Mariah VRH Critiques 9/5

Mariah VRH Critiques 9/5

Emily Floyd
Breathing: I saw very nice, full balloon breathing throughout.
Intonation: There was one moment when she went to start a phrase with a lower note and it seemed a little off pitch. Other than that, her singing was very in tune.
Timbre: Emily had a mature timbre. Her high notes were especially resonant and fulsome.
Diction: Good.
Expressiveness: Her expression wasn't bad, but I feel like she could go a lot further with it.
Overall performance: She seemed very relaxed and not rigid in any way which was nice. The song lacked a strong range in dynamics, but overall it was a good performance.

Amber D.
Breathing: Her breathing was balloon like, but did not seem to fill up as much as she could.
Intonation: Her pitch seemed a tad off throughout.
Timbre: Her sound was breathy and a bit guttural.
Diction: Amber's diction was good except on the quieter parts where it was harder to understand.
Expressiveness: Amber was very expressive, especially with her facial expressions. She could go even further with her expressiveness.
Overall performance: I felt it was a bit weak.

Amber Farrow
Breathing: Her breathing was shallow.
Intonation: She didn't seem to have any problems with pitch.
Timbre: I would describe her tone as glassy and silvery, particularly in her higher range. Her voice is very clear and lovely.
Diction: She could add more diction.
Expressiveness: She did not seem very connected with the message of the song. She would "break character" when she seemed insecure about something happening in the song.
Overall performance: She tended to move her head or body with each note which was distracting. Also, she played with her hair quite a bit. This happened specifically during the speaking part where you could tell she felt insecure. Her tone is amazing, though, and it was a pleasant song. 

Michael Lechner
Breathing: He had some shallow bucket breathing.
Intonation: He was shaky on some pitches, but this was mostly emphasized by his facial expressions when he didn't feel confident about the note.
Timbre: I would describe his tone as guttural and nasally. 
Diction: His diction was fine, but he could have even more.
Expressiveness: I saw him singing, but not telling the story. He was very disconnected from the song's message and clearly showed anytime he messed up through his face.
Overall Performance: He had some very jittery movements and his eyes tended to wander instead of having specific focal points. He did not seem very confident and it bled into his singing.

Jared Daley
This was my favorite performance from voice recital hour today.
Breathing: I did see some bucket breathing, but it didn't seem to affect his performance for the most part.
Intonation: I didn't hear any intonation problems.
Timbre: I would describe his timbre as fulsome and confident. There were a few times, possibly when he would come back down to the lower notes after a higher section where his timbre was just a bit nasally.
Diction: Some words with "d", specifically "day," sounded a bit like a "t" sound instead of a "d". He could also emphasize the "n" in "moment" just a titch more. His overall diction, though, was very good and I could understand every word.
Expressiveness: He was very in the moment (no pun intended). He had great expression in his voice and face. He could possibly find a little more variety in his facial expressions, but his face was very focused and intense. 
Overall Performance: He rocked back and forth just a little bit. His voice seemed a bit stretched on the high note "this". Overall, though, it was phenomenal. He had great dynamic singing and the ending was very powerful.

Sarah Gee
Breathing: Her breathing was a bit shallow.
Intonation: She seemed to be on pitch throughout.
Timbre: Her timbre was very silvery and lovely.
Diction: She could add a lot more diction to the piece.
Expressiveness: I did not see very much expression through her face or voice.
Overall performance: She played with her dress some toward the beginning. She also was a little weak on a higher note. Overall it was nice, but not a compelling performance.

Jordan Davis
Breathing: He had shallow, bucket breathing.
Intonation: It felt a bit flat.
Timbre: His timbre seemed dry. He had a warm timbre when singing soft and high, but when he went louder on the higher notes, it was weak.
Diction: He had pretty good diction.
Expressiveness: His expression was fine, but I think he could express the meaning more of why he hates music.
Overall performance: It was a fine, but could have been more.

Aubrianne Dunn
Breathing: Her breathing was shallow and had loud breaths during the faster parts of the song.
Intonation: Her intonation was fine.
Timbre: I would describe her timbre as breathy and soft.
Diction: She needed more diction.
Expressiveness: Her expression was good. I felt like she was really trying to portray what was being sung.
Overall performance: She moved her bangs once which was fine, but when she moved them again the second time it was distracting. Overall, it was a pleasant performance and had some depth to the expression.

Emily Hess
Breathing: She had great balloon breathing.
Intonation: Her intonation was very good.
Timbre: Her timbre was silken and smooth.
Diction: Her diction was clear. 
Expressiveness: She was very expressive, especially in her voice. I could tell she was singing in phrases and seemed to breathe at punctuation marks which helped the flow of what was being said through the song.
Overall performance: She swayed from side to side to look at everyone in the group instead of looking at a certain area, pausing and then moving her focus to a different area. The swaying was a little distracting. Overall, her performance was very lovely and she expressed the song well.

Kayelee Farris
Breathing: She had nice balloon breathing.
Intonation: She had great intonation.
Timbre: Her voice was very fulsome and mature, especially on her high notes.
Diction: Her diction was great. I could understand everything being sung.
Expressiveness: She had good expression in her voice, but she could add more of that expression to her face.
Overall performance: It felt rushed in the beginning, but that was possibly because of the accompaniment. She had very good dynamics and it was a strong performance.