Last Weekly Reflection

This past week I mainly focused on the memorization of my pieces, my program notes, and my paper.  Over the week I accumulated about 15 hours and 45 minutes of work time.  Each day I would work on my paper or my notes for at least a half an hour and then practice singing.  I took two lessons with Kris this week focusing on how my songs sound.  On top of my Senior Project I am also in the musical, Man of La Mancha, so I have also been attending rehearsals all week since it is production week.  Also, on Monday I went to Andover Elementary with the Chamber Choir and we performed 5 pieces for their Share Day.  Share Day is when groups and people from around the community come to the elementary school and talk about their hobbies or jobs.  Also, throughout the week I have been writing and editing my paper.  I first had to compile all of my note and then I also had to look up additional information on the internet.  To complete my program notes I have also been analyzing my 5 pieces and looking up addition interesting information on them.  I can not believe that Senior Project is already over.  This weekend I will be writing my Self-evaluation paper and preparing for my review and concert later in the week.

Last Day

On my final day, today, I started by vocalizing with Kris Johnson during Chamber Choir with the majority of the cast of Man of La Mancha.  Vocalizing early in the morning is one of the most important things to do when you have a performance at night because it warms you up for the day.  After I vocalized with Kris I went to assembly where I made the announcement for my performance with Jaguar which will be on Tuesday at 3:30.  After my announcement I quickly slipped out of the assembly hall and went to meet Jen Fletcher to work on my paper on nonprofessional singing opportunities.  During our meeting Jen and I worked out the problems in my paper and she gave me a few notes on how I could make it better.  After my meeting I went back to the chapel to practice my songs.  I am memorizing my songs at the moment and making sure that I know all of the notes.  The hardest song for me to memorize at the moment is my piece in German, Heidenreoslein.  The tempo stays the same throughout the whole song so that part is not difficult, for my I have trouble memorizing the words.  Over the weekend I will be finishing up the memorization of my songs and getting ready for my review board and my recital. 

Winding Down

Today is my second to last official day of Senior Project.  I started my having a lesson with Kris Johnson.  In our lesson we went over my songs concentrating on the two songs we have not really concentrated on during our previous lessons. At the moment the main goal is for me to memorize my songs and start really working on my diction for my performance.  My performance will be on Tuesday the 26th at 3:30 p.m..  I will be performing my 5 pieces and then right after me Jaguar will be performing his pieces.  We will have an accompanist Elizabeth Blood who will be working with us over the weekend and on Monday to get ready for our performance.  After my lesson with Kris I worked on my paper on nonprofessional singing for a while.  I have been focusing on outlining my interviews in the paper and explaining what I have learned over these past few weeks.  After I worked on my paper I worked on my 5 pieces.  I tried singing a few of them without my music to help my memorization.  Tomorrow, I plan of finishing up my paper and my program notes, as well as having a lesson and starting my evaluation paper.

Writing Day

Almost my entire day today was filled with writing.  I started out by taking notes on my interview with Sarah Will.  In my notes I identified the key points from our conversation that I would like to use in my paper.  Next, I started writing out my program notes.  For my program notes I had to look up the years in which the composers arranged the songs and I also had to find out why they wrote the songs.  Whether they were written for an opera or just as solo songs for vocal lessons.  I also had to depict the mood needed for each piece, noticing if it was an up beat love song or a sad and lonely song.  After I wrote my program notes out I started to type out my paper on nonprofessional singing.  My paper is somewhat of a guide as to how you can get involved in professional singing.  I note each person that I have interviewed, telling their story and explaining how and why they have found that they need music in their life.  I also have been looking online at the American Choral Directors Association website and reviewing their newsletters.  In the newsletters they state up coming and past singing opportunities and the music groups involved in them.  Later in the day I also vocalized and reviewed my songs just for extra practice.  Tomorrow I will have a lesson with Kris again to work on my pieces.

