tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64179379608580247002024-02-08T06:33:20.768-08:00The Diva's LoungeA blog for and about singers, singing and singing teachers; or Notes from a colorful soprano. Audrey Howitt aka Divaloungerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854425983822589062noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6417937960858024700.post-87354705484245398792014-05-29T09:46:00.002-07:002014-05-29T09:46:36.028-07:00How to Excel in Singing!<br /><br />The answer to this question is short. In order to excel at singing, you must work at it. Singing is part craft and part artistry. When we are emotionally moved by a singer, I believe it is because the singer is able to move beyond the technique of singing into the artistry of the song and to invite us along for the journey. <br /><br />We all know someone who was just born with a naturally gorgeous voice. The baritone in my high school choir was someone like that. He was born with a beautiful voice and when he sang, he almost always managed to make a beautiful noise. However, even the most gifted singer must learn vocal technique in order to sing well consistently and to be able to make and implement artistic choices on a consistent basis. That baritone went on to study voice extensively, and to my knowledge, he is still singing some thirty years later.<br /><br />Voice lessons are fairly expensive. I know teachers who charge $50.00 an hour on the low end and teachers that charge $150.00 an hour on the upper end. Unfortunately, the cost of the lesson does not always correlate with the quality of the teacher. Look for a teacher who comes well-recommended by a broad spectrum of singers in the community. Teachers come in a broad range of vocal styles from classical, to jazz, to musical theater. While I am a teacher who leans toward the classical style, I believe that healthy, beautiful singing is the goal in most styles of singing. Therefore, look for a teacher who can help you produce a well-balanced healthy tone throughout your vocal range.<br /><br />Most teachers work on vocal exercises and repertoire. And although we may not want to hear it from our teachers or from others, there is no substitute for daily practicing. As a voice teacher, I try to encourage daily practice in my students and I engage in daily practice myself. Practice the vocal exercises given and practice the songs that you are working on with your teacher. Make practice a part of your daily routine. It is just another form of exercise really.<br /><br />Work on connecting emotionally to the music and the text. See the scene that you are singing about. Feel the emotion that is present in the music. Read the poetry of the music aloud. What does it say to you and how does it move you. Find ways to make the poetry come alive as you sing. Sing in front of others in this way. Invite them to hear and connect to the text and music with you.<br /><br />Finally, find performance venues and perform publicly often. Performance venues can include a church, a senior citizen center, a school or community musical or opera as well as recitals, concerts and the like. Sing for others as often as you can. You will learn so much about the music, about yourself and about performing when you are busy doing it. <br /><br />As a closing note, I think it is important that you love to sing for you to excel at it. Singing becomes a large part of our identity and our lives over time. It requires effort, time, patience and persistence. In order to continue the work of singing, we must come to love the daily work of singing as well. So, enjoy!<br /><div>
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copyright/all rights reserved Audrey Howitt</div>
Audrey Howitt aka Divaloungerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854425983822589062noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6417937960858024700.post-61998674099163791442014-05-21T13:54:00.002-07:002014-05-21T13:54:36.523-07:00How to Practice Sight Singing<br /><br />To be able to hear internally the music you see on the page is one of the most valuable skills that a singer can develop. This skill can shorten the time that it takes to learn music and it makes you a valuable addition to any vocal ensemble. Professional and semi-professional vocal ensembles require some level of sight reading ability to be considered for entry into the group.<br /><br />Sight singing is a skill that develops over time. It requires practice on a fairly consistent basis and it requires one to continue to challenge oneself with ever increasingly difficult tasks. It also requires combining a number of skills. You must know some basic music theory. Theory encompasses time signatures, rhythm, key signatures, as well as chordal structure and other elements.