Areas of reherasal:
Modifying
Breath
Vowels vs. Consonants
Songs Rehearsed:
I Attempt from Love's Sickness
Close Every Door
Bring Him Home
Tuesday's voice lesson showed me that I tend to modify pretty much any vowel that comes across my lips whether or not it is in my upper register. This could be part of bad vocal training in the past or just myself unconsciously mimicking other singers who should be modifying (e.g. baritones).
I also found that I don't support as much as I thought I did. I always learned to breath from your diaphragm and usually started breathing early--when I thought about it. I need to not consciously think deep breath and practice the physics that easily draw breath inside.
Finally, I found that the reason why I was dragging songs down was not me trying to be "sing-songy" (though what singer isn't sometimes?!?), but rather that I held on to my consonants far longer than I should. I think why I did that was because of my background in theatre and show choirs. Annunciation was always crucial.
So, this leads me to practice.
I started by singing "I Attempt..." using only the vowel sounds--which took a few tries to get it in my head, but I got there. I focused on trying to make the vowel sounds as bright as I could to avoid the rounded sound of modification. I especially focused on the "ee" sound--as made appaernt in my last lesson as the bane of my vocal existence.
After that I moved on to working the words. Again, I thought about singing this as bright as possible. It sounded quite different to me than the way I would usually sing--modified. I could definately tell when I would slide out of my brightness and modify a vowel. The sounds were night and day different. I have to consciously think about the word fly. That "eye" sound is one I tend to modify if I don't think about it. Again, the "ee's" needed attention, but I think I'm much more conscious of it now.
Throughout these exercises, I tried to expell as much air as possible and get quick breaths in between phrases. It sure worked my gut and found I was tired after rehearsing. I must be on the right track...
I attempted Bring Him Home. I think I need more practice before I can tackle this one with confidence. Keeping those high f's and a's bright didn't seem to be a problem, but making them resonate and support them enough definitely was a problem. But I can't wait to be able to belt this one!
So, instead I looked at "Close Every Door." I focused on making this one loud and not worrying so much about the lyrical content. This song feels pretty easy--it's in my sweet spot range at the moment. Like the eighth notes in "...Sickness...", I need to make sure to sing this piece with as much legato as possible. Otherwise it gets very note punchy and not very interesting to hear. I would like to go up with this piece, unlike how it is written at the end. I think I could handle it.
Overall, I can't wait for spring because I'm sure tired of my runny nose affecting my throat!!