Sam Meredith OB Ch. 11 Summary

Sam
Chapter 11 Summary-Just as with any other skill practice is essential for the development of our abilities as singers. The healthy, daily practice we can eventually realize our full singing potential. There are, of course, several things we need to know in order to practice well. First we need to know what things our daily practice should include. Our daily practice should involve our whole body and should start with us loosening our body. We should also develop correct body alignment. When we are actually vocalizing, we must let the air flow do the work and eliminate all unnecessary muscle contractions. It is also important to remember that each voice is different and will develop at it's own pace. Next, we need to learn how to sing a song with the same ease that we vocalize with. We can do that by breaking our study of a piece of music into several steps. First, we should concentrate on learning the rhythm. Next, we should study the intervals. When we complete these two steps we can go through the music on a syllable such as 'la', singing the notes in rhythm with no dynamics. Then, we can concentrate on the text first reading it as a poem and then reading it in the tempo of the music. Once we know the text well we can sing the words and pitches in rhythm with no dynamics. Our next step is to add dynamics. When that is complete we should begin to pay more attention to the meaning of the words and on effective phrasing. When we are learning a new piece of music it is important to break the song up into chunks so that we can make singing the song as easy as possible. When we vocalize we only are concentrating on one thing, which is why simply vocalizing seems to be easier than singing a song. When learning a song, therefore, we can isolate certain aspects of the music and concentrate on them individually. We can for example, sing difficult phrases on their own as a vocalize on a vowel that feels comfortable for us. When it feels comfortable we can add the words in again. Learning a piece of music backwards can also be an effective exercise.
Key Concept-Consistent, healthy practice is paramount in the skill development of a singer. The object of our practice should be to learn to sing music with the proper emotion and expression in a way that is healthy for our voice.
Key Terms-Practice, Vocalization
Making Connections-I can definitely attest that there are a lot of ways that we can practice that effective that don't actually require any phonation. I think one thing that was incorrect about my practice at the beginning of this semester was that I was singing too much. I still need to find the proper balance, but I feel like I've improved a lot.