<br /><br />Of the theory elements needed to sight read, I find that rhythm and key signatures are the most helpful. In my own sight reading practice and in teaching others, I have also found that systematizing your process is very helpful. The systematic process eliminates anxiety around the task. For myself and for my students, I try to do the following:<br /><br />1. Start with very easy snippets of pieces. Most sight reading books start with easier exercises which get progressively more difficult. Pick an easier exercise to start with.<br /><br />2. Determine the pulse or tactus of the piece. This task necessarily requires that you can understand the meaning of the time signature. For instance, in 6/8 time, there are six beats in each measure and the eighth note is getting the beat or pulse. In 4/4 time, there are four beats in each measure and the quarter note gets the beat or pulse. Is the quarter note getting the beat? Is it easier to give the eighth note the beat if there are many eighth notes? Determine what note value is going to be getting the beat and start to pulse that by tapping with your hand or foot. Is all this gibberish to you? Then a basic music theory work book would be the place to start. Then start to look at other sight reading skills. First basic literacy, then advanced skills. I think of sight reading as an advanced skill.<br /><br />3. While keeping the pulse by tapping your foot, clap the rhythm. In doing so, see if your inner ear starts to "hear" the notes on the page in front of you. Often singers find that they can hear some of the notes, and often singers will get a sense of the musical line and the chromatic alterations of notes.<br /><br />4. Determine the key signature. I use solfege syllables: do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti and do for the major and minor scales, with altered syllables for chromatically altered notes. (A word for those in the know, that means that I use la based minor. I find it is easier to use only one set of solfege for both major and minor keys) The name of the key signature indicates where do is. So if the key of the piece is G major, G will be do, A will be re, B will be mi, etc.<br /><br />5. Notice the beginning solfege syllable that you must sing. Notice the ending solfege syllable, notice the highest and lowest solfege syllables. Finally, notice any chromatic alterations. If you are a beginner, try to select pieces that have no chromatic alterations. Stay with simpler pieces until you feel comfortable with the solfege.<br /><br />6. Do not write in any of the solfege syllables. Writing them in defeats the purpose. The purpose is to read the notes, not the solfege, so resist the urge to write them in. Sing the scale of the piece from low do up to high do and then back down to low do. Play the opening pitch on the piano if you have one, then avoid playing any more notes on the piano. Then go ahead and slowly attach the solfege syllables for the note in your mind and sing the appropriate solfege for each note. Take the piece out of rhythm if you must, but try to hear each note in your mind before you sing it. Once you have gone through it several times, then go back and tapping the pulse, try to sing the solfege in rhythm. Do not worry if the pitches or solfege are elusive. If you miss a note, go back and sing the scale to find the missed note and try again. Remember to do this all from inner hearing rather than from the piano.<br /><br />7. Practice daily. You can practice the same piece over and over as your mind begins to learn the interval associations. When you get bored with the one piece, go on to a slightly more difficult one, always following the same system. Over time you will determine your strengths and weaknesses and then it becomes easier to work on them.<br /><br />Have fun and happy singing!<br /><br /><br />Audrey Howitt aka Divaloungerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854425983822589062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6417937960858024700.post-39548654236200214312010-11-04T18:44:00.000-07:002013-09-04T16:32:35.587-07:00An Introduction to the Issue of FachOne of the thorniest issues in vocal production can be the issue of fach. Fach is a German word which literally means "compartment" or subject of study. In singing, fach refers to the issue of categorizing voices. We all know the major categories: Soprano, alto, tenor and bass. But beyond that, there are numerous subcategories which refer to specific issues such as weight, agility and the like within each major category.<br />
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Fach is used worldwide, but originally grew out of German opera houses. If a singer was categorized as a full lyric soprano for instance, that singer would only be asked to sing roles within that category. <br />
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Many voices clearly fall into one fach or another. But often, a voice will have qualities of more than one fach. Categorizing those voices can be difficult. What do you do with a woman who has a lot of smoky color in her mid range a mezzo-soprano, but has the full range of a soprano, or a male who comes into the studio who sings in the tenor range, but with a lot of "chestiness" in the midrange.<br />
