Intake Evaluation:
A. Kathy is 25 years old and a senior at USU, she is studying music therapy- her main instrument is the violin. She has had lessons previously but never for a very long time. She took lessons from Brianna for a semester a couple of years ago. She has never really done choirs or anything.
B. 1. Physical attributes: Posture was a bit hunched (probably because she sings from the piano a lot), breath was high and collapsed. She didn't have much noticeable tension, that is something I want to look for next time.
2. Vocal attributes: She has a nice tone, she has a mixed breathy and bright quality, like the singers she listens to (Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson). Her intonation was great. She didn't use much vibrato at all.
3. Performance attributes: Her diction was great and she clearly enjoyed the piece and put some emotion behind it. For the style of the song, her tone suited nicely.
C. Her goals for singing are that she can gain more strength in her voice, gain more of an upper range and be able to manage her breath for longer amounts of time.
Transcript:
We started off just getting to know each other. I asked her about herself, where she is from etc. Just so I know a bit about her! I found out she does spell her name with a K, so that is good hahaha! I found out that she is from South Jordan, plays the violin, is moving to London with her fiance (soon to be hubby) in May, went on a mission, etc. I am not gonna transcribe all that, if that is ok!
S: What type of music do you like to listen to?
K: I really like Ingrid Michaelson, I really like her style. I have learned a lot of her songs on the guitar. I like Sara Bareilles as well. But, I like pretty much anything.
S: If you had to pick one singer, that you wanted to imitate, that you like the most who would it be?
K: Sara Bareilles.
S: Why?
K: Her voice is just so strong, I love it.
S: What is your past experience with voice?
K: I don't have much, I took lessons from Brianna a couple semesters ago and I also took some lessons over the summer, but the lady moved away so I only took a few. But I really like to sing. I have done choir or anything.
S: That is ok! What do you like about your voice and what don't you like about your voice?
K: One thing I don't like about it is that I don't have much power behind it, especially when I am nervous. When I am comfortable, warmed up and in the zone, I really like the tone of my voice. But I get frustrated because if I am not in that zone I can't sing.
S: Do you think mostly nerves trigger that?
K: I think that more development of my breath support and things would help solve that. I think nerves really do that. Because I am used to the violin, where I just tell my fingers to go and then they go. When it is just me, I get nervous.
S: And you feel the loss of that support and energy?
K: Yes.
S: In a session you are fine though right?
K: Ya, I love sessions because we just all do it together but I don't like performing. As soon as I feel judged, I don't like it and I get nervous.
S: Why did you want to take lessons this semester?
K: Mainly to get more strength in my voice.
S: That is a really good goal. Are there any other things you want to focus in on?
K: Overall, just having a better high range and being able to hold the notes longer and stuff.
S: Is there anything that you are preparing for that we need to be working towards?
K: No nothing specific.
S: Let me just tell you my goals. Obviously I am new to teaching, and I am learning too! I really want to establish a good environment for you where you feel comfortable with me, and will be willing to try all those crazy things that we singers do. I also want to get to know your voice. I am not here to judge you but to learn about your voice and help you fix these things that you want to fix. These are very general and as I get to know you better, I will be better able to make more focused goals. (Then I told her about the things we have to do, like have a lesson in front of Cindy....etc. Then we talked about what time each week would work best)
(I then had her sing for me. She has a nice voice, it sounded a lot like the artists she listened to. What I thought and saw was in the intake evaluation.)
S: Awesome. You are right, you do have a lovely rich quality to your voice. I don't see why they tell you to project because your voice carries very well! What did you like? What did you not like?
K: I felt good about singing it! I didn't like that I was singing so much in my throat. I felt like it was not supported at all.
S: When you say that you feel like you are singing from your throat, do you feel tension, does it hurt?
K: It doesn't hurt but I can feel it.
S: So we have got like ten minutes, let's do some warming up. Something that you said that really sticks out to me is that you feel like you are singing from your throat. We want singing to be as free as possible, so much so that we don't feel anything. I have the same problem. Some warm ups that help me with that are first sighing. A nice breath through your nose and then just release it as a sigh. (demonstrate) It should just be natural and free. (We did a few, then I had her do it alone. Then I had her slowly go high and descend for longer) The reason why sighs are so good, is that they are what are called primal sounds. Primal sounds are any sounds that we make without thinking about it, like laughing or crying. When we sigh, our body is relaxed and our sound is free. That is what we want singing to feel like, we want it to feel naturally and free. ( Next we did a primal sound sliding up to an ah 5-3-1 I started at on an A and did random pitches. I demonstrated a few times and then had her do it.) So how does that feel?
K: It feels good. No tension at all.
S: Let's try it again, and have you fill the room a little bit more. Put your hands on your cheeks and drop your jaw and just let it hang open as you sing the ah. (Did more, on random pitches)
(Then we talked about what kind of music she wanted to work on, and I told her to bring it next time and then we scheduled next week)
Reactions: Overall, I feel like I was a little more comfortable then I was in my first lesson with Dacy so that is good! I took some more time to pause and think about what warmups I wanted to show her, which I think had a better impact then they did with Dacy, when I just said what came into my head. I know that I need to be better at watching my students though, I am definitely relying to much on my ear. I want to be able to better chart vocalizes, and really see if my students are grasping them and if they are helping. Since it was the first lesson, I was just throwing out ideas that she could use to help her but from now on I really need to use vocalizes as a chance to find the problems, fix them, and ask the student "how does that feel?" "Why do you think I did this one?" "What was good about that?" etc. Both my students say they want more strength...I just don't know how to accomplish that. I know it is mostly a matter of energy and breath but how to I find that in them?
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