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17th November 2019

Recorded Studio -  With those notes I went off and picked a recording song and I ended up doing a mash-up of ‘Best Part by H.E.R’ and ‘Playing games by Summer walker’  

I wasn't very happy with the recording and I feel like I needed more rehearsal as a whole and I used this feedback to work on my unit one solo. Here are some key things I made sure to work on before my exam:

Make sure you warm up your voice every time because the mic can hear everything

Stand at a reasonable distance so that you’re comfortable

Sometimes it’s better to have one headphone on and the other off so you can hear yourself, as you can get nervous and if you’re off pitch then the recording will hear it.

Breath Control: TROUGHOUT THE WHOLE SONG.

Breathe control is the most significant element of singing. These types of exercises help with lung capacity and power your high notes without losing too much breathe or straining your vocal cords. With great breathe control your Vocal range, quality of tone and ability to hold your notes. My breath control was a little shifty which meant my voice was very shaky which meant that I sounded off pitch. Even though I normally have great breath control my nerves really effected it.

Characterisation 1 minute 10 seconds - being able to make the song my own is very important because that will make it less tense and original. I kind of tried to achieve this but it was very difficult as I was so used to hearing the original artist singing it.

Dynamics 1 minute 50 seconds  – not coping the original song, making it all mine especially as the original. I had to work on suiting my own voice to the song as the song is suited to the original artist.

Use of the Microphone: I was confident in using the equipment during my studio time which helped a little with my nerves and helped the process of the studio time to move quickly.

Timing: I found it difficult to stay in time with the song as it was really hard to transfer from singing with words to just a simple backing track. I know that with more practice I would of been able to achieve the timing and dynamics.

2 minutes to the end -  Tanya gave me some good feedback about trying to stay on the same pitch throughout the whole song and to work on my dynamics because that would make the song easier to perform. Also I have quite a husky and confident voice so I tried to use my tone to make sure I was staying on pitch and I was always on time.

To conclude, I know that I had some great elements of the recorded aspect such as my articulation and head and chest voice. I was able to achieve all these things which helped a lot with my confidence and my posture which released a lot of tension on my vocal cords and produced a more subtle and nicer sound. I'm happy I got to do this which helped me to improve my solo at the later date. I learnt that its key to be calm and confident because that will always benefit you and the song that you're singing as you need to treat it like you've never heard it before and transform it to make it your own.

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10th-14th January 2020

Last rehearsal before the exam:

I was able to work with Ryan and Tanya before my exam they helped me to understand what my voice was capable of and how working hard and listening to myself will Improve my overall performance. We did some vocal exercises which prepared my voice to sing my chosen song.

After that they gave me feedback I was able to focus on the second section of my song improving it to make sure that it was as strong as the first part. With using Enrico to stay on pitch and in time with him.

I did some more practice at home to prepare for the exam and rested my voice the rest of the night so that my voice wasn't being strained.

The day of the exam:

On the day of the exam I rehearsed one time to make sure I was taking all the feedback into consideration. I was also able to chose the correct lighting for my performance which enhanced my characterisation and piece making sure I was connecting with the audience at all times and not staring at the floor but using my body language to show that I'm relaxed and confident. By taking it slow and being relaxed I was able to stay on pitch the whole time and there was clear improvement in the second section which was always a little shaky. Mrs Nash gave me some great feedback about how the raspy tone of my voice gave it a great feel and made it very engaging and capturing for an audience.

EBI: I was consistent with the rehearsal I would of been able to work more the song to make it more dynamic and confident.

Overall, I believe that the performance was very good and worked out in the end. Singing isn't my strong skill but I've learnt a lot about the what my voice can do and how much I can achieve if  I work really hard.

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17th & 18th December 2019

Cabaret-

I only performed my group piece during the performance and I believe that it went well. Some key points that were improved after my feedback was my pitch, my characterisation, my team work and motivation to keep going.

Throughout the actual performance my characterisation was point; I never left my animal character and made sure to always face the audience so they know what was going on and gave facial expressions throughout the whole time. Overall, the performance was good and came together after all the hard work that we put in together. 

WWW: As a whole, we all stayed in character throughout the whole performance, by listening to each other and working as a team meant that the performance was tight and improved since the last time we rehearsed. individually I stayed in pitch and added loads of characterisation which meant that the performance was very cultural and inventive.

EBI: If there was more rehearsal we could of adapted it more. By having more adaptations we would of been able to work with more and add more chorography which would of made the overall performance amazing.

This show really showed off my talent and my skills as a performer. this piece was perfect for my team as it showed off our qualities which made the performance strong. We were able to achieve the African culture through our movements and team work.    

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20th Nov - 12th Dec 2019

This is was the build up to the cabaret. We had many rehearsals and we used our spare time. During this time, we collaborated together to improve each  piece by working on small details which improves the whole cabaret. We did extra sessions outside the time.

