Sarah Brenay - VRH - 9/19/13

Sarah Brenay VRH 9/19/13
Luke Shepherd
shoulders were caved in at first, but I saw you do the toaster things a couple times and it got much better! Way to be aware of that. You're tucking your chin in a lot when you try to sing classically and it's making you tense up and swallow the tone. Gotta let loose and let the voice go! I felt like the song needed a lot more energy, especially on all those long held notes. You need to subdivide in your mind and renew your energy on every pulse like it's a whole new exciting thing! Whenever I have heard you sing, I've wondered why you can't get more power and volume out there. It's like you're always holding back. And when Thomas got you to sing in "chest voice" it sounded incredible! It's exactly what I've always wanted to hear out of you. Awesome. Now go forth and learn how to do it healthily. When Thomas started working with you on communicating passion it sounded much more sincere, but you started singing off the voice again! Don't let that come back! There's a huge difference in your tone and in your body when you were singing full voiced. Less tension, much stronger - Luke it's your destiny!
Elizabeth Tait
You have the most lovely lift in your cheeks! You look lovely. But you are so tense especially on long notes. I feel like your body freaks out and locks down, and I've seen you do that enough times to know it's a habit. Your body needs to relax and let the voice do it's thing! The lower register fell back in the throat and lost it's ping on a few notes, "slowly" was one I think. But when you sang "not sure I want to go" it stayed nice and resonant, good good. I wished you had conveyed more emotion though, try the exercise (oh my gosh I spelled it right first try! yay for myelin!) where you speak the text as you would if you were in a play and then sing it that way. When Thomas was working with you, having you sing "O" through the whole song, the tone was more consistent throughout the high and low range.
So that time when you "gave up" and let your voice do its own thing and it actually worked - I mean wow. That was a telling moment. You're getting in your own way. Remember how Cindy said the best attitude toward singing was "urgent" and "competitive," but NOT if it's all consuming? If you sing as though your life depends on it, it can actually damage your ability to progress. I think I'm seeing that in you. It's not the most important thing in the world for you to be a perfect singer. You can make mistakes and ugly sounds and still be cool and talented. I know you can figure it out, so I'll get off my soap box.