The Singers Thread

[Pip]

Congrats on making the finals Tessar and getting better at expanding your range.

[Voronwen]

Originally Posted by Tessar

Hopefully now I can start to try tackling some of the show-stopper pieces with F's and G's.

You go!!!! Have FUN with it!!!

[Tessar]

Well, I got some news that might be good or it might be awful. I'm the understudy for Collen in La Boheme next Fall.

I was really excited at first, but as I was driving home it suddenly hit me what might actually be going on. I may have just been handed the role of blocking/choreography teacher. I have a horrible suspicion that they're going to bring back a guy who was in the last two operas (he has graduated but not gone to grad school yet) who is CONSTANTLY late for, or completely missing from, rehearsal. I suspect that the reason I was actually given the understudy part is because I'm just going to be there to make the director's job easier because he wants to KEEP HIRING him.

If the other guy is late, he can throw me in for a few minutes till the other guy shows up, then the other guy hops in and I get to teach him his blocking later. I am going to be absolutely furious if that's what happens.

I'll do it so I can write it on my resume, but if that's all this director thinks I'm good for I will never audition for him again. If I'm actually an understudy for a real professional singer then I'll be okay with it. If I actually get to sing the role for maybe the student performances, so much the better... but if I just end up being a scape goat?... I wish I didn't even suspect that this is what's going on. But I know how this director thinks... he may just want to make it look like he's giving me something when he's really just giving me a job... meanwhile the guy gets paid to be lazy.

I'm being such a pessimist, but this is a real concern of mine. I don't want to end up in some retarded setup where I'm only there because the guy they want to pay is too lazy to be there on time.

[Earniel]

I realise that would be less than fun, but aren't you a bit premature in getting all gloomy about it? After all, it may not by that lazy guy that gets the role and the money. Wait and see, if what I would say.

[Voronwen]

Originally Posted by Tessar

I'll do it so I can write it on my resume, but if that's all this director thinks I'm good for I will never audition for him again. If I'm actually an understudy for a real professional singer then I'll be okay with it. If I actually get to sing the role for maybe the student performances, so much the better... but if I just end up being a scape goat?... I wish I didn't even suspect that this is what's going on. But I know how this director thinks... he may just want to make it look like he's giving me something when he's really just giving me a job... meanwhile the jackass gets paid to be lazy.

Tessar, please be at peace I hate to see you so riled up about this. Yes, my friend, you are being a pessimist (i say this with love). Unfair things happen all the time in the performing arts. All you can do is be the best singer/performer you can be, stay honest, and stay positive. Negativity attracts negativity, so you want to stay far away from letting the bad stuff bother you. It can steal the joy of singing right out from under you. That said.....

Take this as a POSITIVE opportunity! You're a student, getting the chance to be the understudy to a graduate. Nevermind the fact that he's a "lazy dumb***" for right now - he's older than you, and doubtless more experienced. In a professional situation, you might be the understudy for some other real jerk (it happens). Consider it training, of a different kind. Train yourself to remain positive under whatever situation you encounter. And even more importantly, use this opportunity to learn from those who are more experienced. He might have terrible ethics about showing up on time, but you may learn something else from him by observing his technique, his acting skills, etc. Don't knock it just yet. Just go with the flow. You are still a student, after all, so you need to look at the fact that this is a great opportunity, and if you were not role-worthy, you would not have even gotten the understudy job at all. Just think of all those guys who got chorus, or who didn't get in at all. I hope that helps to give you a little bit of perspective.


In other news.....

I've been, very recently, given the chance to join the worship team at my church This is a totally new thing for me, but a good thing because i've wanted this for a long time (and they don't seem to mind that i'm a high soprano who doesn't belt). But i'm a bit nervous. I'm so used to the rigors and rigidity of classical singing, taking nothing to performance until every note and nuance of diction are perfected, every aspect of the piece so studied and ingrained into muscle memory that i could do it perfectly even sick, tired, or under the greatest of pressure. And now suddenly i am invited into a style that requires a good deal of freedom and improv I want this, it's a huge answer to prayer for me actually, but it's the psychological transition that's wigging me out somewhat. That and, as my brother reminded me, getting used to a mic. The closest thing to this that i have ever done was musical theater (where i was body-mic'd). Where 'popular' styles are concerned, skill-wise on stage, i'm very green. I know my voice can hit that back wall without the use of a mic, over accoustic instruments, but these people have drums and electric guitars. I guess it's time to trust that God knows what he's doing!

[Tessar]

Holy cow. I apologize, guys. Reading back on what I wrote the other day I am a little bit boggled to realize that I wrote that. I guess angry Tessar came out to play, and I'm not entirely sure why. O_o Sorry about that... I'm going to go back in and edit the language a bit. I don't have a good excuse, except for maybe a lot of stress... but even that's no excuse. Dang. Sorry.

