Another Voice Recital Hour 11/18

 A few notes on a few performers from the day:

Taylor Woolf: "Dying Ain't So Bad" Great job expressing the song with dynamics, though the quieter segments need focus. Great high note at the end.

Kennen Thompson - "Le Rose Will Despawn" Okay not really but it sounded a bit like that. It is actually just some French song. Really good resonance throughout, with just an absolutely stunning tone. There was a bit of tension.

Megan Richards - "A song in another language" Impressive range, but there is not enough support and it was breathy.

Kaylyn Baldwin - "Fire Aria" or something like that. Great diction, support, tone, and control over the voice. Well. Done.

                                                     Above: An example of a well-rounded singer.

                                                    Above: This performer is much too flat.

Saige Barlow-Smith-Ch 7-9

I found it really interesting how important the onset really is with singing, and I agree with a lot of what he said about it. Having a good solid start when singing can play a huge factor in how you sing the rest of the piece, and I have even discussed that with Dr. Chiesa before. The Wobble was an interesting idea, and I think it could be a way to introduce vibrato as well to students who struggle with it, but I would want the student to pull back and only “wobble” a small bit so the wobble doesn’t become their actual vibrato. I thought it was fun though, and I think it’s a creative idea for steady air flow—not to mention, it actually worked! I love the exercise in Getting High, too! Laurie uses this a lot with me, and I think it’s a brilliant way to build up the proper engagement and openness of high notes!

Kennan Thompson - Smith - Ch. 7-9

I love the idea of spontaneous combustion, especially compared to the use of the work impromptu. You have to prepare for singing and it can't just come out of nowhere. You should be prepared for anything in singing. Prepared for high notes, low notes, and in-between. I've been struggling a bit with onset and one that that Laurie has me work on is aligning my onset with my breath so I don't hold my breath so I get a glottal onset and I don't start singing too early with my breath so I had the h that Smith mentions in the book. One way that I do that is by bringing my hands up in opposite directions and arch them up towards each other (picturing one hand as my breath and the other hand as the moment I start singing) and as soon as the hands come together I begin singing. This helps me achieve a balanced onset. I have a love-hate relationship with the wobble exercise. This was one that I had Courtney do in my lesson (I'm sorry, Courtney!). It helps me be a lot more open and let the air do the work, but it can be challenging. Sometimes I get super frustrated because I just crack and it doesn't sound good, but the idea is to keep air moving and let that move the pitch, rather than getting my larynx to do all the work.

Logan Kelley- Smith- Ch 7-9

I was very intrigued by these chapters, mainly because I have done the fifth and sixth inventions in lessons before. I have found the wobble extremely effective for myself. When I do this exercise, I am able to find release in my throat, which doesn't always happen. I appreciate that these exercises are set up in a way that it shows the progression of what should be happening. I do wish it focused instead on the concepts of what we should be feeling and then have multiple exercises that can help depending on the singer. I have tried the wobble with some of the young singers I have worked with and they have a hard time working with it. I do enjoy the eleven-note scale exercise. I appreciated the way that he broke it down by voice type. It was helpful for me to see the description of exactly what should happen, because even when I have done this exercise I have closed off on top. This helped me see exactly what I could change to make this more effective for myself. I have found much greater release in the top of my range recently, and the main reason this has happened is because I have realized that I need to transition at my first passaggio. I was happy to see this supported by the book in this chapter.

Annika-Smith-Ch 7-9

 One of the main points I’ve gotten from the book so far is that the body is programmed to respond in the correct way. Speaking is natural--the body knows how to produce natural sound--so singing should be natural. Breathing is natural and the body can respond to how much air is needed during speaking and singing. If we trust our bodies to do their natural job without force or pressure, we can become better singers.

The Wobble seems very similar to the exercise Logan had me do in his teaching. I held onto a lot of pressure and did not do the exercise freely when Logan was teaching me, so I had a much harder time alternating between pitches quickly.

