Term 2- Lesson 4: 28/01/15

28th January 2015

According to my singing plan this week I was meant to finalise my recital set, I know I wanted to perform around 5-6 songs. However Im still not a 100% sure if I'm happy with all my choices. Therefore I have decided to spend an additional week finalising my set, this is a significant part of my recital and I have to ensure I am comfortable with every song I'm singing. I do know I will be singing the following:

1

royals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oidytVMD3sc

(up to 2:40 sec)

2

the letter:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk_vwKxGu3k

(3:25)

3

latch acoustic:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-K-IKAyvVs

(2:16)

4

blame it on the bogie- Jackson 5

Although these are only 4 choices, I do have many in consideration such as...

the climb: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoN7Ux9UAd8

(4:20)

use somebody:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDJvl8J0j-0

(up to 3:00)

mama do:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7cRUlhLYW8

This week coming up I have to make the final set list, reason being is so I can start to break the songs down and rehearse them properly. Next week I will come prepared with all 6 songs, and I will start to perform them to my peers so I can get feedback to help me improve- this is important because the audience reaction sums up my whole performance if it was enjoyable or needs improvement. The more feedback and advice I get the better I can improve and shape up for my final performance.

This week:

This week once again I have warmed with the same vocal exercises but I also added some tongue twisters to help with my articulation of words. I tried two different ones including:

• red lorry, yellow lorry
• selfish, shellfish

These two Helped me because they were tricky for me to get around, at the start of the week I could only achieve pronouncing these if I would say them slow, however now I can say them quicker but still quicker. I feel like tongue twisters help me because they train my mouth to pronounce words quickly without slurring. I believe it has helped with different songs in my recital set such as Royals and The Letter. I will carry on doing these exercises because they do help me with my articulation and they are enjoyable to recite.

This week I have revised Blame it on the Bogie by the Jackson 5, I like this song and I feel like my personality matches it. When I was looking for songs and came across this one I knew it would be a good crowd pleaser and would raise the energy- also a good song to put at the end of my set so the audience can remember me as an upbeat person! I need to learn the Lyrics; I have trouble learning lyrics straight away and therefore have to listen to the song constantly to get it in my head, therefore for next week I want to ensure I know the lyrics and what I want to get across to the audience, both significant things to start developing before my recital.

Overall this week has been useful, I have decided 4 songs for my recital and started to work on them by getting the backing tracks ready and cutting them where I wanted to. So now I have to rehearse more and more to get them up to performance standard. 

In class:

Today in class we started of with a warm up including:

1. Breathing exercise (breathing in for 4 and humming out)
2. Humming through a word for example 'moon' and 'voice' to get resonance
3. Minor scales going down (1,1-2-1 etc.)

These three exercises helped me in individual ways, for example the breathing one is for breath control and also to begin to build resonance in my mouth. This was useful because I want to gain more control on my breathing, especially on long notes in songs. 

After we listen to one another sing, which in my opinion helps me because I can take the positives they deliver and apply them to my own work. Also it develops my ear, listening to different styles and genres which in the long run can inspire me when choosing songs in the future. This week we gave feedback to one another, this is useful because it allows us to become comfortable to one another and take on the constructive criticism!

Did I stick with my singing plan?

I would say 50-50, I did finalise 4 songs which I want to perform for my recital but as said before Im going to take on a additional week to get all 6. This is because I want to makes sure I have made the right decision. So to ensure my voice fits the style and I can get the backing track for it etc. Like said in my plan I want to get the best out of the individual song and this process cannot be rushed. 

Term 2: Lesson 3- 21/01/15

21st of January 2014

This whole week I have been trying different songs for my Recital, including ABC, by the Jackson 5. I felt like that this wasn't the right approach for me, however I felt that my voice would suit a similar song, so further research into the Jackson 5 playlist i came across Blame it on the boogie. This is an upbeat and good crowd pleaser, a good one to have at the end of my set. In my opinion I feel like it went well, I got to experiment with a new style and end up deciding I wanted to put it on my set :)

feedback?

My feedback from this week was to learn the lyrics and have more fun, also to include the audience with your performance. A positive was that it suited the tone of my voice, it matched my personality, which in my eyes gave me the confidence to finally add it to my recital set. I think it will be a good song to end with, a good place to allow the audience to remember me by.

