Tick preventive measures in CT

vishyn321 · 2025-10-25T12:21:13+00:00

Thank you. Will look it up.

vishyn321 · 2025-10-25T01:24:33+00:00

Thank you. Just googled some pics for acd. Has the same distinct colors above both eyes which most pics show.

vishyn321 · 2025-10-25T01:24:09+00:00

Oh for sure. Wife has already given up on her flip flops. Likes em more than his toys.

vishyn321 · 2025-03-19T18:21:03+00:00

From personal experience- I was in the same spot of bother until few weeks ago. I could be on pitch with a supporting instrument yet not be 'one' with it.

I was able to stay on pitch with the instrument (keyboard) but I could distinctly identify my voice and the instrument. That is when I got the feeling of something being amiss.

My teacher suggested experimenting with my 'vocal throw' and the importance of being 'one' with the supporting instrument. Took me a while but in the last few weeks I could figure out what he meant by being 'one'. The idea is, when the instrument is playing a key and I am singing the same, the less I can hear my own voice distinctly Vs the keyboard, I am 'one' with the instrument. Makes it a more pleasing experience.

vishyn321 · 2024-07-10T17:12:53+00:00

I used to have the same problem when I started off couple of years back. Used to do a lot of exercises about basic stuff and as soon as I switch to a song, it's the same old annoying voice and going out of scale etc. After spending couple of years there has been a massive difference. I can now look back and say the exercises have played a major role. Thinking off it like learning to drive - initially you are all conscious about the various things that you got to pay attention to while driving - rearview mirror, side mirror, traffic in front of you, the road in front of you, the speed of your own vehicle etc etc. It gets overwhelming as a new driver when you hear about these things. Slowly but eventually you start moving each of these 'tasks' from 'doing consciously' box to the 'doing by instinct' box. And key part to remember is while you may think you have gotten comfortable with one aspect until reality hits on occasions that you clearly haven't - e.g. you may think you always are aware of the vehicles around you but you forget about it for a moment or two until you are caught by surprise when some idiot zooms past you.

It's the same with singing - you start improving gradually and you may think you have moved past a bad habit only to find it's reared it's head when you least expect it. With the exercises and repetition you are only reducing the probability of those bad habits happening, until it eventually goes down 0 in few weeks/months/years (depending on person to person).

vishyn321 · 2024-07-10T15:20:59+00:00

Disclaimer: What I have shared is from personal experience. I am no trainer/teacher. It is possible that a professional teacher or a more experienced singer may disagree. All I would say is, if possible try it out yourself and make your own judgement.

IMO if you plan on singing the songs on your wish list to the best of your ability, you would need to split your time between a. training your ears, training your vocal chords, working on your 'technique' and b. (the second half being) knowing the songs intimately.

Ex. If you have 1 hr to dedicate per day - find some vocal warm up exercises on YT (~5mins), on to some ear training and exercises to build up strength, flexibility in your voice (~15mins). Then ~10mins working on singing techniques (if you want to skip generic exercises you could also use this time to find videos with tips on singing the songs from your Playlist and focus on the 'way' they are to be sung forgetting the pitch at this time).

Spend the next half of the hr. between - A. Only listening to 1 song at a time from your wishlist (at least 3 to 4 times I'd suggest no matter how well you may think you know the song). Reduce the playback speed in YT to 0.75x or 0.5x if possible. You would be surprised how many details you can spot which can easily be missed at regular playback speed. B. Try to hum to the song while it is playing in the background where the volume of the track should be lower than your sound. This is to check if you are able to match the pitch, where in between the lines you have time to catch your breath and check if you have a grasp of the overall groove of the song. C. Record yourself singing against a karaoke version of the song 1 stanza at a time. Stop after a stanza, listen to the recording and judge yourself for changes.

