Practice Challenge week 4

Session #1

Today is just not a good vocal day.  I spent a lot more time warming up than usual, but I still can't get my high notes to loosen up.  On the plus side, it did make me pull out my Concone exercises and work more with flexibility.  After about 30 minutes of singing though, my voice is telling me it's done.  I guess I'll be working on my Czech with the diction CDs for the rest of my time.  10 minutes with the diction CDs.  Then listened to Pilar Lorengar (6:15) and Eva Urbanová (6:02).

I really the color of Pilar's voice in this. Gorgeous.

Also listened to these:
Gabriela Beňačková http://youtu.be/Qul0b3e631k
Luba Orgonášova https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHZ9ByM-EJ0
Milada Šubrtová https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YgeEKNVz8M
Love her too. And since she is Czech, this is a good one to work with.

About 30 minutes listening.  

I also want to listen to Kate Royal just because.

Total time for today: 60 minutes

Session #2

Our winner for this week is Bella Huerta.  My practice for today is based on her first day of practice for the week.  

Bella's goal:  Solidify words

Bella's strategies:  sing section with word trouble, buzz, hiss

Bella's time:  10 minutes.  

For this short session, I decided to work on "I am the Wind."  Because I only have a few minutes, I'm using the hiss and buzz as warm-ups, thinking about the words as I play the melody.  

Then I went back and sang each verse memorized.  The words were actually pretty easy. I had to stop and review a couple of notes and rhythms to make sure they were memorized too.  Then I went back and sang the whole song with accompaniment.  

Total time:  12 minutes.

Session #3 (Bella's second session)

Bella's goal:  breath control on French song

Bella's strategies:  buzz and hiss (also chose good breath places)

Bella's time:  18 minutes

Started with hissing on the tough sections of Frühling while playing the melody.  First I isolated the tough phrases.  When I was getting through those on hiss, I added a couple phrases before the tough one so I can work on the stamina and making sure I get a good breath going into the tough one.  I'm much more aware of the inhalation after buzzing. Then I repeated that on buzz.  I'm still struggling with getting through the last phrase (it's all one word, so I can't sneak a breath.)  It's fine if I isolate that phrase, but still pretty tough with the long phrases that come before it.  That last breath has to be a good one. Improving, but I still have some work to do.  Trying straws now to see if that is easier. Little straw is hard, but I do think it is helping.  The breath is definitely lasting longer. When I sing, I can now get through the last phrase when isolated, but when I start earlier in the song, I'm not quite making it yet.  

Overall, I'm happy with today's practice.  I was able to eliminate a few of the emergency breathing places creating longer more flowing lines.  

Total time:  20 minutes

Session #4 (Bella's third session) 

Bella's goal: practice words and melody

Bella's strategies: do sections at a time

Bella's time:  35 minutes

I've been sick (yes, a few days so sick that I didn't do anything) so I'm late finishing up this week's practice challenge.

I need to make myself do more of the Czech even though it is more challenging, so today is about words and notes on Song to the Moon.

I spent the first 15 minutes just listening to the diction lessons and recordings for the first two lines of text, which repeat and take me to m. 45 in the aria.

Today I am learning that I really need a Czech diction coach.  Yes, I can listen to the diction lessons and recordings of Czech singers, and read the IPA and instructions for how to make the sounds, but some of them are still really hard and I could use some feedback.  [ř] and [Ř] are really hard sounds for me to figure out.  The good news is that based on the recordings I've listened too, I'm not alone.  I've heard lots of different sounds for these.  

All the long phrases and good breath work from previous practices are totally going out the window as I work on getting these words right.  I'm trying not to worry about it.  It will get better as I get more confident.  

I worked with the recordings and did small chunks up to the 2nd chorus.  From there to the end, I definitely need to come back and work in more detail, but I did a couple of listens and faked my way through just so I could say I finished.  40 minutes.  

Total time today:  55 minutes

The difficulty I am having with the Czech is a great reminder to me to be patient with my students who are new to the languages that now are much easier for me.  I'm also thinking that if I can actually get this Czech, I'm ready to jump into some Russian, which I've wanted to do for years.  I just need to choose which songs I want to do and find some good recordings to work with.  