Did you stick to your plan? 

Yes I feel like I did stick with my plan, I experimented with a new style and found one song that I wanted to input into my set. That being the song blame it on the boogie by the Jackson 5. I feel like it will be a great contribution. 

Overall: 

This week has been really useful for me, I enjoyed trying a different genre of music, it has opened my eyes to not limit my range and knowledge of song styles. Next week Im going to start focusing on finalising my recital set, as i need to start rehearsing.

Term 2- Lesson 2: 14/01/15

14th of January 2015

What did you do in terms of practise this week?

This week I have done the usual 10min warm up everyday to keep my voice trained, this included doing exercises like lip trills, which help develop my diction and articulation because it gets the lips moving to prepare when saying words/sounds etc. It helps with warming up my diaphragm and the reason being is you are using breath control to support how long you can hold the trills- it engages your breathing, so that you become more aware. Also it releases tension which I find I have before performing a song. Therefore I find this a useful warm up before practising because it allows me to relax into the song and focus more about the initial technique, range and performance contribution instead. I have done this with every song I have practised because it warms up so many aspects of the body and mind, another exercise I did was Scales, I often use scales when warming up because it helps me become more familiar with different pitching and developing a good ear but also it really helps me to focus on my range. By starting of the scales slowly and gradually working my way up, whilst using different registers (chest, head etc.) it supports me when doing a song. By this I mean if for example I was unable to hit a section in a song I would sing it on a arr, eee- this works because it shows me the placement of where my voice should be and if I can reach the note. I also use scales when learning a song, this is because it reassures me that I know the pitching and the tune. for example I would learn the song 'there are worse things I could do' then I would sing it on a arr- by doing this it shows the range i am able to go to and confirms I'm confident on the songs melody.I have also been looking at different styles of songs, ones that have more an upbeat tempo to them, I looked at songs from this era and also the 1960's, especially ones performed by the Jackson 5, I felt like it would be a good contrast to Royals by Lorde. I also looked at musical theatre songs from the show Billy elliot and Grease.

Have you worked on your recital set?

Yes this week I have been working on my recital, I have been looking at different songs from different styles of music. I wanted to look for a musical theatre song for my recital set, one that shows a lot of character- not only do I feel like this would be a different approach (rather have all pop songs) but also it gives me a chance to work on connection with the song. I feel like I have gone along with the plan I created, this week is all about experimenting and seeing what suits my voice etc. in my opinion this week has been useful, using websites like youtube and sound cloud showed me the variations of songs and gave me ideas on what I want to perform! The songs I did look at was 'the letter' from Billy Elliot and 'there are worse things i can do' from Grease. I chose these songs because one they both have a story but also will challenge me with the timing (this is something that I struggle with and therefore if i work on it I will improve).  

How did it go?

I feel like my recital practice went really well, I did what I wanted and tried a different style. However I know I could of put a little more effort in learning the lyrics, I know this is in the details of performing but my main reason of doing a musical theatre song was to show how I connected with both a character and a story, to show I can show a contrast in my set also. Although I realise I should have done that, I didn't and it now makes it a learning curve, it has allowed me to understand the significance of knowing the lyrics when both considering, rehearsing and most defiantly performing it. However I still believe I used this week really well, I have now got two potential songs for my set :)

What did you do in class?

In class today we started of with a warm up including aligning the body posture, blowing the candle, humming out and scales. All which helped prepare my voice for the rest of the class. Once again its significant to always warm up the voice correctly otherwise you may strain the vocal chords, which will only put me behind with my development in both singing and performance. Class has now been focussed on solo singing, allowing each of us to practice and perform one of our songs from our set. I find this time useful because it allows us to experiment and get feedback from both our peers and teachers. I like listening to others, it gives me a chance to understand what an audience may want in a performance and therefore I can take that aboard and apply it to my own practice. This week I had the confidence to just volunteer and go up, I feel like I need to do this more often- although I know nerves can enhance a performance for the good, I needed to get over being afraid to sing in front of everyone and therefore the more opportunities I get the more I have to take them! (I sang 'the letter' from billy elliot the musical)

How did it help you?

