"The Last Rose of Summer" Old Irish Tune
I moved around a lot while singing and I blinked excessively. I'm hoping my eyes were only having problems that night and don't do that all the time. I could hear almost every breath; there were one or two breaths in between verses where I calmed down and took quiet breaths. I was super jittery during this performance and it is really distracting. I moved my head a lot and shifted from side to side. I also noticed I used my body for a lot of the high notes which I wasn't aware of while singing. On the last verse I went flat on a couple words, but I could tell that while I was singing. On words with an e vowel, specifically "blooming," I used too much ee instead of having tall vowels. On the word "rose" I need to have more of an oh sound. I had a harsh r in the word "or" and "reflect" and scooped up to the high note on "rosebud". I tended to slip into a tiny Irish accent at times because I've practiced the song that way before, but it sounded like the diction was just off because I didn't commit to an English or Irish accent. Also, on the word "pine" I had too much ee and not enough of an ah sound. There wasn't very much expression and when there was I didn't really get the message across because I was so jittery. My timbre tended to be feminine and fluttering which I liked but I tended to punch the high notes instead of connecting them with the phrase.
Lovely job, Mariah! I really enjoyed your phrasing,consistent vibrato and your tone overall. I agree that your diction needs more. I couldn't tell that you slipped into an Irish accent but I think that if you think of an English accent it will help you to round out those vowels just a bit! Make sure that the words can be understood in your diction but also in your facial expressions :) Great job!
ReplyDeleteMariah, I liked this song in your voice. Your posture looks upright, however I see a lot of movement in your abdominal wall. When you're inhaling it pops out, and then during singing it is contracting in. I think your breath would be much more efficient if you were to feel the suspension in your rib cage. I think feeling that down and outward release would also aid in fixing the spots where the intonation falls.
ReplyDeleteVery nice! I really enjoy your voice. It's got a lot of depth and richness to it, and it's very pleasant to hear. I'm noticing a piercing brightness in the upper range and a darker, less ringing quality in the lower. This tells me that the balance is not yet struck across your range. Bring that open, free air up into the higher register, and that forward pingy resonance down, and you'll have a much more consistent, rich sound. I actually felt the diction was very good, but maybe that's because I already know the words... I think that some of the ascending lines could be more free, some of them tended to sink just a hair below pitch. I think that one thing that will help you a lot will be aiming for the highest pitch in each phrase. What this means is, when you take your preparation breath at the beginning of the phrase, your prepare your body, mind, and voice for the highest not in that phrase, instead of the first note. I know this explanation doesn't make as much sense as I'd like, but if you have questions about it please ask me! Or Cindy. It's a wonderful tool.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very good performance. I especially liked the straight posture you had throughout the entire song--you didn't get lazy. Your breathing was like a balloon and seemed well supported, and you had lovely phrasing. I would like some more variation in the dynamics, and the facial expression did seem a little stiff, but it wasn't distracting to the performance. Watch the pitches on the phrases that move down; a few notes were a little off. Your [a] vowel was sometimes a tad brighter than the rest of your vowels. The movement/blinking you mentioned wasn't really a problem. Try keeping your vibrato throughout the entire phrase, rather than just towards the end--the beginnings of phrases tended to be straight toned. Overall, I really like the performance, and I can tell you work a lot on your breathing technique.
ReplyDeleteHey Mariah,
ReplyDeleteYou have a lovely voice! I think the balance between your low and high register is done very well. Your body seemed to have good energy, but you do tend to sway. There were moments of audible breath, so just make sure that the end of your phrases prepared for the next. Keep the height of your voice consistent throughout the whole, especially because this piece is strophic. I agree with Caitlin, have a more suspended feeling in your breath; it will feel much better during and at the end of your phrases.
I love that you made sure to dress up for your video! I think it added a real sense of professionalism. I really loved how your high notes rang, and the pingy-ness they had!! Your vowel in "last" was a bit weird though. The dark A seems to get swallowed a lot.
ReplyDeleteMostly really nice, silent breaths except a few times at the end of the verse. Really impressive job on the large leap in the middle of the verse. There were a few times where the pitch was a bit iffy when you were leaping up. Try thinking the pitch at the beginning of the phrase a little more. You have really nice vowels and a nice blend between low and high notes. Nice job!
ReplyDelete