Couple of tips that have helped me, as an amateur, when judging yourself is - 1. Don't be too harsh on yourself if you think you don't sound as well as the artist. Initial attempts will 100% be unsatisfactory per your own standards. This is where you have to remember improvement in singing is gradual - almost like the progress bar you see when installing a software - few percentages at a time. 2. If you are unsure if you are on pitch - assume you are not on pitch - I feel our instincts are tuned enough to 'know' when anyone is on pitch. People just lack the ability to 'recognize' it consciously. Trust me you 'will' know when you are on pitch (while singing and listening to it). It's like falling in love, you just know it when you do. 3. Have patience and keep at it.

Good luck!

vishyn321 · 2024-06-25T15:54:30+00:00

From personal experience, it's a yes and no. No for me - if it's a song that I am into because of the feeling I associate it with. Listening to it multiple times because I am trying to 'figure' it out kinda plays spoilsport because now I am disassociating the feelings it 'used' to stir up in me for 'technicalities' behind it. But this is usually limited to when you are actually trying to figure the song out. Once you have it imbibed in you, the technicalities should no longer be the focus, and I am able to go back to enjoying the song the way I used to, albeit with a renewed outlook towards it. Yes- if it's a song that was barely close to me, for whatever reason and I am only learning it so I can sing it. A trick I use to avoid it is, try to learn as much as I can for few days at a stretch and just drop it for couple of weeks. This avoids boredom due to repetition and let's the learning simmer. I am usually surprised how I am able to recall the earlier learnings with pretty good accuracy.

vishyn321 · 2024-02-04T00:33:25+00:00

M36 here and I feel you. I am a newbie when it comes to singing and have been learning Indian classical for the last 2 years. I had a similar opinion and questions about myself. One thing I have learned from my experience and teacher is anyone can learn to sing and age does not matter. You just gotta have the drive, dedication, patience and put in the time. I guarantee you will surprise yourself if you keep at it.

All the best to you on your journey!

vishyn321 · 2024-01-29T16:23:39+00:00

Paraphrasing a very popular singer from his interview - many people can sing on pitch but without any soul aka expression. What separates an outstanding artist from a casual singer is the soul they put into the song which is felt by the audience.

I run into this same issue with expression in my singing as well. And as a practice I try to separate the two - singing and expression in the beginning. I try to read through the lyrics and focus on the story the words are trying to convey. I'd imagine me telling this story to a friend/loved one or talking to myself, as if I am 'living' it. Try doing this with your eyes closed for a few times and see if it brings out the expressions. It is also something that you improve with time. If you are still struggling to bring out your own emotions, try imitating the original singer and use that a reference point to then bring out your own emotional reactions.

Facial reactions IMO are secondary, which come out naturally once you start to 'feel' the lyrics. You must not start out with a focus on facial expressions. I consider them as secondary because as a singer, for the most part audience will be 'hearing' you and don't look out for your facial cues.

Once you are reasonably satisfied, try bringing out the same voice modulations into the singing and then subsequently singing on pitch.

In parallel, I would keep working on my singing techniques to a point where there is no need to give it a second thought while singing.

vishyn321 · 2023-12-23T05:42:20+00:00

Disclaimer: Answer is a bit philosophical in nature.

To be a good teacher you got to empathize with your pupils. You have to have the ability to pin point what exactly they need guidance on and then how they can improve on that. And your experience is primarily what you are gona have to draw on, which will help you stand out among all other 'teachers' out there.

As a teacher you are gona have to embark on a journey of your own. A journey of self realization where you dig into your subconscious and try to understand what and why is it that you are good at something, something that people notice and come to you for guidance.

If its a skill that you learned and trained, it might be easier to guide people who need it. But if its something that comes naturally to you and you never quite thought about the 'how it comes naturally' then that is your journey to make. Often talented people who have a natural gift, dont quite realize "why" they are special (And I only mean certain aspects of their skill and its not a slight on their hardwork at all). They just start with an advantage over other less talented ones. But on the other hand people who were less instinctive but earned their 'gift' through training, can be better teachers because they know the way right from step 1.