Rehearsing in class is really useful, it helps build my confidence with singing in front of others, although I have performed to large audiences, when singing to a small group of 10,12,15 etc. it feels like more pressure and therefore the more i do it the more i will become comfortable with doing it. In regards to the song I sung, I felt like I was in time with the music and really focused on the articulation of the words. However I could've and should of learnt the lyrics beforehand, reason being it would allow me to connect with both the story and the audience. This is important because it would become boring if I performed it in a blank way. Therefore next time I have to make sure I at least have a better idea of what I'm singing. 

What are you going to do next?

from the feedback I got:

-learn lyrics

-connect up the words- a little more fluent

I can now take them aboard apply them for next time, advice given was to sing the song on a arr, this is because it will allow me to sing the song rather than speak the words. The next thing is to learn the lyrics and ensure I understand what I'm singing, this is important because of the connection.

Programme note for the song: Royals

The Song 'Royals' is sung by an artist called Lorde. She realised along with her albumin 2013 its in the style of pop music, it was wrote by Lorde, Ella Yelich O'Connor and Joel Little. The song is based on how many things of today is about fame and money, however not everyone can live that life and therefore the average person of today may keep reaching but not get what they want at the end- but is that such a bad thing?

I chose this song because I feel like it suits my voice in key and style. Its darker that what I usually do and therefore gave me the opportunity to explore the i can adjust my voice to sing. This songs has a lot of words in it, which was a challenge but I loved taking it on!

I wanted to put this in my recital set because it was different to my other songs, it allows me to present a darker story which hopefully will give you and me a contrast.

My 8 Week Singing Post

Singing Plan

This is my 8 week detailed plan which I'm going to follow, this will help me with my time keeping and recital prep!

TERM 2- Lesson 1: 07/01/15

7th of January 2015

Practise over the holidays:

• Over the holidays, I been practicing a few songs including the two for my mock recital. I generally started each day with a quick 10min warm up which included humming, I like to start with this because it allows my voice to open and feel the resonance around my mouth, it warms up my voice without straining it and therefore I do it at every warm up, fricatives are something i have also started to involve in my warm up more, it helped me with my breath control, this was useful for the song 'Royals' because there is a section where it gets wordy and quick, so quick outlets of breath is significant to have and support correctly. 
• Other warm ups I did were scales going up on (ah) and down on a (ee), this helped with my range- discovering how far I could go in a song, also showing me my different registers- although this didn't apply to the two songs I was preparing for my mock recital, I find its important to still do because when it does come to a song which may require a wide range, my voice will be prepared. The last warm up I would have in my set would be 'the witch', I have mentioned this before in my blog, I enjoy this because it helps bring the sound forward and allows it to become more clear. I find this useful in every song I do because it articulates what i'm singing to the audience better.
• I found that by me practicing every day for 30min-45min, was not only useful for me to keep my voice in control and at the same or better standards, but also prepares me for things like recitals- i have songs ready for class etc. Also i just enjoyed singing everyday and having a reason for doing so.
• I felt like I have improved, I have gotten more comfortable with the warm ups, and I can see my voice coming stronger with each of them. I feel like I now realise the importance of practicing everyday, not only has it sunk into my muscle memory on how to perform each vocal exercise but it shows the significance of constantly training your voice otherwise the improvements I have made will fade away.
• The next thing i'm going to do is to keep warming every day, I got to keep my voice trained, but also to start sourcing songs to sing for my recital. This is important because I need to start to rehearsing and polishing each song i'm going to sing. 

The mock recital:

what songs did you choose?
Royals by Lorde
Latch (acoustic) by Sam Smith

Why did you choose those two songs?
I choose these two songs because I felt like they were both different to one another, one was more on the beat and wordy and the other was more of an emotional connection, they both offered me different challenges- for the song Royals I had tot take into consideration my articulation, ensuring I was getting the words out to the audience, where as Latch had me focus on the timing and connection to the lyrics. I like both of these songs, I find that both have a story they want to be told although they are current pop music, they are relevant to a lot of people. 

