RECORD:
We began by stretching: reaching the ceiling, rag doll etc.
S: Let's start with a sigh, cause that is always a nice way to start. (We did a bunch. I would do a few with her and then listen.) Did we do yawn sighs last time?
K: Yes.
S: Ok, let's yawn sigh and go as high as we can. (Did a few higher. I took a long pause trying to decide which vocalize to start with.) Let's try this: I want you do make a hm of indecision. It is like when someone asks you what you want and you say "Hmmm....pasta." you know? (I demonstrated and she did a few as well) So I want you to do that hm of indecision and release it on a descending five tone ah. (Demonstrated. She did a few. We eventually altered it to be a hm sliding up to the ah because that was easier. I noticed some jaw tension so I had her place her hands on her cheeks. Reminding her to feel numb. I jumped around the keyboard a lot but I tried to take her higher then I normally do. I took her to an F and she was able to do it fairly well. I paused again to think some more about what to do next.) So for this one you are sighing on so, you sigh up and then sigh down, and then sing so (I played it. It is a 1-3-5-1-5-3-1 pattern. I demonstrated and did a bunch for her because I know this one is definitely more complicated then we had done before. I chose it because she has a tendency to push and I wanted to connect her sound to something more free. I think she was thinking too much about the exercise however, and so I am not sure if it even really helped. The sighs started getting tight so I gently reminded her to let them be natural and loose. I used my arm to demonstrate the arc of the sigh. I added a yawn next because it was still so tight) Did you notice anything different when you added the sigh?
K: It felt more....it had more air behind it.
S: I liked that one better because I hear more space, it had more freedom in it. Let's do that one again and let's not be afraid of that top note. (It was an F) Did that top note feel better?
K: Yes.
S: I liked that, it was free. Let's do "Oh no no" let's speak it. (First vernacular, then elevated) Alright now let's sing it. Before each one, let's do a breath of surprise (demonstrated) It gives you a full breath quickly, and opens you up. (played 5-3-1 pattern for her. I jumped around the keyboard. She started slumping in her posture) Can you pretend someone is pulling a string straight out of the top of your head, and let's toaster those shoulders? (did more. I moved higher on purpose) I know this is really high so let's add a yawn before it. (Did a few and moved back down a bit) Let's do one more. I want you to put your elbows on the piano supporting your weight, then put your chin in your hands. When your jaw is moving you will feel it because your arms will move as well. I want you to try to keep that jaw loose and numb, without any movement. Let's sing it on a descending five tone ah. (She was still so tight.) Feel like it is gooey, like every note it melting together. This helped a bit.) Did you feel any movement?
K: Not a lot.
S: Ya and you know what I noticed? It was more free because there was so much space in there! Let's do some more and just put your hand on your chin and monitor it's movement. (Did more. When she would get tight we would stop and sigh or do a Santa laugh) What did you notice?
K: At first I was thinking so much about it, that I forgot to breathe. But once I breathed again it went well. At first, my jaw was moving a lot but once I focused it was good.
S: This is a good way to check up on it, if you feel tightness in your jaw, but your hand there to monitor. Awesome, good warm up. Let's go onto your song. Let's just start off on an ah and I want to put you up against the wall with your arms up in a u shape. This helps you to not let your chest collapse. (She sang it once from there. It helped her get a sense of where her chest should be and how open it needs to be when singing, but I don't know if it helped in any other way.) How did your breath feel?
K: I felt that my tone was better lower than up high.
S: I liked that I didn't see any collapsing. Let's now try to just hang over like a rag doll and sing it. (She did it) The low range sounded really nice and smooth when you did this.
K: The lower notes felt pretty good but it made it harder to get the higher notes.
S: Let's do what we did last night and pantomime that jump to the high note. (She did it a few times, but the octave jump was still rough.) This time I am going to play the note above the C and have you hum it before you hit the C. I think that will make it easier because you will be going higher then you need to. This way we are thinking over and onto the pitch, instead of hitting right into it. (We did it 3 times like that) Did it feel better?
K: A little.
S: It was better but it is still a little bit stuck. Let's try sliding up to it. (She did it 3 or 4 times) What you think about that sound?
K: I liked it better. It was more consistent.
S: Yes!
REACTIONS:
I felt like this lesson with Kathy went pretty well. I tried to take a step back and really think about what to do next. I took that time and really tried to figure out what I am hearing and how to take action. I still have a lot of questions though! I have no idea how to help get rid of the harshness in Kathy's tone. Any suggestions to help her round out the sound? I tried to use sighs and primal cues to help initiate a low larynx and freedom in the voice, but it didn't always help. I also was puzzled about how to help with high notes. I have always loved to sing high, so I had no idea what to say to help her release those. After today's class though, I feel like I have been given more techniques to handle that. I want to have Kathy make "baby sounds" or "train sounds" and then match pitch to them to see how high she can really go freely. Also what do I do about jaw tension??? I tried to address it but she still has some pretty intense jaw jutting...I don't want to specifically say your jaw is jutting. How do I fix that? I think the hum of indecision was really helpful for her and I should utilize that more. I just need to get better and thinking on my feet.
Friday, January 31, 2014
Emily C., Amanda G., Lesson Plan for 2/6/14
Emily C., Amanda G., Lesson Plan for 2/6/14
Plans:
- I’m going to do the squatting/using the chair method to help her to understand visceral displacement and proper breathing technique so she can actually feel how she’s supposed to breathe when I say to breathe low. I think I’ll incorporate this with the “shh” exercise.
- I’ll do some sirens with her because she tends to lack energy in her singing.
- I am going to try and take her away from the keyboard; she likes to watch me and gets nervous the higher I go (I do this myself in my own lesson; I can’t look at the keyboard).
- I’m going to do some gorilla/dog panting with her to get her to engage her breathing more and become more aware of it.
Goals:
Short:
- I want to establish good breathing/posture so that it becomes habitual for her.
- I want to find some vocalizes to help her be more active in her singing; she tends to fall into a “lull” when singing.
Long:
- I would like for her to become more “attached” to what she’s singing. It seems that she lacks emotional connection to the music, and I hope to encourage her musical sense to give her more interpretational freedom.
Emily C., Ashli H., Lesson Plan for 2/3/14
Emily C., Ashli H., Lesson Plan for 2/3/14
Plans:
- After what we discussed in class today, I want to try the different breathing positions (squatting, using the chair, etc.) to help Ashli find how it should feel to breathe. I had been feeling that I wasn’t explaining it well enough to her, so I’m definitely glad we went over this.
- I liked the idea of using “bounce” and starting out light on top and adding weight to the bottom notes. I’ll be applying this to the exercises.
- I’m going to do more swoopy speech work with Ashli and see how she takes it.
- To loosen her up, I’m going to have her bend forward/lay on the couch to get her to release while singing and to eliminate any extraneous movement.
Goals:
Short:
- I would like to get her to release in her posture and neck area.
- I want to get her to experiment more; she can be a little unwilling/embarrassed to try some of my vocalizes.
