like. Also most buffo parts). There are some baritone parts I can pull off pretty well, too, the lower ones mostly (f. i. Don Giovanni. I'm working on all of the low parts at the same time, already performed as Il Commendatore, now working on Leporello and the Don himself, because why not. Masetto's a piece of cake.) It might be a mental thing, though - I really enjoy the challenge.

In the pop-rock world, well... damned if I know now. Anything, basically, if I transpose it to a comfrotable range. Used to sing heavy/thrash metal back in the day. My voice is really low/heavy, so I guess I could sing, dunno, Type'o'Negative or somesuch. I can also pull of a mean Elvis Presley impression.

As to time - in singing, there's no rules, basically. Everybody needs as much time as they need. It's the only extreme sport in which you get better with age (as a guy, at least ). F. i. for the first 3,5 years I couldn't sing crap. Lots of problems with pitch, lack of vocal control, etc. My coach told me it's to be expected and that I need to be patient - since I'm dramatic voice (as in - huge), it'll take time. F. in. just getting my face muscles strong enough to maintain the correct position took years. Even now, after 5 years of intensive study, dozens of performances and several operatic parts under my belt, I'm still at about 70% of final volume on the best of days, and there's still much work to be done on getting the timbre right in certain contexts, especially around the passagios (damn you, Prince Gremin!). At least after all this time I've developed enough vocal and physical control not to strain overmuch, and I know what timbre to go for, and how to go for it (as in - how it internally "feels" and "sounds" to me when singing. Interesting trivia fact - it sounds nothing like the way it sound for outside listeners; get a recording device and record yourself often when practicing ).

The approach was like this - I really love singing. I love theatre. I love being on stage. I've got a really good voice, and it's in of a relatively rare type. So one day I just decided I want to do that whole opera thing, and that's what I'm doing. It's a lifelong commitment. Perseverance, patience, and a bit of stubborness. I enrolled - somehow they accepted me - to the local University of Music, with very little preparation (some piano, a handful of private voice lessons), and I'm graduating this Fall, after five years. And it's still just the beginning, the groundwork. Also: always think on your own, and find someone whose ear you trust. I believe there's no such thing as "teaching" in the singing business - an instructor is just there to guide you, you need to realize how all the moving parts work for you, specifically, on your own. If it were otherwise, people would be able to learn to sing from a book on the anatomy of the human vocal apparatus. Every person is unique, everyone's built differently (anatomically speaking), everyone experiences the physical aspects of singing differently.

Some people can sing extremely well with very little instruction, it's, well, a talent. It's still much better to know what you're doing every step of the way, though - from what I've seen, the talented guys and gals are really "hit or miss", and they often run into unexpected problems since bel canto - and opera in particular - is extremely taxing on the nervous system and thus it's easy to get your "voice" borken, unexpectedly, for no apparent reason at all. And that's when technique comes in.

[Benjamin]

Do you mean 9,000 more? What happens at 9/10 thousand posts? Do I transform into Shannon?

No.. once you get over 9000 you are granted special powers.

[Ampersnd]

Day 24,

Yesterday, one of the members of 5th Harmony was at my restaurant. I walked right past her when I walked in. Nobody really noticed; she was with family. It was all really chill, and nobody really went up to her, let alone notice her.

I had a BJJ class today; I learned a bunch of sweeps and takedowns; though I was warned that I'd get this uneasy feeling from having my torso (and its contained organs) hitting the floor repeatedly, I didn't except such a high level of uneasiness and queasiness that lasted most of the day. It's gone now.

Singing is such a damned challenge. I'm thinking about using perfect form, and letting my voice crack as it will; I will also avoid the temptation to muscle my way into a higher note. I'm seeing singing as a skill of 'access', instead of a skill of 'nimbleness'.

[Ampersnd]

Day 25,

I'm astonished at how little motivation I have for anything non-learning related. I used to be plenty motivated, especially in the days of AM5 and 6.

It's a feeling of "couldn't be bothered". I have this perspective for money, success, women/sex.

[Zane]

Love reading this thread....

[Ampersnd]

Day 27,

Nearing about one month since I've begun using this subliminal. Some things that I've noticed:

1) After the first encounter with a new word, concept, or idea (which I call the "novelty phase"), it takes at most one more exposure to it to secure it. Some more complex words take longer. But this is an improvement in general.
2) Ability to focus on the task has increased considerably. It has definitely improved my reading skills, as I no longer have to stop my deviant train of thought, search for my spot on the page, and connect the concepts from the previous sentences to what I'm currently reading. That alone has probably doubled the amount that I can read in a day.
3) I anticipate that I'll have finished my reading list before the end of September. What a relief that will be! Once that happens, I'll likely double down on my language abilities and increase my German vocabulary as much as possible, and figure out Arabic grammar and how sentences are connected.

