Amber's Lesson Summary

The theme for this week is, "Stop trying too hard!"
Use an appropriate amount of effort, let go, and enjoy it.

We have found a solution to the breathy sound in the beginning of songs and phrases etc. and have continued to work on this. I have been given more exercises to help me feel the right amount of air pressure for onset and applying it properly to phrases.
Exercise 1) "Shhhhhoooooooooo" Starting at the top of the octave and sliding getly down to the bottom of the octave. This helps with onset, support, and as a bonus, helps unify the "ranges".
Exercise 2) Trills up and down the on the interval of a third and down the scale on tooo...or ooooo.
interval/note example: do-mi-do, ----ti-re-ti, ----la, do, la and so forth from the top of the octave to the bottom.

We worked on "My Soul Magnifies the Lord" from Brubeck's La Fiesta de la Posada. It is post tonal, but we (my teacher, accompanist, and I) all love it.  We worked a phrase at time to overcome shortness of breath, appropriate onset and support. We used lip trills, speaking the line in conversationally, then in rhythm while the piano played the melody under it. Then I sang..........WOW!.........As we got to the end of the second phrase the high note just spun out in a way I had never experienced. I had to stop each time for a bit because that end note along with the overtones from the piano would combine in such a way that it made me want to weep for joy, and made the hairs on my arms stand on end. Sooooooo THRILLING! I give some credit here to Jill Wellbaum (who was accompanying this week) though because she really gets this piece and we were able to really and properly work in tandem for this combination of sound and emotion. I could have floated out of the lesson I was so happy. I have always loved that piece and now I have a hope of truly doing it justice.