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.
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