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.