01-24-2011, 09:46 PM | #701 | |||
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Reed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gR4kzKPUTnw Flute: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXCwukCdWmg To my ears, the "Reed" (Juan Diego Florez) placement is almost totally frontal. The "Flute" (Lawrence Brownlee) placement is back either in the middle of the mouth or (in this case) a little further back, possibly all the way to the back of the mouth/jaw. They are the same voice type, they sing the same rep., and I honestly couldn't pick if you told me I had to select one as my favorite... totally different sounds, and I love them both. Quote:
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Today I've been speaking the vowels, trying to learn to get them pure. It's coming along. Slow but steady! The teacher said that when you get the vowel sound totally correct, it naturally goes to your 'proper' placement (back or forwards) over time. But he knows tricks to speed up the process. He said that if he fixed nothing but my vowels then let me go away and just sing for a few years, when I came back my vowels would have naturally fallen into the back placement if I kept them pure and didn't force them. Interesting idea, no? I also spent a LOT of time on my consonants. I never realized it, but apparently I was forming the consonant in the "fry" register of my voice and then snapping up to the vowel's pitch. It explains why my vowels were getting misshapen... you can't really sing a pure vowel in fry, it's all "mutes" (uh, urh, etc.) and so the vowels never had a change to form. So lots of sustaining pitches in comfortable ranges and singing, "Lalalalalalalala" and "papapapapapapa" and "bobobobobobo," etc. on all of the consonants (even my freakin' C's and K's!! O_o) till I figured out how to get them to form on top of the pitch instead of in the fry register. It's like an instant shot of "You Can Sing With Legato" straight to my vocal folds. |
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01-25-2011, 12:25 AM | #702 | ||
Lady of Andúnië
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Maybe this has to do with my forward placement, or maybe not, but i've always had issues with my m's and n's, especially n's. I tend to hold onto them just a tiny bit too long. But i think now this gets into different schools of diction...
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" ...But the Exiles on the shores of the sea, if they turned towards the West in the desire of their hearts, spoke of Mar-nu-Falmar that was whelmed in the waves, Akallabêth the Downfallen, Atalantë in the Eldarin tongue." "Ye who believe in affection that hopes, and endures, and is patient, Ye who believe in the beauty and strength of woman's devotion, List to the mournful tradition still sung by the pines of the forest ... " ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Evangeline |
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01-25-2011, 09:23 PM | #703 |
Cardboard Harp of Gondor Join Date: Sep 2001
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What are you planning to sing for your auditions?
I rehearsed But Who May Abide with the organ player today and he came by my office later (I was doing my office job at the church) to ask me if I was doing something different because my voice sounded "much better," than it used to. Encouragement indeed! |
01-25-2011, 09:49 PM | #704 |
Half-Elven Princess of Rabbit Trails and Harp-Wielding Administrator (beware the Rubber Chicken of Doom!)
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How nice! People need to do that more often - so often we say a compliment about someone else TO someone else (i.e., telling a mutual friend "Didn't Tessar sound great?" but not telling Tessar).
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. I should be doing the laundry, but this is MUCH more fun! Ñá ë?* óú éä ïöü Öñ É Þ ð ß ® ç å ™ æ ♪ ?* "How lovely are Thy dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! ... For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand outside." (from Psalm 84) * * * God rocks! Entmoot : Veni, vidi, velcro - I came, I saw, I got hooked! Ego numquam pronunciare mendacium, sed ego sum homo indomitus! Run the earth and watch the sky ... Auta i lómë! Aurë entuluva! |
01-26-2011, 12:32 PM | #705 |
Lady of Andúnië
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I really have NO idea...
I'm thinking Handel, mostly, but i have no concrete decisions as to exactly what at this point in time.
