Vocalist.org archive


From:  Gina <classicalsinger@e...>
Gina <classicalsinger@e...>
Date:  Mon Jan 8, 2001  2:48 am
Subject:  warmth in the top


Hi,

I finally found my rep, my fach, and my teacher. I am a dramatic
soprano and I have a great teacher. Luv the stuffings out of this
person and respect her too. So what's up, you ask? My teacher has me
keep my voice forward but "dark" which really means "round." When I
listen to myself on recordings, it seems I have a brilliant quality on
top. I dream of being able to have more warmth in top. I have checked
all the technical things that I know of to make sure I am singing
correctly. I make sure the tongue is not retracted, jaw isn't locked or
stiff, I am supporting, not spreading my mouth position, the palate is
up, body in good alignment. It just seems that I have a lot of
penetrating power and not too much "float". Part of the technique I
have been taught is not to "lift". No lifting cheeks or smiling or
lifting the lips off the teeth. The breath style is "lean out" though I
don't push out all the time. I find on top I stop pushing out/down and
let the abdominals come in and up. I have been taught low larynx, open
throat and one voice all the way up, no registers or adjusting anything
for the top. All works well, very reliably and I am happy, but I want
prettier high notes. There's good spin in the tone- no wobble and no
glaring technical things going on. Am I just asking for too much here
or can I get a prettier, rounder, clearer tone? Not to say that it is
breathy, which it isn't. One thing that occurred to me is pressure on
the base of the tongue. What would that sound like in the sound? What
would that feel like? Could the vowel AWE in the top cause this and
would AE as in CAT be better without spreading the mouth into a smile?
We're talking minor, minor adjustments here cause not a lot is wrong.
I also carry like mad- you can hear me in Timbuktu. Maybe when I am on
the stage it will correct itself, but right now the venues I sing in are
all small. I have been told not to sing so loud (NOT by my teacher),
but I can't help it. If I sing "correctly", it's just loud. What do
you knowledgeable people think? I am just being picky but I want to be
perfect!




  Replies Name/Email Yahoo! ID Date Size
8122 Re: warmth in the top Lana Mountford   Mon  1/8/2001   6 KB
8123 Re: warmth in the top Gina   Mon  1/8/2001   9 KB
8125 Re: warmth in the top Gina   Mon  1/8/2001   4 KB
8126 Re: warmth in the top David Grogan   Mon  1/8/2001   3 KB
8127 Re: warmth in the top Gina   Mon  1/8/2001   2 KB
8130 Re: warmth in the top Karen Mercedes   Mon  1/8/2001   2 KB
8136 Re: warmth in the top John Alexander Blyth   Mon  1/8/2001   3 KB
8137 Re: warmth in the top Gina   Mon  1/8/2001   3 KB
8158 Re: warmth in the top John Alexander Blyth   Tue  1/9/2001   4 KB

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