Indrani Perera

poet, publisher & mentor

Category: Music

Spontaneous

Third time lucky they say and they're right. I booked tickets to see Hamilton in Sydney last year in May and then we were locked down. I spent hours agonising over choosing our seats (stalls or balcony?) for the best view. Then took out a small loan and hit book. After all that effort and excitement we were locked down. It was a huge disappointment but we rescheduled for August and …. wait for it …. (you know what's coming don't you?) …. we were locked down again!

I figured we'd missed our chance but then the production came to Her Majesty's Theatre on Exhibition Street in Melbourne. It's been a busy year and a challenging one too, getting used to being on the move and out and about again, so I hadn't really thought about booking tickets to see it here. But then on Thursday I suddenly got the urge to finally go and see Hamilton.

I checked for tickets online and there were three incredible seats in row G. Almost close enough to touch the actors. And Miss Twelve was already going on a sleepover at a friend's house with meant the Lovely G and I could take Miss Sixteen along to see a brilliant musical.

It was, of course incredible. The set and costumes were brilliant. The performances amazing. The choreography and singing top notch. And of course the script itself was fantastic. Imagine if every history lesson was this good?

I'm still on a high after seeing such incredible live theatre.

July 30, 2022
Singing Concert

On the weekend we had a very intimate concert at our place to celebrate the completion of Level Three Suzuki Voice. I spent the morning bustling around the house, tidying up and cleaning. We've been out and about a lot lately so it was good to spend some time making the house look and feel nice. In particular I finally unpacked the two boxes that were sitting in a corner of my study and now I have so much more room!

We've been working on these songs for the last three years. At times it felt like it would never end. The concert on the other hand went way too fast and was over in twenty minutes. My favourite song was our finale – Pues Que Ya Nunca Nos Veis by Juan del Encina. The song is from the Middle Ages and is in an old version of Spanish. It's magic singing together, standing side by side; feeling our voices rise and swirl together.

I still can't quite believe that I am singing in front of people. Part of me will probably always be that girl who was kicked out of the school choir in grade five for not being able to sing and told in grade six to stand on stage mouthing the words for the school's musical. I wonder if I'll always feel like I can't sing or if eventually I'll be confident in my abilities.

April 26, 2021
Sing Along

Last year during lockdown I compiled a collection of songs that I learnt to sing at Firekeepers' events in and around Melbourne. Some of the songs were even learnt in online sessions when I hosted song circles with my ten year old daughter. I had a lot of fun tracking down the origins of the songs, finding their creators and the original lyrics. I also included links to audio recording where I could so anyone who reads the songbook can learn any of the songs that appeal to them. I can't read music so being able to hear a song is the way I learn it.

I printed out a copy of the songbook and bound it using some brown coloured cardboard I bought. That songbook was left with a good friend when I went to visit her so I needed to make a new copy. And being me, I decided to make a few (five actually) while I was at it. I love making more than one of something. I wanted to use some gorgeous paper for the covers and I had the brainwave of eco-dying the paper. I really don't know why I hadn't thought of it earlier.

So all that happened last year and the books have been sitting on my desk ever since. I did bind one back in February to give to a friend's daughter for her birthday but the rest have been waiting for me to get around to them. This being the impromptu weekend of craft, I finally made them into books.

I can't wait to take one away with me next week when we go camping again with the Firekeepers' community. It's been 15 month since the last camp and we're all hanging out to be back in the bush, running wild.

April 4, 2021
Sing A Song

I recently spent a week with my daughters at the 15th Suzuki Voice International Songs for Sharing conference in Bentleigh. There were students and teachers from Australia and overseas and we got to learn songs in different language including Spanish, Finnish, Italian and Polish. The conference culminated in a free concert last Tuesday night at the Edge Theatre in Federation Square.

Being the only adult student in a classroom of children, most of whom are under ten is quite confronting. I'm used to being in a position of power and knowledge and to be in a situation where I am the student is quite humbling. It also helps to let go of any sense of dignity and to embrace childlike joy. How else can you skip around the room, holding hands and singing?

As part of the conference we had the opportunity to perform a solo piece in front of the other students and teachers from Australia and overseas. I've sung in public before at my teacher's end of year concerts but not in front of the wider Suzuki community. I was singing the French song Que Nes Suis-je La Fougere which I know quite well.

I was towards the end of the 30 singers so I had plenty of time to get nervous. Knowing the song well and having performed it before in public didn't help the nerves. So I got thoughtful about them. Wondered where they were coming from. And realised I was wanting to be perfect. Wanting to get up there and be amazing. Once I realised that it was easy to switch gears and remind myself that I'm only a student and like all the children in my classes, I'm still learning.

It was the first time I've sung in public without a microphone so my voice sounded different yet again. I'm used to practising with my daughters so it was also strange to hear my voice on its own and not blended with theirs.

The concert at The Edge on the other hand was all choir and no solos and it was wonderful. The feeling of blending my voice with those around me to create exquisite music for our audience was incredible. We were conducted by our teachers and I loved the way they'd give us a huge smile at the end of a song and mouth 'Wonderful!'.

I think singing in choirs may be my new thing for this year. What's yours?

January 13, 2020
Uke Can Play

You may have noticed a distinct lack of craft on the blog of late and a rather exponential increase in the writing of poetry. I do have rather a habit of diving headfirst into a new passion, sorely neglecting the old along the way. If I haven't been crafting, what have I been doing with all my not writing poems time?

Well, that's a question with an interesting answer. And possibly one you may not expect although I guess the photos will have given you a clue and the title is a bit of a giveaway.

At the last Wild By Nature Village Camp I heard Kiri Bear singing and playing the ukulele. And she was playing songs I loved – Spandau Ballet and Scissor Sisters to mention a couple. She sounded wonderful. I was envious. I've wanted to be able to play a musical instrument for a long time now. And sit around camp fires entertaining folks.

I already play one instrument – voice. Although I'm a beginner. For the last couple of years I've been learning singing with my daughters. It's one of my favourite parts of the week. As is practicing in the car on all our long drives around Melbourne.

Right after camp I found a book at a sale for $1. Seriously, who charges that kind of money these days? The book was called How to Play Ukulele: A Complete Guide For Beginners by Dan "Cool Hand Uke" Scanlam. It was just what I needed. I believe you can learn everything you need from books and there is a book on every topic you could ever imagine (and then some).

Luckily there were already ukes in the house. Including the gorgeous one you can see in the photos. The Lovely G plays guitar and bass and I bought him a ukulele a couple of years back for his birthday. At the same time I bought his uke I also got some basic ukes for the girls so they could play along too.

When I mentioned learning the ukulele to my friend Meli she offered to come over and teach me a song. Turns out she's pretty talented. Not only is she an incredible artist, she's also a talented singer and musician. The same evening my friend's daughter taught me a cool finger picking tune called the Nausicaa Theme Song. Since then, I've been picking up songs from everyone. If you play uke, you're my new best friend!

So I'm still using my hands and my mind to create only now I'm creating music instead of objects. What are you creating? And yes, mess is fine.

June 10, 2019