Emily F. Tali P. lesson record/reactions for 1/27

Emily F. Tali P. lesson record:
E: How are you feeling?
T: Well, I actually am coming down with something. I have this cough, but I feel fine mostly.
E: Ok. Well, it's good that you're here. You wouldn't want to practice if you're deathly ill or your throat hurts, but it's good to see what your voice will do when you're not feeling 100%.
T: I didn't practice very much this week.
E: Ok. How did the practicing go?
T: I really, really liked singing on one leg, and using the exercise bands. It was really cool to feel that when I would go to sing a hard note, my stomach would clench automatically. So it was like my whole body was helping. So, it was good?
E: Yeah, well, you definitely don't want to feel like it's totally tight or like you're doing crunches, but an energized, strong feeling is great!
T: Yeah, that's what I felt, and I liked that a lot because I've never felt that before when I was singing. I really liked doing the zombie [low moaning "uh" with dumb jaw] because it helped me feel like my jaw was loose. The siren was good but I couldn't do it too many times.
E: That's fine. It can be hard to do.
T: The ni-ne-na-no-nu was interesting to try doing as high as I could while still talking. The pip-pip was really hard to do. Yeah, that's about it.
E: Sounds great! Let's try some yawning. [We yawned, me modeling on different pitches for a few seconds. Then we moved onto sigh.] Ok. I want you to try sighing as high as you can, but don't push it out, let's just see what happens. So if it's silent at the top, that's great. [I modeled, and Tali did several. She's got high notes available to her that she may get to use someday. One was about a Bb6 and she slid down till her voice cracked. She felt embarrassed.] That's great! Don't worry about that crack. You were doing a really nice job there, it was easy and you weren't trying to adjust anything. A lot of times when it cracks we tense up and try to hold or fix it, but it's ok! You're not performing or anything. You have some good high notes there. As long as we can work on keeping your larynx loose, you're going to be able to do great! [I taught her the inhaled "k" and asked her to sing 8-5-3-1 on C5. This was a real challenge for her and she was doing weird things with her tongue and mouth. So I took out the pitch, and she practiced just the inhaled "k". I asked her how that felt, and she thought it was a weird exercise, never having tried anything like it before. I had her flip her hand back to give her a visual of the breathing in, then we just tried it followed by a sigh on random pitches.]
T: I can see how this will help me go higher.
E: Let's try mi-me-ma-mo-mu. [I started her on E4, asking her to keep the line connected, all on one pitch. We moved to F4. I felt like she was really airy and underenergized, so I stopped and had her do some Santa "ho-hos", and monkey sounds. We went right back to mi-me-ma-mo-mu on F. I saw stiffness in jaw and neck so I asked her to do the same thing while letting her head roll around easily.] Did you like that one as much?
T: I don't think I did it as well.
E: Yeah, I don't think it was very effective, so let's try something else. [I had her put her fingers by her mouth, pointing out at me. I then realized that she was closing down her jaw when she said "m" so I asked her if she could hum with her teeth apart. We moved up to F#, G.] K, let's try it like this: I want you to flip your hand back when you open to the vowels. [I was hoping that she could get some more jaw/molar space when she did that. It was ok.]
T: So, what's this exercise for? [taking notes]
E: Well, it's to try to help you get a nice, focused sound. The "m" is good for helping you feel the sound here and keeping it consistent and connected. Flipping your hand back helps you "see'' a nice, tall back of your mouth. It's kind of a yawn feeling. Let's do some lip buzz. [I started on G4, with 1-3-5-3-1, Ab5, A5, Bb5. It was high, so I had her start on F5, same triad, lip buzz on 5, slide down and open to [a] on 1.] When you get to "ah", I just want your jaw to fall open and the "ah" to fall out of your mouth. [We went down to E5, Eb5.]
T: Now, when I do lip buzz, I clench my teeth together. Is that alright?
E: Actually, it would be better if you could keep your teeth apart. You think you could do that? So, your mouth is as open and free as you can possibly maintain while still buzzing your lips. I know that's a lot to think about...
T: No, I just noticed that and wondered.
E: I'm glad you caught that! [She went back to the exercise, Eb5, D5, Db5.] OK. That's good. Let's do "ya-ha-hi-ha-ha" [1-3-5-3-1 on E4, F4, F#4, G4, A5, Bb5. She was being really careful and airy.] Good. This time try it like a pirate jig--yo ho ho and a bottle of rum, or something. Does that make sense? [Same vocalize, beginning at D4.]
T: Oh, I did that totally wrong!
E: No, it was good! Just like that again. [Eb5, E5, F5] What did you notice about the pirate one and before?
T: I still get a little nervous because it's new, but I have a feeling that if I just let it go and try to be enthusiastic it'll be better.
E: I feel like the "pirate" one had more energy in it and I liked the sound better. I know it's a little silly, but we get to do all kinds of silly things in voice lessons! So maybe you can just think the feeling but not have to be silly on the outside. Let's look at a song. I chose a song for you--it's "Panis Angelicus". Do you want me to sing it for you? [I sang it through. We looked at the book, which has a translation, IPA transcription, and background information. I spoke the text through slowly and pointed out what some of the IPA symbols meant.] You can take this home, work out the notes and rhythms, and don't worry about the words yet. Pick a vowel that feels comfortable, or mix vowels. If you feel tense, change the vowel, shake out your shoulders, or something. You can lip buzz. If you feel really comfortable with the notes, you could start adding words.
T: Great. I'm excited. I have the song I chose on the way. I had to order the music. I think I have to add more time to my practice. 15 minutes isn't enough.
E: Good. I'd say 15 minutes at a time is great, maybe two or three times in a day. And remember, if you're doing high pitches, just a couple minutes at a time for that.
Lesson reactions: Today was a more mellow, lower-energy kind of day for both of us. I didn't feel like I did a very good job, but when I listened to it back, it actually seemed like a good lesson. I was better on the piano today, but I'm afraid that my focusing on playing the right notes will detract from my ability to observe. It's a tough balance. When I play better, the student has more confidence, though. I'm still worried that I'm asking for too much from Tali and that I will teach her bad habits. I'm hoping to find the balance between getting energy and body engagement from her, and keeping freedom in the voice. I guess that's always the goal of a voice teacher, huh? I thought that identifying the teeth together on both the "m" and the lip trill was really good. I'm glad we were able to catch those, because she has such tension in her jaw anyway that maybe practicing keeping her teeth apart on those exercises will help train her to open her mouth more. The "pirate" [ya-ha-hi-ha-ha] was another exercise that seemed helpful. Her sound and clarity at least doubled when she thought "pirate". Definitely one of my biggest obstacles in teaching is my lack of confidence in my ability. I'm so afraid that I'm going to do everything wrong or teach bad things, or just not know what to do. I'm slow between exercises, and about half the time the things I ask for give me a different result than what I was expecting, so I recognize that I'm really new and inexperienced, but I keep underestimating and doubting myself. Tali has confidence in me and thinks that I know so much and can sing so well, so she trusts me. I think I'd be more effective if I trusted myself more. When I listen to my lessons back I do hear problems in my teaching, but even more I hear good stuff happening. It's hard to find the good things and really believe that I could maybe be a decent teacher someday! Overall it was a little short, and a little more laid back, but it was a good lesson.