Banana bread, more birthdays, and brrrrr!
10:06 p.m.
Earlier in the day, I gave Kevin the second slice of chocolate-banana bread that my friend of the boosted car battery gave me in thanks for helping him with his vehicular troubles, a truly delectable treat. I told the guy, who is all of 22 and extremely cute and nice, that if I wasn’t already married, he would be in big trouble, which I think flattered and relieved him all at the same time, that I thought of him in that way, and yet wouldn’t be pursuing it.
I think one of the hardest things about teaching singing or any musical instrument at all is getting the student to hear what you want to hear. My baritone makes absolutely beautiful sounds at times, and yet I don’t think he hears when he is not. For instance, he doesn’t know why I stop him and tell him to start over, because he can’t tell that he’s making a less-than-satisfactory tone or whatever. It’s very frustrating for both of us. However, he had a really good lesson today, working on a piece by Ernest Chauss0n, that requires much legato and matching of tones, with tricky stepwise descending lines that tend to lead him into the valley of flat singing if he is unwary: one of those songs that looks deceptively simple on paper but proves to be a bugger to execute properly.
The teaching studio is freezing. The thermostat can be set to 27° and the temperature in there must be about 15° or less and the radiators are not coming on. I finally just turned off the thermostat because it was making a high-pitched squealing sound that was driving me crazy. But the thing is that I know it’s going to be cold in there and yet I always forget. This is what I need my fingerless gloves for, and to bring a sweater. Next week I will remember. Remind me, someone, okay?
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