Term 1 - Lesson 1 - 17th September 2014

Lesson 1:                                                                                                               17th September 2014


Solo songs which I will be working on:

• Fallen By Sarah McLachlan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY65DC7OhmQ

• Valerie By Amy Winehouse

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkLuvhTNTwo

• Turning Tables By Adele

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGVhQ61C6IU

I have chosen these songs because they are varied, all require different styles of singing and also because I enjoy singing them. The variation of songs will allow me to work on different skills and learn further techniques to improve my singing. 'Turning Tables' from Adele requires a strong voice to reach the low notes as well as high notes. On the other hand, Sarah McLachlan's song is a softer piece where it is necessary to sing higher pitched notes in the chorus.

Personally, I think that my voice fits more with Sarah McLachlan's song and style however, I find it the hardest to sing. Therefore, my aim is to feel more confident by the end of the Music Certificate with this song, and learn techniques which will enable me to feel comfortable singing 'Fallen'.

Strengths:

• Able to sing 
• Enjoy singing
• Can sing and play on the piano 

Weaknesses:

• Holding the note down for a long period of time with control
• Singing loud and confident with high notes
• Knowing the lyrics to the whole song
• Standing with my arms stiffed whilst performing

What have I learnt

In today's session I have learnt various different exercises to warm up my voice. It is vital to warm up my voice in order to increase blood flow, breathing and articulators (lips and tongue). Furthermore, I have learn't how the posture of your standing has an enormous affect on the notes you sing.

• Breathing into 4 and out 10
• 'om' from the back of the throat
• 1-2-3 
• Humming 
• Posture for singing; lining feet with waist and shoulders, straight but relaxed back
• Buzzing to broken chords 

How has this helped me:
It has made me realize how significant warming up the voice is and how it helps to sing the correct notes. The differentiation of warm ups are useful because it prepares your vocals and avoids straining your throat. It has also helped me to feel more confident in my singing because i'm not so worried about singing a note wrong. In addition, the various warm ups has enabled me to collect a range of exercises to work at home in my own time.

What I need to work on:

• Where to place my arms instead