Sam Meredith Master Class 10/15

Brook Myers- It was hard to tell how Brook's breathing was because of where she was standing at the piano, but the sound of her voice sounded like the result of good breathing and I didn't notice much action in the shoulders. The intonation was good and she has a nice, resonant timbre on her open vowels. I think the diction can use a little bit of work. The closed vowels in words like 'der' were too open, and the lack of clarity in the consonants made it difficult to decipher what word she was singing. As far as expression is concerned I think it was just a little too harsh, meaning that I think she can take her dynamic down a notch and strive for a sweeter, gentler sound in this song. She also needs to remove the tension in her throat muscles when she sings. I thought she did a good job adjusting to Cindy's suggestions and if she continues to try and sing like she speaks as Cindy encouraged her to do then she should see improvement in her diction as well as less tension in the throat.
Laekin Burgess-I thought the breathing was a little nervous and shallow at some points in the performance. The song moves very quickly, but I think the breaths could be a little bit more relaxed. The intonation was good, but there needs to be more consistency in the timbre of her voice. In her middle/upper range it was very resonant and open, but the lower notes were a little closed and muffled at times. She could do more to bring the nice qualities of her higher voice to her lower voice. I thought she did a good job putting some energy into the performance, but I think she could be a little more strategic with how she moves her body when she sings this song just so all of that physical energy is being used productively. I thought Laekin did a good job fixing some of the trouble spots that Cindy pointed out. The rhythms were much more accurate once she became aware of the problems.
Emily Floyd-I didn't notice much trouble with Emily's breathing. She didn't have much trouble with intonation, but I did notice that the timbre of her voice was a little bit breathy and slightly under pitch in her upper range. I thought the diction was great. It was very easy to discern each word thanks to the purity of the vowels and the proper emphasis on the consonants. One thing that I think could improve is expression. Cindy worked with her a little bit on this aspect and I think she made some good adjustment. Just singing the words the same way she would speak them made a huge difference.