Sarah Brenay - Steve Buys - Lesson Record 3/25/14

Record
S: Alright to start out I have a nice, easy, Q and A session for ya! First question, how old are you?

Steve: 25 years old.

S: See that one was easy! Good. Other questions. Musical Experience. I know you do percussion. How long have you been doing that?

Steve: 13 years?

S: Omgosh! That's crazy! That's longer than I've been doing anything! Except sleeping. So what about singing? Do you have much singing experience?

Steve: Well in 9th grade I took voice lessons for about 4 months and then there was a recital at the end... other than that I sing all the time - just not in formal singing experience.

S: So are you in choir? Any choir? Ever?

Steve: No choirs.

S: What do you mean you sing all the time?

Steve: I just sing all the time, I like music! So I'm always singing along with the radio and in the shower.

S: Cool! What did you sing in 9th grade for your recital?

Steve: Shenandoah.

S: awwww! That's so cuuute! What a great song, nothing wrong with a good old classic. So that's good. Why did you stop taking lessons?

Steve: Well it was at the end of my 9th grade year and then Summer happened and over the Summer I just didn't want to deal with it and the schedule was hard for me to work out, and then I was going to start up again in the Fall, but High School was busier than I expected. And I don't know... I felt like I had enough time in my class schedule for one ensemble and I wanted to do percussion.

S: That's funny! I did percussion in Middle School and High School and I loved it! And then I had to choose between band and choir and I thought, well, I'm better at singing, so I went with singing! So I had exactly the opposite thing. Did you have a good experience with your voice lessons?

Steve: Ya. I mean it wasn't the greatest experience in the world but it definitely wasn't a bad experience.

S: Ok, well that's good. And now, my lessons will blow your mind! And you will change your major everything will be good!

Steve: That's unlikely. Very unlikely. 

S: Don't doubt, don't doubt. K so what do you like to sing?

Steve: Um... I sing along with my music when I'm driving. A lot of classic rock, a lot of Journey type power ballads... most of it's too high for me... but oh well! In general just rock.

S: So, you're not a musical theater guy I'm gettin that vibe.

Steve: Well I like musical theater, I'm not very familiar with it Um I was on stage crew in High School... but I definitely didn't want to be in the musical because the stage fright was so bad - I was like, I want to be backstage where no one can see me!

S: Oh really? That's cute! That's funny. 

Steve: I almost was in 1776 once. As the currier. I would have got to sing "Momma look sharp" which is one of my favorite songs EVER.

S: Dude. Maybe we can look at it! So you're not against musical theatre.

Steve: No I like it I was stage crew for Beauty and the Best and Phantom and I loved that music. I like The Scarlet Pimpernel and Jekyll and Hyde.

S: Oh ya I love those! Is there any kind of music you hate?

Steve: ...country. 

S: It's always either country or rap depending on the personality!

Steve: I don't have anything against rap it's really rhythmically interesting. But the subject material can be pretty bad. But country is just boring! rhythmically and harmonically it's just not interesting to me.

S: That's true! Ok so tell me what you like about your voice. You can brag! Feel free.

Steve: I don't know that there's anything I like about my singing voice specifically.... in general I have a loud voice. I feel like I can sing really powerfully.

S: Like strength in the tone and stuff? That's good!

Steve: Ya I don't know.

S: Haha ok great. I so appreciate that you're doing these lessons with me, especially at the last minute. I can definitely do 4 lessons, and I can do more in the Summer if you want to as a thank you for doing this. Um but I'm curious, what do you want to get out of lessons, why do you want to do them? 

Steve: Um firstly to help you out haha!

S: Thanks!

Steve: That's why I'm here today even though I feel so sick. But I don't know, I've been told by people that I have a decent voice and it seems a shame not to use it.

S: Ya! Especially, well are you in music ed?

Steve: Ya

S: Ya k, singing will come in handy, whether or not you end up with a choir, being able to sing and have your students understand what you're trying to do will be helpful. So ya! I'll tell you what my goals are for you by the end of the semester. I'm hoping I can a least just give you a good foundations of singing basics, you know, posture, breathing, diction, that sort of thing, and just give you a solid foundation. And you're smart and you know music so that will be pretty good to build on. You cool with that?

Steve: Ya.

S: Cool man! K I was going to do some warm ups with you but I'm worried about doing too much with your voice so we'll do some really light ones. Rise! How are you feeling, is your throat really tight?

Steve: It isn't terribly tight.

S: You're speaking voice is a little bit worse and tired sounding. It definitely sounds softer than you usually speak.

Steve: Ya I guess.

S: Ok here's what I want you to do. Also I hope you're open to doing silly things because that's what voice lessons are all about!

