Roger Fisher

MAGIC

Seems to be the best word to sum up what the inspiration, enthusiasm, hard diligent work, humiliation, glorification, illumination and gratification is all for. After you've experienced all those things, you may be ready to create a piece of work that can bring tears to millions of people; or entertain a lonely heart; or be a wind on the fire of youth; or take the listener out of this world.

Magic

It's not something any human being possesses. It is what every human came from and is made of. The ARTIST who is lost in the moment is a magician with the ability to caress each and every molecule in your being.

Sing

To me, the best skier isn't necessarily the one skimming the tops of the moguls, the fastest down the mountain or the one with the best form, it is the shusser who is having the most fun. That joy and enthusiasm is infectious and that skiier is getting more for the cost of the lift ticket than anyone else on the mountain. By the same token, when you hear Presley cut loose on Jailhouse Rock or McCartney wail on Oh, Darlin' or Aretha belt out Respect or Chris Cornell, Eddie Vedder and Kurt Cobain shred, you sense that these people are so immersed in the joy of their craft that nothing can stop them. That skiier may be ten years old, or fifty, all that matters is the fun factor - everything else will fall into place naturally without having to "push the river."

Did you know that Leo Tolstoy flunked out of college?
Einstein was four years old before he could speak and seven before he could read.
Beethoven's music teacher once said of him "As a composer he is hopeless."
A newspaper editor fired Walt Disney because he had no good ideas.
Louis Pasteur was rated as mediocre in chemistry when he attended the Royal College.
Louisa May Alcott was told that she could never write anything that had any popular appeal.

True singing is a vocal expression of emotion for the sake of communication. The best singers in the world are every baby ever born who is able to vocalize without constraint or inhibition their needs, wants and observations. It is only after years of being subjected to the confining rules of the "acceptable" forms of proper vocalization and the inherent subsequent judgement, that the would-be singer begins to think that maybe they can't or shouldn't sing.

I believe that the best singing is done in the spirit of being so lost in the moment that there is only free association and expression of what is. The singer has invested countless hours honing the ability to accurately sing on pitch, effortlessly executing subtle phrasing with a vocal quality that appropriately defines the moment. A connection to the deepest confines of emotion and soul ensure the communication of what is being sung to the listener.

One thing that really struck me about touring Europe was the fact that people were generally uninhibited and free when it came to being vocal. In the States, it's quite unusual to see people at a pub, restaurant, bus stop, etc. cuttin' loose and gettin' with the groove. Over there, they celebrate the moment and aren't as concerned with the judgement of other people. THEY SING TOGETHER!