Practice Challenge Week 3

Session #1

Last week I was sick and didn't get to do a full focused practice session for the last day, so that's where we're starting today.

The goal was 45 minutes working in sections, singing notes and words together.

I'm continuing my work on Im Abendrot and trying to fit in practice between lessons.  10 minutes done.
15 more minutes between lessons got me to the end of this song, working in chunks and working memorize (study then sing).
7 more minutes working the same way on Frühling.  Then I took a short singing break to play through the accompaniment.  I like to do this, even though I have to play it way under tempo because it helps me get familiar with the harmonic structure and how my notes fit into that.  Plus, this one is just fun to play.  13 minutes.

5 more minutes working words and notes together on Beim Schlafengehn

Total--50 minutes, and it was good practice, but I still didn't get the 45 minutes I wanted on just singing words and notes together.  I'll try again tomorrow.


Session #2

Decided to try again for the 45 minute session tomorrow and use today to start the practicing based on this week's winner.

As the year progresses, I'm getting fewer practice journals turned in.  Ellen Hahn was surprised to learn that she was the winner for this week because she had had a busy week and only got one day of practicing in.  The good news is that it was quality practice.

Ellen's Goal:  Fake confidence on both songs.   (I love this.  It's directly related to what we talked about in her lesson.)

Ellen's Strategies:  Her practice included warm-ups and sight-reading practice in addition to working on her two songs. (One in English and one in a foreign language).

• Foreign language song--Focused on keeping one section of the song lighter and more open.  
• English Song--sang through twice focusing on space and vowels.  

Ellen's Time:  25 minutes

I started with working on "What Would I Give?"  This is a great song and not super difficult, but it does have several places where the melody jumps down a 5th, 6th, or 7th.  Keeping the vowels lined up and smoothing out those lines is a real challenge.  I sang through it once with accompaniment thinking about the space and vowels.  Then I isolated some of the trouble spots for more focused attention.  When I sang through it the second time, I did it without accompaniment.  This helps me to really listen and feel what is happening with the space and vowels.  It also quickly exposes tuning issues or notes that aren't as solid as you thought they were.  7 minute.  

Then I switched focus to Beim Schlafengehn working from letter E to letter G, since this is the high section where finding that exact resonance and breath connection makes a big difference.  I also found that at F, I have to make sure that I'm very loose, even though it is  closed vowel.  Speaking of big jumps, this one has a 9th going down to an ah vowel.  I'll be doing a little drill on that too.  I have to keep Zauber lifted at the beginning of the phrase to help the last note of the phrase (the low one) stay lined up.  10 minutes

Went back to the top of 19 where I'm still not solid on notes and words and worked that a little.  I'm focusing mostly on notes, but that idea of lifted vowels is also something I am working on here.  Lining up the vowels is going to be essential here to use the breath in the most efficient way so I can get through this longer phrase.  I'm almost there.  8 minutes.  

Going back now to play through the song (see notes for yesterday's practice for why I like this.) 5 minutes.  

Today's Total:  30 minutes.

Session #3

Sang though Frühling twice with a few stops to work.  Played through once.

Today's Total: 10 minutes

Session #4
Singing words and notes together.  45 minutes is the goal to meet Bella's day 3 from last week.  

Started with a few exercises with straws for warm-ups, followed by straws on the high sections and long phrases of Frühling.  With the straw and water bottle, I can get through the last phrase.  That means it's possible for me to actually sing that.  I just need to build up my stamina.  10 minutes.  

Yay!  My low notes are coming back.  The C in the first line feels and sounds much better today.  
Did 5 minutes singing and then 5 more just playing to give my voice a little rest.  The tessitura of this song makes it very tiring for my voice when I'm just singing straight through.  It is getting easier though, so working in chunks and resting when needed is definitely the right strategy for now.  

I admit defeat.  I'm not going to get 45 minutes of singing the words and notes together on these Strauss songs.  It's just physically too difficult.  

