Patrice-McCoy-Ch 9-10

 Better Late Than Never McCoy Chapter 9-10 (I'm going in a weird order, I know.)

It was interesting reading this chapter on the ear and listening. I have a brother-in-law who grew up in a home with deaf parents. Because of this he is very conscientious of loud noises directly in his kids ears. Ear plugs also make sense to me. My sister-in-law, who is a percussionist,  always has a pair of ear plugs when she performs in order to protect her ears while playing such loud instruments. My dad has also lost some of his hearing and he uses hearing aids. My hope is not to have his ears because I would not want to need hearing aids by the time I am 50.

The parts of the ear are really intriguing for me. When I read about the auditory tubes I was very interested. I remember a childhood friend who needed tube in her ears because she kept getting ear infections. My 4 year old nephew had the same procedure done because he also was getting ear infections. It was neat to learn why my nephew and childhood friend had the procedure and how it helps them.

Overall listening to yourself singing is important, but you cannot rely on that alone. There is a process to hearing and analyzing your own sound and that auditory feedback loop occurs for speaking and singing.

My thoughts were a bit everywhere for this chapter, but they are out on the post.

Courtney Lesson and VRH 20/25

 

 

• Exercise: 8531 [u] 
• in the upper part of your range to gently bring the folds together
• Exercise: 54321 [iea]
• in the lower part of your range 
• Exercise: 123456787654321 [a] [o]
• bouncy
• let each note be energized and have vibrato 
• Exercise: 1358531 [aou]
• let each note be energized and let the air carry the pitches
• Blute Nur
• Once I know the notes, let myself think of of things in full phrases. 

·       Amelia Kearl- Wie Melodien es mir

o   Good suspension of upward space even in the lower pitches

o   Improved even from the last time you sang in VRH, nice work

·       Olivia Call-

o   Easy pitch production through out range of song

o   Good movement through faster passages

o   Needs more release in jaw to allow for wider opening of mouth

o   Needs more of a sense of energy through out the piece

·       Madison Ware- O Peace thou fairest child of heaven

o   Good pitch production in the upper register

o   Great coloratura? Runs? The slower runs need just as much energy as the faster ones

o   Reinvigorate the vowel through out held notes so that they don’t lose energy

·       Sierra Langsley- When he is Here

o   I love your tone, the majority of the vowels feel focused in a high, energized place

o   Some shortening of the back of the neck; find more lift/release

o   Let your mind make the highest pitches rather than trying to push up to them. Notice them as high as they feel, but find them with a completely released throat.

·       Ethan Wilmore-Tonight at Eight

o   Not sure if it’s a technique or a character thing, but the breaths are gaspy rather than released, I’d start with a slightly lower, more released breath and then turn that into a more character breath in places that you’ve chosen carefully (you don’t need them everywhere)

o   Good character, good understanding of the text and well communicated

o   Great tone to your voice and an excellent choice for you

o   Some notes are flat, don’t try to push them, just let the breath be the energy and carry them

·       Braden Winford- City of Angels from Godspell

o   I love your very first pianissimo opening with good energy—keep that the whole way through the quieter sections, started to lose some core to the sound

o   Check in with the back of your neck to make sure it’s released and not shortening

·       Christina Avery- La rose d’Ispahan

o   Love your upper register, has some great sound there!

o   Make pull energy from the ground or your breath rather than your throat, let yourself spin through the phrases with excitement

o   A sense of excitement in your eyes will help with this too, it will keep things lifted and resist the urge to depress

·       Madison Black- Weep You No More

o   Great space and good connection to that space throughout your range

o   Check in with your neck and shoulders, use head gear, leaning against wall, lifting at your occipital lobes etc. to find a position that is more released, should help your energy flow stay more consistent

·       Alyssa Burton- You’ll Never Walk Alone

o   Had some great high notes, bring that space down to your lower register, so it doesn’t get too heavy. The dark color you started with was beautiful but made transitioning more difficult. You found a KILLER place by the end, start it where you ended it

·       Kat Hirschi- Sure on this Shining Night

o   Your face gets droopy and serious, find a sense of excitement in your eyes and lift in your cheekbones this will help you find focus in your vowels.

o   Great space in your throat and suspension of the upper register down

o   Loved that last low note, just be excited for it, you’ve got it, it sounds great!!!!

