USU Pedagogy 3630 - F23

 Kimberly Black -very tender sound that fits the song well -consistent vibrato -nice and bright in low head voice John Maloy -really different from last VRH but so good still -you can see the vibrato in his chin sometimes which is really interesting to me -bright and full -had some nice ornamentation in the da capo

 This week my voice lesson went really well! We went over the opening four-six measures to practice not taking a gassy breath. Dr. Hart had me lean over while standing on one foot. This helped my diaphragm put in the proper work to expand what felt like almost to my knees. The notes weren’t very ping-y in this position but once I stood up, my body was used to breathing that deeply and focused that it replicated the same sound. It was awesome! I could feel that the breath expanded not only out but backward and down. I began to practice this same stance and also a sumo squat with my other pieces and it created the same pattern in all my other songs! In VRH this week, Amelia Kearl asked if we could give her feedback on her piece! She had such a playful air about the song and really drew the audience in with just her face. Even though it was in Italian, you could really feel her lackadaisical attitude towards love and men. Her high notes really rang and had good forward placement strai...

 For VRH, I want to highlight Kimberly Black's performance! Her vibrato was so beautiful, and her attacks on each note were clear and balanced. The low and high notes were treated the same, with the same air support as the last. Her posture was straight, and I didn't notice anything that would restrict her air flow. I could not sense any tension in the throat, and it sounded like her larynx laid low for most of the performance! Overall, it was a very good performance, and I absolutely loved Kim's voice on "When She Loved Me". For my lessons, I was not feeling very well, and I unfortunately had to cancel it. Outside of my lessons, I have been working on "Lady of the Harbor", and my Italian piece, "Porgi Amour". I am working on understanding the meaning behind the lyrics, and putting myself "into the character" of the story. I think I am doing a very good job, but feel like I could show a bit more. Because I have been more focused on me...

 I really enjoyed Amelia’s performance. She sang very smooth, and the movements were done so well! Her voice was so agile and still had breath behind each phrase. I also thought she performed well, she really got into the song and did so good! This week in my lesson I sang through a few pieces in preparation for juries. We worked a lot on relaxing my mouth and jaw. We also worked on breath and there are a few long phrases that are still really difficult to get through, so Cindy recommended working the phrase backwards. She told me this weeks ago but I just applied it this week and oh my gosh it is working so well. I wish I did it earlier! 

 This weeks VRH was awesome, as always. I was a big fan of Madelyn Hamilton's performance of "Calm". I knew this song and was a big fan of it already, so I was stoked to hear her interpretation. I really thought her energy was good throughout the whole piece, because oh boy does it require some serious (maybe even manic) energy to pull this one off. This assisted the rhythm, as there were a few places where she stumbled but for the most part she kept up with that blazing fast patter. I feel like her sound came into her own mostly on longer notes, and was a little understated in those fast text sections. Keeping an open mouth and consistent breath flow despite many fast consonants would be a lifesaver for anyone in this situation. My lesson was a good one, Thomas and I did some interesting exercises, and it was an off day due my being sick. One such exercise that I thought was interesting was we did a downward 5 note scale in my mid to low voice, and Thomas instructed me t...

 In my voice lessons this week, we have started preparing for juries by primarily focusing on the songs I will be presenting. There was a lot of work on my breath energy this week to improve the focus of my sound. We've been using the analogy of letting my breath lead the sound rather than follow the sound which helps me visualize the ease and flow of my breath very well. Since I know my music pretty well at this point we've also started to perfect the performance and musicality aspect as well, especially in my art songs. I am a face acting girl all the way so we worked on having the same emotional energy in my voice and musicality as I do in my face. The singers this week were amazing and I very much enjoyed Emma Diesen's performance (as I always do). I have to say, for such a little woman, she sure does know how to produce big sound. Her voice has this beautiful, rich timbre with ease in her resonance and you can tell, as an audience member, that she's singing with co...

