Music: Singing lesson report

[mdlbear]

I see that I have managed to get way too close to bed-time without a post for today, so I will keep my streak going by reporting briefly on this evening's singing lesson.

I came in a little early, as usual, and caught the tail-end of the previous student's lesson. Fun -- she's a member of a local band and has a very nice voice. I also think it's valuable for me to hear how Nancy works with other students.

In addition to the usual exercises there was something new: singing through a straw. I remarked on the fact that it felt a lot like playing the kazoo. Apparently it relaxes your vocal folds and improves your breathing. There's a pretty informative article on it at Straws for Voice, but there's no need to buy one of their $2 aluminum straws -- just go to the grocery store and grab a package of paper ones.

Lessons tend to be about half exercises and half working on songs. Today we worked on Pete Seeger's "Get Up and Go", which I'm hoping to sing at Mom's birthday party in a couple of weeks.

Something seems to have clicked a month ago when I restarted lessons after stopping them last December. Darned if I know what, but I've gotten a lot better at singing intervals. I'm hitting a lot of notes that were problematic before.

There was also an earthquake. Normally one doesn't feel a 2.6, but we were practically on top of it.

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Comments

[mneme]

Ooh, thanks for the info on singing through a straw. THe practice seems not dissimilar to the way practice on a woodwind can improve your breathing, fight snoring, etc. And the fact that yo ucan do a fairly strenuous vocal workout through a straw without bothering your co-workers is a big deal--I've eliminated a lot of desk clutter since we moved into a wework, but I still have a one plastic straw on my desk I can use.