RECORD:
So I decided to start a bit differently than normal. I had Dacy sit down and close her eyes. I had her zero in on her body. I asked her about how her shoulders felt, back, neck, etc. I did this because we had just been talking about body mapping in class, and I wanted to really stretch effectively by figuring out first which areas needed the most stretching. She had also mentioned that her body was feeling strange that day. She said it was mostly her shoulders and neck that were tense. We stretched those and did a few things like jump around to get the energy up.
S: Since singing is a full body activity it is good to take that time to think about where your body is at today. So now let's do the same thing with your voice. How does it feel today? Anything weird? Feel normal?
D: I think it is alright. I haven't notice anything. I haven't really sung today so we will see.
S: Alright! Can you make a high sound...like a siren? (I had her make the sounds and then tried to find which pitch she hit. We did this with a few different sounds and I found the pitch she matched. I was having trouble remembering all the ones that Cindy did with Jazzy, I forgot to use the child sound!) I did those because I wanted to assess your ability as far as your high range goes. You did very well. You hit an A, without anything about it! That is fantastic! You can sing a lot higher than you think you can and I wanted to prove that to you. So let's keep that in mind as we warm up today. Let's start with...an Mmmm like you are eating something delicious. (We did some without pitch) So what I want you to do is to release that "Mmmm" as a ah on a five descending. (I demonstrated. We did a bunch, I start on C and jumped around. I think it helped her bring her sound forward more.)
D: That one felt weird. (I was on an F)
S: What felt weird about it?
D: I don't know, it was a bit tense.
S: Alright, I am going to move down a few steps and then we will work our way back up and try it again. (I did this because I thought perhaps it was just that she was afraid of the high note, so by moving down and working up to it I thought it would help relax her.) Let's try some more, and think about the m and the ah being connected, no break in between. Let it come out, if you have to adjust the pitch once you come in it is fine. (We did a few more and she connected it more. She was running low on breath though)
D: I am running out of breath!
S: Those last few were very clear and present though, even though you were running out of breath. The m is good because it gets your sound forward. This helps you bring out that presence in your voice. M's are hard.
D: It is hard high!
S: Yes, it is but you did it very well. Let's do something to help with your breath. Let's do a descending five again and this time I want you to "Sh" "Sh" and then release it as a She. (I demonstrated. And we did a few together. I think I started on C again.) Did you notice anything about your breath as you did the "Sh"
D: I had more.
S: Right because Sh...engages those muscles (I am not sure it that is the right way to say it) and makes you feel your breath lower. (We did more.) Can you do it this time without moving your shoulders (She had been raising them up and down as she did the "sh". I watched the next time and she didn't do it but her legs were very stiff) Let's shake those legs out. Also can you think that you have got strings attached to the top of your head that are holding you upright. You arms should be so relaxed, imagine that you are in that N*sync music video where they are puppets (we held our arms up as if we had strings) Now drop them like the strings have been cut. (That really helped to release her tension a bit. Then we talked about the diver analogy that Cindy uses.) If I ever get tense I like to bounce around as if I am at the edge of the diving board. Alright let's speak "di-di-di-di-di" (She spoke a few) Now say it as if you are saying it to someone in the next room. (She did it with more energy) Good, I like that! Alright now let's add pitch. It is going to be staccato on a 1-3-5-3-1 pattern. (Demonstrated) Let's take a nice breath in, as you are smelling an essential oil, feel it going all the way down to your heals. Good breath, feel it in your heals? Is it going all the way to the floor?
D: I think so, it is somewhere down there.
S: Haha, good let's go then. (We did a bunch, jumping around.) Can you think as these breaths as continuous (Demonstrated. I saw that she would breath in break and then sing) Just breath in and let it be part of the singing. When you bring the breath in, I want you to open your mouth as you do it. Speak it.
D: Di.
S: Where is your mouth at? That is where I want you do open to. (Did one.) Better, but still needs more connection. Shake it out. Puppet hands, now drop. Spring board. Good. Let's try again. (Another) I liked that one it was very free, no tension at all. (Did more)
D: It is hard to be staccato and continuous.
S: Ya it is! (I should have said something better....haha and more helpful! Maybe we should have done it legato!) Alright what would you like to work on.
D: Let's do Leaving on a Jet Plane.
S: Great! Love that song! Let's just give it ago on the first phrase. (It was very tentative.)
D: It feels so weird today.
S: What feels weird?
D: My whole body!!
S: It is ok, let's shake it out! (We did so, and used puppet arms again cause that helps her.) Let's bring back the yawn and I want you to speak it in your yawning voice. (She did so.) Let's say it in our pleasant voice (I demonstrated and then she did it) Do you notice anything about speaking it in your pleasant voice?
D: I speak it higher.
S: Do you notice the space in your mouth? It is a very round quality isn't it? There is lots of space in there. Think of spaciousness, there is a huge mansion in your mouth! (It was a little more free, and not as pinched, but a tad breathy) Let's sing it on Di, every note short, like the warm up we did. (I did it once with her)
D: Why is Di, so much easier?
S: Cause it is voiced, like we have talked about. It is very present. It is nice huh?
D: I wish I could sing it on di all the time!
S: That is why we practice on it so you can find that very present voice! (She did it again. It improved immensely. ) Good.
D: It sounds better!
S: YES! Did you notice that you had enough breath to make it through the phrases?
D: Ya I did!
S: Usually staccato is challenging to keep your breath going on but you did because you had enough energy to meet that challenge. You knew it was going to be more challenging so you were prepared. You need to bring that energy into the words. Obviously you can't sing the words staccato like that, but that energy behind it and presence in the sound is what we want to hear. Let's do it with the words. Just let it be out there. Whatever happens happens! Pretend you are singing to your group of special needs kids and you need to get there attention. (She did it again with the words. It sounded so much better!) That was AWESOME!
D: It feels better!
S: That sounded so great! It was really present and really energized like it needs to be. If they (her music therapy professors) heard you sing like that they would not be telling you to give more projection cause that was loud and present! And all the pitches were perfect, spot on! Very good, well done. That is a good note to end on!
REACTIONS:
I feel like this lesson went loads better than last week! I felt like I was more in tune with what Dacy needed. I think I am starting to be better at choosing vocalizes based on what I am hearing from the previous one. I really liked starting out by asking how her body felt and how her voice started out. I thought that set a nice tone to the lesson. I think that the Di exercise really helped Dacy, and it is nice to add that to the list of things that we can utilize to help her. It seems like she is starting to notice the difference between when she is singing with lots of presence and when she isn't. It is cool to see her figure it out. I still struggle with answering questions, this lesson especially I had so many things on my mind that I was excited to implement that when Dacy would ask questions, I didn't stop and take the time to answer them adequately! I wasn't quite sure how to help her with her "body feeling weird" I just had her shake it out...Luckily it worked! Should I have investigated more into why her body was feeling weird or it ok to just try to distract a bit? I wasn't sure cause the shaking it out seemed to work well. I still have a long way to go, but it was nice to feel like I had ideas for once!
No comments:
Post a Comment