Long:
- I want to get her to come at the pitch from above; that’ll solve a lot of her tension problems and straining for higher pitches.
Jake Spjute Listening assignment 2
1. What is wrong with the sound I am hearing (and what I am seeing)? it sounds like a lot of the air is escaping, like the vocal folds aren't touching. She also needs to work on her posture, she wiggles around too much and that is effecting it too.
2. What is causing this problem? the vocal folds aren't touching
3. What would I do about it if I were the teacher? experiment with different vowels and try to get the line flowing out smoothly.
4. How well prepared was the performance prepared (musicianship, diction, style, etc.)? Give specifics that support your answer. I felt that in general she has a very pleasant voice, it appeared like she knew the translation of the text. However the Italian sounded very immature, she needs to correct those vowels and r's.
1. What is wrong with the sound I am hearing (and what I am seeing)? he's not making enough space with his tongue and mouth. Its very honkey. He's also breathing with his chest and shoulders a lot which is constricting everything
2. What is causing this problem? not having enough space, and improper breath gestures.
3. What would I do about it if I were the teacher? help him maintain vowel unification, and work on a downward breath gesture.
4. How well prepared was the performance prepared (musicianship, diction, style, etc.)? Give specifics that support your answer. I thought it was ok.. he had some mistakes on some notes, I could't understand what he was saying, and in general he was honkey. So I guess I didn't really like him at all.. haha
Taylee Beckstead Listening #2
Young Women:
What is wrong with the sound I am hearing? Her sound is very breathy. When she introduced herself it was very clear, but she went into "singing" mode to perform.
What is causing this problem? I think her vocal folds aren't coming together enough. Also since her voice sounds a lot further back in her throat, the static-y sound could be tongue tension in the back of her throat.
What would I do about it if I were the teacher? It seems that she is being to careful, so I would do two things. First I would have her do some monkey breaths/dog pants to help her release down into her body. Second, I would have her chunk her phrases up and first speak them, and then sing them. However, the speaking part wouldn't be just confined to the lower pitch range used in regular speech. I think she needs to feel in her body that connection between speaking and singing.
How well prepared was the performance? I felt like she knew the notes and rhythms of the song really well. I don't think that she prepared well on phrasing. She often held notes out too long, which prevented her from getting good relaxing breaths for the next phrase. Her diction was very inconsistent in the vowels, and just chewy all the way around. The diction was a small flaw in the bigger problem of not researching the time period appropriate styles. It came off as a church hymn to me because there was no emotion/intention behind anything.
Young Man:
What is wrong with the sound I am hearing? Intonation was a huge problem in this performance. Not only that, he sounded like he was pushing too much, sending his vibrato out the window.
What is causing this problem? Too much vocal adduction.
What would I do about it if I were the teacher? I really like the "bop" exercise for intonation problems (I know it's really helped me).
How well prepared was the performance? I felt like he was over doing it most of the performance. His movements weren't contributing, and were often distracting. I also felt like he was in panic mode the whole time. I'm not referring to nerves due to performing, I mean he didn't seem grounded. He was letting the pianist dictate everything, and not feeling a deep steady pulse in himself to build the song on.
Jake Spjute Paul Lesson Plan January 31st
So last week went really well. I think I was able to help him out so well because since he's a tenor i can hear and sympathize better with what he is doing with his voice. I like that he was able to modify his "i" vowel last week and that he could sense the difference in the space and sound. I'll check on that again and see if he is still doing it correctly. I will also check up on how he is breathing, I imagine he'll still need work on that. I also need to assign him a song to be working on... I'll see what he thinks about a hymn. They are simple and its about the only thing I can play on the piano...
Jake Spjute Angeles Lesson Plan January 29th
So this week I wanna see how she has been progressing with proper breath gesture. I feel like that alone would help her out in so many ways. She seems to have little control of her breath flow which causes her to tighten up a little bit on long phrases. I think I will also see how her vowels are doing. I talked to her a little bit last week about vowel unification. We'll see what happens!
Emily C., Amanda H. Lesson Record/Reactions, 1/30/14
Emily C., Amanda H. Lesson Record/Reactions, 1/30/14
Lesson Transcript:
- We started the lesson with just a couple minutes of stretching and getting Amanda’s body into the correct posture for singing since she sometimes struggles with maintaining a good “singer’s stance.” We reached for the sky, went side to side, then flopped forward and slowly brought our bodies back up, leaving the neck/head for last. I had to do less corrections with her in this first stage, but throughout the lesson I had to remind her to keep her shoulders relaxed and her chest open.
- I then decided to start out with the “shh” breathing exercise. She told me she practiced this one in front of a mirror, so I decided to expand on this a bit. Instead of just doing one “shh,” I had her do four short ones with mini good-breaths between each one and then on the fifth “shh,” we extended the length and took a nice quiet breath. I decided to point out to her how her shoulders sort of do this collapsing thing and bend inwards with her exhale.
- I had her take her arms and lock her fingers together behind her back to open up her chest. I had her do a couple of the same breathing exercise, telling her to try and not move her chest/shoulders (and it’s particularly difficult to do that in that position anyways without showing any obvious movement). When she did it correctly, I asked her how she felt differently about that breath, and she told me that it was lower. I told her we want expansion in the ribcage, not in the shoulders or stomach area.
- We moved on to vocalizes, going down on 54321, using the “mmm” hum, starting on F major, skipping around from A3 to E5 at highest. I tried telling her she had food in the back of her mouth and to add chewing for space. I didn’t like the sound of that however; it sounded too tense, like she was constricting, so I switched to [le], going down on the same scale and using the same range. Throughout the exercise, I made sure to point out the places where her breathing was collapsing or gasp-like. I also told her to utilize a yawn motion throughout the exercises. I switched to using [me], adding more swoop because her sound was still stiff, but it was getting better.
- Next, we did a [li le la lo lu] on 53421, using a “circle” motion with our hands, bouncing on every other note. I told her that every time the pitch goes back up, we want that bounce and we can use the consonant sound to add momentum to the breath and to the tone, in a swoop-like motion. This exercise worked really well for her, and the application that we took for this into her piece that she’s working on made it really easy for her to add more musicality and technique to her piece.
- We did the Oren Brown “fake it until you make it” yawn exercise for a bit to loosen up whenever she got close to being tight.
- Moving on to her piece “Gravity” by Sarah Barielles, I could tell she worked on the things that I pointed out to her in our last lesson. However, the sound was still slightly robotic and was at times disjunct. Her breathing was good in the first page of the music, but when she got to areas where her notes were extended, she got a little more gasp and her chest began to collapse more.
- The main thing that I wanted for her to do with her piece was to add more linearity to her phrases by using her breath and by using her consonants to provide her with momentum in her sound. There were some parts where she had to make an upward jump, so I told her to use the “bounce” we did in the [li le la lo lu] exercise to help propel her upward. She also had a tendency to breath in weird places, so I told her to use the “shhh” exercise and the short but good breathing during the rests in-between the phrases.
