Shalayna G. LS 9.15.13

This weeks lesson was better than last for me. I didn't leave the lesson frustrated but happy at how I made a baby step improvement. I was felt more energized this week. My body felt more engaged and my breath, over time, felt better in my body. Although i felt great, I needed awareness in my body. as we vocalized I felt and little stiff. I have the habit of trying to hit every not in a scale and i think that is because i feel like if i do slide pass a note or two, i am doing something wrong. Sometime i wish i can plug my ears and not have to hear myself  vocalize or not worry about what coming out of my mind; i need to "just do it". The main component in the lesson was noticing my intake of air (where it was coming from) and how to release the air once I opened up my mouth to sing. I needed to STOP! I am so used to letting my air just bump out of my body and I have a hard time with preparing the breath before I start, stop, and then go. I needed to get energy from the breath when I sing instead of expecting the emotion of the song to do it for me. Once the air was energized and I had the awareness of stopping, I felt like I could get through the vocalizing better and not have my body exhausted. In conclusion I my breaths need to have a lid on them .

I am still working on having my teeth apart and most importantly being aware that when they have to come together its only for a split second and then I need to let them go again. Sometimes I don't even notice that my teeth or close together so during the lesson i would constantly rub my tongue against my teeth, that way the tingly sensation would tell my brain, "hey there needs to be space here".
Lastly,  Cindy and I went over swaying my body more in the lesson, more feeling the music and feeling how the music is organized, especially in Brahms. The swaying helped me notice how my body was somewhat stiff and mechanical when I sing. While swaying, I was able to loosen up and get more energy in my phrases.
I appreciated the short and quick way Cindy directed me in my lesson this week. It helped me with realizing what i was doing wrong and how I needed to fix it right then and there or least try my best to.