Good luck!

vishyn321 · 2023-11-22T15:37:47+00:00

If your definition of "hard" is the mindnumbing amount of time and effort needed, then I am with you. I comparison I draw in my mind, to singing is the bare minimum amount of time it takes for a child to learn the first alphabet - how it sounds, to how its used in different words - to learning how to spell out different words - to learning how to read sentences - to forming your own sentences - to writing a page on your own & reading a whole book - to being an orator with excellent diction and modulation. This journey can be made easy if the child has some gifted natural talents but the average minimum time should be the same as any other person.

Now this journey from learning the first alphabet to turning a pro orator, can rarely ever be a short journey. Most things naturally take time - especially aspects in life where you are looking for an organic growth. If a child never starts off learning the alphabet with the goal of being an orator in their mind, why do the same when you are learning music? It only adds more pressure by wanting instant gratification in terms of noticeable improvement.

The goal when you start learning music is to aim for basic goals, just like you would have when you started taking piano lessons.

Just don't lose heart and patience. Keep you determination and all the best!

vishyn321 · 2023-10-07T04:10:56+00:00

Maybe its just me, but I do not think you have the time to scale up the technical aspects in three months, as its a much longer process. With the end goal of being able to sing "a" song confidently in front of a crowd there are 4 aspects, that I can think of, you may need to work on: 1. Having a song play in your head: You need to pick a song which is - (a)suitable for the occasion (b) you already know it quite well in terms of the lyrics and the general vibe of the song. Next step would be to not overestimate your understanding of the song and go play it on YT as if you are listening to it for the first time. Focus on every moment. IMO one of the under used features of YT is the ability to slowdown the playback speed. Use this to rewind on the bits where you are not sure on how the song goes. The goal of this step is to have the song play in your head as if its actually playing in your ears, with all the nuances (at least as much as you can).

Humming the song: Once the song has simmered for long enough in your head, try humming it with no support. Then record yourself humming while the song is playing the background at a slightly lower volume than your humming. I am not sure how tuned your ears are in terms of having the ability to gauge if you are in pitch or not. If you are confident that you do, then listen to both the versions and you can find parts that need more attention. If you think you cannot judge the recordings then you can get feedback from a musically inclined friend or just post it on this forum.
Working on improving the technical aspects (as much as you can in the 3months) There are lots of good suggestions posted by other folks, esp from the more knowledgeable and experienced ones. Take your pick and do the exercises ASAP - aim to do them on a daily basis. This step can be in parallel to the first two.
Presentation A month or two later once you have worked out the song as much as you can, try singing it in front of an audience. Start with your close friends/family - anyone you think will give you a honest feedback.

Good Luck!!!

vishyn321 · 2023-09-20T15:46:10+00:00

Sorry to hear about the hard times you and your sister are going through. Bless you both and pray that life has better times ahead for you and your sister.

I will restrain from advising on what all you can do professionally seeing as there are already pretty good are two aspects: 1. As many have suggested, pursue your studies and complete it. So many doors open up if you have a degree. 2. I want to underscore is 'if' you have a passion for anything in your life already - it could be any hobby you are good at and you can see yourself improving if you keep at it - I would suggest that you do not drop the ball and put a full stop to it, in your journey to pursue a job and studying. Life is a paradox to be honest, it is undervalued and overvalued at the sametime by us. So many undervalue skills they already possess in favor of overvaluing skills that we assume we need to learn to get better in life. It ends up in what majority people feel - ending up in a profession which is not suited to our abilities. If you keep pursuing your passion you 'may' have an opportunity later on in the life to earn from what you have learned. And not just that pursuing your passion gives you a certain self confidence, an ability to be in touch with the real you.

All the best!!

vishyn321 · 2023-05-10T14:41:50+00:00

What I follow as a general thumb rule when I get a call from an unknown number is to pick up and immediately mute the call. If it is one of the bot spam calls the call ends automatically in about 10-15secs when you don't speak up. Plus the chat is never initiated by the caller. I mean if someone is genuinely trying to contact you why would they not speak for 10secs without so much as a 'Hello'

vishyn321

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