Voice Journal Spring 2017 Feb 21-27

Feb 21
Sight-singing, minimal. Humming warm up 5 down to 1, went all the way to G an octave and a half above middle C, then back down to the B an octave below middle C. Sang through Candle on the Water once.

Voice lesson: Abigail said that B is in the "vocal fry" range and she'd like me to stay out of it for now. We negotiated for the D above it, since I need 5 when I sight-sing in G. I'd sing in head voice but my intonation suffers.

We talked about the past week and she said that I'm trying too hard and overthinking it, that I'm a type A about this. Then she said this is Permission To Cheat Week. I'm really grateful.
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Feb 22
No singing at all, even though I wanted to. Didn't even sight-sing or do the Soundcloud intervals. Too tense and tight to sing anything.
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Feb 23
Sight-singing in Aural Skills class; did okay in a higher range. Still couldn't bring myself to sing anything else, not even Soundcloud intervals.
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Feb 24
Good grief! Even tighter today and my ears ringing a lot louder! But I did sight-sing for a while, and I sang along with a youtube some. So tight I can't even open my mouth all the way without strain, and the attempt made my ears ring even louder.
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Ohhh. Dang. Mystery solved and I don't like it... I thought I escaped the reaction to bread and cheese, finally... but clearly it was a multi-pronged reaction and it includes this tightness and the extra loud ringing in my ears. Guess I have to just wait it out and know it'll ease off in a couple days. I cannot begin to say how disappointed I am; bread and cheese have always been two of the biggest delights in my life.
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Feb 25
Soundcloud intervals, trying to sing ugly. SO tight. Drats. Throat's a little spasmish if I try for anything more than half-voice. Jaw is still pretty tight, too. At least I'm hitting the notes, and I'm aiming at the resonator spot. Loosened up a little by the time I was through with all four sets of intervals. The good thing is I can sometimes tell what I'm hearing, and not because I have it memorized but because I finally hear some of the notes in relation to each other.
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Feb 26
Sheesh, this is definitely cheat week!! I have YET to work on the song!! No intervals today, just sight-singing and not very well at that. Being really careful what I eat. So not ready for this weekend to be over. Didn't finish my homework in any class, not just voice. Got a headache sight-singing, but managed to sing in both head and chest voice.
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Feb 27
Realized today that I am pushing my body to the absolute edge of its limits four days a week. It's too much; it's going to backfire on me, so I skipped my second practice session. Glad piano isn't until Thursday.

Found the trick to rehearsing the song. I left the sight-singing book at home. Got half an hour in before I had to give up and call it a day. Realized that in my zeal to sing that A in tune I was actually a little sharp. Sheesh. Also heard myself hit the L too soon in "pull" so I made an effort to stretch that out.

I think this is a song that needs to be sung with a smile, because if I try to sing it wistfully it's going to topple right over the edge into MaudlinTowne. I still haven't figured out exactly how I want to do it because I have a strong feeling the piano accompaniment is going to dictate the style and volume. There is absolutely no denying that the music climaxes at the bridge. It MUST be loud. And I'm pretty sure the composers want the last verse to be loud as well. I suspect it's the middle "I'll never let you go" which they intended to be the ultimate climax of the song.

Got in half an hour all told but oh, the headache, jaw ache, tight throat. After the second time through, my jaw hurt to the point of nausea so I did piano arpeggio practice for about fifteen minutes, letting my body relax. Never did get more than half-voice, but I did sing it three times all the way through.
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Did my sight-singing at home. Had some trouble with intonation... I swear the G on my keyboard is going flat, but of course it's electronic so it's much more likely my ear is having trouble. It was difficult to do the sight-singing. Didn't realize how much pain I was in till I was done and tried to stand up. OY. Didn't sing well, either, but at least I got it done.

Discovered today that I have to completely rewrite my speech which is due Wednesday. Stress level is pretty high.