I do some straw phonation in the car on the 10-minute drive to the Trax station (while it's not ideal to practice in the car, I think this kind of light phonation can be OK) and then I continue Session 1 exercises and a few Session 2 exercises for another 10-15 minutes after I get to school but before my teaching starts. So my voice usually feels pretty warmed up and ready to go by the time I see any students.
Since I'm preparing for a recital (this Friday, Sept 12th, 7:30pm, Dumke Recital Hall, BE THERE!) for my Session 3 practice I've been trying to run groups of songs in the order they will be on the recital so I can start building muscle memory and pacing for the performance. Then, in rehearsals with Alex, we've been able to really focus on ensemble issues (tempos, timing of breaths, etc.) and other expressive elements (balance between piano and voice, where to add rubato, different interpretive choices, etc.).
Now that my teaching schedule is set, I also want to make sure I'm honoring the time I set aside for practice in the middle of the day. That's been pretty easy now since I have a performance coming up this week but once that is over I need to make sure I'm still working on my voice and learning new repertoire.
I'm glad to be back in the swing of things. While I love the freedom of spontaneity, I've found that routine is really important in my life on a day to day level. Otherwise, it's too easy for me not to get anything of significance done.
I'm also looking forward to reading all of your blog posts this year. I hope this can be a useful forum for all of us and can help provide some support in keeping us on task and working toward our goals.
Happy singing!
Now go practice.
I've been trying to do some light humming as I'm getting ready in the morning to see how it affects my voice later in the day. I've found that my voice moves with more ease and clarity throughout the day just be doing light warm ups in the morning to get my voice started out on the right fold. It's almost as if by warming up in the morning I am practicing throughout the whole day with just my speaking voice. - Sophie Gassaway
ReplyDeleteI've been well-stocked with straws lately. Not just straws, but other tube-like structures (bic pens), and have them scattered from hell to morning mass. This past week I've even busted out a straw enroute to trax while toodling down the sidewalk. I'm finding that these micro-buzz sessions are like little tune-ups throughout the day. I'm doing straw-work at least once a day. Its more easy for me to bust into direct song and song work (when I have practice time) having had straw-time. I'm also a attacking subtext and song-interpretation a big more aggressively this semester. Studio I is a mighty-motivator. yay micro-practices.--John-Nathan Stark
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ReplyDeleteLucky me! I got sick within the first week of school which meant that I had to adjust my practice regimen so I didn't aggravate the already aggravated voice. I found that straw phonation at the beginning of the day helped get rid of some of the harsh "morning/sick" voice. I also did some straw phonation to help release if my folds were feeling tight from speaking. I did more text work than singing full songs as well as clapping out some tricky rhythms. I was pleasantly surprised that I could fill up most of my practice time without actually singing so I still felt productive and was not hurting my voice by singing on it while sick. I also played around with some older repertoire and was happy to find a song that I sounded good on and didn't hurt my voice even while I was sick! Good things all around!--Keaton Wren Kitchen
ReplyDeleteIt has been a crazy busy couple of weeks for me, and I will fully admit that normally during tech week for a straight play my practice falls to the wayside. However, splitting up practice into 10 or 15 minute sessions has made it a lot easier to fit into my schedule and commit to every day. Even if once in a while I prioritize napping over going through my songs (sorry!), I've still been able to do sessions 1 & 2 every single day. It's helped in rehearsal, too--my voice hasn't felt tired at all, even though I'm onstage delivering lines for 5 or 6 hours every night.
ReplyDelete--Kate Mikell
So.....My first post didn't actually post.... SO HERE WE GO FOR ROUND TWO. I have been having an issue where I wake up in the morning with no voice. I know we all sound off par in the AM, but this issue is worse. I wake up with literally NO voice, or it sounds like a frog that's drowning. If anyone else has ever woken up and experienced this, please let me know what you did to fix it!! Other than that, I have been keeping up with my practice schedules and making sure to hydrate really well. Everything seems to be working out and I have been able to unlock more of my upper range much easier than I have in the past!
ReplyDelete-Hayden
One of the most helpful things i've learned so far this semester is using the straw for warmups. It feels like my voice transforms from before I use the straw and after. It helps me produce more strength in my voice and by doing it, my higher range becomes more clear. When Brian first handed me a straw and put it in my mouth, I thought it was weird, but now I love warming up that way. Who knew a straw could be so useful? the first few weeks of school have been pretty crazy, but things are starting to settle down and I'm getting into a good routine. Its easy to get my practicing in. My songs are coming along great so far, I can't wait to see how the rest of my first semester in the MTP goes.
ReplyDelete**and I put it in my mouth haha
DeleteI felt great in my lesson on Wednesday. I felt like I explored my head voice on more than I normally do. I think this is because I was being encouraged to open taller instead of wider. I have a terrible habit of opening wide and biting down on the sound instead of rounding and making the sound fuller. The visual that helped me was the "goal post" visual. When I was practicing I realized that I was not making the same sound that I made in my lesson so remembered making "goal post" fingers on the side of my mouth. This made me realize that I need to keep a mirror by my piano while I am practicing!
ReplyDeleteStewart
Every time i get ready to post something it doesn't post and i have to end up re typing everything!.....
ReplyDeletehmmmm...
any way!
Every time I come into voice lessons i feel like everything gets better and better. I had to sing in dem lab a couple weeks back and my voice was not feeling it. so i looked into my bag and saw my straw. I thought... OH YEAH!!!! i can warm up with my straw phonations.
Once i warmed up with the Straw the register in my voice was automatically higher and my Crico thyroid was lengthening and my voice warm and ready to go!
Straw = MAGIC!!!
Also Brian and I have been working on my Passagio and Head voice. its really neat to learn and start to feel how everything is suppose to work! now we are getting up to high A's and B's in the tenor range. my sounds is starting to sound more mature and not so thing when we go higher up into my range.
Now to work on low notes with out making them sound like a vocal fry.