Laura Berg - Voice Lesson 9/3
I have been learning so much about the importance of practicing correctly. When I came to my voice lesson today, I came in confident because I had been practicing in a manner which I thought was effective and precise. However, as soon as I started singing through some vocalizes, my teacher began to point out things that I had not thought about in my practice that was creating tension and a strain on my voice. When I would sing high notes, it became apparent to me that I had been reaching for them and they were coming out strained and unpleasant. My teacher taught me the importance of falling from above into the note. We practiced this falling through method several times in many different keys. Another thing that was adding tension was the shape of my tongue. I had gotten in the habit of pressing my tongue down in anticipation of the high notes, instead of keeping it up in a nice curved position, where the sound could all fall in front of it. We then worked on the depth in my body. My teacher described the expansion that we must feel in our lower body like opening up an umbrella upside down. All of these components changed the way that I sang, but all the pieces were not put together quite yet. I learned the importance of thinking as I sing. I should think positively about every note and every phrase, so that my body can then remain relaxed and filled with excitement instead of tense. We also noticed that I had the most desired effect when I sang using the "ee" vowel, so, with my teacher, we decided that I would only use the "ee" vowel this week as I practice. I also am going to go through the steps of learning music effectively, and not sing any text, but instead focus on what is going on in my body.