Looking back, I realized that as a child I was more inclined towards Drama. I was that child that had a nice diction in Sunday school and was always given memory verses to recite when there are special occasions or our prolific children anniversary ( I can't forget this one because I go home with wards of cash and plenty gifts from people who loved how I sounded and there was the food part too)
I progressed through life as a strong dramatist, I even became the drama coordinator of F.C.S (Fellowship of Christian Students) before I graduated from Secondary School. The kicker is... I always received compliments like "haan, you have a good voice oo" " this your voice is angelic" "hope you're in your church choir" I didn't really give much attention to it, I felt they just loved my diction.
The redefining moment came in my 100 level, I was a fresher and was looking for a community of like minds when I came across this amazing dance crew called Redeemed Dance Ministry on my matriculation. Dear Lord, they danced so perfectly and in synergy that I knew I wanted to be a part of them not because I could dance but as a way of belonging to a clique of amazing dancers.
Fast forward to when I eventually joined, I realized professional dancing wasn't my thing, it required a lot of energy, precision and many other things that I didn't have. I still attended rehearsals and did the one I could until one rehearsal where I heard the sound of a guitar playing not far from where we were rehearsing.
Long and short of the story is I met another crew member who wasn't so much of a dancer like myself, he had been on a departmental excursion all the while I had been coming for rehearsals. He was a General ( that's how the leaders of the crew were addressed) who decided to create a music arm of the dance crew, I was his first member or should I say student.
I thought being among the dancers was strenuous but singing was way more tedious... I remember having to learn the sofa notations. It was so bad that we would spend 3 hours just for me to get how to sing the notes accurately over and over again.
There were times when I doubted the decision to join the music arm. I remember General Sesan would say "sing it to the point where it's itched to your brain", "that note is a semi tone off, start again", "if you miss any of them ... Oya start again, I haven't even finished talking"
It was an interesting journey of consistent practice and blunders that were lovingly corrected. There were days when I'd wake up and start reciting the notes just so I'd impress General Sesan during rehearsals later that evening.
Fast forward to when I become better with the notation, you would think it was gonna be all rosy for me... Then came the task of scoring songs and singing them exactly how the musician sang it, I mean note for note... Pitch for pitch... Riff for Riff.
I had to score songs by Deitrick Haddon, Mali Music, Anthony Brown, Jonathan McReynolds and Kim Burrell. If you know these musicians, you'd know they are music personified.
Then came the issue of head voice, mix voice and chest voice... It was another journey of strenuous vocal warm-ups that took hours upon hours to perfect. The vocal coach's video that we used the most then was Eric Arsenaux, his warmups were easy to follow and when done right it will yield positive results in the shortest of time.
I just realized that I may need to cut this summary short because if I go on and on we'd have a novel. There's so much to say really.
Overtime, I became a placard for the music arm of the dance crew, so much so that some dancers started to defect to the arm. They enjoyed what they heard and wanted to be a part of it. We had new random people join and this was largely due to the fact that General Sesan ensured that we rehearsed in a place that was crowded, it was called 90s, the social center of the entire school.
He would say "this will help you fight your fears of crowd and make you better able to stand on stage" " remember those who hear you song rubbish today will hear you sing beautifully tomorrow" " remember after that moment they have even forgotten about you, so sing out loud and become better"
I took those words to heart and I have improved in every way musically, I may not be the best out there but I know I'm not the worst either.
I've been privileged to sing on stages of churches, sing in events - weddings, birthdays, send forth ceremonies and so on. I was the winner of Zaria Got Talent 1st and 2nd Edition.
I'm grateful for how far I've come and super delighted for all that is ahead. To me music is my life, it has helped me through all my seasons of life.
There's so much to be said but that's enough for today. Thanks for stopping by
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Now I understand why you’re so good with music
You have been doing this thing since you were little.
Consistency is one of the most important things for growth. Nicely written man
Yay. Thank you so much Baba Agbalagba.
I appreciate you always. You dey steady gimme Joy.
It's been a long time coming no caps. Consistency is a game changer in every sphere.
Thank you for taking out time to read my long summary
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You’re welcome my gee
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Wow! You've come a long way. Congratulations on pursuing your passion.
I can relate with the struggles of vocal warmups and mastering notes, but the hard work by paid off.
Yay... The boss lady herself.
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Dear Lord it was a lot but oh well, I'm glad I went through all of that. Look at me now, I can sing small. Still trying to be like you though
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I appreciate your time, thank you for reading my long summary
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Awesome music journey. Thanks for sharing