Monday 6th January 2014
Singing Assessment
Today was our Singing Assessment for the unit Singing Skills for Actors and Dancers for our second project Singing Showcase. The assessment involved us doing a warm up, performing some of the pieces we've learnt and then repeating musical phrases. Our assessment was video'ed as evidence.
As the assessment started I made sure to check my posture and alignment. This was so I could start the assessment with confidence and feel relaxed. As this was the second assessment I didn't feel as nervous as last time but I knew what I had to do so I didn't have any worries.
We started the assessment by performing a few warm ups to prepare out voices for the assessment.
These warms ups included:
- Sirening (with Lip Trills)
- Arpeggios
- Tongue Twisters: "Lily Likes Lollipops"
After we warmed up our voices three of us volunteered (including me) to teach the others a warm up each, these were student-led warm ups.
These warm ups included:
- Susie - Tongue Twister: "My Mummy Makes Me"
- Somer - Song with actions: "Chicken Tikka, Mango Chutney"
- Charlie - Lip Trill: Lawn Mower
After we then performed "You Raise Me Up".
The second part of the assessment was repeating back musical phrases with Chloe who came into our assessment.
Sirening
I always enjoy Sirening as a warm up exercise because it's a gentle way to ease into other warm ups. Through the last project I can execute the exercise correctly and confidently, even the Lip Trills with practise outside of lesson.
I felt I performed the exercise well and even though we're not graded in our ability to warm up in this project I still think it's important to perform them to the best of your ability.
Arpeggios
I think this is a really good exercise to do after Sirening because you're only touching on the different notes when your perform the Sirening exercise and this exercise allows you to warm them up further. It's important to warm up your voice slowly and not strain your voice.
Tongue Twisters: "Lily Likes Lollipops"
I always really enjoy doing this exercise as it's a fun and simple exercise to do but allows you to start thinking about your articulation and diction. It is quite hard to do at first as you need to really think of your tongue placement to fully articulate the words correctly and clearly.
I always really enjoy doing this exercise as it's a fun and simple exercise to do but allows you to start thinking about your articulation and diction. It is quite hard to do at first as you need to really think of your tongue placement to fully articulate the words correctly and clearly.
Each exercise we do warms up one factor of using our voice for singing, this gradual warm up is focused and allows us to sing to the best of our ability. Thankfully, as I have been practising the warm ups outside of class I was confident with them all and was able to perform them to the best of my ability, and really warm up my voice effectively.
Student Led Warm Ups
Alison didn't tell us that during our assessment she would ask for volunteers to teach the rest of the class a focused warm up. I thought this was a really good idea as it tested our knowledge from the previous project but also any outside singing training and/or knowledge. It was also a fun and different way to learn!
Susie - Tongue Twister "My Mummy Makes Me"
Susie's Tongue Twister:
"My mummy makes me mash my M&M's on a Monday morning."
This phrase was then repeated again going up the scale.
Susie's Tongue Twister was one I hadn't heard before and I really enjoyed learning it. It took me a while to actually get the phrase correct but once we had repeated it, it was a simple one to learn. I had to place an emphasis on the sound of "M" during this phrase, I didn't realise how difficult that actually was as you had to ensure you had pressure when putting the lips together to create that sharp "M" sound. Going up the scale with this phrase was also a great way to develop it and I thought Susie made a great choice of a warm up.
I will defiantly use this Tongue Twister in the future as it's something which I thought was challenging but warms up your vocal chords and works on the direction and articulation of your voice so what you're saying is clear for an audience.
Somer - Song with actions: "Chicken Tikka, Mango Chutney"
My Warm Up Song:
Performance of "You Raise Me Up"
We went through "You Raise Me Up" and were given the feedback to make it soft and gentle and then performed it for a final time.
I really thought this ensemble piece was the best one we had learnt as, as a group the voices blended well together and their were lots of layers added to create a loving atmosphere due to the harmonies. Once the song's tone was more soft and gentle the sincerity and loving-nature of the song was really emphasised.
So that my performance was as sincere and loving I thought of someone who was special to me whilst singing it so if there was an audience they would believe the love and gentleness in the song and connect with it.
I'm glad I went through the words before the assessment and my personal harmonies because this meant my performance was confident and accurate singing wise so as an actor, I could focus on my emotional performance and connect to the audience.
This ensemble piece gave me a little glimpse of how complicated but how awarding working as an ensemble can produce a different performance. Through this ensemble piece we learnt musical material and followed the directions and instructions of our singing lecturer by concentrating on our listening skills. By practising the material we are given so the cues were accurate. Learning the words were challenging but all these skills will help me in the future if I ever perform an ensemble piece again, which after this project I hope I do!
Singing Back Musical Pharses - "Mama Who Bore Me"
In the last part of our assessment we had to repeat a musical phrase which was sung by Chloe.
