Goals from last week:
-Have "Recitative and Aria" notes and rhythms ready for next lesson.
-Work on memory of the opening scene, and the mini aria.
-Have all 6 songs of my rep printed for both myself and my accompanist.
-Begin one song analysis form
I did really well on the first two, which were the more important ones so that was good. I was feeling like this week was kind of a flop, so knowing that I actually did do well on some important things is a nice way to start off my week.
My in-laws give money to their kids for Christmas since they would rather us get something we'd really use/want. This worked out nicely for me since I was able to use some of my money to get a massage! I luckily got a time that was only a few hours before my lessons, so I was really excited to go into lessons being completely released.
Vocalizes:
-Descending octave lip buzzes. While doing this, Brianna asked me to visualize air constantly coming into my body, even when I was vocalizing. This was probably to get me to lower my larynx and encourage energy in my body.
-"Lee, lay, lah, loh..." on 5-3-4-2-3-1-2-7-1. Brianna said, "Very simple, don't think singing." As I listen to the recording, I was a little under-pitch. I tend to loose my space and/or height sensation in the top half of my head and I think that is was what made my pitch sag. Also I needed to be more buoyant in my breath.
-Speaking and then immediately going into a vocalize.
---the vocalize was 8-5-3-1 on "thee". I'm sitting here listening to it, and I don't think this vocalize was as effective as last week. There were still some good outcomes, but overall I felt like my sound was immature. Perhaps I wasn't distracted enough by it since I know that's one of the reasons it was so effective last time. I was getting in my own way.
-"ng" on 5, then [i] on 5-4-3-2-1. Later we moved to a full octave. I've gotten to the point that I am pretty self aware when something isn't right, and what is generally wrong with that particular sound. But again, my head is getting in the way.
-Speaking words on 8-5-3-1-3-5-8-5-3-1. The best vocalizes for me have been the ones that are simple and speech-like. I tried "whose(8) new(5) blue(3) shoes(1)" and "how(8-5) are(3) you(1) I(3) am(5) fine(8-5) to(3)-day(1)" and the second worked best. I made a break through on one particular attempt. For the first time I felt my tongue working in a forward and released way naturally. I've been hearing various forms of "keep your tongue forward" since my freshman year, but I felt my tongue easily release forward and it was allowed to be there.
Brianna has been such a great support for me this semester. I'm having a hard time fully accepting that I qualified and deserving of getting my part in opera. I keep getting this feeling like people are disappointed in me and waiting for me to fail. It's like if I really deserved this part, than I wouldn't have to struggle to make it sound good, I should already be there. Anyway, this probably is just me blowing this way out of proportion, but I don't want to disappoint anyone and make them regret giving me this opportunity. I've felt so humbled by this responsibility and I don't want to let everyone down.
Song worked on:
Before my lessons started, I knew that I wanted to work on the recitative part of my aria the most. I didn't feel natural during any part of it. Miraculously, most of my vocalizes focused on getting the speech-like sensation, and I hadn't said anything to Brianna at the beginning. So we worked the beginning the most, and by the time we got to the end half, my time was almost up, and I didn't know the notes and rhythms as well in that part either.
Take-aways:
-The best warm-ups/vocalizes for me are simple and focus on speech-like qualities. As I warm up each day, these should be what I focus on.
-I started a few of my scales on a high B and C. I need to remember that I do in-fact have those notes, and I need to stop being afraid of them. The only thing that got in the way up there, was my tongue tension.
Goals:
-Have the second half of the aria ready to work on in my next lesson.
-Pass off the mini aria in the Act 1 Finale for memory.
-Turn in one Analysis worksheet.
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