Hello. First of all i'd like to say thankyou to everyone for providing me with all the wonderful information on all aspects of singing. I love this list. I've been lurking and occasionally posting for about a year - i would post more but last time i tried it took about a week to get through and therefore lost urgency - maybe it's improved by now.
Anyway, I just bought the Seth Riggs book and CDs and would like some advice on how long you should do each exercise before moving on to the next. Also how long should i practice each day. (Presumably i don't have to reach the G 2 and a half octaves above middle C before moving on to exercise 2). At the moment i'm doing exercises 1- 6 for about half an hour but i wouldn't say i was doing them perfectly ! I had been taking lessons for about 5 years (at the moment i'm taking a break to try on my own) I'm pretty sure i'm a soprano and have only a light voice with little vibrato but still have a lot of problems with high notes and can't take the exercise 1. lip bubbling beyond B flat (with usual arpeggi i can go to D on a very good day). Also i can only do it (the bubble)if a push my cheeks in as well as up. Is it OK to do this ? With exercise 2 - the tongue trill, i have a lot of difficulty and would appreciate some idea about where exactly to put the tongue. I find I need to use an awful lot of air to get anywhere, and cannot sustain the trill for long - i keep breaking out of it. Do I have to lift the cheeks for this one also ? As well as the practicing, i sing in small groups and choirs 3-4 times a week. I think tension is my biggest problem as by the end of practices i'm often singing in a pretty terrible strained way and lose the top and bottom ends. Even when i don't feel as if i've strained, i lose the bottom notes (ie middle C (even D sometimes) and below, those joined to head register i mean, and i have to go into chest to get the sound out, whereas in the morning i can keep a good sound in 'head' down to A below middle C. Sorry if i'm going on a bit.
Best wishes to all Delia
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