Lesson 8 - 9th November

1. Latin music

Language

• This is the one characteristic that is shared among nearly all Latin American musical styles. Spanish and Portuguese are the two main languages found in the majority of this music, though Spanish-based Creole is also used in some music coming out of Haiti.

African Rhythm

• African music has a distinct rhythmic sound that is a major influence on many Latin American styles of music. Those included are the Dominican-Merengue, Bomba, Cuban Rumba, Puerto Rican Salsa, and the Columbian Cumbia.

Spanish Decima

• The Spanish decima is a song form that consists of 10 lines, each with eight syllables in them. This is a characteristic of more traditional Latin American music, though it is still seen in some of the modern pop music in the genre today.
  2.
  I didn't received any feedback today.
  3.
  Christmas song: Jingle bells
  Mock recital: We will rock you - Queen  , Mercy - Duffy
  4. What is a diphthong?
  
  
  A diphthong is a sound made by combining two vowels, specifically when it starts as one vowel sound and goes to another, like the oy sound in oil.
• The sounds of “ou” in “out” and of “oy” in “boy” are diphthongs.
  
  

Lesson 7 - 2nd November

1.
Over this half term, I practised the vocal warming and breathing exercises, I rehearsed the song that I'm working at. In my room, I always sing in front of the mirror so I can see if I'm breathing correctly. I also practised some tongue twisters, my favourite is the one where you have to say "comical economist" on scales, I'm using this exercise because it gets my brain thinking about the technique and it loosens up my muscles. Before I start practising I'm setting a target so I can finish when I accomplish it.

2. Blues music

Melody and Harmony

The harmony of blues music mainly focuses on the first, fourth and fifth chords of a combination. So, if the musical piece starts in the A chord, next chords will be fourth 'D' and fifth 'E' chords. And for G as the starting chord, the following chords would be C and D. This is exactly similar to the standard relative chord combinations. When it comes to melody, blues music also consists of an emphasis on the flattened third, fifth and seventh notes of a major scale. These notes are traditionally played in a blues scale.


Rhythm

The rhythm is also a unique characteristic of blues music. The rhythm is based on the 12-bar and 48-beat repetitive pattern. The three above-mentioned chords are played for 12 bars. Normally, the bar is divided into certain numbers of beats for different chords. 

Lyrics

Lyrics are also to be placed in blues music in a different manner. The verse of a conventional blues song comprises three lines. The first two lines are more or less the same, followed by the third. Most of the time, the first two lines are the same, and have question-like lyrics. The third line, is the response to the first two lines. So, the lyrical structure becomes in the AAB pattern. Singing first two lines is divided among eight measures in a 12-bar, whereas the rest four measures consist of singing the third line. Thematically, blues lyrics concentrate more on sadness and disappointing stories; such as poverty, lost relationships, death, violence, racism, and so on. Hence, verses are in a question-answer format.

Musical Instrument Sounds

Earlier, the banjo was prominently used as the main instrument for blues music. However, in the early 1900s, guitar and piano were added. Nowadays, as this music has become so innovative, many other instruments have been added as a standard. Basses, drums, and harmonica are included in the blues scene today. Using various instruments is the chief reason why there are many branches in blues music found today.

3.
My allotted style was classical, I can't sing classical songs.

Lesson 6 - 19th October

I decided to work on the song of Queen, "we will rock you".

Who are you?

Are you a man or a woman? Young or old? Rich or poor? Well-educated or not? Are you mad? Are you ill?

Woman, young, rich, not, yes, no

Where are you?

Are you on your own? Or in a crowded room? Or are you actually on stage?

On stage.

Who are you singing to? (And are they actually in the room)?

Are you singing to a specific person? Or imagining singing it to someone? Are you singing to the audience? Are you singing to yourself?

Imagining that I'm singing it to someone

What are you hoping to achieve by singing this?

Are you asking for forgiveness or understanding? Are you getting something off your chest? Are you trying to win someone’s heart?

I'm getting something off my chest.

Is what you are singing carefully considered or spontaneous?