Lesson and Research

Today, I started out my day by vocalizing with Kris and a few other singers in Chamber Choir.   In Chamber Choir Kris gave us time to do work because most of us have the play at night.  After Chamber Choir I had a singing lesson with Kris.  During my singing lesson we worked on three of my songs; Ridente la Calma, Heidenroeslein, and Come and Trip it.  I am starting to get to the point in learning my songs where I am trying to memorize the words so that I can sing them without my music.  Kris and I worked on my diction, meaning how my words sound as I sing, and on my accuracy on specific notes.  This kind of work is the hardest work because it is so specific.  After our lesson I started to look up notes for my program notes.  In my program notes I will be focusing on the song meanings and the composers.  Also, I will be looking into why the songs were written.  I also worked on my songs later in the day.  This is important because I need to really focus on specific work and knowing my songs completely.  Tomorrow I will be working more on my program notes and my paper on nonprofessional singing. 

Share Day

Today Chamber Choir went to Share Day at the Andover Elementary school!  Share Day is a day where the students at Andover Elementary learn about everything from singing to rock climbing.  Chamber Choir went over and we sang 5 pieces for them.  We same two songs in Latin, Ubi Caritas and Sicut Cervus.  We also sang a song in Croatian, Na Me Pogled, and two spirituals, Witness and Keep Your Lamps.  Later today after share day I went to play practice and vocalized again.  I also worked on my pieces throughout the day.  I slowed each song down so that I would work on specific notes.  Specifically I have been really working on my German song,  Heidenroeslein. I have been working on placing the correct words and word sounds with the correct notes.  Surprisingly this is a very difficult task.  Each sound is very different and when you have to speed the song up to tempo it can be very difficult to keep the accuracy of notes and words.  Tomorrow I will be working more on my research for my paper and my program notes.

Week Two Reflection

This past week was very busy at times and then very slow.  I succeeded in accumulating my goal of 15 hours so that I can reach my final goal of 45 hours.  Over this week I was really concentrating on the notes and words in my 5 pieces.  As I get closer to memorization the way I sing the songs will become more important.  I have also been attending Chamber Choir and in class we have been working on ensemble singing without a conductor.  This past week I have learned a lot about blending my voice with the other voices around me.  Also,  I learned that you should never feel shy about being a leader in a coral group because if everyone sings like a leader the overall ensemble has a fuller sound.  Later on in the week Kris and I worked on my practice habits during one of our lessons.  I learned that it is better to work very slowly on 1 song for a long time than to work on all 5 of my songs for the same amount of time.  This has helped me really focus on getting each song better.  I am excited to see how it helps me improve next week.  I also finished up my interviews with an interview with Sarah Will.  In our conversation we talked a lot about how music can enrich your life and how it can be great to do on the side to help you connect with other people.  This up coming week I will be writing my program notes, finishing my paper on nonprofessional singing, and finishing up my work on my 5 songs.  It is going to be a very busy week!

Busy Day

Today was a very busy day for me, I started out by going to Chamber Choir in the morning.  During Chamber Choir we practiced singing in ensemble again and making sure that all of our voice parts blended well together.  After Chamber Choir I had an interview with Sarah Will.  We talked about how she has always played music throughout her entire life and how she has found it easy to find musical groups around her.  Sarah said that the reason that is sings and plays the piano is because that is how you can really get to know someone.  Through connecting with people in a musical setting you can really get a grasp of their personality without speaking.  I found my interview with Sarah very informative my next step in my paper is to look up musical groups around me and organize the information.  After my interview with Sarah I had a singing lesson with Kris.  Kris and I went through my German song, Heidenroeslein, very slowly working on my pronunciation and my rehearsal skills.  I learned today that to really practice effectively I need to slow down my songs and go through each note slowly and separately until I have them correct.  After my lesson with Kris I met with Anne Swayze, my Senior Project Mentor, and we talked about how my project was going and my upcoming goals. 

Language Barrier

Today was an uneventful day of sorts because I all I really did was practice.  I had a meeting scheduled with my mentor, but it had to be changed to tomorrow, so during play rehearsal when I was not needed I went up into the lobby and practiced my songs.  I also worked with Sophie Florian on my German pronunciation.  I must say the german language is much harder to pronounce properly than it seems.  Sophie coached me through each word repeating the ones that I found harder as many times as I needed till I got them right.  Unfortunately, I have the feeling that this will not be the last time that I have to go over the German words in my song.  It seems every time I try and put them to words I loose the syllables again.  After Sophie helped me with my German I went to the chapel and practiced again.  I worked on putting my newly learned German words to music and practicing my broken Italian.