·        

Sarah King - VRH - Oct 26

Amelia K. – beautiful full voice at start. Good support throughout whole voice, smooth transitions from chest to mixed to head, steady control. Great diction!

Madison W. – Clear tone, try focusing it more forward to add more bite to the sound and pierce through the piano’s accompaniment at the beginning. The high notes were correct, but try adding more shimmer/power to round it out (it felt a little shallow). Beautiful song.

Sierra “When He is Here” – Precise notes, well done. Needs more oomph, loosen jaw a bit to help with high notes and jumps. Good job with emphasizing the chromatic notes. I noticed there was a lot of upper chest movement while breathing, try focusing on breathing from the core instead, it will help maintain control over breath support. Well done!

Saige Barlow - Voice Recital Hour Evaluation - 10/26

 Amelia Kearl - Wie Melodien

• I love this song!

• Good fit for Amelia’s voice!

• Has a recurring theme

• AMAZING!!

• Space in transitioning between registers

 

Olivia Call - something in German

• Gorgeous vibrato, but very breathy.

• Diction is very clear!

• Kept going, even though she forgot some lyrics! Good for you!

 

Madison W -  O Peace, Thou First Child of Heaven

• Breathy but beautiful voice!

• I sometimes can’t tell if this is supposed to be in English or in some other language.

• Definitely a classical or baroque type of piece.

• Long melisma :)

 

Sierra W - When He is Here

• Tends to have a turtle head, which might contribute to some tension or disconnection with airflow.

• Hits the pitches pretty well, but struggles with high “A.”

 

Ethan W - “Tonight at Eight” - She Loves Me

• I think Tim sang this song once.

• Conveys the text really well!

• A little tense and nasal-sounding, but it is very clear and articulate.

• I love this song so much!!! And I love Zachary Levi!

 

Braden W - “Beautiful City” - Godspell

• Rather breathy, which might be getting in the way of dynamics.

• Stronger support in the middle section!

• I think he could probably try supporting from the ground up, and I think that could also help with the breathiness.

• It’s also possible he might’ve gotten nervous.

 

Christina Avery - Rose di …

• Pretty sure this is in French

• I am hearing improvements in the color of her sound. It’s still a little breathy and tense, but I am hearing improvements.

• It’s also rather swallowed, and I wonder if that might be the root of the problem.

• The diction is pretty good. It’s a little swallowed though still.

 

Madison Black - Reap Me, No More

• Ooo, I love F major!

• Very forward and vibrant! Holy cow!

• Slight tension, but her voice is amazing and shows dramatic improvement!

 

Alyssa Burton - “You’ll Never Walk Alone”

• Once again, I immediately think of Huey Lewis when I see this title

• I think I’ve heard this song before.

• Very resonant and vibrant

• You can tell the higher notes are in a different register, since they’re a little softer most of the time.

• And you say you’re not a soprano!

 

Kat H - Sure on This Shining Night

• Same text as the choral piece we know and love :)

• Must be a poem. Yeah, it’s definitely a poem.

• Chin sticks out a little, which is causing some tension.

Patrice-McCoy-Ch 2

 Better Late than Never- McCoy Chapter 2

Chapter 2 gets you ready to talk about the voice/larynx/body in an anatomically correct manner. First we have the anatomical views:

• anterior- view from the front
• posterior- view from the back
• Lateral- view from the side
• Superior- view from above
• inferior- view from below

Movement

• cranial- toward head
• caudal- away from head (toward tail)
• Medial- toward center of body
• lateral- away from center of body
• superficial- toward the surface
• deep- away from the surface

Cross-section planes

• sagittal section- cut through anterior/posterior (AP)
• coronal section- medial/lateral plane
• transverse/horizontal section- horizontal slice (like a guillotine

There was also an explanation of types of muscles and how they get their names. Types of muscles include cardiac, smooth, and skeletal. Some of these muscles are voluntary, others involuntary. Some we can consciously contract, others it is an unconscious effort to contract.

Names of muscles one of seven different types:

• Geometric names (based on shape)
• General form (how it looks)
• Location in the body (on location)
• Descriptive terms (how it lays)
• Number of heads (number of attachment points)
• Attachments (placement of attachments)
• Function (based on function)

This information is a baseline when talking and learning about atnatomy.