- I told her to practice speaking the words to her piece in a sincere manner; the lyrics are so emotional, and it’s not showing in her singing, so I told her to read it out loud and highlight the words that are most important in each line of text. These “highlighted” words could not only add more “soul” to her singing, but it could provide her with more momentum. I also told her that on the longer notes, she needs to crescendo into the next parts of the section so her singing isn’t so stagnant.
Lesson Reactions:
- I think this lesson went really well overall; Amanda really does pay attention to what I say, and it shows up in her singing. She still has some old breathing habits that we’re going to have to fix, but it’s mostly just pointing it out to her. When she’s paying attention to her breathing, her technique is much better and her throat opens up.
- I’m definitely not going to be doing the “mmm” exercise with her again, unless it’s on a different scale (not 54321) because it made her really tense, and I didn’t like the abrasive sound that came out when I told her to do it.
- The swooping exercises work much better than yawn. I think I like that term better and the results that come from my use of it. It encourages breath support without Amanda knowing either.
- I liked the pacing of this lesson; I left more time for working on her piece, and I could use that time to apply the vocalizes that we did to her singing.
- I think I’m getting better at noticing several things at once, but I still tend to get sort of side-tracked and focus on fixing one thing at a time. Practice is definitely making this much easier for me, though.
LaeKin Burgess Listening Assignment #2
Young woman singing “Caro mio ben”
The sound she is producing is very airy which could be
tongue tension or lack of sufficient airflow or both. Basically the vocal
chords are not fully adducting to create a fullness of sound. In this case I’m also noticing shallow, fast
breaths, reaching of the neck on the high notes and tension in the neck and
shoulders. The employment of extraneous
muscles is keeping her so tense she can’t get a low, relaxed breath, which is
probably the root of most of her vocal problems. If I were her teacher I would have her have
her lie on the floor and other positions that don’t allow her to employ all of
those extra muscles for singing. I would have her hula while singing and do
other such activities to help her realize that she can sing without all of that
extra help. The other thing I would address is how to get a low, relaxed
breath. Exercises like descending scales
on hum or a nasal consonant would help her focus her sound forward and help
with the adduction of the vocal chords.
It is clear that she tried to prepare well and she was trying to express
emotion with her face but she wasn’t being very successful because she was so
tense.
Young man singing “The Roadside Fire”
This young man was flat for a large part of the song. This
tells me he is using extra muscles in his throat and probably his tongue to
produce sound. There is also an obvious disconnect between his speaking range
and upper register. He tries to sing too heavily in the higher range, which
makes his voice sound weak there. His
breath is shallow which is obvious because of the rise in his shoulders and the
noisiness of the breath. His vowels are
also kind of funny, I’m not sure what it is but there seems to be a lot of
constriction in the back of his throat.
I would work on low breaths with this student too. He had a lot of extra
body movements in effort to produce emotion but these movements just ended up
being distracting. I would work on
helping him to hold more still and accomplishing expression without large body
movements. I would also do exercises like [u] on a downward scale lighter at the
top and heavier at the bottom to help him connect his higher range to his lower
range.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Shalayna Guisao Listening Assignment # 2
Caro mio ben.
What is wrong with the sound I am hearing (and what I am
seeing)?
The sound I am hearing
was very breathy and not low enough in her body. I could see that her shoulders
were constantly moving upward, indicating that breath was in her chest. I see that her arms, specifically her elbows,
were moving outward causing her posture to be off and forward. Her arms and
upper body seemed to carry a bit of tension.
What is causing this problem?
Her swaying and her posture could be causing the breathy quality in her voice.
She is not getting a supported breath because of the tension is her upper body
therefore leaving the voice ungrounded with no vibrato.
What would I do about it if I were the teacher?
I would work on her
posture and the release of tension. I would ask her to sit down and do some
breathing exercises to get the breath lower in her body then make our way
to standing up. I would use model
behavior in this case to let her feel how my back expands when I breathe and
then ask her if she could feel the same motion in her body. For posture, I
would ask the student to move her shoulders up, back , and down.
4. How well was the performance prepared
(musicianship, diction, style, etc.)? Give specifics that support your
answer.
I thought that
musically she was well prepared. She tried to express some emotion of the piece
but there could have been more. Caro mio ben has an infamous reputation. I
think she probably needed 5x more of the energy for this song so that her own artistic ability could show during performance. there needed to be more preparation with the diction because sometimes it sounded too American. I
did feel like she was confident. She did take time learning the piece but
there needed to be more time with her internalizing the meaning of the song.
The Roadside
fire
What is wrong with the sound I am hearing (and what I am
seeing)?
The posture of
the performer was awkward before he even sang. I thought the twist that he
started off with was strange. His timbre
was richer in his lower notes creating the potential of a pleasant sound but
there was bit of scooping and strain leading up to the higher notes. I saw that
his shoulders often went up consistently with audible breathing. I honestly had a hard time understanding the
text. The sound was too far back making it hard for me to understand what he
was singing.
What is causing this problem?
I want to say
that his vowel placement is causing the problem. The diction is very unclear
which is distorting the quality of his tone. His unnecessary movements with his arms and
mid-section can be causing the problem with his breath as well as the strain in
his sound. There looks like there is
some space between his molars but there is tension in his jaw.
What would I do about it if I were the teacher?
In order to work
on diction, I would ask the student to speak the text a few times and then sing
it like how it was previously spoken. To work on his breath and phrasing, I
would play the pitches and then ask the student to just sing ah on one pitch.
For posture and unnecessary movements, I would ask the student to roll his
shoulders and then put his arms up and drop them. I would also ask the student to
try to emote the song with out hand gestures. I think this student was trying
to express the song too much with his body and hands, making the movements look
forced and unnatural.
How well was the performance prepared (musicianship, diction,
style, etc.)? Give specifics that support your answer.
