🎶 One-Week Singer’s Inventory Challenge

Repertoire list 

Bel Piacere

Voi Che Sapete

chanson damour

caro mio ben

en priere

where the music comes from

my heart is awake

thats enough, right? 

vocal frustrations, stamina, volume, breath. 

vocal strength, able to learn pitch a little bit by myself.

Tuesday:

I sang every day last week, but I don't typically time my 'sessions' since they are interspersed throughout the day. I did spend at least 20 minutes each day preparing for Sunday as I had been asked to fill-in as cantor, so it was a slightly busier vocal week than usual. I warmed up - I often do the vocal part of my warmup when I'm doing my morning chores, though the chickens (especially the roosters) are less than pleased when I do that. 🤣

Practice habit I would like to strengthen: I would really like to strengthen the play aspect of my practice. I have a proclivity toward structured and focused practice-sessions, which while they may be more 'productive,' have a tendency to cause me to view singing as work or as an obligation. By orienting myself more toward vocal play, as encouraged by my teacher, I maintain a light-hearted and joyful approach to my music-making. 

Tuesday post:

I sang every day but Friday last week. This is pretty typical for me as on top of my usual work day I also have a piano lesson. My practice times can vary, but I generally practice between 30-60 minutes each session. Sometimes I will split my sessions up a bit over the day depending on my work schedule. I always warm up with a minimum of a few sirens and a lip trill exercises that is a penta scale with 5 notes up and then, with full voice, returning on a descending penta scale. I will typically move this up and down throughout my full range. I will also typically do some sort of physical warm up to open up my neck and chest muscles which are often tight before this. I sometimes add in some breath work as well.

In terms of a practice habit that I would like to strengthen, I would like to do a better job of making sure that I have a more structured way to rotate through the various vocal exercises that my teacher has given me. There are definitely some that I tend to do more frequently and some less frequently. Usually the newest exercise or something I have focused on in a lesson I might do daily. I have started trying to rotate through them all, but I think I need some sort of check list or plan to work them in during the course of the week.

Wednesday: 

I did the body and breath check after working with one of my strength clients, so I was very warm and had been breathing well for a while! So, nothing felt stuck and I felt free in both body and breath.

But on days that I haven't worked out with such intensity, I often find that I need to spend time on my breathing since I typically feel stuck/tight in my upper ribs. I have to spend time on full-chest breathing and some stretching to decrease this feeling. I have mild asthma, so some days I need to give extra attention to my breathing, otherwise I tend to use inappropriate tension while I'm singing.

My body also helps my singing quite a bit, though, as I have a relatively strong core and know how to use it to good advantage. 

Wednesday post:

Today has been a very crazy work day for me so there has been quite a bit of tension. My neck and shoulders have been tight and stress has been pretty high. I chose to do a breathing exercise that my voice teacher (who also teaches Alexander technique) often has me do called the Dock Exercise. Basically, you sit at the edge of your seat and sit up tall on your sitz bones. Closing your eyes you envision sitting at the edge of the dock with your legs dangling into the water on a warm day with a gentle breeze. You take a deep, slow breath breath in and when you get to an exhale, with palms up your slowly bring your arms up with a slight bend to the elbow. As you switch back to inhaling your palms turn down and you slowly inhale bringing the arms back down. This can repeat for as many breaths as needed. In general, I have found this to be an excellent way to relax my body and find my center. It connects me to my breath and allows me to be more focused. I will say that even after doing this, my neck and shoulders are still tight so I will likely do some myofacial release work for them before my next meeting.

In terms of how my body can help my singing, I feel like breathing appropriately from the diaphragm is quite easy for me and this really does help me to have better breath control. I also feel that I have a very strong core from so many years doing Pilates and Gyrotonic/Gyrokinesis work. Where it can get in the way, is that I have hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (a genetic connective tissue disease). This can cause increased pain for me and also causes dysautonomic challenges that sometimes make it difficult to stand and sing. There are days when this means my heart rate is quite high when I am trying to practice, which definitely can be a challenge. I try to stay really hydrated and use electrolytes as much as I can. I also try to monitor how I am feeling. If it is a bad day I try to sit on the edge of my piano bench when I practice and try to maintain a good posture while I sing seated. This helps to keep my heart rate a bit lower than if I tried to stand.

Thursday:

I sang "O Beauty Ever Ancient" as one piece I love. It fits me well, still. At some point I'd love to look at "Alabaster Box" by CeCe Winans (Gospel). It's one of those songs I never thought I'd be able to sing, and now I think I can. I'd also like to look at some proper opera arias along with some German lieder (especially Schubert), but those will be a bit later in my learning!