EDIT: 4) A realization from today: Though your job may be work for wages, your life is straight commission; you truly receive the equivalent of what you put into it.

[Ampersnd]

Day 29,

Another realization (that comes from reading a synthesis about Schopenhauer); though I have a MIND of my own, I don't quite have a WILL of my own. I am an independent thinker, but I'm not an independent live-er of life. I hope that BASE will instill values that forge my will into something insurmountable.

Edit: Goal #4: Singing related: Found a different approach to my breath support for necessities sake; I now introduce low stomach, low ribs, low back, and pelvic floor in a new combination, whereas before, it was much more focused on pelvic floor. Before, my weaker breath support resulted in me, tightening my neck in order to get anything from C#4 and above. Now, I tighten all these muscles, and brace as though I'm going down a roller-coaster, and now there's significantly less tension in my neck.

I'm also hitting the E4 note more frequently than usual.
With an 'Ahh' vowel, I attained an E4 between 30-40% of attempts, with more successful attempts when focusing on the aforementioned breath support.

[Ampersnd]

Day 30,

I've realized, basing off of yesterday's realization, that there's an explanation for the C-grade students that manage to own all the businesses and the money, and employ all the A-grade wiz-kids.

The Intelligent, at least the cerebral people who succeed academically, are typically able to learn whatever they're told. They have an assignment, and they apply themselves to them because they've been told to.

The Willful can rebel or become stubborn when they're told what they need to learn. They typically have different side-projects or hustles that they work on, and find that academics is either boring or a distraction. They eventually find a project that they want to work from, and 'will' themselves into success. Their innate intelligence can be harnessed to that success.

Today, I've been less able to focus, so I've allowed myself to just go with it, and relax a bit.

I attended an MMA no-gi lesson; I learned about 3 chokes, with some variations.

I also did virtually all the German flashcards for the day, and studied some history.

[Ampersnd]

Day 31,

Goal #3:
The Chronicle of the 20th Century; year 1946
A System of Logic by John Stuart Mill; page 459
A Story of Philosophy by Will Durant; at page 501

Goal #4:
Sang an E4 in public with an 'Ahh' octave. The person who heard it primarily was a lower level voice teacher, and she said that I was in my 'middle voice', or my 'mix voice', which is something that I'm not familiar with

Today, I was being chatted up by so many people, typically customers, but also people who would chat me up. This guy came up to me and asked plenty of questions. He said that he was straight, but he is a bit insistent. He has my number now, and he says that we can go meet some women.

[Ampersnd]

Day 33,

Still going strong. I feel like my brain is in a keyed-in state, which allows me to be receptive in a way I haven't experienced. Going over the same Michel Thomas tapes that I've gone over a few years ago, it feels like completely new material to me, yet I soak it up virtually instantly. This has to do with experience, and the perspective coming from a second listening. To give contrast, the Arabic tape today was very complicated, but if I play it again tomorrow, I know that it will get in my brain.

I went to a country bar with a couple of work-friends. There wasn't a single girl that caught my eye; it was weird. And this is downtown in a busy city.

[Ampersnd]

Day 36,

Goal #3: Here's my progress (I wish that my page numbers were more accurate)

The Chronicle of the 20th Century; year 1950
A System of Logic by John Stuart Mill; page 479
A Story of Philosophy by Will Durant; page 588

Two of my three books are accelerating pace, and I'll be able to focus on the 3rd book (JS Mill) to finish before I complete my MLS run.

I haven't been focusing too much on German and Arabic, but its been steady.

Ju Jitsu has been progressing quite quickly; I got a couple of submissions on my blue belt teacher, but I think that he's been going easy on me.

[Ampersnd]

Day 37,

It's my day off. I did some no-Gi BJJ, and I learned a couple of things. I overstretched my arm when someone pulled the armbar (over many repetitions). I was watching Gracie videos, and was thoroughly impressed.

I also went to see 'Sausage Party'. It was pretty funny, but the ending was more abrupt than I had expected.

It's hard to focus today; I'm fine with that.

The Colbert Show, which plays in the room I'm in, is actually becoming so incredibly stupid, as it becomes politicized in order to bolster Clinton and to push down Trump at every turn. I don't even care about the elections anymore.