The performer showed good energy and interest in the song. I
think he could’ve used a better understanding on how to set up the phrasing and
its relationship to the dynamics. He could’ve taken more time deciding
where he was going to take his breaths because they often came across as
choppy. The text of this piece was not spoken enough making it hard for the
listener to understand what he was saying.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Emily F. lesson 1/29
Emily F. lesson 1/29: My voice didn't feel great when I woke up in the morning--not responsive and extra phlegmy. I think it may be an air quality thing. Anyway, I came to my lesson having warmed up for about 30 minutes, but I still had a lot of tension and weirdness going on. I turned in my third song analysis form and we discussed the other two that I had done before. We had a conversation about strategies for dealing with phlegm in our Julia Child voices. :) I did [tu-to...] descending major scale in triplets each scale degree with an additional major third on each note. This is one of my favorite vocalizes. I did inhaled [k] with descending octave, then ascending and descending 5-note scale on [a]. Laurie noticed that my jaw was loose and open and natural when I did the [k] but I "reset" and adjusted my jaw on [a]. I watched myself in the mirror and just by watching I was able to keep it the same, but I felt myself trying to change when I got to the [a]. We did hum-chew. I realized that I was having some serious tension in my jaw, upper back, chest, and lower back. I recognized that some stress that has been going on at home was really manifesting in my body, more than usual. We took a couple minutes to address those tension issues. I rested on the exercise ball and threw my arms out. We discussed all kinds of body things including water and exercise. I need to exercise more. I did [li-le-la-lo...] 8-6-7-5-6-4....1. Then I did [ssai] on descending octaves. Next we did the wobble. I got off the ball then because I was having a hard time singing in that position--my tongue felt bunchy and swallowed. I sang [o-no] on 1-3-5-8 plus major third flip/trill, back down 5-3-1. I kept getting stuck, just yucky sounding/feeling. Laurie had me groan while she played, had me pant, then back to the same vocalize. The difference after was so remarkable that we both had a good laugh. (And I could totally hear it in my recording!) I did a few more and got stuck again. Laurie asked me what I would do if I were practicing alone and felt that "stuck" feeling. I said that I'd probably try the vocalize lower, and maybe silent scream. So I tried that and it was effective. We kept going higher, but I alternated between the groan [uh] and the vocalize, and that was helpful. I was able to sing up to C6 on the octave plus the E6 trill fairly comfortably. I had to take a minute to pretend hula-hoop in there, and practiced some imagery of letting go of a balloon. This was a very effective, myelinating session that required a lot of thought, concentration, and several attempts to maintain the desired behavior. We worked on "Faites-lui mes aveux". I wasn't ready with text yet, so I just sang the first couple phrases on [du]. It was sticky and pressed like my voice had been behaving during the vocalizes. We tried several different ways of singing it--lip trill, on groan [uh], head back on different vowels, sitting and moving hips on the exercise ball (that was pretty good because my body was feeling so stiff before). We paused and did an onset exercise (repeated [a]) because my onsets were all very glottal, then went back to the song. I was still not doing great. Laurie had me stand on one leg. It was better, but she wanted still more engagement from my body, so I got lower to the ground on one leg again. My core was engaged so much that the sound was way better. My larynx just opened up so nicely and felt easy. It was a little frustrating to have my voice be so sluggish, pressed, and unresponsive today, but I feel like we were able to work some things out and the overall result wasn't horrible. It just wasn't a great day. We then worked on "Shelling Peas". At one moment I was singing through, just getting notes and rhythms but not singing with engagement. Laurie said, "Can you do that with a primal engagement?" I was able to immediately change and engage well. "Thank you!" from Laurie. That was hopeful because my body responded so quickly and everything was better with just a quick reminder. It was a good lesson because it wasn't easy. So much of what I did required a lot more of me than I thought I could give. It stretched me. My body and voice didn't feel good, but I was able to work anyway. My goals for the week are to practice the repeated [a] onset exercise daily, and figure out a way to schedule more exercise in.
LaeKin Burgess McCoy Chapter 5
What minimum frequency range is required to view the impact of both vowel and singer's formants in a spectrogrom? 0-5,500 Hz
What are the differences between narrowband and wideband spectrograms? Narrowband shows all harmonics clearly; wideband shows the frequency range of formant zones.
What types of analysis can be used to help a singer develop a chiaroscuro timbre? Specrograms, powerspectra and LPC because they show the relatice intensity of high vs. low frequency.
What type of analysis is best suited to help a singer develop an even vibrato? Narrowband spectrogram
Why does realtime analysis feedback often work better for male voices than female voices? Because they sing at lower fundamental frequencies, more harmonics are visible in the analysis display and more harmonics are available to interact with formants.
What is the minimum sample rate required to analyze frequencies in the 0-11Hz range? 22,000Hz
Why is formant analysis with LPC often inaccurate? Accuracy is reduced or eliminated when fundamental frequency exceeds the expected F1 frequency.
What is meant by the term closed quotient? CQ is the percentage of time the glottis is closed versus open during a cycle of vibration.
Why is EGG analysis considered to be noninvasive? Because measures are taken externally using electrodes.
What is spirometry? The procedure that measures breath capacity.
What are the differences between narrowband and wideband spectrograms? Narrowband shows all harmonics clearly; wideband shows the frequency range of formant zones.
What types of analysis can be used to help a singer develop a chiaroscuro timbre? Specrograms, powerspectra and LPC because they show the relatice intensity of high vs. low frequency.
What type of analysis is best suited to help a singer develop an even vibrato? Narrowband spectrogram
Why does realtime analysis feedback often work better for male voices than female voices? Because they sing at lower fundamental frequencies, more harmonics are visible in the analysis display and more harmonics are available to interact with formants.
What is the minimum sample rate required to analyze frequencies in the 0-11Hz range? 22,000Hz
Why is formant analysis with LPC often inaccurate? Accuracy is reduced or eliminated when fundamental frequency exceeds the expected F1 frequency.
What is meant by the term closed quotient? CQ is the percentage of time the glottis is closed versus open during a cycle of vibration.
Why is EGG analysis considered to be noninvasive? Because measures are taken externally using electrodes.
What is spirometry? The procedure that measures breath capacity.
LaeKin Burgess- Savannah Lesson Plan 1/30
Savannah Lesson Plan 1/30
I haven't seen Savannah for two weeks. I bought a new book for her so she could start on some new rep. She's been working on the rep she has now for too long. She isn't where she should be on them for memorization or even for learning but I think she's probably sick of them. The difficulty with Savannah is that she doesn't read music and she doesn't have a piano to begin learning to read music so all of her learning has to occur through recordings. This results in a lot of inaccuracies and it limits what she can sing since there aren't recordings of everything. So, plan for this week, give her new rep, do warm ups on hums and nasal consonants to help bring her sound forward out of the back of her throat. Goal is to bring her sound more focused and forward and to help her find moments of release from her root of tongue tension. Long term goal is still to bring a more speech-like, less airy quality into her voice.
I haven't seen Savannah for two weeks. I bought a new book for her so she could start on some new rep. She's been working on the rep she has now for too long. She isn't where she should be on them for memorization or even for learning but I think she's probably sick of them. The difficulty with Savannah is that she doesn't read music and she doesn't have a piano to begin learning to read music so all of her learning has to occur through recordings. This results in a lot of inaccuracies and it limits what she can sing since there aren't recordings of everything. So, plan for this week, give her new rep, do warm ups on hums and nasal consonants to help bring her sound forward out of the back of her throat. Goal is to bring her sound more focused and forward and to help her find moments of release from her root of tongue tension. Long term goal is still to bring a more speech-like, less airy quality into her voice.
LaeKin Burgess- MayeRee B. Lesson Plan for #2 for 1/30
After two weeks of cancelled lessons I'm back on the blog for lesson plans and reports. :)
MayeRee Lesson Plan for 1/30
Since MayeRee and I had a break from regularly scheduled lessons for a week and we only had one lesson previously, I know this lesson is going to be some review. I plan to give her some more exciting repertoire this week since last week all I had to offer was a hymn. I also want to apply what we learned and do some more vocalizes that require her to "experiment" with her voice. I want to do the wobble to keep her from "setting" her voice in one place. My goal for this week is for MayeRee to experience moments of release that she can then use as a model behavior for the rest of her singing. I'm hoping to help her understand what a moment of release feels like. This puts us perfectly in line for our long term goal which is to have these moments of release all of the time in her singing.
