Musical Theatre

"As more and more classical singers consider the possibility of branching out into non-classical singing, and as actors acknowledge the very real possibility of getting more work if they can sing, musical theatre becomes a particularly attractive option for both groups. Yet the breadth of training and skill that is essential for musical theatre performance frequently comes as a surprise. Singing for musical theatre is enormously demanding. It requires the ability to handle a wide variety of vocal genres as well as robust good health to do regular shows eight times a week". (Melton. 2013)

As my interest lies on Musical Theatre I have been practicing songs from musicals in my singing lessons with Valerie Reid. I am currently looking at "On My Own" from Les Miserables. The song begins in the key of D major, modulating to Bb major, then ending in F major. It is the most important song for the role of Eponine. In the song, she expresses her unrequited love for the character Marius, and how she dreams of being at his side but knows his love is for Cosette and not for her.

My feedback on this was to try to stick to the 'military timing' of the song with my diction when singing. I also need to learn when to take breath so as to be able to sustain the higher notes and also the more powerful ones. Val said to "drive the notes forward with my chest voice and avoid using my head voice or tailing off when I run out of juice" I need to push my chest voice and practice singing forward from the diaphragm, at present I tend to panic and sing falsetto before I need to.

Arrangements

After much debate over what to do for my independent work I have decided to look into arrangements. I struggle with songwriting as I feel my lyrics are mediocre until I write about something that I am passionate about and I feel like I have exhausted these options. Therefore I am going to research arranging songs and changing the genre of a song.

I'd like to orchestrate an arrangement which demonstrates what I have been developing over the course of the module, my vocal range and my breathing. Therefore I will look at transposing songs into different keys, as well as changing the tempo, instruments and harmonies. I intend to research Jessie J as her voice spans an extensive range and her songs showcase this. 

I will also research Jazz and Gospel, in the hope of taking a modern pop song and arranging it into a jazz or gospel piece. I intend to look at artists such as Ella Fitzgerald and Eva Cassidy.

Singing Lesson Progression

"Improving your singing voice takes a willingness to experiment and the discipline to practice what you learn. It's not rocket science - it just takes time to build new vocal habits and the ability to make your singing a priority" (Surmani. 2011)

I have been continuing my singing tuition with Valerie Reid. My aims for these sessions are to learn how to control my breathing, learn to breathe from the diaphragm, learn to maintain and sustain my breathe and to develop my range. Previously I have identified as a mezzo soprano, but knowing my actual range will enable me to develop this and I will be able to pick songs that showcase my vocal ability.

Before I can develop my range I need to know my existing ability. We worked on some scales in the lesson and Val is confident that I will be able to reach and sustain higher notes through practice and learning new technique. Currently I can sing from a Bottom F to an E flat but with the potential of reaching higher notes.

"You will quite likely find one or two spots where your voice breaks or "cracks". This is normal and simply reveals those parts of your voice range that are not often used." (Alburger 2014)

As you can hear, because my voice is out of practice it cracks on a few of the higher notes. With practice I hope to comfortably access these notes. When approaching a high note I tend to panic and go from my chest voice into falsetto without finding any middle ground. In my lessons with Val I am pushing to find these middle notes and add them to my range so that I can comfortably sing them.

"This is also good breathing exercise to help you with breath control. If your recordings reveal that you take breaths in mid-sentence or that the volume of your voice fluctuates this will help. Practicing regularly will increase you lung capacity and speaking power as well as vocal range." (Alburger 2014)

Vaudeville

As part of my solo assignment I have decided to write a cabaret-esque style song in the style of classic vaudeville or music hall. With my background of Musical Theatre I would've loved to have wrote a piece for a musical however I just don't have the music compositional knowledge. In the past I've wrote more commercial songs, classic pop ballad's about love or loss and this year I want to do something outside of the box and challenge myself with my writing. My aim was to explore my range, therefore I intend to write something that will showcase this.

I have therefore began research into cabaret, music hall, parody, and comedic songs. These songs tend to be short, catchy and simple. With lyrics pertaining to something relating to the audience - generally middle/working class. The majority of acts use only one instrument, usually a piano or guitar as accompaniment and let there voices and the lyrics do the work. Music Hall was immensely popular in the 1900's but went "out of fashion" after the Second World War. However, Variety Theatre as since been revitalised in shows such as Britain's Got Talent, which finds acts to perform at the Royal Variety Performance. Comedians especially are picking up on musical comedy (which is what I am focusing more on) for example Bill Bailey, Victoria Wood and Billy Connelly all touching upon it.

I will also look at exploring my voice through vocal characterisation, for example Mein Herr from Cabaret. with a view to possibly creating a mini show piece. Below is an example of something along the lines of what I'd like to create. I give you Bill Bailey's "Texting Song".

I hope that by writing in different styles I can improve my songwriting and create a successful piece for my assessment.