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" ...But the Exiles on the shores of the sea, if they turned towards the West in the desire of their hearts, spoke of Mar-nu-Falmar that was whelmed in the waves, Akallabêth the Downfallen, Atalantë in the Eldarin tongue." "Ye who believe in affection that hopes, and endures, and is patient, Ye who believe in the beauty and strength of woman's devotion, List to the mournful tradition still sung by the pines of the forest ... " ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Evangeline |
01-26-2011, 01:27 PM | #706 | |
Dread Mothy Lord and Halfwitted Apprentice Loremaster
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SIXTY SECOND RULES? WHAT NONSENSE IS THIS???
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01-26-2011, 02:12 PM | #707 |
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Hmmm... not sure if you're familiar with "The Priests," but I actually have a voice rather like the baritone priest, and we do the same thing. He has the right placement, but he never sings 'pure' vowels. They're all shaded with mutes... right now I'm trying to learn how to sing the right vowels.
Anyways, all that to say.... he sings pretty, so I don't mind having a voice like his. I believe my voice is a little more hefty and sizable than his is, but I believe the tembre is very similar. |
01-26-2011, 11:21 PM | #708 | |
Lady of Andúnië
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" ...But the Exiles on the shores of the sea, if they turned towards the West in the desire of their hearts, spoke of Mar-nu-Falmar that was whelmed in the waves, Akallabêth the Downfallen, Atalantë in the Eldarin tongue." "Ye who believe in affection that hopes, and endures, and is patient, Ye who believe in the beauty and strength of woman's devotion, List to the mournful tradition still sung by the pines of the forest ... " ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Evangeline Last edited by Voronwen : 01-26-2011 at 11:36 PM. |
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01-26-2011, 11:28 PM | #709 |
Lady of Andúnië
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Ummm......
That's even worse than musical theater! Really though, if i actually had to pick 60 seconds of Handel to display what i can do, it would probably be part of the da capo from "Tornami a vagheggiar" - complete with ornamentation and Eb6's - or else something very similar. Thoughts?
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" ...But the Exiles on the shores of the sea, if they turned towards the West in the desire of their hearts, spoke of Mar-nu-Falmar that was whelmed in the waves, Akallabêth the Downfallen, Atalantë in the Eldarin tongue." "Ye who believe in affection that hopes, and endures, and is patient, Ye who believe in the beauty and strength of woman's devotion, List to the mournful tradition still sung by the pines of the forest ... " ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Evangeline |
01-27-2011, 02:43 PM | #710 |
Cardboard Harp of Gondor Join Date: Sep 2001
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Had a lesson on Wednesday. It was great. He was really blown away with my progress, and I was too.
I got my G back. I couldn't take an "oo" past the F# but on "Oh" I sailed up to a G pretty easily. It was very funny... on the "oo" and the "oh" I had no idea how high I was singing, because there was no sense of strain... just that as I tried to go to the next note my voice kept cracking in sort of a weird way... like there was nothing "wrong", just that the cords weren't quite coming together right. My teacher said that it's just because the cords aren't used to functioning that way that high... they need a little time to adjust, and now that my throat is really open and I'm not straining, the cords can actually properly adjust. So lots of exciting progress. Interestingly enough the vowels are indeed a little darker already. All I have to do is sing the pure vowel and it's bit by bit sinking back into a deeper placement. I love it. Really surprised myself last night during choir rehearsal with how much my voice has improved in just a few days... sang a piece that I'd been a little bit terrified of because it basically just hangs out between B3 and D4, and keeps popping up to E4's... none of those notes are too high, but the tessitura is a little ridiculous. But last night I had noooo problem with it at all. I got really sung out, though. O_o Hour and a half lesson, then hour and a half choir rehearsal, and then the organist wanted to rehearse "But Who May Abide." He said it was great, but the last page was really flat, and I said, "I know, I'm just all sung out--I haven't got the stamina left to give it proper support." So he wanted to run through the last three pages again, but a page and a half in I had to stop and explain to him that I really had nothing left. My voice was fine, I just had no energy to use. It's quite different, though. Now when I'm getting sung out it's not that my cords are feeling rough (unless I keep singing past the point where I can't support... then it gets rough O_o), it's just that I don't have the physical stamina to keep supporting the voice with good breaths. |
01-27-2011, 03:28 PM | #711 | ||||
Lady of Andúnië
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Just be careful of those who would hear a certain sound in you and then try to make you into something other than what you are. I know you love this teacher, and maybe i'm misunderstanding that his technique is causing you to feel sung out. I sure hope not. Sorry to be such a mother hen.
