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!