Switch to my English songs by Vicki Tucker Courtney for a little more sing through time.  Using my CDs for accompaniment support.  The CD for "What Would I Give?" is just a little fast for me.  
Today I am loving "I Am the Wind"  although I still don't have a definite choice for the meaning and story of the song.  So much potential in this one.  35 minutes.  

Total practice time today:  55 minutes.  

Practice Challenge week 2

This week's winner is Isabella Huerta.

Practice Session #1

Bella had a great first practice for the week spending 60 minutes learning the melody to her new song.  One of the things I'm discovering is that my students like to sing on loo, but it's actually one of my harder vowels to work with.  For compromise, I'm doing some singing on ee and working on improving the resonance of my oo even while I'm learning notes.  Also, Song to the Moon is not as new to me as Bella's song is for her, so I'll be doing some other things in this session as well, such as memorizing notes and rhythms and working memorized.  Also singing on solfege.  It's harder to memorize without words, but my visual memorization (remembering what the notes and rhythms look like) is getting better.  I also alternated playing and singing the melody.  Also compared similar sections checking rhythm and note changes.  Also listened to Renee Fleming once.  Then I worked notes for the last couple of lines of September, mostly playing and then buzzing.  Also some singing on solfege to solidify the tricky intervals.  Did a lot of buzzing to help the breath in the last phrase.  Solfege drill for notes top of 14 through page 15.  Also drilled on buzz (while playing the melody) on 14 to see how much I can get in one breath.  Also played the piano part a lot and drill my part against block chords to feel how it all goes to gather.

60 minutes.  Done.  Sometimes it's nice when students don't show up.

Practice session #2

Listening to the Gundula Janowitz recordings of September and Bein Schlafengehn on Spotify as I did other work.  11 minutes.

Bella's goal:  listen and pronounce worlds on rhythm
Bella's time:  36 minutes
Bells'a strategies:  clapping, speaking in rhythm

I'm working September today.  In addition to speaking the words in rhythm, I'm checking my IPA and translation so I'm getting the pronunciation exact and I'm memorizing the meaning as I work on the words.  I'm also working one section at a time and trying to memorize.  I also mixed in playing the melody while speaking.  This word drill stuff is great for when you can't make a lot of noise singing.
20 minutes took me up to  letter E., 2 more minutes between students working the first  measures after E, then played piano part from beginning for 5 more minutes.

20 more minutes working to letter B in Beim Schlafengehn focusing on words and rhythm.  Then a sing through of Im Abendrot, stopping to drill a few spots.  5 minutes

Today's total focused practice: 52
Total with listening: 62

I love these songs and I don't want to stop practicing, but life and stamina sometimes demand that.  I feel like I've made a lot of progress with these songs in this week's practice.  Even though I haven't done a lot of work on the breathing, being more certain on the notes, rhythms, and words has helped a lot and phrases I wasn't getting through last week are working this week.

A few days off  

Practicing was going great this week and then I didn't feel well and didn't do much of anything for a few days.  The good news is that the songs have still been going through my head, so I'm not totally ignoring them.

Practice session #3

Bella's goal:  sing words and notes together
Bella's time:  45 minutes
Bella's strategies:  working in sections

Because I went home sick on Wednesday, I didn't remember to grab any of the materials I needed for my practicing.  Consequently, I'm doing a modified version of this practice session and will repeat Bella's goals, times, and strategies for this session as my first day of practice for the next week.

Step 1: I did have my IPA and translations saved on the computer and I had access to multiple recordings both on CD and from online sources.  The first chunk of today's practice will be writing out the words to Im Abendrot as I listen.  That took about 6 minutes.
Step 2: Listen to the one section at a time (multiple times), trying to remember what the music looks like and working on memorizing the words.  Did a little bit of marking, but no full singing.  Worked on solidifying the memorization of the first two stanzas, letting the meanings of the words help me.  30 minutes.
Step 3: Just listening to this song over and over (different singer each time) as I do prep work for tomorrow's lessons.  40 minutes.

