Taylee Lesson Summary 09/13/2013

     This past week was... interesting, to say the least. I was pretty dang prepared for my lesson. My wisdom teeth extraction was done through a research company, so I had a ton of time on Wednesday while I was a human lab rat. Although most of my practice wasn't singing, I was mentally ready. I had found my last three songs for my Junior recital and did a lot of memorizing. In fact, I passed off five songs, which is almost double what I had set for my goal! 

     BUT, as was showcased in class on Friday, my body was not cooperating well with my head. The study medication I was not only messing with my head (sorry if I was a wiggidy-wiener in class Cindy), but it made my vocal chords swell like crazy! Two hours before my lesson, my throat felt fine, but that was when I took my drug. As we were doing vocalizes, Brianna noticed how damaged they sounded. I felt like I was doing everything right and still sounding awful. Brianna reassured me that I was indeed doing everything right, but my body was just not in a healthy place. She also told me that it wasn't the kind of swollen sound that would come from improper use. She was very certain that it was my medication to blame. I was glad that I had been so prepared with my memorization, because at least that was productive. Due to my unhealthy state, however, we had to cut my lesson short by 20 minutes. I'll probably make up that time on my recital day, so that will be helpful at least.

     I did learn a good lesson from that day though. Sometimes you can be doing everything right and still not make any progress. It doesn't mean that you aren't being productive though. I learned that I am understanding the technique of singing and how to apply it, regardless of my circumstances. I still passed off some memory work, and was able to discuss how MC went on Tuesday and what I learned from that.

     Goals for next lesson: spend 1 hour each day memorizing so that I can pass off 5 more texts (whether it be original text, or the English translation for my foreign songs); turn in 3 analysis forms; drink at least three, 32 oz. bottles of water daily. Also, I forgot to mention that ever since Tuesday in Master Class, I have noticed that I CONSTANTLY have tension in my shoulders/upper body to some degree. If I can work on noticing that throughout the day, I think I will have an easier time relaxing and singing in a more free and released way.