MayeRee Lesson Plan for 1/30
Since MayeRee and I had a break from regularly scheduled lessons for a week and we only had one lesson previously, I know this lesson is going to be some review. I plan to give her some more exciting repertoire this week since last week all I had to offer was a hymn. I also want to apply what we learned and do some more vocalizes that require her to "experiment" with her voice. I want to do the wobble to keep her from "setting" her voice in one place. My goal for this week is for MayeRee to experience moments of release that she can then use as a model behavior for the rest of her singing. I'm hoping to help her understand what a moment of release feels like. This puts us perfectly in line for our long term goal which is to have these moments of release all of the time in her singing.
LaeKin Burgess Listening Assignment #1
Listening Assignment #1
Sumi Jo- I like her the best. I can’t see her in the video
but her voice is so free and even and smooth. It is the most pleasant thing I
heard in this listening exercise.
Renee Fleming- I love her voice but I can see her tongue
pull back a lot and you can hear that in her timbre. Her jaw also sometimes
looks set; otherwise she is very pleasant to watch.
Anna Netrebko- She has a very dark, rounded tone. I actually
really love listening to her but occasionally it can sound edgy, like the
resonators are a little stiff. Visually, especially on the high notes she can
sometimes look like she is reaching for it.
Barbara Frittoli- her vibrato is a little smacky or fluttery
like she may have some tongue tension or something, but she keeps good
composure and has a beautiful timbre.
Maria Callas- Rocks back and forth and makes the singing
look somewhat effortful at times. She has a beautiful voice that sounds
released but the recording isn’t very good.
Joan Sutherland- Okay, I know a lot of people love her but I
HATE listening to her, and I very much dislike watching her. Her voice is quite
free and flexible; I think it’s the timbre I don’t like. Visually, her face
looks all pinched and it looks like she is trying way too hard.
Edita Gruberova- She has got to do something different with
her face. Vibrato and onset are a bit abrupt. Shallow chest breath is visible
in the recording. Overall has the feeling of approaching the note from the
bottom rather than the top.
Sarah Boucher Dacy Lesson Record and Reactions 1/29
Sarah Boucher Dacy Lesson Record and Reactions 1/29
Record:
We began stretching, toaster shoulders, rag doll, reaching to the ceiling, neck stretches. Then we did some football player fast legs and danced around a bit to get our energy up.
S: So today, I am going to try to really focus on letting what happens in the warmups dictate what we do next. So if I pause, or take a second to decide what to do next, bare with me! Ok so let's start with sighs, this is always a good place to start. (Did a few, added the yawn and went higher) We are gonna start with a new one. You are gonna hm and release it as a me. (Demonstrated. She tried a few, I did some with her to help her get the gist. It wasn't helping her like I wanted it to. I intended for it to help with her breathiness and bring her sound more forward, but it wasn't helping. So after of while of trying that I decided to switch gears.)
D: I have really bad breath support today!
S: It is ok! Let's do some yawn into ah's. (Demonstrated. 5-3-1 pattern. She did a bunch. Normally the yawn helps to open her up, but today it didn't quite work as well. I heard some improvement in the breathiness but the sound was still quite far back. ) How did that feel? Did that help with your breath connection?
D: Ya, I still struggled up high, but in my low range I felt it.
S: Ok, so let's keep working with breath, I am going to have you squat in your football player stance and let's just do some breaths in this position. (We did some together) What did you notice about your breath in this stance?
D: Um...I don't really know.
S: Ok let's try again and see where you are noticing it in your body.
D: I don't really feel it.
S: (Nothing seems to be working today!) Alright lay on the floor! (She did so) Ok, so just take a normal breath in, as if you are sleeping. Imagine that I put an essential oil up to your nose and made you take a deep breath in.Where do you feel that breath?
D: It's lower.
S: Lower meaning?
D: I don't know how to explain it. I am not sure how to put into words what I feel in my body.
S: I know! It is hard. That is such a hard part of singing, is figuring out what it is you are feeling in your body. Sometimes you can't come up with the words, but do you at least know what you are feeling?
D: Ya, I feel like the air is not trapped in my lungs, it is much lower.
S: Yes, it is not in your chest at all. This is a good way to find your breath. When we breath normally we aren't thinking about how it is happening, we are just letting it happen. Something happens when we sing though, we panic and think to much about how we are breathing and then over complicate things. Now let's move to the chair. (I had her bend over and put her elbows on her legs and take a nice breath in) Now what do you feel.
D: I can feel it in my whole body.
S: Good...Do you feel it....Ah, shoot! I am trying not to feed you any answers! I'll just tell you! Ok well I feel it expanding near the button on my pants. It is not that you are sticking your stomach out, like this, it is that it is expanding through your waist. Don't think of a backward forward motion, but think of it expanding through all sides. It should be through your back, hips, butt etc. When you think breath, think of a balloon. When you blow up the balloon the air is expanding it from all directions. Ok so now let's find it sitting up.
D: There is so much to think about!!
S: I know, and breathing is very challenging. I have been taking lessons since I was twelve and still have such trouble with it, so no worries! What really helps me is taking the time before I sing to find that low breath. Asking myself "Is that how it should feel?" "Is my chest collapsing?" "Is the breath going all the way down to the floor?"
D: Is it weird to have it switch with every breath? One breath, I feel it, and the next I don't.
S: No, that is totally normal! Happens to me all the time when I sing, one breath is good and the next is not! So, this is just something to think about. I thought it would be good to have that just because we were struggling with the breath at the beginning of the lesson. Let's just have you stay seated and try some no, no, no's. (Started on a C and jumped all over. The sound was fairly forward on most of them. I tried to take her a little higher than she was comfortable with. She had a few really good ones in a row) I really liked that! I played that same note earlier and you were scared of it but just barely it sounded awesome. Why do you think that is?
D: Well, now that I found my breath a little bit better it is easier.
S: Ya! And I think the no's are really good for you because they are voiced and help to bring your sound more forward.
D: Why is it that voiced consonants work better?
S: I think it is because voiced consonants take more energy to create so your body is engaged in trying to create them. It is just much more body energy. Let's experiment and do the same exercise on a non voiced consonant- S- and see if we can have that energy on an non voiced. (The sound was forward but tight. I was just testing to see if she could have that same forward sound on non voiced. She had it but it was clearly tight) Did that feel tight?
D: Ya, a bit.
S: Ok. Let's try Bi-di-bi-di-bi. Speak it. (She did and it lacked energy and carry. We did a bunch speaking) Good, did you feel that energy in the last one?
D: Ya!
S: Think energy not loudness. (She did it again.) Not as good as the last one, try again (she did it again) Ok now let's add pitch. (Staccato style. We did a bunch, the sound pretty forward.). Can you feel the difference between your "projected voice" and your normal voice?
