Before you set goals, it’s a good idea to look back and acknowledge your areas of strength and the areas where you have made noticeable improvement. Then you can compare that to the areas you need to continue solidifying.
Goals can be related to building technique, developing artistry, honing musicianship skills, learning and memorizing music, maintaining a consistent practice regimen, or all of the above.
Remember as well that this blog was designed to provide motivation and bi-weekly check points. Each time a blog assignment is due you can look back to see if you have been taking the steps necessary to meet your goals, assess how those steps have been working, and see if adjustments need to be made.
My main goals are:
1. Be more true to my established practice times (last semester got so busy that I often used that time for other things).
2. Continue working exercises designed to release the constrictor muscles of my neck, tongue, and throat.
3. Set memorization deadlines for repertoire I am learning for the fall
So, halfway through the 2016/2017 school year, what progress are you proud of? What are your top goals moving forward?
Now go practice.
My main goals in terms of my voice work this semester are first, being aware of how I am using my voice outside of voice and acting classes. I want to start talking in a healthy place 100% of the time. Second, I want to recommit to making bold choices and trusting my impulses. Lastly, I really want to get more comfortable moving around and having fun while also telling a story. The progress I have made this year, and that I am proud of, is my ability to sight read. I am not a pro at sight reading but I am definitely getting a lot better at it. I also think I have improved the tone of my voice. There is less breath falling out, and more clear tones. I think moving forward I just need to stay on top of my practice schedule!
ReplyDeleteMy main goals for the semester:
ReplyDeleteDevelop songs that I can use in my book for auditions
Continue to strengthen technique and release neck, jaw, and tongue tension
Better put into practice proper voice maintenance disciplines such as not eating before bed, drinking enough water, and proper speaking and singing technique
Just like you wrote in your post, I would mainly like to be more true to my established practice times. I definitely could've pushed myself more with just being consistent with practice. I've started private voice lessons this semester, and that alone is helping me feel more motivated to practice.
ReplyDeleteThis semester my goals will be to:
ReplyDelete1. Practice regularly, and practice well. Last semester I certainly was slack with my practice some weeks and when I did practice it wasn't always good practice. If I am to progress, I have to start with this.
2. Take better care of my voice. This is something I have always had trouble with. I have more bad habits than good ones, and I can hear the consequences often when I am singing.
3. I could probably stand to improve on how I approach performing songs. We are often instructed in class to keep in mind the story behind the song and to show this when we perform, but I often am so concerned with the notes that I get a little lost in that area. Fixing this will likely come through more practice.
I have noticed progress with my voice since this last semester, which is a really great feeling! But with that being said, I've also opened up a can of worms and new placements that are weak and shaky right now which makes this such a tedious process.
ReplyDeleteMy goals:
1. Keep growing in my instrument, going towards the unknown.
2. Find THEE song.. meaning, the perfect song that showcases my voice nicely and that can be used as my go-to 16 bar audition.
3. I don't know if this is necessarily a goal, but I would like to figure out how to bounce back from a cold or sickness faster. I feel like every time I get sick, my voice takes a huge step backwards and once my voice is fully back, there's always something new and different that I have to work through.
4. I want to choose more challenging music that pushes my limits and helps to further my overall range and technique.
5. I would also like to become better acquainted with vowel modulation and how that can affect my voice.
My main goals for this semester is to
ReplyDelete1. PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!
2. I'm finally taking voice lessons and want to learn as much as I can and develop my voice.
3. Not to be so hard on myself and always remember that I'm in a program growing everyday.
4. Find several songs that i can use for auditions that I am very comfortable with.
I'm very excited for this semester. :)
Well I would say that the thing I am most proud of is that I made through my first semester of college. I have witnessed so much growth in myself as both a human and an artist, and I am excited for further growth in the future. I have several goals for this semester.
ReplyDelete1. Fall in love with my art. There were so many times last semester that I found myself falling more and more in love with what I do. I really hope that continues, because it is so internally rewarding and motivating.
2. Be healthier. I have been getting sick A LOT the past 6 months, which really puts a toll on my voice and has been holding me back. I would really like to work on putting healthier things into mine and having a healthier daily routine in order to function to the best of my ability.
3. Remember to do the blog posts... There were a few too many times last semester (mostly toward the end) as I would be falling asleep on a Monday or Tuesday night think, "SHIT, I forgot to do the blog post this week."
-Jacob Weitlauf
Notable Progress:
ReplyDeleteBoth my head voice and mix (mix in particular) gained so much strength last semester. I am also now able to mix on command which was one of my goals at the beginning of last semester. :)
Goals:
1. Find “money spots” in belt voice (blind)
2. Work on chest voice/heavy mix technique
3. Learn how to “hold and sparkle”!!!
4. Find rep that really showcases my voice and that I could potentially use in my book
5. Find a song(s) that I can get ready for my “I Am” song for Studio next semester
6. Continue to expand range higher and lower (lower especially)
7. Continue strengthening head voice and mix
Goals that I have for this semester are:
ReplyDelete- Practicing more! With the tiresome schedule MTP has, sometimes I don't remember to vocalize and practice. I will make it a bigger concern for this semester.