I honestly don't know what came over me. I'm thrilled to have this opportunity, and even to be in the chorus is a great thing for me. Resume building is important. I did ask my teacher, and the guy who I was talking about will not be who they cast... they're looking for an actual professional bass to sing it.

Originally Posted by Voronwen

You're a student, getting the chance to be the understudy to a graduate. Nevermind the fact that he's a "lazy dumb***" for right now - he's older than you, and doubtless more experienced.

Now I will say--the guy I was talking about is definitely older and a better singer, but he is a terrible actor, and horrible about learning his stuff. For Pirates he was supposed to learn his music over the summer but didn't know it till two weeks before we opened, and for this last opera (I still can't believe they -paid- him to come back...) he didn't know all of his lines till opening night.

In both cases he missed all of our 'early' rehearsals (before school started), constantly complained backstage about the director, tried to tell me all of the vocal faults of the other singers, constantly attempted to tell me about whatever girl he was trying to sleep with, never showed up on time for rehearsals, and missed several rehearsals without giving the director a call or anything.

But regardless... it will be an excellent opportunity, and in fact may just work out totally to my advantage. If I don't have to sing a whole lot I'll have that much more voice to work on my competition pieces, and hopefully I'll do really well at the big voice competition next fall.

At the moment I'm battling something... either allergies or a viral infection. It's kicking my butt... Monday I started losing my voice, Tuesday it was getting bad, and today I have a cough and a bunch of stuff in my lungs... it's a little hard to breath if I move around too much. My voice is actually a tiny bit better this evening, but I still can't sing. Hopefully I'll be well this Sunday in time to sing the Rutter Requiem.

I've been, very recently, given the chance to join the worship team at my church This is a totally new thing for me, but a good thing because i've wanted this for a long time (and they don't seem to mind that i'm a high soprano who doesn't belt).

Hooraaaaay!!!!!! Good for you!

Where 'popular' styles are concerned, skill-wise on stage, i'm very green. I know my voice can hit that back wall without the use of a mic, over accoustic instruments, but these people have drums and electric guitars. I guess it's time to trust that God knows what he's doing!

He always does . I hope this turns out to be a truly wonderful experience for you. Keep us updated!!!

How did the concert go? Any chance of some recorded clips?

[Voronwen]

He always does

Indeed, Amen!

I hope this turns out to be a truly wonderful experience for you. Keep us updated!!!

I shall!

Last night went well. I was afraid of the mic at first, LOL. But they liked what i had to offer and definitely want me to stick around I was so worried about being a square peg in a round hole, but i wasn't. They loved what i did with the high harmony/descant (oddly enough, with all my classical ear training, i think it only helped me to pick out and improvise a good harmony almost immediately). By the end of the evening, i was so into it. This is FUN! I will definitely keep you apprised!


The other concert doesn't happen until later in the spring/early summer. At this point, the more people i involve, the less it's turning out to be an aria recital and the more it's turning into a musical review. Perhaps that's better for a benefit concert, anyway, as it would reach a wider audience. Lots of the people i've invited to work with me are musical theater types, and everyone wants to do a short scene or a duet. I'll have an aria or two in there, maybe one classical duet, and a bunch of theater stuff. Recordings, definitely. Actually this version of the concert is going to work out a lot better in the space that i've got to work with, too. I'll keep you posted on that, as well!

[Varnafindë]

Originally Posted by Voronwen

Last night went well. I was afraid of the mic at first, LOL. But they liked what i had to offer and definitely want me to stick around I was so worried about being a square peg in a round hole, but i wasn't. They loved what i did with the high harmony/descant (oddly enough, with all my classical ear training, i think it only helped me to pick out and improvise a good harmony almost immediately). By the end of the evening, i was so into it. This is FUN! I will definitely keep you apprised!

That's great news! Glad that you like the different style - there's more freedom in it, but you can include some of your more strict-rule-singing as well, like you said about picking out the harmony.

They say that when God closes a door, he opens a window!

[Tessar]

Stupid being sick. >.< This morning I tried to do a lip bubble slide from my chest voice up into falsetto, just to see if my voice was working at all...... and my voice flipped directly from the middle of my chest voice into whistle voice. So I guess that answered my question of whether it was working right or not .

I'm not exactly sure what would cause that... I guess it's just the swelling of the cords. Too swollen to stretch properly for the middle/top of my chest voice, but somehow they approximate correctly to produce a whistle tone? Weirdness. It was like a sudden, intentional two-octave leap. I didn't try that again O_o.

[Voronwen]

Originally Posted by Varnafindë

Glad that you like the different style - there's more freedom in it, but you can include some of your more strict-rule-singing as well, like you said about picking out the harmony.

