Emily C.: MC Critiques, 10/8/13

Master Class Critiques, 10/8/13

Emily Cottam

Brad Summers

Breathing is slightly like a bucket--I see some jump of the shoulders with every breath intake. Also, you cut of the breath with a glottal stop. The intonation is very good. The timbre of voice is dark and smooth--I love your even vibrato. Diction is good as far as I can tell. Expression could be a little more varied throughout the piece. Neck seems a little stiff. 

MC: Sing the piece happier--think of something that brings you joy, something that you like. Excessive blinking is a sign that you’re not imagining vividly enough. Sing the things you like out loud. This exposes your true self to yourself and the audience, making it much more personal. Singing your family member names (people whom you love) can also help. It’s a series of images. There’s more sentiment. 

Overall: He improved greatly--even the glottal stops at the end of phrases stopped with his added emotion. 

Sarah Gee

Breathing is usually very smooth, but there are times when the sternum jumps up. The timbre of voice is dark and slightly muffled. Diction was a little muffled, but it was otherwise good as far as I could. The intonation was good. The expression was very good--I liked the moments of intense focus. The lips are a little taut and there are moments where the jaw was slightly tight (i.e. on the “ee” vowels). 

MC: There were two words that she was instructed to think of, which brought out resonance and emotion--availability and awareness. Instead of making the breath low, just notice where the bottom of the breath is. Focus the most on our greatest weaknesses so we can fix it--watch and monitor. Be aware. 

Overall: The performance was very good and her response to the instructions were very positive because “just being there” loosened her up and sent her resonance flying. 

Sarah Brenay 

The timbre of voice is dark is slightly muffled; there’s a nice underlying warm. Intonation is slightly flat on the higher notes that are barely touched on. The diction is a little muffled. The expression was nice and at ease--I think I would like a little more engagement in the eyes though. 

MC: If you don’t know the words, you needs to be able to make it up as you go along to keep yourself and your audience at ease. Keep the consonants concise with German and get the vowel at the beginning of the beat. Don’t let the consonant sound bleed into the vowel sound. Beautiful singing is a result, not what we do.