Mariah Group Practice

Mariah Group Practice #1

with Brooke Myers

I sang “The Last Rose of Summer” during this group practice and Brooke gave me ideas to use to improve. We talked a little about the message of the song and she expressed a different take than mine on the interpretation, which was interesting. I thought it was a happier song at the end because it was talking about how she never wants her friends to leave but Brooke saw a sadder message and viewed it as if the poet was explaining that her friends were going to leave soon. When singing through it, Brooke told me to be sure to have a raised soft palate on the word “rose” and go back in my throat before going forward.  I sang through it and she pointed out times when my higher notes were constricted and when they sounded more relaxed. This was helpful because some of the times she said the sound was constricted I hadn’t noticed until she pointed it out.

For the second half of the practice we worked with Brooke’s song. I shared some techniques Laurie has taught me in voice lessons to help Brooke connect the words in a phrase and not punch the higher notes. She made a lot of progress with this and it was fun to practice with someone.