RAISING THE SOFT PALETTE [Singing Blogrimage Day 5/30]

Challenge Update:

• 2nd voice lesson (One and a half hours)
• Learned how to raise the soft palette
• Learned what consonants and vowels to pronounce
• Learned how to plan to breathing
• Learned how to drop jaw

I was very pleased with my second lesson. It went longer than the first one, and I really enjoyed it. My coach is very encouraging. She said I went through, in one lesson, what normally takes people 4 weeks.

Both my coach and Amreitha said they've noticed improvements in my singing.

She taught me how to adjust my soft palette by giving a surprised "ah"sound. This helps produce a fuller sound, almost like self created reverb. 

Also, we sang a little Aerosmith and a lot of Michael W. Smith. With the Smith song, we tediously worked through the pronunciation of words. 

Pronouncing words is important because it helps create a full sound and keep one on pitch.

I am excited to work on this piece and I will perform it during my recital on April 12th!

-Pradeepan

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BREATHING LIKE A BABY [Singing Blogrimage Day 4/30]

Hello! Here are my updates:

• Worked on posture
• Worked on breathing
• Practiced Scales with Amreitha
• Sang a few old BrownFolk songs with Amreitha (my fiance)

Breathing is kind of an awkward thing to work on. The point is to produce sound supported by the diaphragm instead of the chest. Practicing this seems super simple, but I can see how it's the foundation for great projection. You get a lot of air by breathing like this. It's also the reason babies can cry so loud.

The above video is a clip from my first voice lesson. With the spacing and positioning between my coach and me, I look really small. This lady knows her stuff, and I have a lesson tomorrow. I'm really excited.

Besides that, today both my calves cramped up during 20 plus rounds of lighting/knock-out and 21 (basketball games). 

Also, today a bunch of us watched a preaching webinar called "Preaching Rocket." It was very informative and helpful for me to become a better communicator.

Well, have a great night!

-Pradeepan

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FIRST VOICE LESSON [Singing Blogrimage Day 3/30]

Had my first voice lesson with Jen McClure! She's a bright, bubbly and informed lady. Think of the stereotypical happy choir instructor. She is that times two. I'm really happy she's my coach during this 30 days.

Not only does she have an incredible upbeat attitude, she knows her stuff. I asked Amreitha to join our first session for quality control and to make sure she wasn't a creeper. She wasn't a creeper!

She did the following things for our first lesson:

• Tested my range (I have a 3 octave range. She was impressed with this!)
• Worked on my posture (She rolled my hips for me and told me not to thrust)
• Tested my pitch (She said it was excellent!)

I liked the lesson and feel like I will improve.

Her words and assessment encouraged me (pitch and range), but I feel like she knows how I can grow.

On another note, I'm stoked that Allan Theobald came to visit! He's one of the white tshirts in the background of the video.

Also, I'm stoked that I preached my first sermon in Ignited tonight. 17 people gave their lives to Jesus! It was awesome.

I'm encouraged for all of these things!

-Pradeepan

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FORMED A BAND [Singing Blogrimage Day 2/30]

Everything in this BLOGRIMAGE is leading up to April 12th!

On that day, I'm going to front a band and sing my heart and hopefully improved voice out.

To make this happen, I started a band with some friends from church. These guys are incredibly talented, so I think we will actually make some legit music.

The lady that was supposed to train me starting Monday couldn't make it, so I haven't had my first official voice lesson. I've just been singing and seeing how high I could go on my app.

On Friday, I'll have my first official lesson. I'm excited about that!

If you're in the Michigan area, or just want to fly out, come to my concert on THURSDAY, APRIL 12!

The location and time are still to be decided!

Happy Blogging!

-Pradeepan 

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Singing Blogrimage [Day 1/30]

Greetings!

I'm stoked to participate in the 3rd Annual Blogrimage. I know this is going to be the best one yet. For my challenge, I'm attempting to improve my voice.

CHALLENGE:

• Take voice lessons 2-3 times a week
• Work on my voice every day
• Perform solo 4 times
• Perform a large solo concert at the end

I hope to improve my range, pitch control and tone.

I love to write songs and perform, but I'm not very confident in my voice. I play various instruments (bass, guitar, drums, mandolin), and, while I'm not incredibly good at any of them, I picked them up quickly and perform confidently with any of them. 

The voice, however, is something I've never obsessed over and am not confident in. When I pick up an instrument, it's usually all I do for about a month, and I learn a ton about it. This month, I hope to obsess over the voice and make it submit to my desires. 

It's a scary and vulnerable instrument. It's very intimate and being a bad singer is a lot different than playing a guitar poorly. For some reason, when I sing, I feel very exposed--like public speaking. You feel like people are staring into your soul, you have no place to hide and nothing but judgement is coming your way. 

Anyways, I'm excited to go on this journey, and share nuts and bolts tips with you as I learn them!

To the Blogrimage!

-Pradeepan

LOST MY GIRLFRIEND!

GAINED A FIANCE!

Last Saturday, my girlfriend Amreitha Richelle Miller agreed to marry me, and I'm so happy! We've been dating more than 2.5 years, traveled all around the world, and are ready to take the next step. She's an amazing woman I have incredible chemistry with, so taking the step was a no brainer.

I want to remember our engagement story forever, so it will forever be documented through this blog!