The musical phrase was from "Mama Who Bore Me" from the musical Spring Awakening:
I hadn't heard of this musical phrase before so I really had to pay attention to all the detail of the phrase and kept thinking back to the parts our singing lecturer told us to focus on when singing back musical phrases. I knew that I would need to distinct this as it was repeated criteria and I merited last time.
I made sure to really concentrate on the volume and the changes in pitch. Also the extension of the certain words such as "Mama" and "so" for the correct length of time. Also the ending of the song "sad" is much deeper then the rest. Hopefully I had paid close attention to these I have succeeded in singing the musical phrase back with accuracy and attention to detail.
After the Warm Ups and Workouts I gained a wider knowledge of using my voice accurately and efficiently. Warm Ups and Workouts were far more technical based and gave me a basic idea of what is needed for singing. This next project, Singing Showcase, enabled me to start using that training and work on the performance of a piece.
At the start of the project I wanted to use my confidence I had gained from the other project to use in my performance. I went into this project with an open mind and couldn't wait to discover more. Due to this positive attitude I think I have prospered in this project and for someone who isn't a singer with no singing training, I've increased my knowledge and experience with this project and ensemble singing overall.
I have really improved my memory of learning lines through the rehearsal process of an ensemble piece through class and independent work. Memory is a skill which is needed to perform accurately and through allow the rehearsals to run efficiently when time is significant. With this new skill I can perform confidently within the classes and workshops and improve my performance overall.
Our project brief told us we have to imagine we were part of an entertainment team so the project had an emphasis on our performing skills to the emotion we portray, like in "You Raise Me Up", to characterising the song, like in "The Rhythm of Life". This project emphasised our performing skills to an audience so as an actor, I would want to connect with the audience so this thought and skill in singing I'm now aware of as it can really make a postive impact during a performance.
I have gained a repertoire of new songs I know and can perform if needed. These songs feature from a range of different styles and we have touched on different styles of singing and have gained experience doing this. I think there's always room to improve and gain more experience but with this project I am confident to say I am already a more versatile performer.
I've really learnt to work as a group which is a new experience and a fulfilling one too. This project has really helped my self-discipline in this project in others too. As a student it's important to give your full co-operation when working with your peers and your lecturer.
I've had high commitment through this project by setting myself suitable aims to achieve independently through practising regularly. By doing this I have really been able to get the most out of the project and has given me a glimpse of what I need to do to succeed in the performing industry.
I worked hard by giving myself postives, improvements and aims each each session and following the SMART target idea.
Now that I have experience with working as an ensemble I can't wait to start using that independent experience during our solo project "Auditioning". I really feel overall in singing I have gaining confidence and knowledge, and a sense of what I can do with other skills (such as, acting in my case) to perform to the best of my ability.
Susie's Tongue Twister was one I hadn't heard before and I really enjoyed learning it. It took me a while to actually get the phrase correct but once we had repeated it, it was a simple one to learn. I had to place an emphasis on the sound of "M" during this phrase, I didn't realise how difficult that actually was as you had to ensure you had pressure when putting the lips together to create that sharp "M" sound. Going up the scale with this phrase was also a great way to develop it and I thought Susie made a great choice of a warm up.
I will defiantly use this Tongue Twister in the future as it's something which I thought was challenging but warms up your vocal chords and works on the direction and articulation of your voice so what you're saying is clear for an audience.
Somer - Song with actions: "Chicken Tikka, Mango Chutney"
My Warm Up Song:
"Chicken Tikka, mango chutney and a pint of Lager,
Chicken Tikka, mango chutney and a pint of Lager,
Chicken Tikka, mango chutney and a pint of Lager,
With naan and pilau rice!"
With this song came actions. The following actions were along to "Chicken Tikka", pulsing hands with palms down to "mango chutney", a drinking motion to "pint of Lager" and it finished with one hand out for "naan" and then the other out for "pilau rice" coming together for a clap.
The song gradually went up the scale as you sing it. Our lecturer had the idea to develop it by increase the pace of the song.
I really wanted to take part by volunteering to do a warm up as it's something fun and simple to do, but also allows you to make a contribution and as an ensemble project full co-operation and contribution is vital for succeeding.
The song wasn't over complicated, and I know from experience that when there is an overly complicated song people lose confidence and don't take part as much as they could. Therefore, a simple song was the easiest to do. I went through the song first and then once I knew that people had caught on I went to teach them the actions. The actions went to the beat of the song and were again simple.
As performers, we need to learn to multitask efficiently and accurately, so by doing a song with actions emphasises how much concentration performers need. It also starts to warm up the need of concentration during the assessment too. The lecturer's idea to develop it by increasing the pace was great because as the pace increased it become slightly more difficult and the concentration levels increased.
