>1) When attempting a decrescendo,
>particularly on high notes, the method I'm instinctively using to
>decrescendo is laryngeal tightening.
>2) When stopping a tone, I do so
>glottally, cutting it off with the throat rather than just stopping the
>breath. The second one I know what to do about, and simply stopping the
>breath is actually the easier way to do it, it's just going to take a lot
of
>practice to get used to doing it the "easier" way.
Try leaving your mouth open at the end of the note, only closing it after
the sound
has stopped. This is a very common fault and unfortunatelly it might cause
you problems in the future during ensemble singing, because cutting a note
with
the throat takes a bit more time than on the breath and conductors don't
like people
who leave "tails" after they cut a note - work hard on it.
>The first one is stumping
>me, however. I'm intellectually able to understand that I need to keep the
>throat open and relaxed, but when trying to sing softer than a mezzo-forte,
>tightening up is just what my particular instrument *does*.
First of all, Do not expect of yourself too much, if your pianissimi aren't
there from the
beginning (some people have it) they will probably never be as awesome as
those of Fleta.
Also, a lyric tenor (i'm assuming you are more of a rodolfo type than a
nemorino type) does have
to carry a lot of energy to produce his high notes, so do not expect that
your pianissimi will be as easy or
as soft as it is possible in the middle of the voice or in the lower voice.
Also do not compare yourself
with your female coleagues. The female voice seems to be a bit more
flexible in regards to dynamic range.
Remember that at 23 your voice is not yet at its peak and will mature a lot
more. Don't try to bring out more than it can at any given moment.
Also I don't know about you but I find that piano production takes a LOT
more effort than forte, so au contraire of my female friends, when I'm
saving my voice I never sing piano. I sing mezzo forte, specially at high
notes. Some female teachers say that you should save your voice by singing
piano all the time and I find that it definitelly doesn't work for dramatic
voices, or at least not with mine.
Another very common fault, the one I myself have is when I sing piano is to
be slightly on the breathy side. It produces a nice sound but it doesn't
carry, so watch out for this as well. I think one has to always dose what
is one's "safe" piano. My forte is a lot louder than most of my friends,
why can't my piano be as well? A trombone doesn't work at the same dynamic
level that the flute does.
Some lyric tenors have a very well placed and nice sounding falsetto, that
we call a falsettone, these lucky people can work to go from voce di testa
to falsettone and back without a break. I have a very female-sounding
falsetto (almost a mezzo soprano of the mamma lucia type) so that is not an
option for me :)
|
|  |