Yes, it's going quite well. Actually, it's more fun!

[Voronwen]

Originally Posted by Tessar

I'm not exactly sure what would cause that... I guess it's just the swelling of the cords.

Absolutely! They do funny things when they're swollen. Ah, the joys of dealing with a biological instrument!

I see that this post is a few days old ~ hope you're feeling better by now!

[Tessar]

Originally Posted by Voronwen

Absolutely! They do funny things when they're swollen. Ah, the joys of dealing with a biological instrument!

I see that this post is a few days old ~ hope you're feeling better by now!

Thank you, I am doing a little better but it's hanging on fiercely .

Today I asked my voice teacher to test my voice out a little to see if she thought there was any point in me coming back in the afternoon for my voice lesson. It was disappointing... I vocalized very, very easily but then all of the sudden my voice would crack even though I wasn't applying any excess pressure.

She told me that everything sounded lovely up to the Eb... which was where I was cracking and losing control every time. It was weird because the D was in probably the best shape it has ever been, but just a half step up my voice was totally gone. >.<

She said, "Well, everything sounds great up to the D!... too bad everything you sing has E's and F's.... Go home."

Almost two weeks without getting to actually sing... it's driving me batty. -_- I'm still really exhausted too... haven't been able to go to the gym. Even walking around campus is tiring me out, which also drives me nuts because I can say without boasting that I've worked out hard, and I'm in pretty good cardiovascular shape. Blargh to being sick.

I just hope it clear up in time for juries.

[Tessar]

Woohoo! So amidst the haze and annoyingness of being sick and trying to get ready for finals, there was a very bright, awesome part of my day today.

We had an informational meeting for La Boheme, and afterwards I went over the details of what my responsibilities as the understudy would be with the coach. She said that basically it's just what I expected... learn the part, learn the blocking, and when they find a bass to hire he'll come in (possibly just a week or two before opening) and either learn the blocking from me or from the director. So I gotta take really good notes.

Then she said that since I'm the understudy she wouldn't object to me working on the other roles with her. She partially hinted, and at one point basically flat out said, that since I'm the only understudy it might not hurt to learn all of the baritone parts that I can because there's no telling who might get sick and need someone to stand in at the last minute... or even just for rehearsals. She told me that I don't have any performances scheduled, but that if the producer knows that I know all of the baritone parts he might consider giving me a night if I can earn it.

We'll see how much I can learn. It's going to be a bit brutal. :-/ Because I'm chorus as well as understudy I have to be at the rehearsals Tuesday through Friday rather than just T/th or W/f... it's going to be a tough semester.


So goal number one is to have all of my music down absolutely cold WAY before the first rehearsal because otherwise I'll never survive.

[Voronwen]

I just hope it clear up in time for juries.

ACK!! I hope so, too..... Though, can't you reschedule your juries if you have a legitimate reason (ie. doctor's note, voice teacher's discretion, etc) to do so?

She partially hinted, and at one point basically flat out said, that since I'm the only understudy it might not hurt to learn all of the baritone parts that I can because there's no telling who might get sick and need someone to stand in at the last minute... or even just for rehearsals. She told me that I don't have any performances scheduled, but that if the producer knows that I know all of the baritone parts he might consider giving me a night if I can earn it.

Rock on!!!!!! Yes, Yes, YES, what a great idea!

[Tessar]

Originally Posted by Voronwen

Last night went well. I was afraid of the mic at first, LOL. But they liked what i had to offer and definitely want me to stick around I was so worried about being a square peg in a round hole, but i wasn't. They loved what i did with the high harmony/descant (oddly enough, with all my classical ear training, i think it only helped me to pick out and improvise a good harmony almost immediately). By the end of the evening, i was so into it. This is FUN! I will definitely keep you apprised!

Any further updates? I'm dying to know how this is working out for you! It sounds like you're having such a good time working in this new 'venue' with your skills!



Today I think I discovered something interesting... not sure if it's just because of being sick, or if it's a breakthrough, or what's goin' on.... but it's definitely new.

I realized the other night that I was still not singing with as high of a placement as I could, so I just really started jamming my placement up as high as I could, and I realized that even my middle and low notes can be put up really high in my head.... THEN something weird happened, and I started singing with a 'hooked' sensation of low down support, and that spiny pressure/float up in my head, but it was like there was absolutely nothing going on between the two.

Really an odd sensation, and the more I think about it the more I think I remember people telling me that they have that sensation too when they sing. I used it for the three church services this morning and it seemed to work super well... despite still recovering, I sang without any real difficulty.