D: I feel it more in my mouth.
S: Meaning?
D: I feel like there is more space. It is like I feel it...in my head?
S: YES! A lot of times we talk about singing in the mask as singers, and that is exactly what it is, it feels like it is in your head. Let's do some sirens. (I chose this to help Dacy with forward sound.) Those are really good! Alright let's look at Wonderful World. So we are going to try something. Last time, we focused on breath, remember your football player stance and imploded K and all that? Well this time I want to look at phrasing more. I want you to take your scarf out and hold it in your hands. As you breathe through the phrases, I want you to stretch the scarf. As you go to take a new breath bring your hands back in. (I demonstrated because it is hard to explain) I want you to grow and change with the phrases. It should also help with your breath, because it is helping you breath through the phrase. Let's add an imploded K as well. (She sang it for me. I heard some more phrasing and direction in the music that I liked) What did you think about that?
D: Sometimes I forgot to move the scarf, but it help me to think about it more. Especially the words more.
S: That is good, cause you want the phrases to move somewhere and mean something. Let's go on using the scarf again. (The second part was a little more breathy.) How did that compare to the first half?
D: The first have was easier for me. I think because I know it better.
S: I definitely heard more presence and energy in the first half, but we have worked it more! Let's keep working on this chunk. Let's do the imploded k.
D: I feel like my imploded k is making me breath high.
S: Would a yawn be better?
D: Ya probably, I definitely feel the yawn lower. (She did it again with a yawn)
S: Ok, how did that feel?
D: It was lower.
S: It seemed more supported.
D: Ya, it felt that way. I don't know why the imploded K thing isn't working though!
S: Think of it as a surprise breath. (I demonstrated.) Do you notice how when you do that the air just falls in? (She nodded and we did a few like that). Ok let's try it again with the surprise breath. (She did the chunk again)
D: That helps a lot!
S: I heard nice warmth there! So now I want you to move around when you sing this. Move however you want. The warmth and tone is there but it is just the phrasing that is missing. I am playing the piano so I am not watching you, so do what you want to do ok? Let's two these first two chunks. Do it on "do" so you don't stress about the words. (She did it again, while dancing behind me) Thoughts on that?
D: It is fun!
S: Anything else?
D: I felt the changes better.
S: You felt those phrases more? Were dynamic shifts easier to feel?
D: It felt easier to change it up.
S: As we move sometimes we forget other things. But this a good way to feel the phrasing and make it more musical!
Reactions:
So, I don't know what it was about this lesson but I was seriously striking out at every turn. Everything I tried just flopped miserably! I am not sure how to help her. Her sound can be very far forward but breathy at the same time. I tried to let what I heard dictate the direction I went throughout the lesson, but I felt like I was all over the place. One good thing is that I think I helped her understand where to place her sound to make it more "projected" like she is wanting. Then other times it is really far back. I don't know what to address first. I think I am getting better at not feeding the "correct" answers to my students, I nearly did several times but caught myself so that is good. I need to work on my focus, I need to be guided by what they do, but also not go all over the place. I need to just pick one thing and focus in on it at time to not confuse her or me!
Record:
We began stretching, toaster shoulders, rag doll, reaching to the ceiling, neck stretches. Then we did some football player fast legs and danced around a bit to get our energy up.
S: So today, I am going to try to really focus on letting what happens in the warmups dictate what we do next. So if I pause, or take a second to decide what to do next, bare with me! Ok so let's start with sighs, this is always a good place to start. (Did a few, added the yawn and went higher) We are gonna start with a new one. You are gonna hm and release it as a me. (Demonstrated. She tried a few, I did some with her to help her get the gist. It wasn't helping her like I wanted it to. I intended for it to help with her breathiness and bring her sound more forward, but it wasn't helping. So after of while of trying that I decided to switch gears.)
D: I have really bad breath support today!
S: It is ok! Let's do some yawn into ah's. (Demonstrated. 5-3-1 pattern. She did a bunch. Normally the yawn helps to open her up, but today it didn't quite work as well. I heard some improvement in the breathiness but the sound was still quite far back. ) How did that feel? Did that help with your breath connection?
D: Ya, I still struggled up high, but in my low range I felt it.
S: Ok, so let's keep working with breath, I am going to have you squat in your football player stance and let's just do some breaths in this position. (We did some together) What did you notice about your breath in this stance?
D: Um...I don't really know.
S: Ok let's try again and see where you are noticing it in your body.
D: I don't really feel it.
S: (Nothing seems to be working today!) Alright lay on the floor! (She did so) Ok, so just take a normal breath in, as if you are sleeping. Imagine that I put an essential oil up to your nose and made you take a deep breath in.Where do you feel that breath?
D: It's lower.
S: Lower meaning?
D: I don't know how to explain it. I am not sure how to put into words what I feel in my body.
S: I know! It is hard. That is such a hard part of singing, is figuring out what it is you are feeling in your body. Sometimes you can't come up with the words, but do you at least know what you are feeling?
D: Ya, I feel like the air is not trapped in my lungs, it is much lower.
S: Yes, it is not in your chest at all. This is a good way to find your breath. When we breath normally we aren't thinking about how it is happening, we are just letting it happen. Something happens when we sing though, we panic and think to much about how we are breathing and then over complicate things. Now let's move to the chair. (I had her bend over and put her elbows on her legs and take a nice breath in) Now what do you feel.
D: I can feel it in my whole body.
S: Good...Do you feel it....Ah, shoot! I am trying not to feed you any answers! I'll just tell you! Ok well I feel it expanding near the button on my pants. It is not that you are sticking your stomach out, like this, it is that it is expanding through your waist. Don't think of a backward forward motion, but think of it expanding through all sides. It should be through your back, hips, butt etc. When you think breath, think of a balloon. When you blow up the balloon the air is expanding it from all directions. Ok so now let's find it sitting up.
D: There is so much to think about!!
S: I know, and breathing is very challenging. I have been taking lessons since I was twelve and still have such trouble with it, so no worries! What really helps me is taking the time before I sing to find that low breath. Asking myself "Is that how it should feel?" "Is my chest collapsing?" "Is the breath going all the way down to the floor?"
D: Is it weird to have it switch with every breath? One breath, I feel it, and the next I don't.
S: No, that is totally normal! Happens to me all the time when I sing, one breath is good and the next is not! So, this is just something to think about. I thought it would be good to have that just because we were struggling with the breath at the beginning of the lesson. Let's just have you stay seated and try some no, no, no's. (Started on a C and jumped all over. The sound was fairly forward on most of them. I tried to take her a little higher than she was comfortable with. She had a few really good ones in a row) I really liked that! I played that same note earlier and you were scared of it but just barely it sounded awesome. Why do you think that is?
D: Well, now that I found my breath a little bit better it is easier.
S: Ya! And I think the no's are really good for you because they are voiced and help to bring your sound more forward.
D: Why is it that voiced consonants work better?
