Friday Lesson 9/21

I LOVE LESSON DAYS. :)

     Me and Holly talked through my jury slips from last semester and figured out what we were gonna work on. The future is not looking too bleak. I have hope!

We worked on some "Yahyahs" descending, while relaxing the jaw. That helped. My new mission is to:

Stay on top of the pitch at ALL times.

I tend to let the pitch slip on descending lines. I can take very small steps. Holly said that, if anything, (in her words, "if the pitch is gonna go wonky"), to let the pitch go sharp because it's the opposite of what I'm doing right now.

We also worked through a few of my frustrations to do with "Where the Music Comes From". I need to finish each of the lines, and continue to make them continuous thoughts. Holly also thinks I need to find a connection with the text, otherwise the emotion with fall flat.

Goals for Practicing this Week:

Stay on top of pitch at all times

Continue Jaw Tension Bootcamp

Memorize "L'ho perduta"

At least the first verse French of "Villanelle" down (Do Rep Prep sheet)

Solidify "Where the Music Comes From" (Do Rep Prep sheet)

Translations of "Widmung" (and Rep Prep sheet)

Tongue Tension Bootcamp! 9/15-21

     This week was the first week of Jaw/Tongue Tension Bootcamp!

Holly and I have a very specific routine for me to start practices:

10 FULL MINUTES (or more) of:

• Viiii-Aaaah- 5 note ascending/descending
• Viiii-Aaaah- Arpeggio ascending/descending
• Range: C4-G5, higher or lower if it feels really good
• with finger on my jaw- reminding me to utilize the SPACE in my mouth
• tongue FORWARD on my front teeth- so that I'm not holding tension in my tongue
• bring the sound forward- still using my breath to send the sound forward and out

Saturday 9/15

• Utilized my Bootcamp Time for over 15-20 minutes. Took it REALLY slow.
• Vaccai: Lesson VII (Come il candore....) memorization and spot work (had trouble with notes on "La fedelta...")
• Rep: Sang through new Rep assignments (possibilities): "Villanelle" by Berlioz, "Lydia" by Faure, and "Widmung" by Schumann

Sunday 9/16: Day Off

Monday 9/17

• Jaw Tension Bootcamp
• Vaccai! More memorization
• Learning more notes
• Struggling with "Where the Music Comes From". I'm having a hard time finding a direction on it.

Tuesday 9/18, Wednesday 9/19, and Thursday 9/20:

• ALWAYS Jaw Tension Bootcamp, ALL the Time.
• It's getting so much easier, definitely feel the improvement in my jaw.
• My tongue feels TIRED from being more relaxed. It's odd...but I am not too worried.
• Started to notice an odd buzzing (not painful, or even audible outside of my mouth) when my tongue relaxed. I'm not sure if it's in my mouth on in my throat.
• Vaccai: Still working hard on memorization of "Come il candore..." and working on "Manco sollecita..." as well.
• Must stay on TOP of breath- use my breath- in order to keep going on the moving passages
• Rep
• Began English translation on "Villanelle"- still need to write out
• Still worked on "Where the Music Comes From"
• Still frustrated with the lines
• HOWEVER, the highest notes are made tremendously easier and freer if I used my bootcamp techniques
• Solidifying "L'ho Perduta"
• Fits extremely well in my voice, not taxing in any way, shape or form.

More to come on Friday Lesson!

Week of (mostly) Vocal Rest

     So, usually I'd prefer not to do "week long" entries, but last week was so crazy that I need to get it all done with one fell-swoop, plus, sadly, it's not very detailed. :( I knew that if I tried to sing/talk as little as possible, I would probably get better faster. So I did a lot of sleeping, tea drinking, and reading this past week.

9/10- Vocal Rest, sick :(

9/11- Vocal Rest, sick :((

9/12- Slight vocal rest. Sang in Choir, didn't feel great after that, so I decided to not to do more that day.

9/13- Warmed-up, sang in Opera Workshop. Practiced some more rep, but still tried to keep it easy. Did a few more vocalises, (mainly in the mid-voice) and sang through all of my rep once.

9/14- Lesson Day! Got assigned a mission: Jaw-Tension Bootcamp. (That's what Holly called it!) So, I am required to do a set of exercises every time I practice, at least 10 minutes, and think really long and hard about what I'm doing.
     Also, we ditched "Gia il sole dal Gange" (Holly said she think she can find something better for me), and explored some more rep choices.

9/8/12

Practice Notes:

     Practice did not go so well Saturday. My voice was tired (starting to get sick), so I did a brief, light warm-up and tried to run a few of my shorter, lighter songs. Still started with running Lesson I and VII of Vaccai.

• "L'ho perduta" went decently. Still felt a little forced on held notes, which is unusual. Had trouble bringing my sound into the mask, possibly due to some congestion and swelling.
• "Where the Music Comes From". By the time I got here, my voice was feeling very fatigued, but I wanted to look at least one verse over. The "middle" section is easiest on my voice, and is easier to bring my tone to a "happy", bright (yet warm) sound that feels rather free with no laryngeal tension whatsoever. 

9/7/12

Warm-Ups

• Warmed up before opera rehearsal
• Still trying to bring sound forward (w/ a lighter, brighter sound)
• Keeping warmth in tone while achieving a more forward sound
• Vaccai- Lesson I and Lesson VII
• diction and vibrato (trying to regulate air to regulate vibrato)

Rep

• "Magic Flute" chorus rep
• solidifying notes and rhythms

Break for Opera Chorus Rehearsal

Later, in a practice room....

• "Where the Music Comes From"
• trying to energize my sound with the breath to keep the line moving
• "Gia il sole dal Gange"
• tried the second verse with the editor's suggested ornamentation (liked it a lot!)
• the ornamentation felt more flowing than the "bare bones" 

9/6/12

No practice today. =( I went to orientation and was exhausted by the time it was over.

9/5/12

7:50-8:30pm

Warm-Ups

• physical shoulder and neck stretch ("emotional baggage"
• to relax, release neck tension
• "Ii-oo" and "Oo-ii" on a descending 5 note
• on a "too bright" nasal resonant sound (exploring the extremes)
• on a "too dark" covered sound
• "ii-ee-aa" on I-IV-I arpeggiated/ascending
• attempting to control breath
• "ii-aaa"- ascending arpeggio w/ turn/descending
• lighter, brighter sound
• "yahyahyahyah"- warm "down" on a descending 5 note
• relaxing jaw and tongue tension

Rep Work

• Gia il sole dal Gange:
• Language- learn and drill on rhythm
• learn notes
• had trouble with vowels, sped it up to not get "bogged down" in the runs
• learned un-ornamented 
• L'ho perduta:
• Quick language brush-up and drill
• Run/concreting notes
• FORWARD placement on upper register and PASSAGIO
• Where the Music Comes From
• Learning notes
• Picked out difficult transitions/key changes for later practice sessions

Notes/To-Do:

-Trying to get back into the "groove" of things practicing at school. Felt a little fatigued after 40 minutes.

-BRING VACCAI next time! Forgot it at home.