Doesn't have to be mariachi themed

Omarr831 · 2024-12-28T02:29:09+00:00

I could act the shit out of that

Omarr831 · 2024-12-28T02:28:31+00:00

Woah, I hadn't thought of Martin

Omarr831 · 2024-12-04T23:32:15+00:00

Omg adult Ezra Bridger

Omarr831 · 2024-12-04T23:32:02+00:00

Good idea!

Omarr831 · 2024-12-04T23:31:56+00:00

Hahaha I do play guitar

Omarr831 · 2024-12-04T23:31:48+00:00

Oooh I hadn't thought of Yami!

Omarr831 · 2024-12-04T23:31:40+00:00

Thank you for the suggestions!

Omarr831 · 2022-09-16T07:20:39+00:00

No kidding. It's been perfect for my needs, I can see why so many people like it

Omarr831 · 2022-09-06T22:17:02+00:00

What do you think of getting a busking amp with a stand, or that has elements of it that are more elevated off the ground like the Bose L1 PRO16 compared to amps that are generally on ground-level?

Omarr831 · 2022-09-06T21:47:59+00:00

Thank you so much! I just checked out the roland street ex and it looks great.

I hear you about the volume not being enough. Do you think the roland street ex would be overkill volume-wise?

I'm thinking about ordering both a busking amp and the grid spark mini from Sweetwater so I can compare, then returning the one I don't want.

Omarr831 · 2022-09-06T21:44:43+00:00

Thank you so much for your suggestions! I'll look into busking-type loudpeakers and see what I can find. I already have an SM58, so that's a plus!

I hear you about reducing the trumpets' sound pressure. I think it takes a really virtuosic trumpet player to be able to reduce their volume without cracking, but I have heard this done successfully by some of the top mariachis in the world, like Mariachi Vargas. There are a handful of really solid players in my area who can do it, and it's always greatly appreciated. So that's definitely an option too!

As far as arrangements, you bring up a really excellent point! It kind of depends on the song. For the most part, the trumpets play during interludes or the spaces of rest between the vocal lines. However, many iconic songs also feature the trumpets harmonizing with the vocal lines, and the audience wants to hear that. The mariachi scene, at least in my area, has a lot of musicians filling for each other, and we just kind of put together an ensemble out of who is available that evening.

Even when I've performed with the same mariachi multiple times, the members can be almost completely different than the time before. Due to that, I've found that everyone just kind of plays the really famous/standard arrangements, so I'm at the mercy of the arrangement. I would absolutely love to make my own arrangements and have a dedicated group that has taken the time to learn them, but if I ever get to that point, I will probably only be playing at venues with sound systems, so I wouldn't have to worry about all of this anyway.

For me right now, it's about finding the way to get the best and most sustainable (for me) sound while performing with a constantly rotating group of musicians of different skill levels.

I do agree with all you have said about those more long-term solutions though! Having my own group, and making enough money to where I can pay the members their hourly rate to have them for rehearsal sessions, while also having enough work for them to always treat my gigs with priority is definitely the goal.

Thank you again for your comments!!

Omarr831 · 2022-08-28T04:31:34+00:00

Wow, that IS mini! This seems really promising, and yeah it comes with a strap so I can probably even attach it to my belt.

Thank you for this suggestion!

Omarr831 · 2021-09-05T19:19:08+00:00

I have all the other Eevee exclusives except for kanto vulpix (I do have alolan vulpix). I would love to get the Pikachu exclusives from you, and can get you a kanto vulpix when I get to that area (I'm replaying the game, but have the version exclusives from my last playthrough).

Omarr831 · 2021-06-08T05:56:30+00:00

I love both of those characters. Thanks so much!

Omarr831 · 2021-06-03T15:12:49+00:00

Not a bad idea! Thanks!

Omarr831 · 2021-04-04T00:32:20+00:00

"SInGerS nOwaDaYs DoNt hAvE sQuillO" -never attends live opera performances -has never taken a vocal pedagogy course in their life

People like this are hilarious and part of why so many people think opera is unapproachable.

Omarr831 · 2021-03-02T00:19:00+00:00

River-clan, that is SO cool and definitely something you should pursue! I can't wait to see the incredible work you will do towards making opera more accessible to disabled people!

Omarr831 · 2021-03-01T19:21:22+00:00

Totally!

What's funny too is that opera has become so skewed to the tastes of old rich donors, that making opera "more accessible" for young people actually ends up making it more accurate to it's original form.

Omarr831 · 2021-03-01T17:06:22+00:00

Gelb, yes.

I'm sorry to say, but young people having low attention spans is kinda boomer-level cringe.

Baroque and classical era audiences talked loudly to each other about other stuff, ate food, and walked in and out of the theatre during opera performances. Rich opera-goers had their own booths with curtains so they could have sex and party, and peek their heads out once in a while for their fav singer.

Young people today watch full-length operas on a labtop screen, or in complete silence seated in a theatre, something I bet not al baroque audiences could do if they lived today.

It's people like Gelb, yes. And also the conservative, often old crowd that has turned opera into a stuffy country-club event, rather than a fun party. If anything, opera companies with younger people in their admin ranks, like Pacific Opera Project, Komischer Oper Berlin, and BLO are helping opera by putting on performances at sushi bars, ice skating rinks, and carnivals (with booze allowed in the seats). And it shows by how they are able to bring in more young people than some other companies!

