Advanced Singing

Instructor: Izolda Trakhtenberg

301-441-3005, izolda@izolda.info, http:/www.folknouveau.com/class4.htm

Warm-ups (to be done before every time you sing. Use warm-up and stretch from Disk 1)

1. March in place (2 minutes) (Singing uses muscles that must be warmed up in to function at their peak)

2. Deep breathing (three-part breath) preparing lungs and maintaining a column of air

3. Yawning

4. Stretching:

a. Shoulder roll (five on each side)

b. Half neck roll (left side to front to right side and back)

c. Half neck roll to the back

d. Neck stretch (turn neck to the side and stretch and then for a deeper stretch turn chin down to the shoulder)

e. Arms above head stretch (lift both arms and stretch the right arm up lengthening your ribs and then follow with the left arm)

f. “C” stretch (lift arms above head clasp right hand with left and curl your back while extending your arms. For an added stretch, turn in the direction of the arm clasping.)

g. Shake out hands

h. Face scrunch

i. Face big

j. Yawn

k. Horse noise

l. Yawn with “Ah”

m. Yawn with “Ah” bent over

5. Posture (preferable to stand when singing so you can keep an uninterrupted column of air)

a. Practice standing to sing. Stand with both feet shoulder width apart, your knees slightly bent and your spine straight. Pretend someone has grabbed the hair at the very top of your head and is tugging it upward slightly. Jaw is loose and breathing is relaxed.

b. Sit comfortably upright with your torso resting on your sit bones. Sit in an uplifted way with your feet flat on the floor and your gaze at a comfortable level with your eyes and jaw relaxed.

Week 1: Vocal Relaxation

1. Vocal Facility
1. On Da da da da da da da, Use your breath and relax your vocal folds and the area around your throat to sing this preparatory exercise. (Tracks 1 & 2)

i. Try the exercise on Ah without the consonant

ii. Now sing the exercise a tempo on da da da da da da da da same exercise on Ah (Tracks 3 & 4)

iii. Now sing the exercise a tempo an Dah (track 5 and 6) And now on Ah without the consonant (tracks 7 & 8)

2. Grace Notes, keep vocal folds relaxed and think of singing the notes as quickly as you need on Da da da da da da slow (Tracks 9 and 10) and now on Ah slowly (Tracks 11 and 12)

i. Now sing the notes at medium speed on Dah (tracks 13 and 14) and now at medium speed on Ah (tracks 15 and 16)

ii. Now sing the notes on Dah a tempo (tracks 17 and 18) and now on Ah a tempo (tracks 19 and 20)

3. Kitty Kitty Kitty Kitty Cat, Meow. Keep unvoiced consonants unvoiced. Keep throat relaxed. Move through the vowels quickly and lightly. (tracks 21 and 22)
4. Puppy Puppy Puppy Puppy Dog, Bow Wow. Keep unvoiced consonants unvoiced. Keep throat relaxed. Move through the vowels quickly and lightly. (tracks 23 and 24)
1. Tongue twister – Moose noshing much mush (track 25)
2. Songs for the week:
1. Ubi Caritas (tracks 77 – 79 Individual parts, Track 80 All parts)
2. Shto Mi E Milo (track 81 All parts, tracks 82 – 87 Individual parts)
3. Choosing solos

i. Aria – Introduction to the aria - A vocal piece for solo singer and orchestra, generally in an opera, cantata, or oratorio.

ii. Rise Up, Singing

Week 2: Transitions

1. Do warm-ups 1 - 5

2. Vocally moving across transition from Chest Voice to Mid-range to Head Voice
1. Octaves (Women: slow, (tracks 26 & 27) a tempo, (tracks 28 & 29). Men: slow, (tracks 30 & 31) a tempo (tracks 32 & 33).
2. Octaves descending in pitch on Ah, (tracks 34 & 35) on Oh (tracks 36 & 37) on Oo (tracks 38 & 39).
3. Ah Ee Ah Ee Ah (do mi so mi do fa la fa do re mi re do) (tracks 40 & 41)
3. Tongue twister - Twelve twins twirled twelve twigs (track 42)
4. Songs for the week
1. Ubi Caritas (tracks 77 – 79 Individual parts, Track 80 All parts)
2. Shto Mi E Milo (track 81 All parts, tracks 82 – 87 Individual parts)
3. Solos

Week 3: Upper Range

1. Do warm-ups 1 - 5

2. Singing high notes using low volume, control of breath, relaxed vocal folds to lower the amount of breathiness (tracks 43 & 44) soft high long notes
3. Tongue twister: Lovely lemon liniment (track 45)

a. Add pitch variation to all tongue twisters. Go up scale.

