Too Busy for my Heart - Salt Mine Turda

The so called “Additional - auxiliary Voices” or “Backing Vocals” make a song’s texture fuller by adding direction and consistency. Most of the both old and new musical pieces contain backing vocals that double the artist's voice or alternative electronic effects such as multiple delays and flange effects. Others have third or octave - doubled voices on top of the solo part with the purpose of obtaining a balanced texture and complete the soloist’s part. However the backing vocals number within a song will be directly proportional with the soloists number on the stage in order to obtain a proper harmonized texture.

Many artists are brilliant on the stage as soloists. Yet within the context of an ensemble things change and not always for the better - sometimes even dramatically. “Too busy for my heart” is a song that requires a lot of study as it raises a high degree of intervallic singing difficulty. Even though soloists have various levels of singing experiences, things are not fundamentally different for them.

After listening to the many emerging talented singers I conclude that attitude proves to be more important than singing skills to ensure the success of a complete show. Punctuality, seriousness and trust are primary factors that assure a successful and strong bond within a group. This group will then require the necessary palette of artistic skills taken sometimes to the so called - individual limit. The performing artistic intelligence however is the defining factor in a live performance, where each individual has to find aesthetic musical solutions that meet the artistic needs of the group and that of the extension of the song.

Singing almost 100 meters below the surface of the earth in a mine where the low “eurovisionistic” base-frequency vibrations have not previously met the salted walls within the heart of the earth, has charged me with a remarkable dose of adrenaline which helped me appreciate life and make every moment on the stage special. The entire show organized in Turda Salt-Mine was indeed a success in its every single aspect.

As for my vocal condition during the rehearsals to the end, regrettably has digressed. The salt combined with cold and dust had not a very pleasant effect on my voice. I have developed a sore throat which reduced my high vocal range record. Things have not dramatically changed, despite the fact that I tried to find solutions by drinking tea and taking medicine.

This experience confirmed that a project can be carried out through to the end regardless of the circumstances as long as in each of us resides a strong desire to collaborate and cooperate no matter the distance or nationality. Trust, communication, discipline, the desire to learn with some added dose of humor are the basic factors of an unforgettable collaboration. Out of all, the most beloved moment to me was the one when we first met. Instead of discussing quotidian things, we have agreed upon the goal we are aiming to reach to and thus we started immediately to study harmonize both our voices and souls. Daily dialogues brings us closer, but the projects brings us wholeheartedly closer.

This song is not an easy one. I studied it a lot. Initially I approached the sections, then “braided” (I hope) pretty well all the fragments. Unfortunately we had a short time to form a homogeneous group. With intensive training however our performance improved unexpectedly both in the rehearsals and in the final show. It is not easy to sing in an SATB context, but the song “Too busy for my heart” warmed our little frozen hearts within the saline atmosphere.

As far as I am concerned, the contest was a special, unprecedented experience; I met beautiful, open minded people, who were overflowed with positive energy, hardworking and determined to reach their goals in life. I felt so good that the daily schedules (quite busy) did not stay in the way of having some fun too. We had many funny moments. The funniest moment that I experienced was in the green room when together with Bernice, I prepared in a few seconds a “surprise” for the band's soloist - Lion's Roar. Despite the fact that we were dressed, we made a headbang of all the beauty to the delight of the audience and the artist

I'm not in the position to argue the decision of the jury, maybe that's why I did not understand the part where Mr. Marian Ionescu claimed that the song was composed “extremely fast”. But I can say with the hand on my heart that I have experienced a unique feeling, an experience that has filled my soul full of happiness that has motivated me to work more and more in order to pursue my dream. Everything can be summed up to feelings, sensations, emotions, work and of course, new friends. Certainly it is an experience that I would want to repeat to infinity!

Beginning with the song, I declare it has had a certain degree of unanticipated difficulty however I loved the song so much that my ambition led me to study it meticulously measure by measure. I enjoyed performing it because I discovered some great high vocal passages that have put my voice within a confortable zone; these were shorter than I would have expected but concentrated and thus valuable. Unfortunately I did not have much time to practice and harmonize perfectly with the group as I had to leave the City. We compensated via telephone conversations with Bernice and agreed on the various technical issues.

Harmonization in a group requires rigor and discipline and I think we managed to work and beautifully color the song. Rehearsals were pleasant moments even if the time pressed us and the song began in the end to flow and homogenize.

I'm pleased and happy to be part of this group. We met wonderful people, worked together and felt very good by developing a nice friendship that could flourish in the near future even more by seeing us again – and that as soon as possible.

No comment about judging, but “Too busy for my heart” is a difficult song compared to the others. No matter how things ended, the fact is that it was a beautiful moment that I would repeat with the girls anywhere with pleasure because we do co-operate well, we worked good, we joked, got amused - in a word: I felt great!