Tanner Pruett - VHR - 10/26

 Amelia K.

-bright and pleasant sound; make sure vowels are consistently focused and brilliant

-some slight intonation issues at the beginning; probably just nerves

-great work on higher range; would love more breath support

Olivia C.

-breathy tone (are the vocal folds coming together all the way?)

-could be sick or very nervous, but there is definitely more sound in that singer

Madison W.

-find a focal point for the performance

-would love some more musicality and intentional phrases (syllabic stress)

-great work with a difficult song; more breath support would definitely help increase the amount of sound 

Sierra W.

-avoid rocking back and forth (will help get more support in sound)

-very clear transition between passaggios at the moment, would love more consistent breath support throughout the range

-avoid modifying the vowel so much on higher notes (it's getting swallowed at the moment)

-would love some more character and expression in the lyrics

Ethan W.

-would love the lower notes to be more in his "speaky voice" 

-lots excess air in the tone; would be able to get through more phrases if it was used more efficiently

-love the commitment to the character; would channel that energy into one focal point

-would love for the sound to go "up" then "out" instead of just out

Branden W.

-lots of extra air in the tone; could be a stylistic choice or just nerves

-love to focus the tone in the vowels (they are getting trapped in the throat)

-more diction would also help the focus and help the tone cut across the piano

-would love more musical levels throughout the song

Christina A.

-beautiful dark tone, but is getting a little trapped in the throat

-would love more focus and brilliance in the vowels

-the fast and uneven vibrato makes me think that the breath support is not as efficient as it could be (the tone feels like a "choir soprano's tone" to me)

-I think this singer has way more sound in her

Madison B.

-the breath support is pretty efficient (great vibrato and the passaggio transition is relatively clean)

    -more focus in the vowel would probably help

-would love some more musical levels (tell the story)

-needs more focus on the lower notes

Alyssa B.

-would love the support and focus of the lower range to continue into the passaggio 

-higher notes are very dark and stuck in the throat

-would love more brilliance in the vowels throughout the range

Kat H.

-keep the focus from the first few notes throughout the range

-vibrato seems fast and a little "shake-y," maybe from improper breath support or nerves (it's so close to being really good)

-vowels are pretty focused overall, but could be more consistently focused

-very floaty and beautiful tone, don't be afraid to color it with the vibrato

Gideon Benge - Voice Recital Hour V: The Vibrato Strikes Back

Here are a few notes on a some of the fantastic performers witnessed today.

Sierra W: Nice vibrato. Some of the higher notes are pinched, it could be opened up a tad more and focused in a better spot. When the focus is right, it sounds phenomenal. 

Ethan W: "Tonight at 8" Great character acting. Sometimes the breathing can interrupt the phrase, and sometimes the notes are a little lost on some of the trickier parts. That being said, this song is quite difficult he performed marvelously and was very humorous. Great recovery from the mistake at the start.

Braden W - "Beautiful City" Tone is a bit airy without the support it needs, which makes it a bit difficult to hear over the piano. Voice is perfect for this song. Quiet parts still need more energy.  Really opens up and sounds fantastic on the higher parts.

Christina A -"Some Sort of Song Ye Sang" Beautiful voice with pretty good diction. Some of the lower parts of the song were a bit swallowed. I don't normally worry about this, but I would definitely fix posture. It will help confidence levels and give more consistent breath support.

                                                              

                                                                 "Sing your best, you will."
                                                                                         

                                                                                            -Yoda probably

"Help your breath support, this exercise will."

                                                                                              - Yoda, Vocal Coach for the New York                                                                             Metropolitan Opera

Patrice-Recital Hour-10/26

 Amelia Kearl

Wie Melodien

• You have a very present tone
• Tone was pretty consistent throughout

Olivia Call

El Majo Timaro

• lack of breath support
• airy sound on lower notes, higher notes had more support
• Great diction
• pitch accuracy

Madison Ware

O Peace Thou Fairest Child of Heaven

• Beautiful tone
• Could use more space in the mouth
• rock back, drop jaw
• lift soft pallet

Sierra Wamsley

When he is Here

• Has a bit of a nasal tone
• Airy tone on lower notes
• Great diction!
• Good projection/focus
• It sounds like a tightness when you ascend to higher notes, not as much as when you leap
• Love the quality of the last note!