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" ...But the Exiles on the shores of the sea, if they turned towards the West in the desire of their hearts, spoke of Mar-nu-Falmar that was whelmed in the waves, Akallabêth the Downfallen, Atalantë in the Eldarin tongue." "Ye who believe in affection that hopes, and endures, and is patient, Ye who believe in the beauty and strength of woman's devotion, List to the mournful tradition still sung by the pines of the forest ... " ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Evangeline |
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01-27-2011, 04:36 PM | #712 |
Cardboard Harp of Gondor Join Date: Sep 2001
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Haha, you have every right to be concerned, and actually I know the feeling you're talking about... but this is not that. It's not a feeling that my voice can't handle it, and it's not my breath riding up, backing up, or any other number of things I've experienced while trying to learn how to breath correctly.
This is just an energy thing. I have -very- long days... for example my Tuesdays and Thursdays... work from 7-12 in the morning, then school from 2-8:15 at night, and M/W/F are quite busy as well, along with Wednesday night choir rehearsals that don't let me get home till 9 or 9:30. I've never sung with more ease in my life, it's just a question of having the actual energy to sing. I was having to take a bunch of breaths in odd places because I didn't have the strength left in me to keep my ribs from collapsing in. I was very physically tired. I fell asleep the minute my head hit the pillow last night. You know, you do make me realize... I should not be saying sung-out, because technically speaking I'm not. I could've kept singing and it would have sounded okay, but I was too physically worn out. I should just say "too tired to sing." |
01-27-2011, 08:40 PM | #713 | ||
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" ...But the Exiles on the shores of the sea, if they turned towards the West in the desire of their hearts, spoke of Mar-nu-Falmar that was whelmed in the waves, Akallabêth the Downfallen, Atalantë in the Eldarin tongue." "Ye who believe in affection that hopes, and endures, and is patient, Ye who believe in the beauty and strength of woman's devotion, List to the mournful tradition still sung by the pines of the forest ... " ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Evangeline |
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01-28-2011, 02:36 PM | #714 |
Cardboard Harp of Gondor Join Date: Sep 2001
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I did scare myself last night, though. I sang in the afternoon and everything was just dandy, then went to school... from 12:30-8:15 I was so preoccupied with some other things going on that I just didn't think about eating or drinking anything...
So 8:20 I get in a practice room and start singing, and my voice is totally shot. Cracking in odd places, very little energy to support the voice, I felt like I was singing with a lot of pressure to make the sound. So I freaked out a little and after about 15 minutes I stopped and started thinking.... then I realized I'd had nothing to drink for about eight hours. No wonder!!! O_o Not enough moisture on my cords, so the pitches were cracking, and I needed more pressure to make the cords work. So I'll have to be more careful not to be so preoccupied... lost out on some significant practice time, but it's a good lesson to learn how dehydration affects my voice. Always be hydrated!!!!!! |
01-30-2011, 03:56 PM | #715 |
Lady of Andúnië
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Sometimes, singing is therapy.
There is nothing i want more right now than to rip into a tearful rendition of "Ach, ich fuhl's". Or "Traurigkeit, vard mir zum Lose". But there are other people in the house.
