Vocalist.org archive


From:  Margaret Harrison <peggyh@i...>
Margaret Harrison <peggyh@i...>
Date:  Fri May 11, 2001  3:07 am
Subject:  Re: [vocalist] reading skills or rather a lack thereof.........


Karen Mercedes wrote:
>
> Does anyone else find that when one sight-reads a piece for the first
> time, one's vocal technique pretty much goes out the window?

Yes! That's why I spend a lot of time working the music
methodically and slowly into my voice before I spend time
practicing the music all the way through. I even avoid
memorizing the music until the music is working well in my
voice (though I will work on memorizing text separate and
apart from the music), and when I do work on memory, I hum
or sing softly, and in a much lower key - so I don't press
my voice and work in wrong habits. That way, I maximize my
time doing the music the "right" way, and minimize the time
doing it the "wrong" way. I think that's why, in the olden
days, voice teachers didn't want students singing except
when under the teacher's supervision. Nowadays, tape
recordings of lessons can fill the gap!

Peggy

--
Margaret Harrison, Alexandria, Virginia, USA
"Music for a While Shall All Your Cares Beguile"
mailto:peggyh@i...

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