Lots of Practice

This week is all about practice for me, starting with memorization of my songs and learning the words to my song in Italian and my song in German.  Today, I started out by going to Chamber Choir where we focused on how to sing in a group without a conductor.  We stood in a circle around the piano  away from our voice parts and started a few old pieces that we sang on our tour of Croatia.  By doing this we singled out the problems that we have been having note wise and also showed who really lead the group.  The purpose of the exercise was to show that everyone in the choir needs to be a leader and put effort into the group sound.  After Chamber Choir I had a singing lesson with Kris and we worked on the German and Italian pieces I am singing.  Kris and I practiced adding the words to the songs and on the pronunciation of the languages.  Later in the day I went back to the chapel and worked by myself singing my songs without the piano or a recording.  This is a big step because it means that I have actually learned the songs instead of just copying or following a recording.  Tomorrow I will be practicing some more and working on the more difficult parts in my songs.

Practice Again

I started my day out today not doing Senior Project but instead taking my AP Biology exam, so as you might imagine singing came as a welcome break.  Today, I worked on taking notes on my interview with Lynn Cox.  From my interview I learned that it is always easy to find other singers around you who care about music.  I also learned that it is never too late to take in interest in music because as Lynn explained to me she began singing in college and has found it a lifetime love.  I am interviewing Sarah Will on Thursday and after I interview her I will be compiling my notes and planning out what I am going to do with the information that I have gained.  After I reviewed my interview with Lynn I went to the Chapel to sing.  In the chapel I sang for an hour and a half warming up and practicing my pieces.  I have found that if I first sing as the recording plays and then sing my songs by myself I learn them more quickly.  Tomorrow, I hope to take a lesson with Kris Johnson and work on the pronunciation in my Italian and German songs.

Weekly Reflection

This past week I have felt like I have done some good work on my Senior Project.  I have begun learning my songs as well as interviewing two faculty members, Lynn Cox and Kate Jones, on nonprofessional singing opportunities.  Over this past week I have accumulated 15 hours and 40 minutes which will help me reach the needed goal of 45 hours over three weeks.  I have spent many hours finessing my way through my new songs strengthening my voice and getting ready for my recital.  This upcoming week, I will be talking with Kris Johnson and determining a date for my recital.  This past week I have really worked on outlining my songs and I feel that I have set myself up well for the coming weeks.  This week I will begin looking up information on the program notes that I will be writing and outlining more ideas on the information I have learned about nonprofessional singing opportunities.  This week will be a very full week!

Interview Time

Today I started out by interviewing Lynn Cox.  In our interview Lynn and I discussed how she became involved in singing for the first time in college after playing the piano all her life.  Lynn told me how she has always found it easy to find a group to sing with where she could enjoy the music and the people around her.  She also helped show me how no mater where you are in your life you can always find a group to sing with.  Lynn said that for her singing is more about the people who you sing with and the music you create.  Lynn helped me see that even as I move through life I will be able to have a career and sing for enjoyment on the side.  After my interview with Lynn I went to Chamber Choir.  In choir we practiced applying different dynamic levels to our old songs.  We also practiced one of the spirituals that we learned at the Plymouth University festival with Andre Thomas.  Andre Thomas is an expert on spirituals and how they should be sung.  In our workshop with him he directed us to use a fuller sounding voice and put stress on certain syllables of the pieces.   Today Kris went over Andre Thomas' suggestions with us and helped us follow his suggestions.  After Chamber Choir I practiced my 5 solo songs.  Right now this is a very important part of my daly work because I can not work on how my songs sounds until I have them known.

More Practice

Today for my senior project I practiced my songs and listened to them on youtube again.  Right now my main goal for my project is to learn the notes to my songs so that I can focus on how they sound.  To learn the notes of my songs I sing along with a recording while I look at the music.  This helps me learn the tempo as well as the words to the songs.  I am mainly focusing on my two songs in foreign languages, Heidenroeslein and Ridente la Calma.  These are the hardest sings form me to learn because of the languages.  Therefore I need to learn the notes faster so that I can focus on pronunciation.  Also, today I worked on taking notes on my interview with Kate Jones.  In my note taking I listened to my recoding of our interview and pulled out key aspects that are going to be useful to my paper.  I am also going to use my notes and the recorded interview to plan my research on nonprofessional singing.  Tomorrow I am going to interview Lynn Cox and hear about her experiences in the singing world.    

