Emily Cottam's Lesson Summary, 9/11/13

Emily Cottam

9/11/13 Lesson

The lesson for today started with vocalizations that were designed to relax the tongue and jaw. We did a couple lip trills to warm up first. Then I was told to stick my tongue out, fold it beneath itself, and bite as far back as I could and feel the stretch on the back part of my tongue. After holding it for a bit, I’d relax and let the tongue fall “fat” and full against my back molars. Then I’d sing “thee” on a descending 5th and octave scale, using the “th” in “thee” to help with higher notes by thinking a whole step above the desired note on that silent consonant before “dropping” to the note to hit it with a relaxed throat. We talked about releases in the sound, and how a sound should end with the feeling of inhale, rather than exhale--this makes the sound less harsh and easier on the vocal chords. Speaking of inhalation and breathing, Brianna reminded me that I should always keep my lower back and ribcage open and “bouncing,” as if from the bra line down, there was an inflated exercise ball, and on sustained notes, I should remind myself to keep my lower body open, as if I was “bouncing” on the exercise ball and keeping my breath buoyant. When singing, to get the appropriate tone and open space that you need in the throat/head area, she told me to put on a face as if I was about to sneeze, with soft palette lifted, relaxed shoulders, and open sinuses/throat. When preparing to sing, be in the “position of sighing,” not singing--keep things open. This leads to a subtle onset of the first sound instead of a harsh attack, particularly if a phrase starts with a high note. I need to work on keeping my jaw relaxed and keeping molar space while I speak the diction, so Brianna told me to practice speaking the music while paying attention to the looseness of my jaw and keeping my teeth separated. We then worked on “The Cherry Tree” by Gibbs and she had me apply the concepts of molar space, relaxed tongue positioning, and deep, “bouncy” breaths. I am to practice my music this week while paying close attention to my “bouncy” breaths, taking as many breaths as I need to within a phrase so I can practice the feeling of buoyancy, and once I’m used to keeping my lower back/ribcage suspended and open, I reduce the number of breaths I’m taking while retaining the “bounce.”