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The issue is important because singing out of fach, can not only be a failure to live up to the potential of the voice, but can be damaging to the voice. A person whose voice "rings" in a higher range, but who chooses to sing in the lower range without access to much resonance can often sing with a depressed larynx, which can cause a host of problems. <br />
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So how can we determine fach in our students or for ourselves? Sometimes it is clear. A young soprano comes into the studio and she is clearly a soprano. The problem is most often faced by voice teachers in regard to "middle" voices or voices with clear tensions such as jaw and tongue tension. I think the most clear indicators of fach lie in vocal timbre and vocal tessitura. <br />
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Look to where the vocal passaggi lie when the voice is cleared on tension and the throat open. If the voice is not free of tension, work on relieving tension and correcting breath before worrying about fach. <br />
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Renowned teacher, David Jones, explores this issue (along with many others) on his website. His articles are clear and quite informative. I value and respect his opinion. You can find more information at: <br />
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voiceteacher.comAudrey Howitt aka Divaloungerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854425983822589062noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6417937960858024700.post-79740487453706473442010-08-25T17:11:00.001-07:002010-08-25T17:11:29.801-07:00<object width="250" height="250"><param name="movie" value="http://widget.chipin.com/widget/id/0f64d4941b264fc5"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="event_title" value="Chip%20in%20and%20help%20me%20pay%20my%20student%20loans"></param><embed src="http://widget.chipin.com/widget/id/0f64d4941b264fc5" flashVars="event_title=Chip%20in%20and%20help%20me%20pay%20my%20student%20loans" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowScriptAccess="always" wmode="transparent" width="250" height="250"></embed></object>Audrey Howitt aka Divaloungerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854425983822589062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6417937960858024700.post-47676831242209634292010-07-09T15:06:00.000-07:002010-07-09T15:26:41.131-07:00NATS National Convention 2010 Salt Lake CityI am recently back from the NATS (National Teachers of Singing) Convention in Salt Lake City Utah. It seems that there is a buzz at every NATS national convention and this time, the buzz was all about teaching belting. There were four workshops covering the subject this time: everything from teaching kids how to belt to teaching "super" belt. <div><br /></div><div>I went to three out of four of the workshops and I have a better sense of how to teach it. I started out singing musical theater as many young teens do, and learned how to engage a heavier mechanism (AT vs. CT). Then when I went to college, I had to learn how to use a lighter mechanism--or head voice (CT) From there, I was able to smooth all the registers out. </div><div><br /></div><div>I wonder about the ease and/or difficulty of learning head voice after one has spent a significant amount of time singing in a belting style. Belt necessarily means more pressure on the larynx than is used in a classical production. For me, it was quite difficult to undo. It took a long time and I still find that I can exert too much pressure on the larynx when I sing.</div><div><br /></div><div>On the flip side, I still love musical theater. I have a fair amount of mix in my mid range and though it isn't belt, it is a meatier sound. One of the most interesting aspects of belting vs the classical sound, is the size of the mouth. In belting, the mouth is more open and wider for much of the range. In classical vocal production, the aperture is smaller for most of the range. </div><div><br /></div><div>So the question is: What is belt? Is it that meatier sound? Is it "super" belt? Is it the sound we hear in R & B? </div><div><br /></div><div>Lots to think about I think. </div><div><br /></div><div>For further information, check out Lisa Popeil's website. She was one of the presenters at the conference.