S: I think it is because voiced consonants take more energy to create so your body is engaged in trying to create them. It is just much more body energy. Let's experiment and do the same exercise on a non voiced consonant- S- and see if we can have that energy on an non voiced. (The sound was forward but tight. I was just testing to see if she could have that same forward sound on non voiced. She had it but it was clearly tight) Did that feel tight?
D: Ya, a bit.
S: Ok. Let's try Bi-di-bi-di-bi. Speak it. (She did and it lacked energy and carry. We did a bunch speaking) Good, did you feel that energy in the last one?
D: Ya!
S: Think energy not loudness. (She did it again.) Not as good as the last one, try again (she did it again) Ok now let's add pitch. (Staccato style. We did a bunch, the sound pretty forward.). Can you feel the difference between your "projected voice" and your normal voice?
D: I feel it more in my mouth.
S: Meaning?
D: I feel like there is more space. It is like I feel it...in my head?
S: YES! A lot of times we talk about singing in the mask as singers, and that is exactly what it is, it feels like it is in your head. Let's do some sirens. (I chose this to help Dacy with forward sound.) Those are really good! Alright let's look at Wonderful World. So we are going to try something. Last time, we focused on breath, remember your football player stance and imploded K and all that? Well this time I want to look at phrasing more. I want you to take your scarf out and hold it in your hands. As you breathe through the phrases, I want you to stretch the scarf. As you go to take a new breath bring your hands back in. (I demonstrated because it is hard to explain) I want you to grow and change with the phrases. It should also help with your breath, because it is helping you breath through the phrase. Let's add an imploded K as well. (She sang it for me. I heard some more phrasing and direction in the music that I liked) What did you think about that?
D: Sometimes I forgot to move the scarf, but it help me to think about it more. Especially the words more.
S: That is good, cause you want the phrases to move somewhere and mean something. Let's go on using the scarf again. (The second part was a little more breathy.) How did that compare to the first half?
D: The first have was easier for me. I think because I know it better.
S: I definitely heard more presence and energy in the first half, but we have worked it more! Let's keep working on this chunk. Let's do the imploded k.
D: I feel like my imploded k is making me breath high.
S: Would a yawn be better?
D: Ya probably, I definitely feel the yawn lower. (She did it again with a yawn)
S: Ok, how did that feel?
D: It was lower.
S: It seemed more supported.
D: Ya, it felt that way. I don't know why the imploded K thing isn't working though!
S: Think of it as a surprise breath. (I demonstrated.) Do you notice how when you do that the air just falls in? (She nodded and we did a few like that). Ok let's try it again with the surprise breath. (She did the chunk again)
D: That helps a lot!
S: I heard nice warmth there! So now I want you to move around when you sing this. Move however you want. The warmth and tone is there but it is just the phrasing that is missing. I am playing the piano so I am not watching you, so do what you want to do ok? Let's two these first two chunks. Do it on "do" so you don't stress about the words. (She did it again, while dancing behind me) Thoughts on that?
D: It is fun!
S: Anything else?
D: I felt the changes better.
S: You felt those phrases more? Were dynamic shifts easier to feel?
D: It felt easier to change it up.
S: As we move sometimes we forget other things. But this a good way to feel the phrasing and make it more musical!
Reactions:
So, I don't know what it was about this lesson but I was seriously striking out at every turn. Everything I tried just flopped miserably! I am not sure how to help her. Her sound can be very far forward but breathy at the same time. I tried to let what I heard dictate the direction I went throughout the lesson, but I felt like I was all over the place. One good thing is that I think I helped her understand where to place her sound to make it more "projected" like she is wanting. Then other times it is really far back. I don't know what to address first. I think I am getting better at not feeding the "correct" answers to my students, I nearly did several times but caught myself so that is good. I need to work on my focus, I need to be guided by what they do, but also not go all over the place. I need to just pick one thing and focus in on it at time to not confuse her or me!
Sarah Brenay - Emma Wright - Lesson Record/Reaction 1/29/14
1/29/14 - Emma Wright
Lesson Overview
After planning our next lesson we did some stretching while discussing how Emma's practicing went since our last lesson. She was telling me that her pieces were going well, but that she wanted to try "She's Like the Swallow" in a lower key. Which is fine, because I happen to have it in a lower key! Then we did some warming up for about 15 minutes, which went really well. I feel like she's coming along! I wasn't planning on talking to her about vocal adduction, but she asked questions so I explained that improper adduction can cause a breathy tone. I warned her that pushing to create focus is extremely unhealthy. I hope that my dire warnings don't scare her away from trying new things! Yikes I didn't think about that... Anyway then we sang "Amazing Grace."
Vocalizes
We started with some sighs and stretches, which is how I've been starting every single lesson. I just love doing it myself! I asked her if she could start higher without pushing and she did! Her voice is getting more clarity up there. I'm excited about that! I think this exercise is good for her.
Then we did an [u] sound sliding up and down an octave. We started on B flat 3 sliding up to B flat 4, and then went down to A flat 3. I jumped up to D4-D5 and descended again. I had her tip her head back and let her jaw release, which allowed much more sound to come out and freed her up quite a bit. She said that it felt much better, and I asked her to expand on that. She said that she felt like more sound was coming out and it "just felt better." I'm not completely convinced. I worry that she may have been doing something funky to compensate for her jaw movement, but I couldn't or hear anything this time so I'll have to keep a sharp eye out.
After that we did some [ni ne na no nu]. First speaking, then elongating, then projecting, then elevating. We sang it on the 13531 pattern again which is also clearing up and gaining more focus. I noticed that she was keeping more space in her mouth! She was actually applying what we talked about in the previous warm up! What a great student! I showed her how to do the warm up without closing her mouth at all, but told her not to strain herself because she was already making so much progress with her jaw release and I didn't want her to push it.
Lastly, we did Brown's warm up for hypofunction. Descending staccato scale [bi di bi di bi]. This worked great! There was so much more immediacy and clarity in her tone! I started pretty low, just D major. Then descended to B flat. I went back up to E flat Major and this time decided to add the jand flick. In Brown's book he directed the student to flick their forearm and hand as though they were shaking off water. I thought it sounded like a crutch and was reluctant to try it, but thought I might as well experiment. It worked REALLY well. She said that she thought it sounded very different! I asked her how it felt different and she said it sounded stronger and easier. I was so pleased with the result! We kept doing that exercise for a while, switching consonants to [go do go do go] and [ki ti ki ti ki]. We went as high as G major, but I am honestly afraid to go higher with her.
Repertoire work
We started with Amazing Grace.
At first her tone was very breathy, suddenly cutting into an edgy chest tone on notes below E4. My first idea was to connect her singing to speech. We spoke the text naturally, then in rhythm, then elevated it. At first the effect was very good! I asked Emma what felt different and she had a hard time articulating what she felt. She said it sounded more natural and more connected. It sounded much better to me! But the effect faded quickly.