 This week I have felt really anxious and very on edge for a myriad of reasons. Today in Voice Recital Hour, John Malory performed his original song, “Run River Run”. It made me feel completely at peace and like I could ease into the song and more into how I have been feeling. It really made me ponder on what we discussed yesterday in class about how music can heal us, especially the way we sing. The way he sang not only was a beautiful performance, but especially in the second chorus, he gets a little raspy up high to express the emotion of the song. Just as Dr. Brott described on Tuesday, he was willing to sacrifice some pretty to help you feel the song’s text a little more without hand gestures or lots of movement. The stillness almost had more impact than if he had big, boisterous gestures. This performance inspired me to not only sing my repertoire well technically, but more than anything, make it mean something to someone. In my voice lesson this week, Laurie had me lay on a ...

 I enjoyed Emma’s performance of Hold On. She really connected to her breath and engaged the entire time, and that was evident through her legato and resonance. I was also impressed at her low notes in the beginning, they seemed easy and not forced. She did so good!  My voice was not 100% this week in my lesson, so we warmed up a lot and focused on relaxing exercises. I then chose to work on Monica’s aria, which is not an easy song and definitely not a great song to sing while all phlegmy. So it went ok, I got through it and then we focused on making certain phrases easier. To do this, we broke down each phrase and went slowly, starting at the last note and over time adding notes. Massaging my jaw helped me remember to loosen my jaw and tongue, and I also was reminded to sing more open. 

 John Maloy -multi-talented king -very bright sound -super consistent vibrato -loveee the cresecendos on the start of phrases (in voice specifically, but also mirrored by the harmonica) -gorgeous flip into head voice and back -really clear understanding of dynamic contrast -sometimes backs off of the notes when they change, may just be stylistic though, as it isn't all the time -nice use of belt in the second chorus where he used head before and then back to head for the second half -This was a really awesome performance that was very emotional but well-put-together as well. I love that he is performing his own music and I genuinely think he could be a singer-songwriter or go on a singing show and do really well. I was quite impressed.

 Today, I will be highlighting John Maloy's performance. He sang an original song, and it was so good! While singing, he played guitar AND harmonica. The control he has over his voice and vocal shifts is amazing. His falsetto was beautiful, and the attacks to each note were well-balanced! John's posture was aligned in a way that opened his body up. Because of this, his voice projected very easily. Including this, I could not sense any tension in his throat! His performance was so fun and cool to watch, and he sounded absolutely amazing.  In my voice lessons this week, we sang over my memorized pieces, and tackled more in-depth on a few pieces. I felt a little discouraged since I struggled to memorize all of my pieces. The past few weeks had been extremely busy, and a lot of events are going on in my personal life, so I had a hard time trying to get everything done. I was asked to grade myself, and I did based on my improvement throughout the semester. I think I have worked ver...

 - high placement with no constrictions - Larynx shouldn’t move at all the higher the notes get  - untether pitch from sensation in the throat

 In Vocal Recital Hour on Tuesday this week I observed a student sing "Leave Everything to Me". Her tone was very clear and forward for a majority of the song, and her comedic timing led to some laughs from the audience. Her diction was very good, I did not have any trouble understanding what she was saying, and the message got across to those watching.  In my lesson this week, we talked about "fingering" or register shifts in my piece "Ach ich fuhls." This song has been particularly difficult for me because it has a lot of register shifts mid phrase, and I have developed a bad habit of not letting the sound flip up and forward when I sing higher. We worked on finding good resonance on each individual note as it switches registers and moves throughout the passagio and above. We also worked on feeling the flow and where my vocal line fits in with the accompaniment in my piece " Beau soir" Throughout the song, the vocal line is in a douple  feel wh...

 This week in Voice Recital Hour, Kate Wilson performed L-Invitación a Voyage. Something that was really awesome was the placement remained the same through out each note. Every word was in the shape of an “ah” just with different lip shape to round out the desired vowel. This gave great resonance and each note could springboard off of the hard palate! Also, Kate usually takes a stance of putting one hand on the piano which in turn expands the area for the diaphragm and deeper breaths. One thing I noticed was that depending on high notes or low notes, Kate would move her head slightly in the same direction. This probably is more a psychological effect but leads to out of alignment breathing, actually making it more difficult to sing. I noticed this in particular because it is exactly what I worked on in my lesson this week. We had an awesome break through where I realized I had root tension due to moving my head up for high notes and so Laurie and I worked on singing an Ah then to ...