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" ...But the Exiles on the shores of the sea, if they turned towards the West in the desire of their hearts, spoke of Mar-nu-Falmar that was whelmed in the waves, Akallabêth the Downfallen, Atalantë in the Eldarin tongue." "Ye who believe in affection that hopes, and endures, and is patient, Ye who believe in the beauty and strength of woman's devotion, List to the mournful tradition still sung by the pines of the forest ... " ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Evangeline |
01-31-2011, 03:36 PM | #716 |
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Well, sang my solo. I think it went okay... I'm not thrilled. I didn't let the breath carry the tone, so the whole thing is kind of pushed, which made my vibrato flutter a bit, and I lost my placement a couple of times so the tone is not as consistent as it could be, the runs were not as smooth as they should have been, and I completely blew out my low notes. The practice recordings were better than the actual performance... But for using technique that I've only had for about a week and a half, and considering that I couldn't make it through the song previous to that.... I'm pretty okay with how it sounded. We're gonna take a step back into something a little easier than Messiah for a while so that I don't get into the habit of pushing the voice. I wasn't pushing in rehearsal, but the fact that I did in performance indicates that the piece was definitely a little too big for me. |
02-02-2011, 10:16 PM | #717 | |
Lady of Andúnië
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I got a chance to do some singing tonight, and, interestingly enough.... the higher and more florid a piece was, the more comfortable it actually was. And that's after a whole week of crying. Maybe i shouldn't be so surprised.
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" ...But the Exiles on the shores of the sea, if they turned towards the West in the desire of their hearts, spoke of Mar-nu-Falmar that was whelmed in the waves, Akallabêth the Downfallen, Atalantë in the Eldarin tongue." "Ye who believe in affection that hopes, and endures, and is patient, Ye who believe in the beauty and strength of woman's devotion, List to the mournful tradition still sung by the pines of the forest ... " ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Evangeline |
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02-04-2011, 02:16 AM | #718 |
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You probably shouldn't be surprised, you little soprano you.
Just got an e-mail from my voice teacher... he's been having some problems for a few weeks with his voice (and by "problems" I mean that at close to 70 he's still popping out High A's....) and he went to see a singing doctor. This guy is completely on the 'edge' of what's what with vocal science. He can scope you at up to 600x magnification, where most ENT's can only get up to 100x. Apparently my teacher is recovering from laryngitis and there's still some tiny micro swelling, and that's why he felt like he was having to sing with a little extra pressure. Also, get this... the doctor told him that his vocal cords look like a 40 year-old baritone, not someone pushing 70. Isn't that odd? It's probably partially genetics, but the doctor told him that a majority of it is good vocal technique because by 40, if you have bad technique your voice will already be starting to wobble and you'll have a dry sound... so for the sound to not only maintain, but for the cords to look so young, it's part genetics but mostly technique. ... SO THAT'S ENCOURAGING. Now if I can just absorb that technique.... I love this man. A little gem from the other night during choir rehearsal when he sat next to me, "Tessar, we need to have another lesson as soon as possible. What the hell was that vowel? You're so close to being right it pains me, but we have work to do..." followed one measure later by, "You know, I think you have the best ears of anyone your age I've ever met. You were born to sing." ..... three minutes later, "What was that? What was that vowel? You know how to do that one! Sing it right!" |
02-04-2011, 06:43 AM | #719 |
The Chocoholic Sea Elf Administrator
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Sounds like you're quite the team. Did it go well to leave your other teacher? I remember you dreaded that conversation.
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02-04-2011, 01:17 PM | #720 |
Lady of Andúnië
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Technique is everything. A voice that's pushed will not have longevity.
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" ...But the Exiles on the shores of the sea, if they turned towards the West in the desire of their hearts, spoke of Mar-nu-Falmar that was whelmed in the waves, Akallabêth the Downfallen, Atalantë in the Eldarin tongue." "Ye who believe in affection that hopes, and endures, and is patient, Ye who believe in the beauty and strength of woman's devotion, List to the mournful tradition still sung by the pines of the forest ... " ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Evangeline |
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