How do I know what rep is right for me? I ask my teacher! 😊Since I'm so new to this world I lean heavily on my teacher to let me know what to sing at this stage of learning about my voice. I also run any advice I get by him, as some things are appropriate for me and other things not. 

Thursday post: 

I sang the Von Williams The Sky Above the Roof since it is one that I have been work on. I really enjoy this piece as it is beautifully simplistic. I definitely feel like this piece definitely fits well into my voice right now.  The range sits squarely in my voice's tessitura. There are no notes that are difficult for me to reach. I am getting to a place of comfort with this one where I can actually play both the accompaniment and sing it at the same time. One of the things I love the most about this piece is actually the interplay between the piano and the vocal line. There are some really special harmonies that result.

I think one of the biggest signs of whether a piece is at the right level is whether I have the technique required to sing the song well enough to actually make musical choices to add expression to the song. If you can only track where you breathe/support, diction, hitting appropriate pitches, etc. and there is no brain space left for any musicality after you have learned the music, then it is likely a bit out of reach.

In terms of pieces that I would like to explore, I would love to learn some or all of the Manual Valls 10 Sephardic Songs for classical guitar, flute and soprano. I actually played the classical guitar part while I did my undergraduate work at The Hartt School. I feel like the whole series sits well in my voice and I have always loved the sound of this work. In case anyone is interested since it is a less commonly performed song cycle, I have linked recordings of the songs below with Victoria de Los Angeles, Soprano; Oscar Ghiglia, classical guitar and Jean-Claude Gérard, flute. 

La Rosa Enflorece

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCuYKcDITME&list=RDLCuYKcDITME&start_radio=1V

Ven Querida, Ven Amada

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0gXKOFnXw4&list=RDE0gXKOFnXw4&start_radio=1

Adio, Querida

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0VcoJDzk8c&list=RDO0VcoJDzk8c&start_radio=1

Durme, durme, hermezo hijico

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfPBxHTr-HM&list=RDKfPBxHTr-HM&start_radio=1

Paraxo D'Hermosura

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fa6aFX7LNFU&list=RDfa6aFX7LNFU&start_radio=1

Avirx, Mi Galancia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RpT5LkTAEE&list=RD5RpT5LkTAEE&start_radio=1

Irma Quiero, La Mi Madre

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKQs1S1DGV4&list=RDhKQs1S1DGV4&start_radio=1

Ya vieve el cativo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h90_aBMAJdI&list=RDh90_aBMAJdI&start_radio=1

Jo m'enamori d'un aire

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JFMyyUpSiA&list=RD9JFMyyUpSiA&start_radio=1

Una Matica de Ruda

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3HFHMNxAl8&list=RDD3HFHMNxAl8&start_radio=1

Friday post:

At this point in my life, I sing for the pure enjoyment of music and as a personal challenge. Music (both my vocal and piano work) is a large part of my life and provides a great deal of challenge, enjoyment and stress relief.

I have not done a vocal performance since my college years more than 25 years ago. If I were to actually do a vocal performance in the near future, I would want the audience to be able to feel the musical expression I would be portraying with the song. Hopefully, along with this there will be appropriate breath control, technique, pitch, rhythm, etc. All of this being said, I have done several piano performances over the last 9 months. My main goal with the first one was to not put the sort of pressure on myself that I did in my conservatory days and just enjoy it. While I still had some amount of nervousness, this really helped me to be able to relax and enjoy it. This is something that got lost for me in my younger years. That alone was a success in my mind. I would hope to do the same with a vocal performance if I get the opportunity to do one.

In terms of three adjectives to describe my ideal sound/identity as a singer, I think I would like to have warmth, brightness, and lyrical sound.

Friday:

I sing because...well, because I can't imagine not singing! I went for many, many years being told that I shouldn't sing because my voice was not good, that I couldn't carry a tune, that my voice was weak, that no one wanted to hear me sing. Even through all that, I continued to sing - perhaps softly and mostly in private (except when I sang for my children). It seems to be part of who I am, and now that I've embraced it, I sing with more freedom and joy than I imagined was possible! 

If I were to sing to an audience, I would want them to be able to feel whatever they needed in that moment. I would like my singing to reach their heart. When I sing for the congregation at our church, my typical goal is to be prayerful and I hope (and work toward) that my singing can draw them into deeper meditation and connect them with God through Beauty.

Qualities of my voice, both as an ideal and as a highlight? I've not thought of this before. I suppose soft (in quality, not volume), depth (or power - which is not antithetical to softness), and lyrical (legato/sostenuto/smooth). 

Saturday/Sunday: 

Thinking about why I sing was helpful. It's interesting to note how much singing is and has been part of my life, part of who I am. I find it funny that I never thought of myself as a singer nor realized how much I sing or think of singing!

I'll post my question on the Office Hours page.

Thanks.