 Erica Harvey  -very clean runs -could benefit from a bit more tall of vowels -nice and consistent vibrato Ashley Wallice -sometimes some breathiness in the quiet, lower parts -once she moves into more belty range it is super clear -so much emotion -very clear style Justice Cruzan  -a lot of fun and good character -very bright, sometimes nasal tone (fit character) -chose not to belt at end and rather used head, was a little under-supported

 I was particularly impressed by Kaitlyn Kingston's performance of "Turning Page" from Sleeping at Last. The thing that impressed me most about her performance was her control of the dynamics and it's relation to the dramatic aspect of the performance. When she started singing the tone was a little breathy, but I feel that it was an intentional choice that really brought forth the meaning of the text. She showed later on that she was capable of creating that full sound especially at climatic moments of the song. At these moments I felt that the sound was a little pressed, so she might work on a nice flow to that sound, which would make the sound even more dramatic! I really felt like she had a great control of the sound she wanted to hear, and she had great control of the drama, dynamics, and vocal production.

 Today in VRH, I want to highlight Ashley Wallick's performance on "La Llorona". Ashley voice was well balanced--not too harsh or breathy! Her attacks to each note were very good, and I love how she used dynamics to her advantage! She emphasized specific words, and backed away on the less important ones. Including this, she snapped into character the moment she was up by the piano to perform. I couldn't sense any tension in the throat, and it heard like she was in control of her breath. Overall, I loved Ashley's performance! She said she was nervous since the piece was new for her, but I couldn't tell at all! I can't wait to see how everyone progresses at the end of the semester! :)

 I loved Kate’s performance of “L’Invitation au voyage” by Duparc today. She has such a mature sounding voice, and it really shows in the consistency between the middle range and higher range. This song had a few contrasting sections, and Kate did a good job singing them differently. The high notes were floaty but still had focus. She performed very well! This week in my voice lesson we did a few exercises to release tension, specifically in the tongue and jaw. (I’m doing research about tongue tension in Dr. Sheers research class so I asked Cindy about this). We then carried the idea of release into my songs. I worked on “Die Elfe” and “Ach ich fühls.” I massaged my jaw while I sang, and this helped me open and release my jaw. There’s a few spots where I could improve my onset, so we worked on sob talking. This helped a lot! 

 I’ve written notes on VRH every week, but somehow never post them and then I just delete them and write new ones. I think it makes me nervous to write out my notes in a public place. The same for writing about my voice lessons. But I’m working on it. Garrett Andrews: he has a really silky voice. He seems very nervous. I just want him to relax and let it all out. I think opening his mouth some more would help with his sound. Johnny Richardson: he is much more relaxed from the last time I hear him sing. He has pretty good adduction of the vocal folds, even as he gets bigger. He does get more tense, but I don’t hear as much air escaping. That could also be due to the tension in his glottis, but ya know. He tends to head toward his nose as he gets higher, which is a comfortable cheat, but can be worked through. 

  Pracitce wall push-ups to open up chest Allow jaw to be open, but relax. There should be a stretch at the back teeth Think higher placement, but with loose lips.  There should be no muscular difference or jaw/laryngeal change when hitting a higher note. You should purely think about the night being higher placed (behind eyebrows, not in your mouth) Keep ears behind shoulders.

 This post is about my voice lesson on October 30th. During the lesson, we began by warming up in anticipation of my accompanist. The theme of this lesson was addressing excess nasality. We attempted vocal exercises that would reduce nasality, focusing on the word "nyew" on a descending scale. When my accompanist arrived, we worked on the Bellini song "a per sempre," which I am learning this semester. I feel like I have had some difficulty navigating the dynamics of working with my accompanist, and I felt that more progress was made during the lesson than in practice with the accompanist and I only. We made significant progress in reducing the nasality of my singing in the song mentioned above. Throughout the week, I have been trying to replicate this progress and extend the concept to other songs and passages within the Bellini song. I look forward to my next lesson!