- Head voice and not mixing until I need too. Working on head voice will give me a stronger mix and sometimes I do the opposite which makes my head voice weaker.
- Taking care of my voice. Not drinking a lot of coffee or overusing my voice.
-Taking care of myself and not getting sick.
My big goal for this year is to be better at checking in with myself. That's includes my body, voice, psyche, etc. As I'm beginning to develop better understanding and awareness of my instrument, I need to make sure I'm taking care of it. For a more academic goal, this year I want to always be putting in the work. That means practice, rehearsal, and sometimes sacrificing social excursions and sleep to make sure I am giving my best.
ReplyDeleteMy goals have changed a lot from last semester. I learned more about what really needs my attention most. Last time my biggest goal was about memorizing and getting through more songs. I have realized that my artistry and technique needs so much more work, so that kind of goal might be counter-productive. This semester my goal is to pay more attention to maintaining my vocal health (now that it's mostly back to normal), and spending more time analyzing my music before each lesson (what am I saying, how can I use my voice to communicate what I am feeling artistically, etc).
ReplyDeleteMy main goal for this year is to find true confidence in myself, especially in my singing. With it being my last semester and me doing a lot of auditions for summer stock, I need to make sure that I do not get discouraged. I find that I compare myself to my classmates a lot. I need to stop doing this because we all have different strengths and weaknesses. I am working on making sure that I know what my strengths are and that I can portray my best self when I enter an audition room. Also, I really want to work on finding a ton of repertoire that I can use at any audition and have ready whenever it's needed and in any health condition.
ReplyDeleteI feel proud of my progress from the past semester particularly in becoming more comfortable exploring and sharing a chestier side to my voice and also in rediscovering the joy of singing. I finally went into my jury deciding to enjoy myself.
ReplyDeleteThis semester, I would like to
1.Be more on top of memorizing repertoire before the next set of juries are in sight.
2. More consistently refresh my already learned repertoire and organize a clean audition book.
3. Diligently follow my practice schedule, but keep that practice in balance with other vocal use as I am in two School of Music voice ensembles meeting three times a week.
I feel like i've grown a lot this last semester, and i'm very excited to keep growing and learning.
ReplyDeleteGoal #1 is to find and learn rep that is totally ME. I've had a lot of songs in my years of singing that i just kinda dont like, and i want to make my book represent ME and my skills.
Goal #2 is being more strict about how i treat my voice through diet, sleep patterns, taking time to reeeallyyy warm up etc.
Goal #3 is finally to re-find the FUN in singing. This is my favorite. Singing is my favorite thing in the whole world, and as students we train SO hard to do it right, get certain sounds created, tell an effective story and ALL that jazz.. but i want to really get back into why i started this journey in the first place. because it's FUN.
I'm very excited for this semester :)
My goals for this semester are:
ReplyDelete1. To really focus on what my bad habits are and figure out how to fix them.
2.To give myself more time to focus on practicing not just this rep but, other songs I want to sing.
3. Find better ways to negotiate through my vocal registers. Work on chest dominant mix.
4. Work hard and HAVE FUN!
I feel that I came very far during the fall semester in terms of my singing capabilities. I feel much more capable in singing performance, and I get less nervous and self-conscious during performance. I also feel like my work last semester helped me expand my music theory knowledge. Here are my goals for this semester.
ReplyDelete1. Make an effort to maintain a more regular practice schedule. I get so busy that sometimes it’s hard to find the time. I think splitting up my practice throughout the day will help.
2. Be more aware of my jaw. I discovered this semester that I hold a lot of tension in my jaw and I want to be more aware of it and release it because I think it will help with performance.
3. I want to expand my personal repertoire. I want to find more songs that I like and think are fun, but could also use for an audition.
My goals for last semester were to stick to my schedule, keep a journal of my practice to see how I improved, and work on my mixed voice. Although I didn't really do a great job keeping a journal, I'm pretty proud of my work and improvement in regards to my mixed voice. I focused on it and worked on it a lot and have noticed a difference, in which I'm able to more easily utilize the technique I've learned.
ReplyDeleteMy goals for this upcoming semester would be to continue working on building up my mixed voice, and working on blending my pessagios so I can transfer between them better. I also would sometimes have a difficult time keeping to my assigned practice times last semester, so it's my goal to actually stick to those much more regularly this upcoming semester.
My goals for this semester are as follows.
ReplyDelete1. I would love to work on my musicianship skills. This will help to me use my technique properly and to also learn the proper ways to comprehend music.