</div><div><br /></div><div>www.popeil.com</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Audrey Howitt aka Divaloungerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854425983822589062noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6417937960858024700.post-74656342592991073482010-04-27T16:39:00.001-07:002010-04-27T16:39:07.218-07:00NATS Singing Festival--San Francisco ChapterCongratulations to my student, Allison Rosengard, who placed 4th in her age division for art song. This was her first time participating in the festival and I am so proud of her. <br /><br />It is a joy to see your students sing well. It is a joy to see them progress from week to week, month to month, year to year. I can be feeling a bit low and will feel so much better during and after I am done teaching. <br /><br />Love it!Audrey Howitt aka Divaloungerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854425983822589062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6417937960858024700.post-67041144126513891392010-04-23T11:19:00.000-07:002010-04-23T11:22:25.221-07:00Recitals, recitals, recitals!!Today, my students at Head Royce have their end-of-year vocal recital. I am running through the odd bit of music, the difficult passage, the runs, the ornaments, the rests with them prior to the recital. I worry for my students. I hope for them. I am excited for them!Audrey Howitt aka Divaloungerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854425983822589062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6417937960858024700.post-54304234514060234312010-04-16T18:59:00.000-07:002010-04-16T19:09:17.268-07:00Getting Students Ready for RecitalThe end of the school year is a busy time for me as a voice teacher. I teach voice part time at a school in the Bay Area. I also teach for a number of other professional groups as well as maintaining a busy private studio. Recitals for all of these venues are coming up. My task is to help my students prepare as well as possible so that they will have good experiences while performing.<div><br /></div><div>Today, some of my students worked for the first time with their accompanist for an upcoming recital. I worked on notes and rhythms with some students. With some I worked on anticipating the musical line more to help move the line along. Others were ready to work on emotive affect, looking at the music the composer has provided them and how that music fits together with the text. This is one of my favorite parts of the performing process. </div><div><br /></div><div>I love that singers can move an audience emotionally. I love the feel of it when I do it and I want for my students to learn how to do it as well. A favorite conductor once said, "The audience doesn't pay to hearing beautiful singing. They pay to be emotionally moved." I don't know if that is always true, but I suspect there is some truth in it. </div>Audrey Howitt aka Divaloungerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854425983822589062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6417937960858024700.post-34469176814922304972010-04-11T19:12:00.000-07:002010-04-16T18:58:50.940-07:00Graduate ProjectI am midway through my graduate project on--you guessed it--performance anxiety. I am finishing a master's degree in Vocal Pedagogy at Holy Names University and the graduate project is the last thing I need to finish before I well, finish. During this process, I took my state licensing exams and passed them. I am now a licensed marriage and family therapist. I would like to help performers, not only with performance anxiety, but also with the issues that tend to plague performers: anxiety in general. Performers have lives that are in some measure "on parade." They are in front of the public in many ways. That can be difficult to manage over time.<div><br /></div><div>Too, there is some difference I think between making music and "performing" it. This is something that I am examining for myself and I think it has ramifications for others as well. The difference may be as simple as the difference between feeling authentic in the "performance" or feeling you must put on something that feels inauthentic to "perform" the music.</div>Audrey Howitt aka Divaloungerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854425983822589062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6417937960858024700.post-58156455461104276682009-07-09T15:59:00.000-07:002009-07-09T16:11:37.775-07:00The recitalI am planning my graduate recital in October of this year. The recital material is set. All the languages are covered, as are all the requisite time periods. The accompanist has been hired. I have even worked with him a couple of times already. I have just under an hour's worth of music right now. I need 45 minutes.<br /><br />To sing for 45 minutes at a performance level exhausts me when I think too hard about it. To sing in rehearsal for that period exhausts me. It is the beginning of July. All my notes are learned, most of the texts are learned--familiar--not memorized.<br /><br />Five pieces are memorized enough that I am now taking them out and working on the performance aspects of the pieces--i. e., expression, movement or lack thereof, energy, dealing with nerves. <br /><br />That leaves another seven or so to go. Today, I had my first real thoughts of "am I going to be able to do all the work that I need to do, to get everything ready?" It wasn't panic really, just the reality of the press of time: besides the music, there are all of the logistics--texts and translations together with program notes, rehearsals, memorization, advertising, a reception to prepare for.