Steve: Yes! Silly things!

S: Let's do a yawn

(we do some stretches and descending slides. He really does have quite a big voice! I asked him for more phonation on the way down and then realized most people don't know that word, so I switched to singing buy I don't like that either so I said voice. His yawn spanned a much greater range after that.)

S: Ok good now I want you to do more of a sigh than a yawn.

(Steve caught on to this instantly. He started in falsetto and then slid down into low mode 1. I have a feeling he will be a quick learner!)

S: Nice! I'm really glad you're starting in a nice light place. Most of male students try to keep it pressed and belty, bleh no good. so another one!

(We do a handful more. I adapt it to be [u] "waaah" with a spoken "waah" at the bottom. We do a few of those. Then I go to the piano and play [bidibidibi] 13531 just to see what would happen. I accidentally played it in my range and had to apologize and move down an octave, haha! It's just habit I guess. I started on a C3 triad and descended from there but quickly realized that that was getting swallowed and icky for Steve and went up to Eb3. From there we went down chromatically. I asked him to sing more disconnected and light because I wanted to hear the tone before he had a chance to doctor it. After that the tone was much lighter and sounded less effortfull. I jumped around a little more. After that I did [so]"what"8531. I started with C4 descending to C3. This sounds pretty sore, but I think it's the sickness. He has a really pretty voice! I stopped this exercise quickly. I wanted to explore the low range so I taught him the vibraty [u] sound. He thought it was really funny for some reason. Anyway once he got the hang of it I had him to 54321 on it. I played down in his octave but he sang it in my octave where I was singing. Which was F#4 down to B3. It didn't sound hard for him at all! Hmmm. Anyway I asked him to sing where I was playing and not where I was singing. I told him to focus on the vibration in the lips and less on the core or loudness of the sound. We went down chromatically to G2, but it sounded like a struggle for him to get there. Can't wait to have a lesson when he's not sick!)

S: That's interesting!

Steve: what?

S: That's just an interesting low... you've just got a big voice! You've got a big huge voice. Man and you're sick too so this is going to be fun. Alright so what have you brought to sing for me?

Steve: A song. It's from Beauty and the Beast. The song is "If I can't love her."

S: Do you need to read off it? Ok I'll play chords.

(We go through the piece. I can tell he's altering his voice to sound more... classical or whatever. It sounds like root of tongue to me. It's especially apparent in the low voice. Some of his tones came through less entangled. Usually his onset/the first syllable of the phrase was good. [a]s were usually better. I stopped half way through since he was sick.)

S: that sounds really good it gives me a good idea of where your voice is at. I really like your tone. It's obviously a big voice, but I can tell your not putting weight on it on purpose, so it sounds relatively free and means that you naturally just have a big voice! Which is really fun. What did you like about singing this?

Steve: ....

S: What's your favorite part?

Steve: Right there.

S: Let's do that again.

Steve: I think just musically I like it. 

S: Ya it's beautiful it's a great piece! Well great! I hear some stuffiness, but I'm pretty sure that's the cold. It will be interesting to see you next week and see how your voice sounds. Well let's talk about repertoire! What style are you interested in doing?

Steve: Jazz is one thing I love, I don't know how to sing it yet! As for songs I would like to sing... I really like Jekyll and Hyde and "Momma Look Sharp." I really wish I had sung that!

S: What voice part is that song usually?

Steve: Tenor. I usually sing tenor.

S: Wow you must have a really wide range then, because that was pretty low!

Steve: Ya G is the lowest I can sing with any reliability! Sometimes I can sing an F and it's look ooo! That's fun!

S: Haha awesome well I think I'll find you something that's somewhere in between musical theater and jazz and a musical theater piece, is that ok? Or do you want a jazz standard?

Steve: That sounds ok.

S: Ya? Because I think that would be a more logical segway for you.

Steve: Ya ok.

S: Great! And then the fun will begin!\

Steve: Yay! Fun!

S: In the meantime how much water are you drinking a day?

Steve: I don't know I don't usually drink from glasses, I drink from fountains.

S: Oh! You've got to get a water bottle! Your assignment for the week is to drink a ton of water!

Steve: Ok deal.

S: thanks Steve! 

Reaction
Steve's very difficult to read. I'm having a little bit of a hard time connecting with him. I think that as our lessons progress, I will be able to better anticipate his reactions. It's unfortunate that we only have time for a few lessons! I would really love to help Steve develop his voice long term, because I think he has a LOT of potential. I'll see what we can do in the next few weeks! My goal for next time is to find him a handful of pieces to choose from and plan out some vocal exercises that will help me feel out his voice.