Emily C., Lesson Summary, 4/7/14

Emily C., Lesson Summary, 4/7/14

We started the lesson with lip trills. Then we gradually moved on to "they" on 54321, keeping the vibrato high, maintaining space in the back molars, and inhaling as if just starting to yawn for tracheal tug. Brianna taught me a "quick three sniffs" for deep breaths, directing the air towards the lower back ribs. We then switched the vocalize to 8531. Brianna told me that my vibrato was nice and "high," and that when I'm singing with good release, I should feel like I'm singing straight toned (because I'm so used to feeling my vibrato internally). 

We then did some "thee they thee they thee" on 54321, doing gentle trills on each syllable, applying the same technique from the previous exercises. Next, we did "li Le la lo Lu" descending, and I've decided that I'm not a big fan of this exercise because starting on the closed [i] sound makes me tighten up. 

For my piece today, we worked on "L'absent" by Gounod. I worked on inhaling with that motion of "starting to yawn," and I found that it really helped with making my higher notes easier to sing and sustain. We worked on maintaining legato line and using that good inhale. On occasion, Brianna would remind me of the three sniffs to add more energy into my breathing. Brianna told me to also think forward and up on descending passages because I tend to close the space between my molars and push the tone back as I get lower I'm my range. We mostly drilled the areas where I had jumps to higher notes applying these techniques and reminding me to think forward and high. 

Brianna challenge me for next week to sing with more emotion and facial engagement, especially since the accompaniment helps me so much with it already.