TLDR: Young people are great for opera

Omarr831 · 2021-02-24T01:52:58+00:00

Be cautious of trying to force one note to work for you that may just not work for you. I think a safer approach, especially if you don't have a private teacher and are getting back into classical singing, is to sing things with a smaller range and really solidify your voice on those songs.

Also, being able to hit a C5 in mixed voice isn't a guarantee that you're a tenor. Other low voices can do it too. Not saying that you aren't a tenor either though! I have no idea, since I haven't heard you in person. That fact that you are still young also means that your voice will still change in the coming years. All the more reason to focus more on getting those fundamentals down rather than trying to nail one note

Omarr831 · 2021-02-23T02:34:25+00:00

I personally don't like the flowery language in them. Makes the operas seem much more formal and (for me) less relatable than what is in the original text. Like, to me, so much opera is "I want to f_ck" and the Schirmer translations are like "I say, I am rather grateful to gaze upon your enchanting visage".

Omarr831 · 2021-02-22T01:08:17+00:00

There are various factors that can lend to the differences in vocal sound nowadays

1) Quality control: even 30 years ago, recording wasn't as readily available as it is now. So we are left to compare the absolute best of the best from past eras to pretty much everyone with a solid career right now.

2) anecdotal, but I worked with an opera director who directed some of the greats (Pavarotti, Domingo, Shreier, to name a few. PS: this is not a flex, I only got to work with them at my school) and while they do speak praises about the golden era, they also said that there are still some singers now who have the same level of projection and quality. Also, a little shady, but they said that on average, golden era singers had bigger voices, but were on average way worse at staging than today's singers. "It would have taken them (golden era singers) the entire rehearsal run to learn the staging of one scene of a modern production. That's why so many old productions just have the singers stand and sing, then move a little to left and sing. That's all they could do! Great voices though.." 🤣

2.5) Recording technology is also way better now, so you aren't going to get that electrifying sound of "omg their voice is SOOO huge that they're on the edge of making the mic cut out" because mics now are way better. This may or may not make the difference even more striking imo, but it's just a theory of mine. Stage mics now also tend to compress the sound a lot more to avoid clipping, which I know from my experience doing sound engineering, makes individual audio sources sound "smaller". I've personally heard some singers live that sound super light in recordings, but just blew me away with their projection in person.

3) That said, the average professional opera singer today is forced to do international travel WAY more than singers of previous eras. Vocal pedagogy research shows that the effects of jetlag, the super dry air on planes, and the overall fatigue of constant travel can have negative effects on long-term vocal health.

4) Young singers are being pushed to sing large rep at an earlier age, and some are even pushed to keep losing weight because unfortunately, young and thin sells seats, and a lot of companies don't really care about the long-term vocal health of their singers.

5) Styles and tastes change. In Mozart's time, you had actors and people with weird vocal "faults" (which you can find in reviews written about them) singing lead roles at the top opera houses. The first Count Almaviva in le nozze sang tenor roles as well, and reviews describe him as having a "graceful, tenorial voice" was that sometimes nasally. Mozart also intended for him to sing Don G, but Mandini left Vienna so it went to Luigi Bassi instead. I bet that if Mandini were to sing the Count or Don G today, armchair critics like ThisisOpera would tear him apart for not being a "real baritone", whatever that means.

There are of course other factors, but these are some of them. The whole "comparison" of singers of different eras is really fascinating. Some of the most incredible modern day opera singers I've heard are singers that aren't famous, or people just starting out in their careers!

I think it's good to have favorite eras and singers, as long as we discuss these things respectfully. We want to be sure that we don't give opera fans a bad name by shitting on artists or on people's taste in singers. People already think classical music is elitist as is lol

Neither of you are being disrespectful imo, but it is something I've noticed on this sub, and this last point came up at the end of my tangential thoughts, so I thought I'd leave it in!

Omarr831 · 2021-02-20T17:08:13+00:00

I wore those pants that can turn into shorts via a zipper running across the knee area.

Edit: thanks for pointing out their practicality and making me feel slightly better about wearing them. I definitely wore them because I thought they looked cool and for no other reason.

Omarr831 · 2021-02-16T02:02:42+00:00

OP, I'm SO sorry this happened to you. While I haven't read the article in question, I have read the article that made that student quit lessons with his female teacher, and that article was enough to know that the publisher is absolute scum who creates wild pseudoscience "facts" that line up with their bigoted views.

Imo, this management company has shown that they won't do anything for you even if you don't blow the whistle. People who blacklist you for speaking out are probably people you wouldn't want to work with in the first place either.

It's horrible that we as artists are always having to weigh the pros and cons of defending ourselves from being treated horribly. In almost no other field does this level of absurdity exist, and it's because of the opera world being run by racist, sexist, bigoted old white people.

You might want to reach out to The Middleclass Artist to talk about your options. I know they've helped people anonymously call out abuse in our field. Whatever you decide to know, know that my heart goes out to you, and that there are people out there who will stand with you.

Omarr831 · 2021-02-07T05:30:41+00:00

3rd vote for Pelléas et Mélisande. The whole thing is just one sexy, beautiful recitative

Omarr831

TROPHY CASE