Spontaneous.

Does anything change over the course of the song?

Do you change your mind about anything over the course of the song?

No

Lesson 5 - 12th October

I felt like the performance was really good. We singed together as a chorus. We didn't had any troubles and our synchronization worked well. I think that everything went good because of the rehearsals that we've done during the term, so when was show time we were  ready to perform.
Working together as a team and setting everyone's lines but also the vocal warming exercises and the things that we've learned about how our vocal cords should work helped us in our process.
To improve my practice regime after the course I should take care of my vocal cords, to rehearse more and to do tongue twisters and vocal warming exercises.

Lesson 4 - 5th October

   This week I've rehearsed the lines of the song "American Boy" which I'm going to perform with my group on next Wednesday in the theatre.
   In today's lesson, first we've done breathing exercises, then the "s" sound which helps us control the amount of air that we expel, in the beginning we've done it from 1 to 4 and we've end up  at 1 to 14 but Philip said that we should be able to make it from 1 to 20. Then we've done the hum exercise, we started by making a basic “hmmm” noise in our throat in a lower to a higher range then the same sound with our mouth open. Humming is a great way to warm up and relax the muscles of your throat, face, neck, and shoulders, and it can also help you control your breathing. Then we've practiced tongue twisters in different pitches. Tongue twisters are great for articulation practice, and if you say them in different pitches and at different volumes, they are a great way to warm up before singing. After this, Philip split us in two groups and we've rehearsed our song together as an ensemble. 
    To make sure that the rehearsal is efficient and effective we have to concentrate, take it serious, be patient and listen to what every each person has to say. We have to outline our goals, to know what the point of the practice is beforehand so that we have a clear checklist of what we're working on. I think that it's too much for everyone to constantly work 3 hours, i suggest that we should have a 15 minutes brake so we can refresh our minds a little bit. We need to have open communication, this creates a more productive atmosphere that everyone is happy to be a part of.

Leson 3 - 28th September

   First of all we have to keep a good posture to have the best air flow and therefore the best sound, If we're standing, we have to keep our feet flat on the floor, shoulder width apart. Balance equally on both legs. Keep our head up and shoulders back. Every part of our body should be in the same line.
Second, we have to breathe deep, normally, but conscious of keeping our shoulders low and our chest relaxed. We need to concentrate on breathing lower staying loose throughout your core. Philip told us that if we need to, we can place a hand on our stomach to remind yourself that that's the part that should be moving up and down, not our chest and shoulders. As a third exercise we've done an "s" sound (like a hiss) when you exhale to control the amount of air that you can expel.

To keep our voice healthy we should :

•    Drink warm liquids. Ice cold water will just clam up our vocal folds, very literally. Drink water to keep your body well hydrated, and avoid alcohol and caffeine. Our vocal cords vibrate very fast, and having a proper water balance helps keep them lubricated.All these things constrict our throat and keep us from sounding our best.Warm teas or room temperature water are the best choice. If we choose tea,we have to make sure it's not scalding hot. 
•    Not abuse or misuse our voice. Avoid yelling or screaming, and try not to talk loudly in noisy areas. If our throat feels dry or tired, or our voice is getting hoarse,we ave to reduce our voice use. The hoarseness is a warning sign that your vocal cords are irritated.
•   Not clear our throat too often. Doing it too much can injure them and make you hoarse. Try a sip of water or swallow to quench the urge to clear. 

Lesson 2 - 22nd September

1.
Love yourself - Justin Bieber
Don't let me down (acoustic) - Chainsmokers
One dance (acoustic) - Drake
2.
weaknesses:
I have troubles with confidence, I'm scared to sing louder, i tend to be a perfectionist and i feel like i'm not doing my best.

strenghts:
I have a wide vocal range, i can sing the harmonies, i have a sensitive voice.

3. We sang the song "Don't stop believing" as a whole group as a starter and warm up. We've done some vocal exercises and practiced the right breathing when you sing. We've had an audition in front of our classmates where some of use singed a song and we've played a game to get to know each other better.