“Why is that?”
“I can’t sing.”
“Then why is this the class you’re taking. This is all about singing. It’s all we’ll be doing.”
“I know, and I feel like I should apologize for that.”
“No need to… uh… I mean, I’m… Why do you say that?”
“I’m totally tone deaf. Trust me – it’s clinical. But I had to start somewhere, and I do have to take this class to graduate.”
“Music production will be your major, then? I think that’s what I…”
“Yeah. I like to… I DJ at a lot of the parties on campus, and I love it. It’s my… happy place, I guess.”
“DJ… huh… Ok. Here’s what we’re going to do. Today we’ll not sing, we’ll just start with the very basics, and I’ll give you a book that we’ll be working from. Basic beginner arias and art songs for a first-year vocal student.” I stood up and walked over to my bookcase, where I kept the music books, and took the baritone volume in my hands. I took a deep breath to steady myself and turned to face him. He had stood, and his chest flexed as he reached out for the book. That was going to be a complication. His muscles seemed to have a mind of their own – probably a gravitational field even. How was I going to… touch him when I was already having very awkward thoughts about touching him?
“What do you want me to do?” He smirked. It was a little lopsided and made him even more handsome. Why is it that I’m attracted to smart asses with an attitude? Did I already mention that God hates me?
“We’re going to start with learning to breathe.”
He smirked, and his dark eyes bore into me. “I’ve been doing that for… well, since birth.”
“The proper way to breathe for a singer is probably very different from what you’re used to. Take a deep breath for me.”
His chest rose, and his nipples pointed directly at me from underneath his t-shirt. I could feel the blush rise and hated myself for it.
“That is how most people breathe – they fill up their chest cavity, and that’s ok for most people. But for a singer, we use our diaphragm to control the airflow. Here put your hands against my… May I?” I reached towards his hands. Mine were a little shaky, and I tried to steady myself to keep them from having tremors. He nodded, and I took his hands in mine. I placed one hand against my chest and the other on my stomach. His eyes widened, and he looked up at me with a very confused look on his face.
“That’s… Wow! I… sorry.” He shivered. “Someone walked across my grave or something.” He pressed his hands against my torso a little harder, and I placed mine on top of his.
“Feel this.” I took a deep breath. My diaphragm extended, and my chest stayed still. “Keep pressing your hand against my stomach.” I slowly hissed as the air retreated, making sure to keep control of it. His hand was hot, and I could feel the burn of it through my shirt onto my skin. “Do you see?”
“Yeah…” He swallowed hard.
I stepped back, and his hands fell from my body.
“That is the first lesson. To begin the process of controlling your breath – we have to breathe correctly.” I stepped forward again. “Ready? Your turn. May I… uh…” I moved my hands forward towards his chest and stomach.
“Yes.” He nodded, and I placed my hands against a brick wall. Well, not really. It was his chest and stomach, but it felt as hard as a rock. There was nothing soft about this guy. He placed his hands on top of mine, just as I had done to him. He was burning up underneath his clothes. I could feel the heat from him, and it almost made me lightheaded.
“Take a breath and concentrate on pushing my hand away from you on your stomach and keeping the hand on your chest as still as possible. It shouldn’t move.” He took a deep breath, and his chest rose quickly.
“Shit.” He grinned. “Let me try that again.” His breath rose within him, and my hand against his stomach put added pressure against him as he slowly pushed it away.
“That’s good.” I slowly removed my hands from his torso. They tingled as they broke contact. “Very good. So that will be your homework, as well as a small elastic belt I have for you to wear underneath your clothes. It goes around your stomach, so you will be reminded to push against it while you breathe. It’s annoying, but it works.” I walked over and grabbed one of the elastic belts from the box where I kept them.
“Fine.” He looked a little unsteady.
“Are you ok?”
“Just got a little light headed. Maybe what you had was catching.” He chuckled.
“Breathing like this will… It can do that, I guess. But once you’re used to it, it should even help you with your breathing as you play sports.”
“Sports?” He grinned. “You’re not asportsfan, are you?”
“I have never been to a game in my life or watched one on TV, so… I don’t have anything against it, really – just not my thing.”
