Emily F. Masterclass 9/3

Emily F. Masterclass 9/3
Shalayna Guisao: First attempt had a lot of bucket breathing, but got more balloon-y as the song progressed. I felt like there was a lack of groundedness in the body overall, like all the singing was in the chest and up. Timbre was a little airy and hollow with poor breaths, but with better breathing came a much more powerful sound. Everything improved significantly when she spoke through the lyrics with INTENT! I was moved when I felt meaning behind the singing, and the technique was improved dramatically. It was like a whole new song for me when she meant what she was singing. Thinking about singing "right" doesn't give us feeling. I usually can't sing without thinking about all the technical aspects, but when we give ourselves to the meaning of the song, everyone can enjoy it more. 
Jake Spjute: The first few breaths were shallow, but he deepened them farther into the song. I noticed shoulder and jaw tension, contributing to the strained high notes. Timbre is powerful, rich, warm, and pleasing to listen to, for the most part. Diction sounded good-- it's a wordy piece and difficult to navigate, I imagine. Good job with that. Expression was good but inconsistent. Sometimes I could see the fun song that it was, but others there was a lot of brow furrowing and concentration. His hands moved when he sang, maybe a nervous habit, but not overly noticeable. With the pencil in mouth, HALLELUJAH! It was very clear that he was trying to get space for the high notes with the front of his mouth, but when he had to tap into that vertical space, all became right with the world! I think I was doing that (not using vertical space) during my practice today. Good reminder.
Liz Tait: First breath was a little shallow, but breathing seemed pretty consistent throughout, good balloon breathing. I did notice maybe some overworked neck muscles/corners of mouth pulled down? Perhaps that is part of general posture issues that Cindy addressed. Intonation was very good, notes were at top of pitch with good spin. Timbre is light and clear, if maybe a little weak. The diction was fairly clear, but required more intent, like Shalayna. This seems like a tricky piece to be expressive in, but it looked like she was enjoying it, for the most part. Eyebrows stayed raised throughout, and I don't know if this was an expression choice or just a habit to remind of technical stuff. The posture/body changes that Cindy introduced were clearly not natural feeling, but when the body was stronger, the voice was clearly stronger and better as well! Liz seems to get frustrated easily with herself (perfectionism-- most of us struggle with that!), but has so many things going right for her. I'd like to see more enjoyment, more presence in the moment (observation) without self-judgement.