Do you know what I'm talking about? It's really a weird feeling. Like there's a (light) weight/pressure on your low abs pushing down (the supported feeling--that's normal), and then that high spiny/float feeling up between my eyes, but then it was like my chest/throat totally vanished. No sense of muscle tensions or even of an air flow... it was sort of like having a ball of energy in my head and in my stomach, and somehow the two were working together.

I'm going to keep playing around with it some more tomorrow . Either way, it does seem to make my passagio area easier... it's helping me flip consciously into middle/head voice for soft singing when I need it rather than hoping it happens on its own . Like, "Okay, I should let this be a little more in head voice so that it floats," rather than, "okay I'm gonna go for it, and I hope it doesn't stay totally in chest... oh crap, it's still in chest.... now it's in falsetto! back to chest! Back to chest!"

[Tessar]

I just had a voice lesson. It was sort of blerg, but also kind of awesome .

It was blerg because my voice is still really messed up, unfortunately. I have almost all of my vocal range back, but my teacher told me that my voice starts thinning out and getting 'shallow' on the A below Middle C . She told me that I need to stop practicing because my cords are still too swollen to support regular vocalization... and even though my throat is pretty well open, and my voice is forward, I sound really strangled on my high notes because the cords are swollen. Frustrating!!!!!! I think I'm going to go back to the doctor if I'm not better in another few days. I'm still coughing up lots of junk, and I get into coughing fits .

On the plus side, we sang the coat aria from La Bhoeme and she said it's really beautiful in my voice . She agreed with me that it's too big for my voice, and my voice is too light in coloring (I mean no surprise, it's a Bass aria and I'm as far from being a Bass as it's possible to be without actually being a Tenor ). Buuuuuut I feel like I agree with her... I think it's really beautiful in my voice, and I believe that if I really work my butt off I can make something awesome out of it. We'll see!!! I'm so excited to get back to work on it when my voice heals.

I have to say... listening to the recording I am really surprised and pleased. It's obvious that I'm sick, BUT even when my voice gets thin it still has a nice shimmer to it, and my voice has SO much more presence than it did even at the beginning of this semester. I think I've made some MAJOR progress.... I don't think anyone would pay much to hear me at this point, but I think I can safely say that listening to me sing is no longer entirely unpleasant .


I also learned something really cool! I asked her to help me start working on doing that little falsetto/head mix, particularly because I want to use it on the Eb in the aria (which is supposed to be pianissimo and most Basses just blast it out at forte -_-), and she told me that I have to put the sound halfway in my mouth, halfway behind my eyes... which makes so much sense! I've been trying to do it by just jamming my placement up as high as I could behind my eyes (which hasn't worked well), and it never occurred to me that I might need to actually let it sit a little lower. I can't -really- do it, due to being sick, but we tried it a few times and I can feel that once my cords stop being swollen it's going to work great. It half worked... and it seemed like it wanted to work but my cords just can't do it right now.


Ooh, I almost forgot. We sang through a little bit of the Jason Robert Brown song, Someone To Fall Back On, aaaaaand I think it sounded pretty okay. Not amazing, but okay. The F's weren't great, and my teacher wasn't happy with them (again I think it's just because of being sick) but they actually sounded... passable. The tessitura is tough for me anyways because it's actually meant for a tenor to sing, but I think/hope that when I get healthy it might be a really strong musical theater piece for me .

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Originally Posted by Tessar

(I mean no surprise, it's a Bass aria and I'm as far from being a Bass as it's possible to be without actually being a Tenor ).

A soprano?

[Tessar]

Originally Posted by Gwaimir Windgem

A soprano?

A coloratura soprano .

[Voronwen]

Originally Posted by Tessar

Any further updates? I'm dying to know how this is working out for you! It sounds like you're having such a good time working in this new 'venue' with your skills!

Yes, i am quite enjoying it God is doing a new thing with my voice, indeed.

However, i cannot forget my roots. Today i've been practicing around the house (nobody's home all day), just singing through some of my old baroque favorites. They're good for me emotionally, and not to mention they keep the flexibility in the voice and the upper range in good working order.

[Voronwen]

Well, last night i sustained an E6 in rehearsal, just while improvising on a harmony. It freaked everybody out Ah, it's fun.

As it stands, this same church has a talent show every summer to raise funds for charity, and i've been asked to participate. Of course, this poses the million-dollar question...

What should i sing???

I'm torn between pulling out a real coloratura showpiece like "Da Tempeste" from Handel's Giulio Cesare (ie. this is what i REALLY do! ) and just falling back on a musical theater classic like "Think of Me" from Phantom (done the signature Voronwen way, with an interpolated high F in the final cadenza...! ).

What do you think, Tessar? I'm kind of at a loss. This is a mainstream, public audience... so i don't think they'll have the patience to sit through a Mozart concert aria... but i have the feeling that a little 'shock value' might go far in a venue like this...