Total minutes for today:  76 (Only 36 minutes focused practice, but as I said, I'll get the rest done on the first day next week.)

Practice Challenge Week 1

I kept thinking that I'd get back to this and make it look more organized and polished, but it didn't happen.  So here is the quickly typed version of my practicing based on Ellen Hahn's practice journal for the week.

Yay! A few students are actually turning in practice journals.

As promised, here is the report for week 1 of me using the winner's goals, practice strategies and times.

I'm also adding 3-5 minutes of warm-ups (which most of them are recording, but I hope they're including.

Session #1
Winner's Goals, time, and strategies
G: work on words, learn melody
T:15
S: speak, then sing.  Work melody on loo.

My tools:
IPA and word-by-word translation of Beim Schlafengehn

1.  speak the words
2.  speak the words while playing the notes (to check rhythm and pitch).
3.  sing

I did 20 minutes and got through to letter B in a song I haven't worked before.  I was surprised at how fast it came together.  I know I shouldn't be, but I was.

Session #2
G: B section of Song 2 and review Song
T:20
S: chunks to learn melody


Review Im Abendrot
read translation and IPA (a chunk at a time then sing)--working memorized (study then sing without looking) running out of time so I only worked up to letter E that way, just say through the rest once.

Beim Schlafengehn
focused just on the notes and rhythms B to C, played the melody, played accompaniment, sang with no piano

25 minutes total
It's hard to stop once you get started.  Im Abendrot is closer to memorized than I thought, and it's definitely at the stage where I need to be working memorized.  The long phrases are much easier when I'm not looking at the music.
Beim Sclafengehn has some weird intervals when you just look at the melody, (they are gorgeous and make sense with the accompaniment), but I seem to be picking them up faster than I did with the other songs.  It might also be easier because I have done a lot more listening before learning this song.  Excited for the next practice session when I should be able to get to my favorite part of the song.

Session #3
G: difficult sections
T:20
S:  sang through several times, worked sections, worked on sustaining dynamics

Doing this is in small chunks today between lessons, etc.
I'm having drainage and breathing problems again, and the songs I'm working are beastly difficult, so I won't be singing through several times on the new rep.
Buzzing through "Repetition"--which I think is perfect for repetitive practice.  Quick warm-up and 3 times of this song 2 buzzing and one singing) during my 10 minute break.
What Would I Give?  Read a little more about Rossetti and explored more about what the poem might mean in terms of both the depression she dealt with and her religious life.  Digging into the meaning definitely helps with dynamics and phrase shaping.  I still don't have any definitive answers, but I love the song more each time I sing it.  Today I buzzed twice and sang twice.  Including the reading, I spent about 15 minutes on this song.

I'm learning that my ADD definitely figures into my practice.  I have a hard time getting going sometimes, but then I don't want to stop.  All my times this week have exceeded those that the student did because I just wanted to do more.

Worked letter D to E in September since this is one of the most difficult places for me for the breath.  Plus, I'm still not 100% on the notes for sterbenden.  5 minutes.

Total practice time today:30 minutes.

Oops.  Thought I was done practicing, but then I read through the notes from the session before and remembered that I wanted to do the fun part of Beim Sclafengehn, so I'm back again.
Started out playing my notes, then the accompaniment, one phrase at a time.  Worked up to the last page.  Just sang the last page for fun a few times because I like it.  10 more minutes for a total of 40 minutes today when I didn't think I had much time.

More…I just listened to 17 minutes of professional recordings of the Strauss songs while I reconciled lessons and emailed lesson notes.  That tells me two things.  Number 1, I can make contact with my music while doing other things, and two, it takes too long to reconcile.

How I'm Using Bonnie Blanchard's Making Music and Enriching Lives

I'm a firm believer in continuing to learn and grow and stretch myself as a teacher.  It's not enough to merely coast on the knowledge that I already have.  If I am not moving forward and refining my own singing and teaching, how can I possibly inspire others to be better?