Practice Time

Today for my senior project I had a lesson with Kris where we worked on outlining the notes of my 5 pieces and distinguishing the hard parts.  Most times this initial work of outlining the pieces is the most important work because it helps the singer know which part of the pieces he or she needs to concentrate on.  Also, it is easy to look over the easy notes and learn them incorrectly so outlining the songs helps avoid this.  Later in the day I worked on listening to the notes again on youtube and singing through some of the difficult parts of my 5 songs.  After my lesson with Kris I went to meet Kate Jones for our interview.  In our interview, Kate and I talked about her experiences having Kris Johnson as a choir director when she was a senior in high school and how her experiences helped her want to continue with her passion for music and come back and sing with him as a peer.  Kate and I also talked about how the be a professional singer you need to have a certain drive and that if you do not have that drive, or if you found that drive too late in your life, you can still sing with good choirs nonprofessionally.  Kate explained to me that she found that where ever she went she could always find someone around her interested in music and singing nonprofessionally.  I plan on using Kate's advise and experiences in shaping my paper and later my own plans for nonprofessional singing. 

Song Selection

Today, my second day of Senior Project I started picking out the 5 solo songs that I am going to perform at the end of the term.  When Kris and I were selecting my solo songs we decided that we wanted to pick a range of songs including songs in German and Italian.  Also, Kris and I wanted to choose songs that had a range in sound and vocal dynamic.  The list that we came up with is tentative at the moment but I am planning on singing; Goodnight my Someone from the Music Man, Heidenroeslein, The Call, Come and Trip it, and Ridente la Calma.  All of the songs that I am planning on singing will showcase my voice's strengths and challenge my vocal weaknesses.  After I chose my songs with Kris I was sent off to do the painfully boring task of photocopying them.  After what seemed like forever I was finished and got to work.  Tonight, I spent over an hour in the Chapel looking up my songs on youtube and working through the options so that I could have good resources to help me learn them.  Tomorrow, Kris and I plan on working out the general idea of all of my songs so tonight my job was to find accurate recourses that would allow me to work alone.  To find accurate recourses on youtube you have to first listen to all of the possible options and then find one that sounds correct and is clear enough to use for practice.  I also continued my work on my paper setting up interviews, my first one is tomorrow with Kate Jones.  We are going to talk about how she got involved with Non-professional singing.

Day 1 Senior Project

Today was my first official day of Senior Project.  I am doing a half project which means that I am still going to my afternoon activity which is the musical, Man of La Mancha, and attending my AP Biology class until the AP exam.  Part of doing a half project means that I do less for my senior project a day because I have other responsibilities.  Today I started off my project by attending Chamber Choir and singing with professional singer Martha Guth.  During our master class with Martha we learned about the importance of proper breathe mixture when you sing.  She had us doing different exercises like singing while bent over to see where we were tense and running around while we were singing.  Martha also focused on our vowel sounds and the energy in our voices as we sang.  When directing us to hit top notes she asked us to concentrate on hearing the note in our minds and then singing it.  Also, Martha asked us in our master class to visualize the note by saying, "think first then sing."  After I sang in the master class with Martha I came back for a private lesson.  During our lesson she helped me focus on my vowel shapes and posture.  Martha pointed out to me that by slightly changing your posture you can drastically increase the vibrancy of your voice.  Also, in my lesson with Martha we focused on using my full voice and not being ashamed of how loud it is.  She helped me realize that even though during choral singing you want to blend with the others around you when you are singing solo pieces you want to use your full voice because it helps with vibrancy.  At the end of my lesson with Martha she had me apply what I learned with her to one of my solo pieces.  Quickly, we saw the difference in quality once I sang in the proper form.  I also started setting up meetings with the three Proctor faculty members that I am going to ask why they chose to sing non-professionally and then write my paper on their responses and my own research.