 This week's voice lesson(s) went really well and I feel like I'm making some good progress. We worked on quite a few exercises that help me find the "dome" of my sound and the "blade" of my voice. In other words, grounding the breath energy so that the sound isn't coming just from my head but from my entire body as well as that breath energy being stronger. In the past, I had a teacher that was attempting to basically get rid of my shift into the lighter mechanism of my voice in my higher register and were wanting me to drive/force the higher register out. This was painful, uncomfortable, and made my voice feel weak (I know I should've said something but it's really scary to disagree with a voice teacher) but it was very relieving to have that quickly debunked by my current teacher this week when I finally just let my voice shift and we both loved the sound I was producing. We also worked on my jaw tension a little bit, but with the work on the ...

 Braeden Winford - In Summer -character all the way through -some breathiness in tone especially while quiet, low notes that goes away -consistent vibrato on held notes -nice and supported belt sound  -he was really worried about the high A when I talked to him the other day but he got it Garrett Andrews -very bright sound -nice vibrato -musical-theater-esk style even on this song -could benefit from a more open mouth -could use some more character or meaning throughout the song (I think this was likely just attributable to nerves) Lily Takemoto -some of the vowels got a little swallowed (o especially) -nice vibrato -mostly fairly bright -nice dynamic contrast -high notes were really free and gorgeous

 This week in VRH I was really impressed by Emma Dombroski’s performance! She sang an aria and what really stunned me (in the very best way), is how she had huge registral shifts and yet found the perfect ring still. You could really see the expansion of the rib cage and her diaphragm, yet her head remained perfectly aligned. Almost as though if you only could see the performance from the top half up, it was seemingly effortless. The resonance achieved was especially evident due to the space in the back of the soft palate that was kept open so that the sound traveled up and out into the mask rather than straight/flat out of the mouth off the hard palate. What was really impeccable was how it didn’t matter what the vowel was, the lips shaped the sound while the inside space was in-tact. It seems like something we all know, but to actually execute it so flawlessly is really the feat! Great great job Emma, it was stunning! In my voice lesson we worked a lot through my German piece, “S...

 In Vocal Recital Hour I observed Abbigail Geertson singing "If I Loved You". Her tone was very forward and free. She sang with very clear resonant technique. I could also feel the emotion she was trying to convey through her performance. I could see that she was taking deep, expansive breaths with her intercostal muscles as well. I very much enjoyed her performance.  In my lesson this week I worked on getting the accompaniment together on my repertoire for my senior recital. Since I have a collaborative accompanist, it is very important that we are together on all of my pieces. I also worked on getting a richer sound in my musical theatre pieces. We talked about keeping the sound grounded to the rest of my body when I am belting higher notes. Most of my lessons have been spent working out logistics for my senior recital such as the program and the poster and picking a time for my panel on November 21st. I have also been working on my French pieces and getting the pronunciati...

I enjoyed Simon’s performance of Schubert’s “Der Musensohn.” I thought his German was good, his mixed vowels were so good! He had great legato singing throughout as well. There was connection between his lower and higher range that was smooth. I was also really impressed at how much German there was, and when he forgot a word or two he kept going and it was hardly noticeable at all. Overall great job! This week in my lesson we broke down each phrase. I worked on “lusinge piu care” by Handel. There are a lot of long phrases that are difficult to make through comfortably. We spent time between each phrase so I could breathe and reset, and that helped a lot. I think sometimes I stockpile my breaths and forget to reset my breath. There’s a part in the B sections that is on an “ah” and repeats, so we worked on onset with that section. I occasionally start with air instead of just pitch, so we transposed it lower (where I don’t usually have that problem) and then moved it up. I was able to h...

 This week in voice lessons, I found I was really tired, and had a lot of tension in my upper body/shoulders. When doing deep breathing exercises, it was really hard to engage my core and breathe correctly. As we went through more warm-ups, I really tried to focus on settling in the lower part of my body. I felt that the breaths I took originated from my chest up, and nothing lower than that. It got better as I warmed my voice, but it was still difficult to breathe into my "diaphragm" upwards. We sang through an English piece, and then an Italian song. These pieces require a lot of strong air support, so they challenged me for sure. Even though this week's lesson was tricky for me, I will continue to work through different breathing techniques to create a stronger habit to breathe lower in my body.  For VRH, I will be highlighting Braeden Winford's performance. I really loved how his body was open and moving around just as Olaf does in "Frozen"! He looked li...