I hope it's okay with you guys if I journal more about singing, so I can keep track of how I'm doing
I am so excited for Rusalka tomorrow!
I did really badly in opera today.
Well, okay, I didn't do badly. I remembered all my staging and my lines and everything, and I was good with the acting...but one of my Edith solos didn't sound as good as it should have, and I suppose I was unreasonably nervous because I'm so concerned about impressing Professor Brandt right now, since I HAVE to get into his studio next year.
I suppose he realizes that everyone has an off day, right? And he's heard me do it well before, so he knows that I'm capable. Hopefully.
GSR was cancelled today, so I used the time to do some woodshedding for Pirates, and then I rewarded myself by practicing La Mamma Morta (my dream aria!) about a million times.
The biggest challenge about this particular aria is that it has a high B natural, held out for a significant amount of time. It's not unreasonably high, but it's still way beyond what I'm fully comfortable with.
My status on it as of yesterday was that I could get it occasionally, but more often it sounded like crap and my voice would spaz out as though I was getting a cough in the middle of the note, and I wouldn't be able to get vibrato on it and it would just barely squeak out.
My status on it today, however, was the exact opposite! I feel like I made a real breakthrough! For the number of attempts, I'd say that about 10% sounded unacceptable, while the other 90% sounded much better than I've ever sounded before! I was pretty shocked to hear what I'm capable of, when I'm doing the right things. The problem is, I don't know exactly what I'm doing right.
I could feel something different in my voice when I was doing the high B's that were successful...it was kind of like more vibrations on the bottom of my mouth, behind my teeth...but I can't describe what exactly I was doing differently than what I usually do. I kept trying to imitate it, and most of the time it worked! But there were a few times when it didn't.
I feel like if I had Professor Brandt as my teacher, he would explain the differences, so that way I would be able to have a real strategy for hitting these notes, rather than just experimenting and never knowing for sure whether they will sound good or not. I wish that I could try out a lesson with him already!
I really want to do this aria for rep class next Wednesday, because I have it memorized and I've been working so hard...but I'm scared because even though it sounded good today, it's still really inconsistent. It could sound amazing for 5 runs in a row, and then the 6th will sound terrible. And then the 7th will sound good again. I just never know what to expect, and I also have to account for the inevitable issues that come up during rep class, such as nerves, shyness, the pianist tripping me up, lack of breath support, etc.
I don't know why I'm getting so into singing this semester. I guess it's good, because I'm a vocal performance major, right? haha
I really wasn't feeling excited at all last semester...but I think working with Professor Brandt on the opera and in French diction has been making me feel a lot more inspired about music again. It's so refreshing! I feel like the old me is coming back!!!!!!
RACHEL LIVES!!!!!!!!!!!!
I did really badly in opera today.
Well, okay, I didn't do badly. I remembered all my staging and my lines and everything, and I was good with the acting...but one of my Edith solos didn't sound as good as it should have, and I suppose I was unreasonably nervous because I'm so concerned about impressing Professor Brandt right now, since I HAVE to get into his studio next year.
I suppose he realizes that everyone has an off day, right? And he's heard me do it well before, so he knows that I'm capable. Hopefully.
GSR was cancelled today, so I used the time to do some woodshedding for Pirates, and then I rewarded myself by practicing La Mamma Morta (my dream aria!) about a million times.
The biggest challenge about this particular aria is that it has a high B natural, held out for a significant amount of time. It's not unreasonably high, but it's still way beyond what I'm fully comfortable with.
My status on it as of yesterday was that I could get it occasionally, but more often it sounded like crap and my voice would spaz out as though I was getting a cough in the middle of the note, and I wouldn't be able to get vibrato on it and it would just barely squeak out.
My status on it today, however, was the exact opposite! I feel like I made a real breakthrough! For the number of attempts, I'd say that about 10% sounded unacceptable, while the other 90% sounded much better than I've ever sounded before! I was pretty shocked to hear what I'm capable of, when I'm doing the right things. The problem is, I don't know exactly what I'm doing right.
I could feel something different in my voice when I was doing the high B's that were successful...it was kind of like more vibrations on the bottom of my mouth, behind my teeth...but I can't describe what exactly I was doing differently than what I usually do. I kept trying to imitate it, and most of the time it worked! But there were a few times when it didn't.
I feel like if I had Professor Brandt as my teacher, he would explain the differences, so that way I would be able to have a real strategy for hitting these notes, rather than just experimenting and never knowing for sure whether they will sound good or not. I wish that I could try out a lesson with him already!
I really want to do this aria for rep class next Wednesday, because I have it memorized and I've been working so hard...but I'm scared because even though it sounded good today, it's still really inconsistent. It could sound amazing for 5 runs in a row, and then the 6th will sound terrible. And then the 7th will sound good again. I just never know what to expect, and I also have to account for the inevitable issues that come up during rep class, such as nerves, shyness, the pianist tripping me up, lack of breath support, etc.
I don't know why I'm getting so into singing this semester. I guess it's good, because I'm a vocal performance major, right? haha
I really wasn't feeling excited at all last semester...but I think working with Professor Brandt on the opera and in French diction has been making me feel a lot more inspired about music again. It's so refreshing! I feel like the old me is coming back!!!!!!
RACHEL LIVES!!!!!!!!!!!!