mostly david ephgrave

One thing I'm trying to do while in lockdown is get my voice back into shape. My voice goes through phases where I'm either actively keeping it ticking over with daily warmups because I'm using it regularly (like when I was playing Buddy Holly) or not touching it save a quick once-over before a one-off gig. I know the latter's inadvisable as it's expecting too much at little notice - particularly when I'm suddenly trying to hit top As in the Mostly Comedy theme, for example - but I know I'm not the only singer guilty of it. At least I'm not as bad as bands in the 1960s who'd class a coffee and a fag as sufficient prep. As a former actor/muso (and you'd best take that 'former' with a pinch of salt) I've found myself occupying a strange hinterland between real band-member and musical theatre performer as regards limbering up, where I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't. Believe it or not, I'm a trained singer (la...

It was nice to sing through the songs from my show today to exercise that part of my brain (and voice) again. A pleasant byproduct of Edinburgh last month - though surely it was longer ago? - was I was singing every day, which meant my voice was in good shape; I may have lost my hearing by the last week, but I could still hit the notes, though whether they were in tune I couldn’t pass comment. I don’t know why I forget it so easily but I’m always happier when I look after my voice; it’s a simple thing, but it’s very important to me. It’s nice to not have to stretch to sound good and to feel you have command of your abilities. That’s why touring with Buddy was good at first, as singing and playing regularly kept you match-fit; you had the luxury of a band to play with, plus the intrigue of a new town and venue to keep things interesting. It’s even better when you work on your own stuff as singing through a few songs feels like opening a window wide to let the fresh air in. That’...