Ethan Willmore

Tonight at Eight- She Loves Me

• Onsets are a bit aspirated
• Breaths are very lowed
• The chromatic sections were a bit uncertain pitch-wise
• Some parts were a bit raspy- I couldn't tell if it was a stylistic choice
• Great energy!

Braden Winford

Beautiful City- Godspell

• Better breath support will lead to a more focused sound
• lower notes were not as airy
• It seems when you are thinking of singing piano you loose your breath support
• This range is great in your voice!
• Release your jaw- rock back

Christina Avery

La rose d'Ispahan- Faure

• Sounds like tongue tension on high notes
• There is a tightness on your high notes
• Beautiful lower range
• Airy sound slips through when nasal vowels are sung

Madison Black

Week you No More- Robert Quilter

• Great tone quality and focus!
• Check your posture- sit in your stance
• Release your jaw for more freedom in your sound

Alyssa Burton

You'll Never Walk Alone- Carousal

• There is an airiness with your higher middle range
• Once you get up there it sounds beautiful- work on bringing that placement down or the placement of your lower range up

Kat Hirschi

Sure on this Shining Night- Samuel Barber

• Vibrato sounds inconsistent at times- no need to force vibrato to happen
• Onsets are a bit breathy
• Beautiful focus, especially in your higher range

Logan Kelley- Recital Hour- Oct 26

 Recital Hour Oct 26

Olivia C- She has a really nice sound, she just seems really in her head. The sound becomes more breathy in these moments.

Madison W- It sounds like more movement in the breath could help her sound. At times because of this it leans on the breathy side, especially in the middle range. The sound could be more effective with a little more space as well.

Sierra W- The sound is a little shallow. It sounds like it is not connected to the breath, which is leading to a lack of lift in the mouth. More focus on this and vowels could get a more classical sound which I would prefer on a song like this.

Ethan W- The character is very engaging. The sound leans toward being in the back and loses vibrancy. If it could land in a resonant place with more ping, the sound would be cleaner and carry more.

Braedon W- He has great expression and contrast across phrases. There was a light breathiness, but it seemed to match the soulful nature of this song. He gets a really nice sound in his upper range when he leans into a note, but he quickly backs off so that this sound doesn’t stay.

Christina A- The sound seems a little stuck inside of her. Landing in a stronger resonating spot in the face might help carry the sound to us. This was especially evident on the highest notes which felt slightly pinched. Her posture doesn’t seem to foster an open space for singing. The head is coming forward and down. 

Madison B- She has a great open sound. It carries especially well once she moves a little higher in her voice. On quicker passages especially, I think there could be a deeper sense of connection so that they seem like part of a line instead of individual notes.

Alyssa B- She has a really nice open voice. There were some really rich colors on the lower end that I wish were carried into the higher sound as well, but it still seemed free and healthy

Kat Hirschi- The sound seems a little stuck a lot of the time. There were times where it would land in a more vibrant spot, but occasionally I would feel like there wasn’t enough motion in the breath to get the sound there. An openness in the body seems like it would help this.

Patrice-McCoy-Ch 1

 I got very behind in this book, but I figured better late than never posting my thoughts!

Chapter 1 mainly talked about the different qualities and descriptive words used to identify a singer's voice. I found when reading the different qualities most were a matter of quality and not correctness/healthy singing, and a few would classify healthy vs. unhealthy singing. Here are my take aways:

Quality

• Bright vs. Dark
• Back vs. Forward
• Vibrant vs. Straight tone

Correctness/Healthy Singing

• Breathy vs. Clear (a singer can sing in a breathy tone in a healthy manner, but it takes training)
• Clean vs. Raspy (takes training)
• Healthy vs. Damaged
• Nasal vs. Non-Nasal (severity is dependent on language)
• In tune vs. Not in tune
• Good diction vs. Poor diction
• Stylistically correct vs. Stylistically incorrect

Now each of these classifications are very much subjective. However, they are helpful in describing a voice as they are easy ways to hear someone sing.

Hayden- two voice lessons and two coaching sessions

Coaching- 14th Okt.