5. Songs for the week
1. Ubi Caritas (tracks 77 – 79 Individual parts, Track 80 All parts)
2. Shto Mi E Milo (track 81 All parts, tracks 82 – 87 Individual parts)
3. Solos

Week 4: Pitch/Chromatic Scale

1. Do warm-ups 1 – 5
2. Major/Minor recognition and singing on Pitch
1. Listen to the pitches and sing the appropriate ones (tracks 46 & 47)
3. Chromatic scale
1. Work the chromatic scale using your voice to move up each half step. Keep supporting with the breath. Do Di Re Ri Mi Fa Fi So Si La Li Ti Do. Do. Do Ti Te La Le So Se Fa Mi Me Re Ra Do. (tracks 48 & 49)

i. Chromatic Scale: G Slow (tracks 50 & 51), A tempo (tracks 52 & 53)

ii. Chromatic Scale: A Slow (tracks 54 & 55), A tempo (tracks 56 & 57)

iii. Chromatic Scale: C Slow (tracks 58 & 59), A tempo (tracks 60 & 61)

2. Listen to the first set of notes (the first is the major scale interval and the second is the chromatic scale interval) and then sing them along with the CD. Keep pitch true. (tracks 62 & 63)
3. Tongue twister: (Rear Wheel [try on different pitches]) (track 64)
4. Songs for the week
1. Ubi Caritas (tracks 77 – 79 Individual parts, Track 80 All parts)
2. Shto Mi E Milo (track 81 All parts, tracks 82 – 87 Individual parts)
3. Solos

Week 5: Vocal quality across registers

1. Use visualization to keep quality in voice while moving from note to note quickly
1. Sing the following on Na na na na na na na na. Keep pitch true and return to the correct first note in each set. (tracks 65 & 66)

i. Try with faster speed (tracks 67 & 68)

2. Sing the following on Na na na na na na. Keep pitch true and listen to the notes you are supposed to sing. (tracks 69 & 70)

i. Try with faster speed (tracks 71 & 72)

2. Tongue twister – A big black bug bit a big black bear. [try on different pitches]) (track 73)
3. Songs for the week

4. Ubi Caritas (tracks 77 – 79 Individual parts, Track 80 All parts)
5. Shto Mi E Milo (track 81 All parts, tracks 82 – 87 Individual parts)
6. Solos

Week 6: Practice

1. Shto Mi E Milo and Ubi Caritas practice together and with individual work

a. Individual work with attention paid to breath, vocal quality, resonance

2. Tongue twister - Toy boat. Toy boat. Toy boat.. [try on different pitches]) (track 74)
3. Ubi Caritas and Shto Mi E Milo (track 81 All parts, tracks 82 – 87 Individual parts)
4. Individual solo work

Week 7: Practice

1. Same as above
2. Tongue twister - Friendly Frank flips fine flapjacks (track 75)

Week 8: Practice

1. Same as above
2. Tongue twister – Many an anemone sees an enemy anemone (track 76)

Lyrics

Ubi Caritas Lyrics

Ubi caritas et amor Deus ibi est

Ubi caritas et amor Deus ibi est

Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor

Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor

Exsultemus et in ipso jucundemur

Et ex corde diligamus nos sincero

Et ex corde diligamus nos sincero

Sincero

Ubi caritas et amor Deus ibi est

Amen

English translation:

Where love and loving-kindness are together, God is always there

Since Christ’s love has gathered us all together in one company,

Let us rejoice and take delight n Him, now and forever,

Let us now without any reserve or deception love one another.

Shto Mi E Milo Lyrics

Shto mi e milo, milo i drago

Vo Struga grada, mamo, du kian da imam.

Le a le varay mome, mome Kalino,

Vo Struga grada, mamo, du kian da imam.

Kogo no voda, voda mi odat,

So tiya shto mi, mamo, shto mi shareni.

Le a le varay mome, mome Kalino,

So tiya shto mi, mamo, shto mi shareni.

No o va is for is for strudenee

Tam da se strush-ki mamo strush-ki so berat

Le a le varay mome, mome Kalino,

Tam da se strush-ki mamo strush-ki so berat

This song compares a grandmother to a gold coin. Both are precious to the family.

Sources:

Peter Hunt, Voiceworks, 2001.

(Edited by) Peter Blood and Annie Patterson, Rise Up, Singing, 1992

Richard Miller, The Structure of Singing, 1996

Madeline Bruser, The Art of Practicing, 1997

Maurice Duruflé, Ubi Caritas