Blog | nikky - Part 2

Listening Room Retreat Copenhagen

It’s been quite a while since I was able to join a songwriting retreat. The last one I did was the Ukulele Songwriters Camp in Berlin in February 2020. You all know what happened afterwards, so here we are. I was really excited to join Brett Perkins at his retreat and venture into a week of co-writing.

Sängerschmiede Part 9 – We’re almost there

Okay, so this is gonna be a short one. Last time I told you, that the next steps in my singing class journey would be recording and video shoot. So here’s a little update for that.

Sängerschmiede Part 8 – Choices

If you followed my journey in the last couple of months you know that it was a rocky one. But my singing class is almost over and we’re headed to the grand finale. This usually means a live concert, but since no one really knows how Covid measures will unfold in the next time, the head coaches decided that we would do music videos instead of a live performance.

Sängerschmiede Part 7 – I can breathe Again

Last month was the breather that I needed. I am so proud of the song that I wrote. And I am proud of how I trusted myself and my instincts to just let the song be what it wants to be and let myself be who I really am. I finally found some joy and ease in singing and playing again and this meant so much more to me than any nice feedback that I got for my song and my performance.

Sängerschmiede Part 6 – “Kann I sein”

After presenting my song at singing class last month, I was really bummed. I took a huge step outside my comfort zone, tried lots of new things and put myself out there. But I guess somehow it didn’t translate into the video, or wasn’t perceived like that by everyone and one of the feedbacks that I got, was that it was a missed opportunity.

Sängerschmiede Part 5 – We’re playing the “Snatch Game”

I guess the title might need some further explanation. I’m a huge “RuPaul’s Drag Race” fan. I’ve watched every season (at least twice) and there’s a special highlight episode that every fan is usually waiting for. It’s when they are playing the “Snatch Game”. The rules are simple – the contestants have to impersonate a celebrity during a game show. You can watch the winning performances here. (If you’ve never seen it before, it’s worth taking a look, sooo much fun, honestly). Now the challenge for my singing class was kinda similar this month – everyone got assigned an artist with a special live performance and had to impersonate and fully slip into that character for the final video.

Sängerschmiede Part 4 – I’m just not there (yet)

A new month and a new opportunity to…

Yeah? What exactly? This month of singing class started out pretty confusing and unsure for me. Once again, I thought I missed the mark with my last song. At least the one I set for myself. But it also feels like I’m starting to let down a lot of people who seem to believe in me and what I’m capable of. So you see, it’s all still very complicated.

Sängerschmiede Part 3 – Singing without Fear!?

I started this month of singing class with the feeling of defeat. I had worked so hard and was actually proud of what I had achieved, but then it seemed that I handed in something a bit off-topic for the last assignment. This of course was mainly how my brain perceived it and not based on what actually happened. Nevertheless did it set the tone for the start of my new homework.

Sängerschmiede Part 2 – Let it Go

Another month of “Sängerschmiede” is over and it’s time to let you in on what happened. At the end of the last group coaching, everyone got assigned a new homework song. When I heard the song I initally felt scared, but that feeling was quickly replaced by excitement? joy? I don’t even know, as it felt a bit new to me.

Sängerschmiede Part 1 – A new journey

Most of you know, that I’ve been taking vocal coaching for a bit over two years now. It helped me lots to work on my voice and develop a better stage presence. During that time I also noticed, that singing (my own songs) is actually what I want to do and the ukulele is my support in that. I guess I always just used the ukulele to accompany my singing, but for some reason I felt that this was not enough for a very long time. That I needed to learn to play more intricate fingerstyle and add more of, I don’t even know what exactly, to my playing. Somehow it just never felt enough. But I’ve realized now, that it’s really not about that for me. It’s about letting the ukulele support my voice and what I have to say with songs.