Emily C.'s Voice Lesson Summary, 9/25/13

Emily Cottam

9/25/13 Lesson

We started the lesson with simple lip trills going down 5th/8th interval scales, making sure to keep everything from the bra line down loose and activated (the lower ribcage). Then, Brianna had me do the “thees” on those same interval scales, making sure to keep the presence of the resonance up in the nose, releasing each phrase with an inhale sensation so I don’t cut it off with a glottal stop. She told me (as the notes became higher on the piano) to imagine that I’m breathing in through my knees, which really helped me visualize deep breaths. We then worked on the “lee-lay-la-lo” vocal exercise to keep my jaw and tongue loose. We also did an exercise where I bit my tongue, and with it down, I hum the scales before repeating the same scale on “thee.” She reminded me to always maintain an open sensation of, “Teacher, pick me!” We also did a “gai-lai” exercise to keep my body engaged yet loose. For today, we worked on “Pieta Signore,” and Brianna really emphasized the use of “sobbing” sensations to add “dump” moments to phrases to help with my phrase shaping and my breath support. This primal sound really helps with connecting the tracheal tug to the rest of body and making the higher notes really easy to reach.