Geordie Proms

On November 1st 2015 I performed at The Sage Gateshead with Sunderland Choir alongside Royal Northern Sinfonia, Bradley Creswick, Dodici Voice, Sarah Fox, Andrew Kennedy, Graeme Danby and Val Reid. The event was entitled "The North East Last Night of the Proms" but colloquially nicknamed The Geordie Proms and showcased local performers. It was the 26th show, which have been performed annually at Newcastle's City Hall, however new artistic director Graeme Danby moved the venue to The Sage, one of the UK's most prestigious music venues.

For the first time ever I was required to sing in a different language, two different languages in fact, as we performed Habanera from Bizet’s Carmen and Mascagni’s Easter Hymn. In French and Italian respectively. This was no easy fate as I don't even consider myself a competent singer in English, however I persevered an I really enjoyed the experience. Once I was familiar with the language sounds the words came and I think we eventually sounded great. Challenges arose with diction, phonetics, interpretation and language translation for singers but being able to sing in a foreign language is such a skill that we worked through them. This set list was also my first experience with classical music and I surprised myself by being able to keep up with confident classical singers. It was definitely a big step up from my musical theatre roots but I gained experience in an entirely different singing style and I look forward to future projects. We also performed classical British pieces, Jerusalem, Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory. As well as a choir version of Sting's pop hit 'Fields of Gold' which we performed in four-part harmony!

Below is The Easter Hymn, as H.L. Mencken says “Opera in English, is about as sensible as baseball in Italian.” 

Anatomy of the Voice

Before I can hope to become a better singer it is imperative that I understand the anatomy of my voice and how to use it correctly, therefore I have undertaken research into how to sing safely.

Karyn O'Connor, a professional vocal technique instructor says "Vocal technique is as much a science as singing is an art form. While, initially, a student may have to concentrate very hard on his or her breathing, tone placement and muscle control, these techniques will become easier, more natural and even automatic in time, making singing much more enjoyable." 

Breathing;
An "effective breathing technique is essential to good singing. Part of the process of studying voice is developing an acute awareness of the actions involved in breathing and exploring them in depth."

I am to gain control with my own breath, and a greater understanding of the potential that breath carries for me as a performer. Therefore allowing confidence in my breathing.

Diaphragm;

The diaphragm is a muscle/tendon that extends across the bottom of the ribcage, dividing the torso in two. It is dome-shaped, curving up toward the centre. It moves up and down as it expands with a persons breath. As the ribcage and diaphragm move, the lungs are stretched, drawing air into the lung or the lungs are compressed, pushing the air out, which is what happens as we breathe. Being able to sustain my breath will allow me to hold notes for longer and sing with a more powerful sound.

The following areas vibrate 'sympathetically' with the air column. Below is a list of resonators and the pitches or vocal qualities that most easily activate them:

Chest and Lower Body - low pitches and open sounds, like 'ah'
Throat - mid-range, easy speaking tone
Mouth - upper mid-range, mid-vowels
Nasal - closed, front vowels, especially when followed by a nasal consonant such as 'n' or 'm'
Facial - high range, front vowels
Sinus - Given that there are so many sinuses, many different quality sounds activate them
Bones and Skull - falsetto and head voice, very high range, closed vowels.

'Placement' of the voice generally describes how the vibration of the air column interacts with these structures to accentuate or diminish the size of the formants. The term 'placement' indicates where one feels the augmented vibration due to the change in the relationship of the formants to areas of the body.

Ensemble singing

Being able to sing as part of an ensemble is a difficult yet imperative skill. It essentially means singing as part of a chorus or group, which sounds simple enough however when singing as part of a multiple part harmony there are several things a singer has to concentrate on. First the singer must know their range and be able to follow their own harmony line, this means singing in tune and in time whilst the people around you sing something entirely different. It can be hard to remain fully concentrated and I personally tend to try to match pitch with the person beside me. This is also an issue for me if I'm singing lead and I get confused and start singing the backing/harmony line and vice versa.

Since joining Sunderland Choir my ensemble singing has improved greatly. I find it much easier to match pitch with other singers and with the piano, for instance before we rehearse our pianist Tim will say "here's your starting note Alto's" and I can match it with my voice which is something I previously struggled with. I feel like already my range has improved just from singing more often, your voice is like a muscle and the more you use it the more flexible it becomes. "When proper diaphragmatic breathing technique is employed, and when a singer's endurance is being tested, the intercostal muscles can get a very good workout. Muscle fatigue is especially common amongst new vocal students who haven't yet built up strength in these muscles and are isolating them during singing for the first time." O'Connor, K (2015). By singing more frequently I am strengthening the muscles required to sing well and therefore improving my ability as a vocalist.

Dr Dr Eiluned Pearce conducted a study into "whether there was something special about singing as a bonding behavior" as part of a series of studies looking at how music strengthens relationships. The co-author, Dr Jacques Launay, said "music-making had been an important part of all human cultures throughout history" and “evolved to serve some purpose”. He added that “Evidence suggests that the really special thing that music does for us is encourage social bonding between whole groups of people playing and dancing together". She concluded that "Singing acts as a bonding behaviour among adults, making it easier for people to make new friends."

Photo taken of Sunderland Choir at the North East Proms. November 1st 2015