Part of my unending quest for insights involves reading and re-reading books.  There are a few wonderful books like If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland that I need to re-read every few years.  But I also try to throw new things into the mix.  My mother, who is also a music teacher, sent me this book a few months ago, so exploring Bonnie Blanchard's ideas about teaching has been my summer project.

Blanchard has a wonderful website where you can get a better picture of what this book is all about.  What I loved about the book is that it made me really think about what would work and what wouldn't work in my studio.  She freely admits that not all her strategies will work with every kid in every studio, and I appreciate that.

One area of concern that I have is the section on the difference between teaching girls and teaching boys.  Every student is an individual.  Some girls with thrive with the strategies she lists under "boy's brains" and some boys need the "girl's brains" activities. My advice would be to learn the needs of the individual student and then select strategies from either list that fit that kid.

The ways she sometimes talks to her students also wouldn't work with me.  It may be that her personality comes through in a way that communicates something different from the actual words, but some of the things she recommends saying were damaging to me as a student and/or have had negative responses with my students.  Again, I think each teacher needs to know themselves and be aware of how your words affect students.  Do your words actually motivate and encourage, or do they create guilt and frustration?

Some of Blanchard's ideas just simply won't work in my studio right now.  I teach in a school, and one of the reasons they have voice teachers there is to make studying easier for kids.  When more kids take voice lessons, the overall level of the choirs increase. Even students who don't practice are better choir singers because of their time with me. Because of that philosophy, I can't really take her suggestions for practice requirements of students and tell them that is the minimum or they are out.  I would also love to move to hour lessons as the default time, but it simply won't work in a school where 2 kids need to have lessons in a 50 minute class period.

The good news it that I highlighted something on nearly every page of the book, and this fall, I'm starting 3 new things that I learned (and modified somewhat) by reading this book.

First, I'm sending out a letter to all the parents at the beginning of the year.  Parents are already somewhat involved because I make them sign my policy signature form and all emails I send go to students and parents.  This new letter tells parents specific ways that they can get involved in and help with their child's learning process.  I'll share that letter in a separate post.

Second, Blanchard has some great ideas for motivating students to practice.  One idea is to make cookie bets with students.  That won't work for me since I have issues with gluten, chocolate, and sugar which basically makes cookies pointless.  But I did like the idea of me having to do something in return when they meet practice goals.  My Practice Challenge 2014-2015 grew out of that.

Third, and probably most important, I love Blanchard's Music for Life notebook system.  In her version, the students have 2 notebooks:  one in which she writes assignments and other things they discuss in the lessons, and a second book where the students re-write those items sorting into categories (fingering, phrasing, music history, etc.) for quick and easy reference in the future.  I've made a few changes and adaptations to make it work better for singers, and this fall, all students will begin work on The Voice Notebook.  We're starting small.  Right now, students are getting a binder and making sure that lesson notes (their handwritten notes or my notes that are emailed to them and saved on my Music Teacher's Helper website) make it into the binder each week.  You can see the general outline in this post.  

Blanchard pushes her students hard, but also realizes what is most important.  Here are a couple of quotes about this that I love.

Our mission statement as music teachers should read: "The welfare of students comes first."

Is the family life chaotic? Is there a functional adult at home to supervise?  If the child does not have a sound home life, then the teacher must prioritize. What is more important?  The child's performance at the lesson or your relationship as a caring adult with that child?  Choose to save the child and not the concerto.

 My studio and my students are unique.  My studio today and the students I teach today are different from what they were even 10 years ago. I can't just take someone else's plan, that works marvelously for them, and try to make my studio work the same way. That's why I think it is so important to keep exploring and trying new things.  Although my basic teaching philosophy hasn't changed much over the years, my teaching and the way I interact with students continues to evolve.  And that's exactly how it should be.

Parent Letter 2014

Parents are an important part of a students learning experience.  Getting them on board and helping them understand the process can make a huge difference in how much the students learn.  In my studio, parents sign a policy signature form, so that at least in theory they understand what is going on in the studio.  Parents also receive every email that I send to the students about lesson notes, coming events, etc.

