Blog Archives
Singing & Signing Over the Rainbow
This was a song I worked on translating with my then mentor, Jean Kelly, in 1994, and I performed it as the finale to a one-man show I put on San Diego in 1995. I was only 28 then! If you can’t tell, I sang & signed this song simultaneously– a hard feat because what I was signing was not the same as what I was singing. I signed it as ASL as I could while singing English. Do you like it? Leave a comment to let me know what you think. Or, if you would sign it differently, post a video response.
By the way, looking back I can see that I took this song too slow, and my singing and signing were a bit over-the-top. Oh, well! 
P.S. “Over the Rainbow” was composed by Harold Arlan with lyrics by E. Y. Harburg. It is from the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, and it was sung by Judy Garland in the role of Dorothy. Judy Garland was known for "Over the Rainbow" her whole life. My piano accompanist on this song was James Bianchi.
On singing the way I talk
I’m working on overcoming my classical training to sing the way I talk. Here I’m talking about and showing the difference between my “standardized” voice and my “individualized” voice, using the song Chasing Cars to give examples. What do you think?
I sing “My Satin Doll” as “My Latin Doll”— and I’ll tell you why.
(Anyone who wants to skip to the singing can jump to 2:30.)
You may have heard the jazz standard “My Satin Doll” written by Johnny Mercer, Duke Ellington, and Billy Strayhorn. Well, I learned that song when I was in high school and I attended the Fullerton Jazz Festival music contest— singing contest. It was adjudicated, and we got to go up there are do our stuff and get some feedback from the adjudicators. Well, I remember when I learned that song it just struck me as a little odd, like why would you call her your satin doll, and why would she speak Latin?
Well, a few years went by, and Read the rest of this entry
Singing & Signing "Some Children See Him"
I sing this Christmas song and simultaneously express it in signs from ASL (American Sign Language). I purposely adapted some of the hand-shapes to create sign-rhymes. While no song that is simultaneously sung and signed is truly ASL, I do hope that I have created something here that can be enjoyed by both hearing and deaf people. I also believe that people of all faiths can appreciate the hope that each newborn child brings: that he or she may help to heal this world.
Singing "Your Mother And Mine" to Mom on Mother’s Day
I called my mom on Mother’s Day and sang her this song from Peter Pan that she used to sing to me when tucking me in at night. I tried to subtitle, but I couldn’t figure it out. The lyrics are:
The angel voice that bids you goodnight
Kisses your cheek, whispers ‘sleep tight’
Your mother and mine
Your mother and mine
The helping hand that guides you along
Whether you’re right, whether you’re wrong
Your mother and mine
Your mother and mine
What makes mothers all that they are?
Might as well ask what makes a star
Ask your heart to tell you her worth
Your heart must say heaven and earth
Another word for divine
Your mother and mine
Your mother and mine
