Emily F. lesson 3/26

Emily F. lesson 3/26: I came having warmed up and my voice felt pretty good but a little phlegmy. We did some [i u i u] to move the voice around. we did [shi e a o] on 2 up and down 5 note patterns, and the last one an octave up and down. My jaw was quite tight, so Laurie had me do a puffed out cheeks [wha] octave glissando down. Then an "oh no don't go" 18531. My breath was not great so we paused and did a few deep breaths and releasing my lower back. My mouth was pulled down, so I worked on getting some facial lift and back space and the vocalize was better. We did my favorite [tu to] descending octave scale with a M3 flip trill on each scale degree. I recognized that I was feeling underenergized, so I stood on one foot to get some core engagement. I got up to D6. We did another "getting high" exercise on legato [ni na], repeated staccato [ha]. My staccato wasn't good, so Laurie had me do some full out laughing. We continued with the exercise and I got up to a F#6. The vocalizes were all very productive and helpful. We worked on "Shelling Peas" and my accompanist came. I was frustrated with myself because the rhythm is so tricky and I couldn't quite get it right without looking at the music. My frustration with myself made the rehearsal unproductive. I finally had to just move on, recognizing that I just needed to forgive myself, work out the rhythms more on my own, and do something else. We went to "Faites-lui mes aveux" and my negativity carried over and made for frustrating practice. Part of the problem was that I was still trying to remember all of the words in rhythm (which is quick!), and Laurie was wanting me to move onto other skills. So my brain just couldn't quite keep up. Often she was modeling for too long and too much, singing over me. I wanted to be given a brief instruction and given a chance to figure/work it out on my own, and Laurie was just eager to show me what she wanted. It did make me realize how frustrating it can be to not be given enough chances to try and work it out, so hopefully I can remember that for teaching. I don't know--our energies weren't in sync. I left feeling really frustrated with the lesson. But I went home and worked out the rhythms on "Shelling Peas" much better, sang in VRH and did well. I was able to throw away my worry over the rhythms and really sell the song. My goals for the week are to continue to recite my texts, solidify my rhythms and notes. I also want to apply the tongue in contact with teeth idea in all my practice.