Find Your Sacred Voice Advanced Workshop Syllabus
Instructor: Izolda Trakhtenberg, 301-437-2730,
instructor@healersarts.com
Warm-ups (to be done
before every time you sing. Identical to warm-up from the Beginner Workshop)
1. March
in place (2 minutes) (Singing uses muscles that must be warmed up in order 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. Neck
stretch 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. Shake
out hands
g. Face
scrunch, Face big
i. Horse
noise, Yawn, Yawn with "Ah"
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.
Breath Review (and next steps)
1. Deep
breathing correctly. Stomach is
relaxed and expanding out on inhalation.
Ribs are relaxed and expanding and shoulders are relaxed and down.
Objective: increase breath control & length of tones.
a. Exercises
|
Sound |
Scale |
Directions |
|
|
Hm |
Up scale |
Sing on so fa mi re do - no vibrato, keep forward a little buzz - keep all
head voice |
1 |
|
Ah |
Up scale |
Sing Ah, and hold for 4
count, then 6 count, 8 count, 10, 12, (work up to 14) |
2 |
|
ah ah ah ah |
Up scale |
Concentrate on the pulse of
each note and support each with your breath. Start with note held for four beats, then move to two
notes held for two beats each, then four held for 1 beat each and end with
one four beat note. Breathe between each note attention on pulse. Pulse with
mouth open and 1 inch space between teeth. 1/4, 1/8, trips, 1/16 |
2 |
2. Introduction
of concept of compression and breath
a.
holding tension in back and sides
b.
support from abdomen, thighs, and buttocks
c.
tonal quality of beginning, middle, end of breath
Blend
3. Circle
(sing to finger on moving tones)
a. Ahhhhh,
Ehhhh, Eeeee
b. Oh,
Ooh
c.
|
eh ah eh ah eh |
Up scale |
so fa me re do |
stay in compression,
release but don't let go |
6 |
|
eh ah eh ah eh |
Up scale |
do mi so mi do |
stay in breath - vowel
stays in same place |
6 |
Harmony
1. Do
warm-ups 1 - 5
2. Pitch
differentiation and introduction to intervals Track 8
a.
sound bright Track 9
b.
sound sad Track 9
c.
sound open Track 9
3. Learning
parts (sticking to your own part) Track 10
a. melody
(sopranos, usually)
b. harmony
(altos and tenors usually)
c. supporting
tones (basses usually)
d. holding
your part and punctuating melody line Track 16
|
Part 1 |
Ah |
do mi so mi fa - mi re
do --- |
melody |
17 |
|
Part 2 |
Ah |
so mi so la ti - la ti
do --- |
blend, but let melody shine |
17 |
|
Part 3 |
Ah |
do - so - do - so
-(down) do ---) |
blend, but let melody shine |
17 **18, 19** |
|
1. mi, me, ma, mo, moo (n, l, t, f, s) 2. mi ma mi ma mi ma mi ma
mi (n, l, t, f, s) |
Up scale |
do re mi fa so fa mi re
do As going up in pitch, lift
eyebrows, smile, and project resonance into your sinus cavity. Support with breath. |
20 |
|
meh
mah meh mah meh |
Down
scale |
so
fa me re do Focus
on supporting your chest voice with your breath. |
21 |
|
ah ee, ah ee ah ee ah ee ah |
Up scale |
do mi re fa mi so fa re
do. As going up in pitch, lift
eyebrows, smile, and project resonance into your sinus cavity and especially
your head on the high "ee." |
22 |
|
Kwaheri
(traditional Kenyan) 46-48 Kwa- he- ri, kwa- he- ri, m- pen- zi kwa- he- ri, Kwa- he- ri, kwa- he- ri, m- pen- zi kwa- he- ri Tu- ta- o- na-
na te- na tu- ki- ja- ri- wa As I Mee Walked
(Renaissance Eng.) 31-33 As I mee walked (Repeat
here) In a May morning I heard a bird
sing, "Cuckoo." As I mee
walked Lachen 55-57 Lachen, lachen, lachen, lachen (Laughing,
laughing, laughing, laughing) Kommt der Sommer über das feld, &n
bsp; (Comes
the summer over the field) Über da-as feld kommt der Sommer, Ha ha ha lachen über das feld (Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing) (Comes the summer over the field) (Over the field comes the summer, Ha ha ha,) (Laughing over the field) |
Om
Shanti (Hindu peace chant) 37-42 Om, shanti, shanti, shanti,
shanti Om If
The People Lived Their Lives
(Russian) 34 If the people lived their
lives As if it were a song For singing out of light Provides the music for the
stars To be dancing circles in
the night Under the Sky (Round) 49-50 Under the sky, Under the sky, We are all one family, Under the sky We are all one Family under the sky (Over
the field comes the summer, HaLachen über das feld. (Laughing
over the field) |
Sources:
(Compiled
by) Kate Marks, Circle Round, 1993.
(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
Libana,
"Fire Within"Songbook, 1990
Libana,
"A Circle Is Cast" Songbook, 1986