I’ve never associated being out of control with freedom and I still think Smith describes a decent amount of control when he talks about having freedom in the voice. Though we may not be forcing control over airflow anymore, we still must control pitches and accuracy. I like his analogy with the automatic transition in the car. I am striving to achieve those seamless transitions in my own work.

Brianna Skeen-Smith- Chapters 1-3

 Summary

-Chapters 1-3 focus on Smith's overall philosophy when it comes to singing. His approach is that in order to truly solve one's problems in singing, it would help to have a wholistic remedy that focuses on the source of the problem rather than the symptoms. Smith uses the difference between traditional medicine that focuses on prescriptions, and wholistic medicine that typically suggests things like exercice, diet, and meditation to solve relieve symptoms and promote overall good health so as to prevent additional illnesses. He looks at singing in very much the same way by establishing good and natural techniques that go for the root of the tension or problems instead of providing a temporary solution to the tension. With that he goes on to elaborate on how phonating is a very natural sound and talks about how babies learn to speak. They start by making sounds and then, through the encouragement of adults those sounds are then oraganized into words and sentences and so on. He also talks about how breathing is the very essence of life and is also a very natrual occurance. We do not have to think much about our breath or our vocal folds to phonate to communicate with others on a daily basis. And while in order to sing it does take an extra awareness of our breath and how we phonate the desired freeness can only come by singing as natrually as we speak. 

Application

-I agree with Smith on the sense that singing should feel as natural as speaking and that through practice on proper technique one shouldn't have to think about breath or phonating in order to produce a natural and free sound that is free of tension. I really enjoyed his analogy of the "trip" when it comes to singing. It takes a lot of thoughtful planning and preperation to take a successful trip. It takes research and budgeting, and travel time awareness and knoweledge of the sites of where you are going and what you want to experience while there. Just like in singing it takes thought as to the language, what vowel you are singing where, how you are going to hit that high note without tension and so on. However, once you are on the trip, and once you are performing the song, you need to just let go of all the plans and trust your preperation to just throuoghly enjoy the trip and the song and story you are presenting.

Tanner Pruett - Smith - Ch. 7-9

Chapters 7-9

·         Spontaneous Combustion

o   Different from impromptu

o   Poised and prepared for spontaneous action

o   Strong onset with “vulnerability and openness to varying circumstances” (pg. 86)

·         Vocal exercise

o   5 detached “ahs” on the same note

o   Repeated randomly throughout the range and passaggio

o   Core and bloom from the onset

o   Avoid onset that involves pressing the vocal folds together (cough-like) or uses excess aspiration (“h” sound)

·         The release

o   The chords simply open with no pressure

o   Inhaling is the easiest method for healthy release

 

·         The Wobble

o   Purpose is to give up control of the larynx and submit completely to the airflow

§  Also to build flexibility in the airflow

o   Flexibility is important for properly utilizing this exercise

§  This invention also adds flexibility to clean articulation, airflow, evenness, and strength in the other inventions

·         Vocal exercise

o   Alternate between pitches 4 tones a part, first slowly then quickly, then repeated up a half step and reversing the starting pitch (either from high to low or low to high)

o   Start in the low part of the range

 

·         6^th invention – Getting High

o   Combination of all previous inventions

o   “Employ clear phonation, free-flowing air chiaroscuro balance, clean o2nset/release, and flexibility throughout the vocal range.” (pg. 98)

·         Vocal exercise

o   16^th note ascending and descending scale that explores multiple vowels (start on closed “e” for 1-2-3-4, “a” for 5-6-7-8, and “oh” for 9-10-11-9-7-5-4-3-2-1)

o   “speaking” sensation in lower range; “sigh” sensation in higher range

o   Naturally shift through registers with imperceivable precision

o   Start low in the range (treble voices: Bb3, A3, or Ab3; tenors: around C3; baritones: around Bb2 or A2; basses: Ab2, G2, or F#2)

o   Transition in tenor/baritone/bass voices

§  Transition feels “flute-y” and off of the voice

§  Still large sound, but is all airflow

o   Messa di voce

§  “Going from softest pianissimo to the loudest forte and back again with any trace of a register shift.” (pg. 103)