I thought this was a really fun warm up exercise to do with the class, and I proved myself by being confident and volunteering, which is something I would not have done at the very start of the project. I can really see myself growing as a confident performer with this project and this unit overall.
Charlie - Lip Trill: Lawn Mower
Charlie's exercise was using the Lip Trill as if it was a lawn mower by extending the length of the Lip Trill and holding out our hands as if we were pushing the lawn mower.
This again was a really fun exercise to do. As our hands had to make the movement of the lawn mower they couldn't be used to stretch our lips for a more prominent Lip Trill. There was more power needed in the Lip Trill and gave the mouth a really effective stretch and warm up.
I hope we get to do more student-led warm ups and exercises and it's a really fun experience to do and something new! I thought it was interesting the different things people did to warm up and gave me a wider knowledge of exercises to do when warming up!
Performance of "You Raise Me Up"
We went through "You Raise Me Up" and were given the feedback to make it soft and gentle and then performed it for a final time.
I really thought this ensemble piece was the best one we had learnt as, as a group the voices blended well together and their were lots of layers added to create a loving atmosphere due to the harmonies. Once the song's tone was more soft and gentle the sincerity and loving-nature of the song was really emphasised.
So that my performance was as sincere and loving I thought of someone who was special to me whilst singing it so if there was an audience they would believe the love and gentleness in the song and connect with it.
I'm glad I went through the words before the assessment and my personal harmonies because this meant my performance was confident and accurate singing wise so as an actor, I could focus on my emotional performance and connect to the audience.
This ensemble piece gave me a little glimpse of how complicated but how awarding working as an ensemble can produce a different performance. Through this ensemble piece we learnt musical material and followed the directions and instructions of our singing lecturer by concentrating on our listening skills. By practising the material we are given so the cues were accurate. Learning the words were challenging but all these skills will help me in the future if I ever perform an ensemble piece again, which after this project I hope I do!
Singing Back Musical Pharses - "Mama Who Bore Me"
In the last part of our assessment we had to repeat a musical phrase which was sung by Chloe.
The musical phrase was from "Mama Who Bore Me" from the musical Spring Awakening:
"Mama who bore me, Mama who gave me,
No way to handle things,
That make me so sad."
I hadn't heard of this musical phrase before so I really had to pay attention to all the detail of the phrase and kept thinking back to the parts our singing lecturer told us to focus on when singing back musical phrases. I knew that I would need to distinct this as it was repeated criteria and I merited last time.
I made sure to really concentrate on the volume and the changes in pitch. Also the extension of the certain words such as "Mama" and "so" for the correct length of time. Also the ending of the song "sad" is much deeper then the rest. Hopefully I had paid close attention to these I have succeeded in singing the musical phrase back with accuracy and attention to detail.
Evaluation of Singing Showcase
After the Warm Ups and Workouts I gained a wider knowledge of using my voice accurately and efficiently. Warm Ups and Workouts were far more technical based and gave me a basic idea of what is needed for singing. This next project, Singing Showcase, enabled me to start using that training and work on the performance of a piece.
At the start of the project I wanted to use my confidence I had gained from the other project to use in my performance. I went into this project with an open mind and couldn't wait to discover more. Due to this positive attitude I think I have prospered in this project and for someone who isn't a singer with no singing training, I've increased my knowledge and experience with this project and ensemble singing overall.
I have really improved my memory of learning lines through the rehearsal process of an ensemble piece through class and independent work. Memory is a skill which is needed to perform accurately and through allow the rehearsals to run efficiently when time is significant. With this new skill I can perform confidently within the classes and workshops and improve my performance overall.
Our project brief told us we have to imagine we were part of an entertainment team so the project had an emphasis on our performing skills to the emotion we portray, like in "You Raise Me Up", to characterising the song, like in "The Rhythm of Life". This project emphasised our performing skills to an audience so as an actor, I would want to connect with the audience so this thought and skill in singing I'm now aware of as it can really make a postive impact during a performance.
I have gained a repertoire of new songs I know and can perform if needed. These songs feature from a range of different styles and we have touched on different styles of singing and have gained experience doing this. I think there's always room to improve and gain more experience but with this project I am confident to say I am already a more versatile performer.
I've really learnt to work as a group which is a new experience and a fulfilling one too. This project has really helped my self-discipline in this project in others too. As a student it's important to give your full co-operation when working with your peers and your lecturer.
I've had high commitment through this project by setting myself suitable aims to achieve independently through practising regularly. By doing this I have really been able to get the most out of the project and has given me a glimpse of what I need to do to succeed in the performing industry.
I worked hard by giving myself postives, improvements and aims each each session and following the SMART target idea.
Now that I have experience with working as an ensemble I can't wait to start using that independent experience during our solo project "Auditioning". I really feel overall in singing I have gaining confidence and knowledge, and a sense of what I can do with other skills (such as, acting in my case) to perform to the best of my ability.
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