15 year old me: Dad, why do you have to sing in your opera voice all the time?
My 8 year old students today: That was kinda loud, Ms. Perryman.
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10 year old me: Don’t make me wear that outfit Mom, it’s too loud.
My 11 year old students: Well, that’s an interesting outfit, Ms. Perryman.
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19 year old me: Mom, why do you pronounce that word so nasal and sing with your mouth like that?
My current 4/5th grade chorus now pronounces their Latin words very American, just like their teacher has been known to do (as seen on the comments below.) I also see them moving their neck around just like I do when I am checking for singing tension.
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The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree indeed. Even though I don’t have my own kids, I get to take a lot of kids under my musical wing every year. And now, not unlike the mannerisms I have inherited from my parents, I see some of my musical quirks coming out in my students.
This is why I got a special chuckle when the judges at our recent competition pointed out that the kids need to sound less American on their Latin (just like Ms. P) and they remarked of course about enunciating more of the diction (a familiar Ms. P pitfall.) A few years ago I fell off the piano bench (not sure why.) I yelled “keep going.” This last Friday a special soloist limped up to the mic with her broken foot because no broken bone was gonna stop her. A gal after my own heart.
So besides foreign language pronunciation issues, I present some of the challenges that I continue to tackle with my tough love opera coach who is thorough yet kind.
Today’s Coaching Takeaways:
1. Avoid the vague vowel temptation.
Translation: I sing fake vowels cuz I get scared and want to control my singing.
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2. Give needed TLC for the necessary Rs and Ls.
Translation: Sometimes, just like Jan Brady, I forget to pay attention to my Ls and Rs.
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3. Find more tacea oo and less vocal hammer.
Translation: I sing too loud and push certain songs. I need more oo in my singing.
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4. Ain’t nobody got time for melisma pit stops.
Translation: I randomly stop for no good reason when I have to sing a lot of fast notes.
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5. Remove singing boots on allegro ascending runs.
Translation: Like a bull in a china shop, I have been known to sing too heavy when I go up a fast scale.
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6. Turn off antenna and put vowels into HD mode.
Translation: My Ah Ay Ee Oh Oo vowels aren’t always clear. I need to sharpen them up.
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7. Avoid sounding like a chicken on notes less than a beat.
Translation: My voice likes to stroll. Bessie doesn’t move too fast. When a song calls for it, I need to make sure that I making a good sound no matter how quickly I have to sing.
#gratefulfortime
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