THE ENGAGEMENT STORY:

Three months ago, I bought an engagement ring and got the blessing from Amreitha's father to propose. In order to ask her to be my girlfriend almost three years ago, I went all out. I asked her to model for a photoshoot of mine, then surprised her with seven stations around Colorado Springs that each had roses and a letter on parchment explaining the most significant parts of our relationship. This time I wanted to be just as romantic, but not as complicated--though still extravagant.

Over the last two weeks, Amreitha gathered 25 people to diet until Christmas. Her and I eat strict diets all week and cheat on Saturdays. We planned on eating at Fat Lorenzo's, our favorite pizza place in Minneapolis on the Saturday of Nov. 5th.

She had no idea I planned proposing that day, and I wanted it to stay that way. She asked if we could take pictures in the park (I'm teaching her photography), and we did. After taking pictures, we walked over to our Pizza place, and then the real planning kicked in.

At Fat Lorenzo's, while she wasn't looking, I wrote down our reservation name, as well as 5 fake reservations. Because we were "fifth" in line, we waited to be seated for 20 minutes. Acting like I was sick of waiting, I said to Amreitha that we should order the pizza to go, and assured her I knew the perfect place to eat it. She reluctantly agreed (it was kind of cold), but she showed readiness for spontaneous adventure. Little did she know how much adventure it would be! I ordered the pizza to go, and to her astonishment, the pizza was ready in five minutes. She shouted, "we should order our pizza to go all the time if it's always this fast!" Little did she know, I organized the proposal with the pizza guys, and they prepared the meal way ahead of time.

Next, I took her to my 1982 Dodge Ram Prospector, and blind folded her. This blind folding did not raise her suspicions because I have done this before to surprise her with different areas of Minneapolis. We drove about 10 minutes away from the cities, and arrived at our amazing destination.

Finding the perfect location proved to be the most difficult part in planning the proposal. When I found this place, my search stopped.

The Old Cedar Bridge is an abandoned registered historical place that is deteriorating but cannot be destroyed (like my biceps.jk). This is only 10 minutes away from the heart of Minneapolis, but it feels like you are in the middle of a wetland wilderness area. Amazing!

Amreitha, still blindfolded, arrived at this site totally unaware of the beautiful surroundings (now enhanced by the sunset). This place is not technically legal to visit, so I led over and under a few fences while she was still blind. This felt like a ropes training course!

At one point, the bridge completely breaks off, and a small plank is the only way to get across. I didn't know how to lead her across this, so I hoisted her over my shoulder and walked foot over foot to the other side. She really trusts me! One slip and we would have forever been part of this historical beauty (dead).

[Video: Walking across the plank]

Once we made it to my set destination, I handed her my iphone and said, "Please listen to this song." For the last three weeks, I've been working with my friend Elliot Johnston at Red Chair Studios to record a song for the proposal. We recorded some horrible music, scrapped everything, did it again, and then finally pulled something together. He is amazing, but I am not used to singing in a studio! Yikes. Plus, it's quite intimidating singing for a trained classical singer like Amreitha who has performed at Orchestra Hall with acts like Vocal Essence, the most award winning choir in America!

She listened to the song, smiled, but still had no idea I was proposing.

She gasped after hearing the pre-chorus: "I can't wait anymore, you must know that I love you so. You're the one, you're the one, you're the one."

[Here is the song]

Only Girl [Amreitha Proposal] by pradeepanjeeva

She gasped because this is the first time I've ever said, "I love you," to her. When we started dating, I committed to not say, "I love you," until I proposed, and not kiss until we've married. So far so good. It's been very difficult at times, but this engagement has renewed my fire for purity.

Like I said, she gasped, began crying, laughing and feeling all sorts of emotions. Watching her face during this part, blindfolded as it was, is my favorite part of the night.

I got down on my knee, asked her to take the blindfold off, and in the heat of this romance, she couldn't untie it! So, I helped her, then got back on one knee, gave her a speech none of us remembers, and asked her to marry me!

SHE SAID YES! We screamed, hugged and twirled in utter joy! My life has consisted of many ups and downs, and I'm so thankful to begin a life with girl of her caliber. Ten years ago, I never would have thought I could be so lucky.

Then she began noticing her surroundings, and this is what she saw:

We cuddled under the blankets, drank Ginger Beers, and tried to eat pizza. We were, however, to excited to eat much! After dreaming, talking about the details of the night and how excited were were to spend the rest of our lives together, we warmed up over drinks at a nearby coffee shop.

To cap the night, I had one more surprise lined up. Yet again, we got in the truck and took away her sight. She opened her eyes to see about 30 people from our community celebrating and cheering for us! What a better way to celebrate a great night and tell the story to a bunch our important people while the moment remained fresh. I only invited the majority of the people to the party the night before, so I was extra amazed to see all our friends!

Little did I know, my family planned to surprise my surprise. Moments after the initial surprise, my sister,   Amreitha's older sister and brother in law walked in the door. They traveled all the way from California and Kansas to party with us! Such a rush. I had no idea.

We gathered everyone, told the story and celebrated the night away! What a perfect day.

I didn't find out until after that my setup/teardown crew (Myka and Josias) got stopped by the police for trespassing on a historical bridge. Myka told them that I was proposing, and their stern demeanor transformed into giggles and smiles while asking, "Did she say yes?" Love wins!

Thanks for everyone who helped out and showed up! Shout out to Dayna, Josias, Myka, Elliot and Casey, Chamindika and Kenji, our special guests from different states, and so many others who supported us! You all truly made this a special day.

This is awesome!

Below I have posted more pictures and the full proposal video!

Pictures and video by Dayna and Josias.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nN9vwhWfqJ0]

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