2. To use my practice time more efficiently, especially in the warm ups.
3. The last goal would be to work closely with breathing techniques and being more efficient in that overall.
So far I am proud of how far my technique has come, and how I have seen my placement has improved overall.
I recently had my first Dem Lab performance, singing Caro Mio Ben and that was the first time I had heard/saw myself on camera since my college audition pre-screens in the fall of 2015. Watching the video immediately provided me with a plethora of goals I would like to work toward this semester.
ReplyDelete1.) Open my mouth when I sing more! I have always struggled with getting my voice to sound "clear" as I transfer into my higher register due to me not opening up my mouth enough. That was a reoccurring comment on almost all of my jury sheets, so now I am more aware than ever that this is something I need to work on in order to sing higher.
2.) EXPAND MY RIBCAGE! As a dancer, I tend to always walk and sit in proper ballet posture and alignment every day. However, this can really hinder my progress while singing, because I need to allow my ribs to fill with air and not be so constricted. Opening up my ribs and breathing more were other major comments I received on the majority of my vocal jury sheets last semester.
3.) I want to start getting my sound more in the mask. Historically, I used to be an incredible throaty singer and little did I know how unhealthy that was at the time. I want to find the perfect balance in the soft palate, so that the placement can eventually become second nature.
This week in both my Singing and Voice and Speech classes, I realized that I pretty much isolate my ribs when I breath in and only allow my diaphragm to drop. This semester, I really want to explore breathing with my back, ribs, hips, and pelvis. From the few experiences this week I allowed my ribs to work with my diaphragm on inhalation, I was shocked by how much deeper I could feel my breath go.
ReplyDeleteI definitely want to honor the times I've set aside to practice more this semester. Last semester I found myself telling myself I was too busy to practice one day, so I'd practice twice as long the next day. But the weeks when I would practice consistently every day, I found further progress than when I practice fewer times for longer amounts of time.
I'm really excited to spend this semester filling in the gaps of my music theory training. I have a strong background in piano, but I take a lot of things in music for fact without actually knowing why they are so. With just two classes of singing, I've already found myself understanding basic music theory better.
Going into the second semester I have a few goals that I would love to see myself reach, I know if I continue to practice that these should be very attainable. My goals are as follows:
ReplyDelete1) I want to begin to incorporate meaningful and purposeful movement when I stand up to sing. Right now I either stand dead still or awkwardly sway, I want to learn how to avoid these things. I want to be able to confidently move when I sing even if it means just my hands.
2) I want to continue my daily practice and add 5 more minutes on everyday to my practice than I had last semester.
3) I want to explore singing with my full voice, I know I hold my voice back because I am nervous to sing in public. My goal is to explore my full vocal range and resonance.
My main goals for the semester are:
ReplyDelete1. Be more true to my practice schedule. If I don't practice, then I'm only hurting myself.
2. Allow myself to be comfortable with making mistakes, even in performance, because it's all part of the learning process.
3. Working on dropping my jaw down and back, and allowing my ribs to open up and out.
my main goals this semester are
ReplyDelete1) set aside two hours of daily time to do work specifically with anything relating to theatre (especially singing)
2) read more books relating to voice and speech
3) be more forgiving towards myself in terms of my vocal skill (and take better care of my folds)
My goals for the semester are
ReplyDelete1) to warm up every morning using exercises from voice & speech and my singing lessons
2) widen my repertoire and become confident and comfortable going into a singing audition
3) relaxing my jaw while still engaging my face so that I can be both expressive and calm.
My goals for this semester:
ReplyDelete1. Stick to a more strict practice schedule. I did a lot better last semester than I did for my entire freshman year and I noticed a drastic improvement in my voice. However, there were still sessions here and there that I would miss due to lack of motivation or not having enough time. This semester I want to wake up knowing when and where I am going to practice that day and actually stick to practicing.
2. Working on jaw tension even more! I have had made a big improvement this past semester, but I want to keep up on the progress that I am making because it's not completely gone or to the point of healthy use. So, I am going to keep working on that.
3. I also want to be more active in my voice. By that I mean, start looking at songs to broaden the ranges and types of singing that I am not the best at. I want to be good at every range and ability that I can actually do. So, I want to work on strengthening all aspects of my voice.
My goals for my LAST semester are:
ReplyDelete- to feel more comfortable living in my head-dominate voice and my lighter mix
- to have a solid, filled out book
- to stay on my practice schedule
- to trust my voice and my skills
- to continue working on my passagio
My goals for this final semester:
ReplyDelete-Find ways to go beyond just having a practice schedule
-Increase knowledge in music theory to help me as a performer
-Work on more than just the repertoire for juries knowing that having a wide range of songs you are comfortable with is a good thing.
-To continue trusting that weak things become strong with practice.