8531 "Who's in my shoes." Don't worry about the notes, start higher than the starting pitch. Speak above the first note, then eventually join with the final note. Try not to make the first high note the same every time. Have the feeling that you're tumbling/gliding down from above to the top note. The more closed vowel aids in the steadiness of the tone.
867564534231. "why oh why oh." Then eventually use the "wh" just at the beginning and just isolate the vowels.
"gae lae" on 5432123454321. The "g" should feel the same at the top every time. Don't push the "g" at the beginning. Keep paying attention to the final pitch steadiness.
8531358531. [be de be de] The return to the top should be identical to the start. Have more "ugh" in the throat. Don't punch the "b" at the beginning. The only thing you're doing is letting your lips fall apart. It's a change in thought, not what you're doing. Have more "ah" in the throat.
"ay ay yo yo ay ay" 13-35-58-85-53-31 etc. Transition to the [o] vowel around C5; think of where in pitch you're at, rather than where in the exercise. [o] is just small lips in the front, with large space in the back.
Think of the space as being behind the top molars, not behind the nose. Make observations: feels like you're singing out of the back your head. Extend the vocalize to 13-35-58-83-38-85-53-31. Allow for plenty of release/energy in the jaw. Don't think about making space, but think about finding it.
It's not you doing it wrong--it's the brain trying out new things. Determine what you want to feel, ask for it from your body, and look for it as you sing. Try out moving the face/twitch. Be careful not pull your chin back into your neck. Have a sense of looking up "Sistine Chapel" style.
Feel like the head and the chin can move away from each other easily; both the head-jaw are free from each other.
1-51-81-51-81 "ay." Think of the highest pitch as you sing the lowest note.
12345-54321-12345678987654321. "ning ning niiing" The vowel space for [i] should be different for every single pitch. It's incremental. It's not necessarily an external space, but an internal space--it should be adjustable, not static. "bigger bigger biggest." If it's accompanied by pressure, that means there's a narrowing somewhere. Every time there's upward motion, space is increasing (sense it). Space is what happens when I expect it to be there, not when I do something. It's as if the sound vibrations themselves take up more space, rather than making more space. If the sound needs more space, it just passes through what ever is "in the way."
Each note is an entirely separate entity. "shake finger" at each note.
12345678987654321 [i e o e i]. "Conscious vowel change." Jaw feels like it gets looser and looser as the pitch gets higher. Remember the vowel formant chart and ovals.
Because I felt best on the bottom fifth of the exercise going down, we started just going down; then we added in "soft" ascending slowly back into the exercise. Pay attention to the space at the beginning of the vocalize to when you come back.
"Brassiness" in the sound even when you feel release is due to a lack of behind-the-molars space.
"Feel the cool air on the roof of the mouth before you sing." 8-7654321-2345678. "hey"
Once you get used to that space, you can add in more energy while you're experimenting with "soft/minimized" sound to get used to the feeling of refreshing, or "starting over."
When you go to work on your music and you're having trouble, make your music a vocalize so you can practice those good sensory snapshots.
Don't allow the contour of the melody to dictate where you approach the note.
Don't sing dot to dot. The voice is buoyant, but the gesture is large.
Take-Aways:
- Space behind the molars
- Each note must have its own adjustment
- Know your pitfalls so you can go back and fix them
- Have the feeling of "refresh" every time you go to sing.
It's so weird listening to these recordings, because even when I feel pretty good singing, I notice a lot of problems that didn't seem like a big deal to me before. It's a real big eye-opener.
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