Next I tried to help her with breathing. Her posture is really excellent! And her rib cage expands outward incredibly well! She said she learned the breathing technique from a video about singing rock safely. Who knew? The problem was that she collapsed at the onset. Her breathing was too fast and gaspy and then expelled to quickly. I tried really hard to address the rib collapse situation but nothing I said made sense to Emma. We stood next to each other in front of the mirror, inhaled, and then exhaled on a [s]. Her ribs collapsed more slowly, but something still wasn't working. She said "the body needs to collapse a little bit though, doesn't it?" And I really wasn't sure. I said, "ideally, eventually, no! But I'm still working on it." I had her lie down on the floor and feel the way her breath entered and exited her body. I did it too and unfortunately felt my ribs moving on exhale. So My whole concept of collapse was negated. Now I'm confused!!! We did discover that the MOST movement occurs below the diaphragm. But I'm not sure how to use or explain this information. I gave up on the collapsing vain because I started feeling so uncertain. So I tried to help her intake air more slowly. That helped a lot! We would sing a phrase, then pause for a nice slow breath, then sing again. She made it through her phrases with much more grace and with a fuller tone. I was pleased with that, but frustrated that I couldn't explain the supported singing.
Reaction
I feel like some really good things happened in this lesson! The [bi di bi di bi] warm up worked wonders. The slow breaths were very helpful. And Emma is so smart and hard working that things are starting to click for her. I also feel frustrated because I didn't explain the breathing well. I still wish I could think on my feet during warm ups faster. Lots of work to do!
Ideas for next time
I need to come up with some safe warm ups to take her voice higher. I think she's really afraid to sing high and I need to help her see that she can! I'm just afraid to do it wrong.
If I do the [u] slide up and down the octave again I will need to change the vowels to [a] at the bottom and [u] at the top.
I need to figure out how to help her with breath. I realize now that a good visualization is spreading both arms to the side as you inhale to simulate the expansion of the ribs, sides, and back. I'll need to figure it all out before our next lesson.
I moved away from the speak to sing exercise. It worked so well at first, and then when it started to get airy again I should have gone back and had her start the speak to sing process again.
Lesson Overview
After planning our next lesson we did some stretching while discussing how Emma's practicing went since our last lesson. She was telling me that her pieces were going well, but that she wanted to try "She's Like the Swallow" in a lower key. Which is fine, because I happen to have it in a lower key! Then we did some warming up for about 15 minutes, which went really well. I feel like she's coming along! I wasn't planning on talking to her about vocal adduction, but she asked questions so I explained that improper adduction can cause a breathy tone. I warned her that pushing to create focus is extremely unhealthy. I hope that my dire warnings don't scare her away from trying new things! Yikes I didn't think about that... Anyway then we sang "Amazing Grace."
Vocalizes
We started with some sighs and stretches, which is how I've been starting every single lesson. I just love doing it myself! I asked her if she could start higher without pushing and she did! Her voice is getting more clarity up there. I'm excited about that! I think this exercise is good for her.
Then we did an [u] sound sliding up and down an octave. We started on B flat 3 sliding up to B flat 4, and then went down to A flat 3. I jumped up to D4-D5 and descended again. I had her tip her head back and let her jaw release, which allowed much more sound to come out and freed her up quite a bit. She said that it felt much better, and I asked her to expand on that. She said that she felt like more sound was coming out and it "just felt better." I'm not completely convinced. I worry that she may have been doing something funky to compensate for her jaw movement, but I couldn't or hear anything this time so I'll have to keep a sharp eye out.
After that we did some [ni ne na no nu]. First speaking, then elongating, then projecting, then elevating. We sang it on the 13531 pattern again which is also clearing up and gaining more focus. I noticed that she was keeping more space in her mouth! She was actually applying what we talked about in the previous warm up! What a great student! I showed her how to do the warm up without closing her mouth at all, but told her not to strain herself because she was already making so much progress with her jaw release and I didn't want her to push it.
Lastly, we did Brown's warm up for hypofunction. Descending staccato scale [bi di bi di bi]. This worked great! There was so much more immediacy and clarity in her tone! I started pretty low, just D major. Then descended to B flat. I went back up to E flat Major and this time decided to add the jand flick. In Brown's book he directed the student to flick their forearm and hand as though they were shaking off water. I thought it sounded like a crutch and was reluctant to try it, but thought I might as well experiment. It worked REALLY well. She said that she thought it sounded very different! I asked her how it felt different and she said it sounded stronger and easier. I was so pleased with the result! We kept doing that exercise for a while, switching consonants to [go do go do go] and [ki ti ki ti ki]. We went as high as G major, but I am honestly afraid to go higher with her.
Repertoire work
We started with Amazing Grace.
At first her tone was very breathy, suddenly cutting into an edgy chest tone on notes below E4. My first idea was to connect her singing to speech. We spoke the text naturally, then in rhythm, then elevated it. At first the effect was very good! I asked Emma what felt different and she had a hard time articulating what she felt. She said it sounded more natural and more connected. It sounded much better to me! But the effect faded quickly.
Next I tried to help her with breathing. Her posture is really excellent! And her rib cage expands outward incredibly well! She said she learned the breathing technique from a video about singing rock safely. Who knew? The problem was that she collapsed at the onset. Her breathing was too fast and gaspy and then expelled to quickly. I tried really hard to address the rib collapse situation but nothing I said made sense to Emma. We stood next to each other in front of the mirror, inhaled, and then exhaled on a [s]. Her ribs collapsed more slowly, but something still wasn't working. She said "the body needs to collapse a little bit though, doesn't it?" And I really wasn't sure. I said, "ideally, eventually, no! But I'm still working on it." I had her lie down on the floor and feel the way her breath entered and exited her body. I did it too and unfortunately felt my ribs moving on exhale. So My whole concept of collapse was negated. Now I'm confused!!! We did discover that the MOST movement occurs below the diaphragm. But I'm not sure how to use or explain this information. I gave up on the collapsing vain because I started feeling so uncertain. So I tried to help her intake air more slowly. That helped a lot! We would sing a phrase, then pause for a nice slow breath, then sing again. She made it through her phrases with much more grace and with a fuller tone. I was pleased with that, but frustrated that I couldn't explain the supported singing.
Reaction
I feel like some really good things happened in this lesson! The [bi di bi di bi] warm up worked wonders. The slow breaths were very helpful. And Emma is so smart and hard working that things are starting to click for her. I also feel frustrated because I didn't explain the breathing well. I still wish I could think on my feet during warm ups faster. Lots of work to do!
Ideas for next time
I need to come up with some safe warm ups to take her voice higher. I think she's really afraid to sing high and I need to help her see that she can! I'm just afraid to do it wrong.
If I do the [u] slide up and down the octave again I will need to change the vowels to [a] at the bottom and [u] at the top.
I need to figure out how to help her with breath. I realize now that a good visualization is spreading both arms to the side as you inhale to simulate the expansion of the ribs, sides, and back. I'll need to figure it all out before our next lesson.
I moved away from the speak to sing exercise. It worked so well at first, and then when it started to get airy again I should have gone back and had her start the speak to sing process again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)