Look! Through the Port

- send consonants up and out

- be more generous with breath allocation

- it's ok if there's sometimes a break between vowel and consonant

- sing through bars, etc.

- hold "astray" its full value

- "up" needs to be more consonanty

- consonants at beginnings and middles need more attention

- "shammmm"

- a = [a]

- the = [ða]

- second "fathoms"- [z] on downbeat of next bar

- make sure all words are American English. You've made this choice.

- go over every diphthong

- "twist"- go ahead and hang onto the [s] for a while

Focus: phrasing (sing across the barline), consonants up and out, middle consonants

Make-up lesson

- falsetto 54321 ascending

    - nice and light

    - crycothyroid action

- ah 54321 descending

    - be gentle! Just relax and let the sound come out

rrri etc. 54321 with turns

    - copertura on ri

9-note ah/oh/oo

Paolo 578

    - coprire

    - vertical space (finger thing)

135654321 ah/eh/ii

    - put an umlaut on that [i]

    - [i] needs same height as [a]

Pro peccatis

- copertura + more open mouth

- sing through phrases

- flagellis

    - oo in the [i]

    - sing "flagelloos", and modulate to flagellis

second pro peccatis

    - copertura, open mouth

    - same with second "vidit"

- second "fla"- bright

- flagelloos

    - gradually add more [i]

- learn the second verse, why dontcha

- oo on the high [i] vowel stuff

- arpeggio

    - keep mouth as open on [i] as it is on [a]

Whither must I wander?

- keep same energy throughout phrases

- copertura on Eb's. Trust it.

- practice supporting throughout whole phrases

- make sure I'm not too soft. I piani possono essere più forte

- be more gentle on "chimney" - very light

The infinite shining heavens

- copertura on "night" and "dearer"

- light on the last word. cover. etc.

Look! Through the port

- copertura on "must," but don't abandon tongue position

- stomach

    - space

- me

    - cover

copertura on "ere I sink"

Official lesson

- 1358531 lip buzzes

    - I do these every morning

    - just let registers come and go like the wind

- 54321 vvvah

    - open mouth up.

    - relax!...

- rireraroru

- head voice thing

    - crescendo into high note

    - copertura

Paolo

    - find a place where you can sing on the other side of a voice crack

    - let the cover come a little forward

    - don't let tongue retract!

9-note ah/oh/oo

uia 58531

    - umlaut that [i]

    - tongue in [i] position

    - vertical space. finger thing

falsetto descending scales (stratosphere)

fffffaaaaaaa 8531

- lottsss of air

- so light

- should still feel like my speaking voice

- still full closure, like normal speaking voice

- if you're struggling still- sing it forte, then sing it again but quiet

Ich grolle nicht. Nein, wirklich-

- if I'm struggling with the higher "verlornes"

    - 9-note i to a

    - nnnn head voice exercise

    - 1358531 ah/uh

        - copertura.

- längst - FORTE. so important

    - marcato

- Schlampe.

- do the caveman yelling noise to find placement for first "herzen"

    - don't drive it

    - don't leave copertura, space, and tongue placement behind

    - get this in context!

    - more "uh" as it gets higher

    - more vertical space as it gets higher

    - no muscle flexed above clavicle. Sing without a head

- the A.

    - sing in falsetto

    - ffaaaa 8531

    - robot noise: my folds are fighting between staying together and coming apart. Breath must be stable. Let the air justify the folds.

        - crescendo down. Slide! Yes!

    - uia 58531

        - vertical space inside, not out. open o ipa symbol

    - why are all my vowels open? How can I close them?

        - this is why [u] is a good vowel for me

        - not much breath resistance

    - mouth has to stay oo but tongue has to be ee

        - uia

        - keep oo shape on "a" sound

        - tongue has to come higher and forward

Coaching II

Whither must I wander

- Legato. Sing through the phrases! What words am I aiming at?

- We didn't talk about this, but round "fire"

- lift after second "home"

- friends departed might include.... former versions of myself.

- Watch Nomadland

- [ða]

- really hit consonants on "spring"

- mix up the phrasing so it's not always the exact same thing

- murland

- soften "chimney"

- what exactly do you want? emotion, breath locations. write it in.