<br /><br />It seems like a lot to do. And when I feel it pressing on me, I try to do a little of it -every day--and hope that it will be enough in the long run. Besides practicing everyday to build stamina, I am aware that three pieces still need to be transposed into other keys. I started one yesterday and will work on it again today. <br /><br />Today, October 18 does not seem so very far away!Audrey Howitt aka Divaloungerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854425983822589062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6417937960858024700.post-87623699160477151242008-11-29T21:48:00.000-08:002008-11-29T22:03:36.226-08:00performance anxietySo, I am doing quite a bit of research right now about performance anxiety among musicians and I read a chapter in a fairly noteworthy book today describing performance anxiety as a type of social phobia, i.e., the fear of public humiliation. This makes sense to me logically although I had not thought of it in those terms before. I will have to think about the implications of this further.Audrey Howitt aka Divaloungerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854425983822589062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6417937960858024700.post-61557186051366810482008-05-24T18:07:00.000-07:002008-05-24T18:18:57.075-07:00IPA SourceI just discovered a wonderful source for IPA translations for singers, IPA Source. And they have a free page with some free sample pieces in IPA each month.<br /><br />IPA Source has the song in its original language, in IPA, a word by word translation and an ideomatic translation. It is a great source for singers and teachers alike.<br /><br />Look for <a href="http://www.ipasource.com/">www.ipasource.com</a>Audrey Howitt aka Divaloungerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854425983822589062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6417937960858024700.post-4766912078054736612008-05-22T17:16:00.000-07:002008-05-23T13:23:38.742-07:00Forming IntentionI feel that one of the most critical things that I can impart to students is help them form clear intentions in their singing. Singing with intentionality informs technique, interpretation, and performance. Too often, I find that singers simply start singing without forming a clear intention beforehand. This leads to confusion, anxiety, and often, a poor performance.<br /><br />At the beginning of study, it is important to allow the student enough emotional room to experiment and to notice what feels better, what sounds better. After a time, it becomes important to "ask" for certain sensations in the body that will allow the singer to produce the sounds that they desire. <br /><br />The conscious "asking" is what I hope to instill in singers. A simple, non-technical exercise will help the student to understand the value of "asking" before singing.<br /><br /><br /><br />Try this exercise. Write down a number of "intentions" onto separate 3x5 cards, using one intention per card. States of mind such as: "playful," cajoling," anxious," timid," etc. will suffice.<br /><br /><br /><br />Select a number of cards for the student to work with. Have the student start with one intention, and begin singing either a vocalise or a song with that intention. Switch the intention several times during the vocalization.<br /><br />Upon completion of the exercise, discuss with the student how the intentions helped, or hampered their abilities to sing, their feelings about singing, and their energy level during singing.<br /><br />The student will come to an understanding of how much their intentions can affect them in their singing.Audrey Howitt aka Divaloungerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854425983822589062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6417937960858024700.post-66599292943760963292008-05-21T15:33:00.000-07:002008-05-21T15:52:42.503-07:00May 21, 2008 My first blog ever!<div align="left">This is my first blog ever! Why blog? Why me? And do I really have something to say? I am a singer, a voice teacher, a recovering attorney, and a soon-to-be licensed psychotherapist (I hope!) Sounds like a lot when I write it down. Sounds like a lot in my brain, and in my schedule as well. These days, I teach voice mostly. Although, the other professions have a place in my life as well. I still research and write, for other attorneys mostly. And I will soon be taking the final exam for licensure as a Marriage and Family Therapist as well.</div><br />I am looking for a way to integrate my training as a psychotherapist into my work as a voice teacher. And though we voice teachers all laughingly state that all voice teachers really are therapists as well, I do believe that there is something to the psychology of singing. And psychology is a part of what goes on in the voice studio. This will be an area of exploration for this blog.<br /><br />I live and work in the San Francisco Bay area and love it here. I often take my dog for walks down by the water. Alameda has a bird sanctuary and a nice trail for with lookout points for viewing. Both are just a few blocks from the house.Audrey Howitt aka Divaloungerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06854425983822589062noreply@blogger.com0