Sam Meredith SS Ch. 11 Summary

Sam
Chapter 11 Summary-An important thing to remember as a singer is to be ourselves. This simple principle can be applied in many facets of work as a classical singer. One aspect in which we need to be ourselves is selecting our repertoire. Many singers have their repertoire given to them by their teachers, but that doesn't always translate to success. We should choose a repertoire that we can get excited about singing. If we don't love each piece we sing then we will not enjoy performing it. It will often be the case that we are assigned to sing something that we don't feel fits our voice type. It is important in these cases to sing the piece as ourselves and not try to sing it the way someone else would. Being yourself also helps you in auditions. Before we go into an audition we should positively visualize our audition experience and then go into our audition with confidence and positive energy, but not with fake enthusiasm. To be prepared for performances we must be able to learn music effectively. First we should study the text so we understand all of the emotional connotations in it. Then we should speak the text so that we can recite it in a way that the native speaker of the given language would. Next we should speak the text in rhythm. After that we can learn the pitches by just playing them on the piano without singing them. After that we will be more ready to actually sing the music as it is written. We should apply this gradual approach when we are learning roles as well. In the first rehearsals we should simply mark (sing in falsetto or speak the text in rhythm) so we can rehearse without putting unnecessary strain on the voice and developing bad habits. When we are portraying a role in opera or musical theater we are expected to be actors who convey certain emotion. We can't allow, however, for the expression of these emotions to make our muscles tense because that will ruin our singing. A simple, effective directive for singers who are expected to act as well is to mean what you say when you say it. When we have a performance we should make sure that we act in a way on the day of the performance that is conducive to us being relaxed and well rested for our performance. We shouldn't do any rigorous vocal exercises. We may need to warm up, but this should always be brief and low impact. Also, we need to properly manage our time, which means knowing ourselves well enough to know how long it takes for us to learn music.
Key Concept-We should strive to be ourselves in all aspects of our singing--repertoire selection, auditions, etc. It is also important that we are wise and strategic in our practice and rehearsals by first learning our text well before learning the music.
Key Terms- Visualization, "Have Church", Audiation
Making Connections-I would really like to have more say in the selection of my repertoire. there are some songs that I've sung before that I haven't really liked very much and I think I haven't performed them quite as well as a result.