Emily C.: MC, 12/3/13

Jake Spjute

Breathing was good, but at the beginning of the piece, there was some shoulder movement. Timbre is bright and smooth. Intonation is good. Diction was good as far as I could tell. Expression is much better than the first time you performed this for us--much more convincing. 

MC: For the first note, take off the “L” to prepare for the “ah” sound. Don’t let the “L” propel you--be prepared for the “ah” with a sob/sigh/cry sound from the onset. It creates a higher focus of the sound. Memorize what the L feels like when it feels great, and then add it in once it’s well learned. For the scale leading up to the high note, take off the words and relate the sensation you get when you sing comfortably and relate it to the high (the way I typed it makes no sense). Sing from above. Let the mouth fall away from the sound, not preset. The sound was so much higher and freer when you did it correctly; the spin is much better. 

Taylee Beckstead

Breathing is like a bucket. Timbre is bright and shimmery. I love the evenness of your vibrato. Intonation is good. Diction is good as far as I can tell. For the beginning notes, try keeping more space--I feel like it’s a little closed and that you’re holding out on us. Expression in the music is very good, but I feel like your facial expression stays the same throughout the piece. 

MC: Let’s get rid of the distracting extraneous movement by doing something specific to distract yourself from “twitchiness” so you can be able to convey the meaning of the piece more effectively. Wow. Not only was the “twitchiness” gone, but the sound just blossomed. That was gorgeous. 

Laura Berg

Breathing is like bucket, but it’s improving. Timbre is warm and bouncy. Intonation is very good. Diction was good as far as I could tell; I think I would like ending “n” more, but it’s not exceptionally noticeable. Expression is good. The neck seems a little tense. I love your consistency of tone.

MC: Point around so you don’t practice that stiff arm position. Expression and body engagement improved exponentially! Speak the text as if it were conversational. Internalize the movement when you actually perform it. Listen to the cues from the music.