How did today go?
I felt like it went ok today, although I felt nervous when going up to the performance space I felt like I handled it well and channeled those nerves to my songs and used them as my advantage. I know I could of done better in places, but this was a good experience to have, it showed me what I was doing right and where I could improve for next time. The audience was welcoming which made me relax and allowed me to draw focus into what i was doing and hopefully engaging them at the same time.

Feedback?
- Think about your set, have a range of songs
- Timing of the second song 'Latch', Don't get ahead of the song
- Good connection to the audience

What went well?

• Connection
• introducing the songs
• waiting for the music to finish before going to the next song
• relaxed body
• whole body was involved with the song

where needs improving?

• Timing

what can you do next?

Next time I will make sure I spend more time practising, especially with the timing, I could possibly tap the beats which will get me use to the rhythm of the song. I believe by doing this will get use to singing with instrumentals without looking at the computer screen. 

Planning for my recital (prep work)

what are you going to do week by week?
Week to week I will start clarifying my set that i'm going tot do for my recital, not just singing songs but practicing and getting them polished. This is gonna require me experimenting maybe for a week and then finalising the final 5 or 6 songs.

how are you going to determine your songs?
I want a variety in my set, so different tempos and meanings to each individual song, so when it comes to deciding my final songs. I have decided that i'm including 'royals'  in my set, i'm confident with it and it would be a good starting point. so now i know i'm singing this one i can use that to prepare the rest.

Warming up and practice- what are you going to do?

Like I did in the christmas break, Im going to spend 30-45min practicing and rehearsing my songs, of course starting with  proper 10min warm up to prepare my voice. I want to spend a week or two experimenting some songs and then once I have chosen a clear and varied set i will focus more time doing them.

TERM 1- Lesson 9: 26/11/14

26th of November 2014

This week we looked at Electro style of music, both me and two other students sung this genre. I personally enjoyed it; it was upbeat and fun to sing, it got the audience moving and joining in at times- its a feel good style. I don't normally sing this genre, however it was nice to change things up and explore, expand my knowledge on different types of music.

The features of Electro music:

• Its dance music
• Artificial sounds
• Backing track/instrumental is made of by synthesized and/or sampling sounds.
• Its made by electronics e.g. computers.
• It can have a limited range
• Short phrases
• Its very repetitive
• Lyrically quite limited
• Can lead up to the drop of the beat
• Upbeat music
• Tempo generally fast
• Strict timing

After studying these various styles, you should consider adding a song in one of these styles into your repertoire. Choose one and suggest what you will need to do (in terms of practice, rehearsal and preparation) in order to perform it well.

After listening and experimenting with these different styles, I have decided to consider the original genre I was given, which is electro. I think its different to what I usually do and will be a challenge performance wise, by this I mean not to corpse on stage and for me to get into the song and just have fun. Therefore I am going to stick with the song I sung today which was (Latch- by disclosure ft Sam smith.) To prepare myself I'm going to practice this song in front of friends and get them to perhaps laugh, or dance etc. And for me to embrace what they are doing but still running with the song, not stopping to laugh myself. this is something that can take time, however I'm going to work hard to get use to performing to all types of audiences.

Another thing with this song is that I think it needs to be performed with a microphone, considering its electro, and therefore it will push the sound a step forward. 

TERM 1- Lesson 8: 19/11/14

19th of November 2014

In class this week we looked at folk music, 2 people from our class sung very different songs but in this style. Once again this was an interesting new experience because I generally don't listen to that genre, however it was sweet and pleasant to hear- a nice change!

Features of folk music:

• Its easy to sing
• It was passed down in generations- families, social groups etc., folk music was never written down so it was learnt from listening and playing- the individual memory.
• Traditionally folk music was performed amateurs who would perhaps tour around, sharing their songs and stories.
• A lot of folk music is played by acoustic instruments such as guitars to give it that soft and gentle feeling, 
• there didn't use to be a score and once again refers back to passing the songs through word of mouth.
• its world known style of music
• its easy to pick up and enjoyable to learn

what have I learnt?

Today I have not only learnt a new genre of music, but the importance to listen and spread my knowledge on music; for me not to just stick with what I know. I feel like this will be helpful because if I learn a range of songs from different genres it will show i'm versatile and willing to try new things.