In a message dated 5/5/01 11:50:02 PM, BdwayDiva1@a... writes:
<< I lost my voice after I spent 1 day singing Beethoven's 9th symphony
for 3 hours in 1 day in choir. One day is all it took of me to lose 2
octaves off my range, and was stuck with 1 1/2 octaves for about 3
weeks. AS far as maturity goes, I practiced more than I have ever
practiced this semster. I practied at least 2 hours every day every
day. I was assigned very difficult music for a freshman, such
as "Hello, Oh Margaret it's YOu" from the Telephone, and Rejoice
Greatly O Dauthers of Zion" form the Messiah, "Willow Song" fromt he
Ballad of Baby Doe, and "Saper Vorreste" from Un Ballo in MAschera,.
All in all, I worked on 10 songs this semester. I AM mature. >>
Hi Clarissa,
It sounds as though you've been having a rough time, and I sympathize.
However, we all go through rough times, and part of maturity is accepting
that the "difficult patches" that we hit sometimes are actually some of our
greatest learning and growth opportunities.
I applaud you on getting up and singing well after an assault. That takes
guts and determination--qualities that you will definitely need if you want
to have a singing career.
And I also admire your dedication to practice. Regular practice is a MUST if
you want to develop. Sometimes it can feel as though you are going nowhere,
but you must have the dedication to hang in there, and keep trying. I think
that you have what it takes to persevere.
But there is another component to maturity that is absolutely essential for
singers--and that is knowing how to care for and protect yourself. You only
have one instrument--and because that instrument is very delicate, you can't
practice the way an instrumentalist can, singing full tilt for hours on end.
You say you are practicing two hours a day. Is that straight through, or do
you practice for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening? Do you
sing when you are tired? Do you allow yourself a gentle warmup, or just
plunge into difficult arias? Do you practice high-lying coloratura an octave
lower when learning the notes? Do you spend time just studying the music and
words at the keyboard? Actually, you don't even need to sing to practice.
Just going through the motions, planning your breaths, mouthing the words
while thinking of all the vowel sounds and consonants, checking your posture,
etc can do a world of good.
If your choir rehearsals (which I assume are required) become too taxing, you
need to have a strategy for self-protection. Learn to "mark" and sing that
way for most of the rehearsal if need be. NEVER sing until you are hoarse,
and if you do become hoarse, stop singing immediately. You need to discuss
this with your teacher, who I am sure can help. Sometimes when we're tired or
involved in the emotion of the performance we can stray from the healthy
technique that we practice in the studio--you need to understand how this can
happen and protect yourself from potential injury.
You only get one voice. And it sounds as though you have not yet fully
learned how fragile that voice can be, or how to take care of it properly. I
suspect that you also need to know how to take care of yourself emotionally,
so that you have less frustration and are better able to recognize problems
and deal with them in a more productive way. I wish you good luck, and
please, talk to your teacher about what you've posted here. That's what voice
teachers are for!
Judy
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