In a message dated 5/5/01 11:50:02 PM, BdwayDiva1@a... writes:
<< I lost my voice after I spent 1 day singing Beethoven's 9th symphony for 3 hours in 1 day in choir. One day is all it took of me to lose 2 octaves off my range, and was stuck with 1 1/2 octaves for about 3 weeks. AS far as maturity goes, I practiced more than I have ever practiced this semster. I practied at least 2 hours every day every day. I was assigned very difficult music for a freshman, such as "Hello, Oh Margaret it's YOu" from the Telephone, and Rejoice Greatly O Dauthers of Zion" form the Messiah, "Willow Song" fromt he Ballad of Baby Doe, and "Saper Vorreste" from Un Ballo in MAschera,. All in all, I worked on 10 songs this semester. I AM mature. >>
Hi Clarissa,
It sounds as though you've been having a rough time, and I sympathize. However, we all go through rough times, and part of maturity is accepting that the "difficult patches" that we hit sometimes are actually some of our greatest learning and growth opportunities.
I applaud you on getting up and singing well after an assault. That takes guts and determination--qualities that you will definitely need if you want to have a singing career.
And I also admire your dedication to practice. Regular practice is a MUST if you want to develop. Sometimes it can feel as though you are going nowhere, but you must have the dedication to hang in there, and keep trying. I think that you have what it takes to persevere.
But there is another component to maturity that is absolutely essential for singers--and that is knowing how to care for and protect yourself. You only have one instrument--and because that instrument is very delicate, you can't practice the way an instrumentalist can, singing full tilt for hours on end.
You say you are practicing two hours a day. Is that straight through, or do you practice for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening? Do you sing when you are tired? Do you allow yourself a gentle warmup, or just plunge into difficult arias? Do you practice high-lying coloratura an octave lower when learning the notes? Do you spend time just studying the music and words at the keyboard? Actually, you don't even need to sing to practice. Just going through the motions, planning your breaths, mouthing the words while thinking of all the vowel sounds and consonants, checking your posture, etc can do a world of good.
If your choir rehearsals (which I assume are required) become too taxing, you need to have a strategy for self-protection. Learn to "mark" and sing that way for most of the rehearsal if need be. NEVER sing until you are hoarse, and if you do become hoarse, stop singing immediately. You need to discuss this with your teacher, who I am sure can help. Sometimes when we're tired or involved in the emotion of the performance we can stray from the healthy technique that we practice in the studio--you need to understand how this can happen and protect yourself from potential injury.
You only get one voice. And it sounds as though you have not yet fully learned how fragile that voice can be, or how to take care of it properly. I suspect that you also need to know how to take care of yourself emotionally, so that you have less frustration and are better able to recognize problems and deal with them in a more productive way. I wish you good luck, and please, talk to your teacher about what you've posted here. That's what voice teachers are for!
Judy
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