But parents still sometimes ask what they can do to help their kids succeed in voice lessons.  So this year, I will be mailing out a letter a few weeks into the year.  I may still do some revisions before it goes out, so please be sure to share any thoughts or ideas you have about it.

Dear Parents,

Thank you for making music an important part of your child’s life.  Music enriches our lives in so many ways.  By being an active participant in this learning process, you can help your child grow even more. 

Parents often ask what they can do to help their child get the most from voice lessons, so here are 10 things I suggest:

1. Make sure your email and other contact information is up to date on the website so that you get all communications from me. 
2. I do not send any emails that are not necessary communication, so please get in the habit of at least scanning everything that comes from me or from Music Teacher’s Helper.  I’m also trying to include more information at the beginning of mass emails that will let you know if you need to continue reading or if it can be deleted. 
3. Use the website.  When you log in using your own login credentials (parents and students have different usernames and passwords), you can see payment history, lesson history including lesson notes, the calendar of events, and important announcements.  
4. Stay up to date on studio events.  All mass emails go to both parents and students.  When I send an email about a performance opportunity, ask your child if he or she would be interested in participating and then discuss if the event will fit your current financial and scheduling situations. 
5. Whenever possible, encourage students to participate in events other than just lessons.  Having an event to work towards is a great motivator. 
6. Read lesson notes. Again, both parents and students receive these. Lesson notes are often just keywords to help a student remember what we did.  If you see something you don’t understand (sometimes I write strange things like “Darth Vader”) and you wonder what that has to do with singing, ask your child.  The process of explaining it to you helps the students to understand it better themselves. 
7. Encourage practicing.  Most of the student’s growth happens outside of lessons as they apply the principles we talk about and make them into good habits. Help your child practice by helping them to find a quiet, safe space and time where they can explore what their voices can do. Don’t make practice drudgery. Reward good practice habits rather than punishing for poor ones.
8. Please purchase music immediately when a new book or song is assigned. If you can’t buy the book right away (or at all), please let me know so that I can either find a lending library copy for the student or choose a new song. 
9. One of the things I’m trying to do is help students (especially the high school students) learn to take personal responsibility. When forms need to be filled out, please make the student fill out the form, or do it together if there are items that need your input.  It is part of their learning process. “My mom forgot” is not an acceptable excuse in my studio.  When an assignment or registration form or check is due, I will be asking the student to make sure it is taken care of, so please be kind to them when they ask for the 900^th time.
10.  Feel free to contact me with questions and concerns, but please ask your child the questions first, or send them to the studio guide, lesson notes, or emails from me to see if they can find the answer. 

Thanks,

Jeannine Robinett

EVHS Voice Instructor

Today's Version of My Top 15 Most Beautiful Songs/Arias Ever Written

When I started this post months ago, it really was going to be just my top 10 favorites. But then there were just too many.  And then there were too many wonderful recordings of each song.  So this is more than 10 favorites, as sung by just a few of my favorite singers. They are in no particular order.  Making me rank them would just be cruel.

Nessun Dorma

Bjorling and Puccini!  Need I say more?

Casta Diva

This isn't my favorite recording of Monserrat Caballe singing this aria, but it's still pretty amazing.  Her decrescendo on the high note at 4:25 alone is worthy the two and a half minutes of applause that follow.

Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen

En priere

Here's another great recording.

An Chloris

Clair de lune

Morgen

For over 20 years, Elizabeth Schwartskopf's gorgeous high note on "wogenblauen" has been my ideal, that place I was working towards.  This summer I found it.

C

I had never heard of this singer, but I really like this performance.

Le Secret

And another

Die Nacht

Ave Maria 

This always gives me chills, and sometimes even tears.  Stunning!

Befreit

Die Stille Lotosblume

Mondnacht

Four Last Songs, especially Im Abendrot

I'm cheating and counting the set as 1 song. Here's Schwartzkopf sing all four songs.

Flagstad demonstrates why Strauss requested her for the premier.  This left me in tears.


And yes, I did listen to all of these again today.