WWW: This improved every performance and tightened each piece in the cabaret but also meant that we were more of a team which meant that the improvement of the cabaret was better.

EBI: We worked hard from the beginning which meant that we would of been able to focus on other things instead of the performances. for example, more time to do costumes which would of improved the characterisation of each performance.

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17th November 2019

Session with Tanya:

After choosing Enrico to play the piano not using a backing track I needed the help of Tanya to get some tips of how I should as its harder to sing with a piano than a backing track as it requires team work.

Some of the tips that she gave me were to not rush Enrico cause it sounds bad on my part and also to make sure that I'm staying pitch as the piece had so much room to work with and to work on my dynamics because that would make the song easier to perform.  

I had a few more of these sessions with Tanya and I developed as a singer and he song came together before the final piece. My pitch improved and Tanya noticed it and helped me to work on my dynamics.  

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 31st October 2019

1.      Aims for the lesson:

1. Finalise what song you are singing in the recording studio.

2. Work with Diamantina, to perfect our recording studio recording

The final song I chose to do for my recording was a mash up of H.E.R ' Best Part' and ' Summer Walker 'Playing Games'. When working with Tina she educated us on what's in the studio and how we can use all the tools in the studio to make us feel more comfortable.

below is an imagine of all the things that we learned.

The feedback given after this session was that I need to make sure I'm 12cn away from the mic and that I shouldn't hold the mic too much because that will feedback into the mic. Also, I need to find a more comfortable singing position because that will make me tense which will strain my vocal cords and will make me sound pitchy.

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16th&17th October 2019

Are aims for the next two days were to:

1. Pick a recorded song for your next singing exam- has to be different to your first one

2. Come together and pick a group song that compliments everyone’s voice

So during this lesson I tried to find something different to sing and work on. So instead of picking another slow song I wanted to move onto a more upbeat song which also complimented my voice. I had a few ideas such as ‘All I know’ by DaniLeigh and ‘So good’ By Destiny Childs. My next aim was to perform these to my teacher and see what she felt about my choices.

After choosing some options for my recorded song we came together as a group and decided on a group song. We ended up choosing ‘Circle of Life’ From Lion King. This song was something that could engage everyone and suit everyone’s voice types which was good meaning everyone had a major part to play.

For this lesson I felt that my focus was a little off and I was slowly getting into the lesson and next time I should be more focused and ready to learn.

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11th October 2019

The day of the warm up exam. I was very optimistic about the exam overall and I had gone over it a few more times to make sure it was perfect.

Some of the key points for this exam were:

* confidently teach a group a warm up

* Use the correct terminology to explain why you would do these warm ups

* Be original and new with the ideas you bring to the warm up

Some feedback from Mrs Nash was that mine was completely different to the ones she had seen throughout the day. One thing I had achieved which she felt she hadn’t seen was that I made the group I was teaching forget that they were being recorded or that was actually my exam. She also said she enjoyed my confidence and that I still explain all the techniques and exercises even though all the people in my group were my peers and knew the warm ups.

I felt that this exam went very well. I was a little bit nervous because I wanted mine to be unique and original; I felt like I really captured that aspect of it. By being organised and practicing I was able to achieve everything in this exam and that my grade will be very good because I worked really hard and I captured the key points of this exam.

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8th October 2019

This was the lesson before our exam. We were given the option to rehearse/ go through the order of our planned warm up. I chose to go through my warm up as I had done some more research as well as altered my plan for my warm up.

WWW: I was able to test out my warm up on a small amount of people and carefully explain to the group using the correct terminology what each warm up was used for and how by continuing to use these will help overall improve your singing and maybe your pitch.

EBI : next time I should be more optimistic to get up and do the work as I was a little unmotivated at first which meant I wasted valuable time.

Some of the feedback from my small group about my warm up was that- I was able to hit my 10 minute mark but also that my warm up was fun and energetic which made a difference to when we do one at the beginning of the lesson. They said that they really enjoyed the fact that they weren’t standing around for the whole time that movement was incorporated.

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2nd&3rd October 2019

The main aims for this lesson were:

* Prepare for the warm up

* Vocal skills and development of techniques

WWW: I was able to construct a detailed plan of what kind of techniques and exercises I wanted to include in my warm up exam, even though it needed some tweaking it was a clear plan of what I wanted to work on and share with the group I was going to have for my warm up.

EBI: I do a practice run of what I want to do in my exam with someone and make any alterations with different things that don’t work so that I can make mine different and enjoyable.

Below is a picture of my first draft.

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25th&26th September 2019

Today was tried something different and exciting. We sat in a long line and each person had to get up and sing a section of their solo and we would feedback to them what we felt worked or what they needed to work on. Tanya was also present in the second lesson to again give her feedback and see what progress we had made since she last saw us.

WWW: For the first part I was able to give my peers insightful and concise feedback about their song and vocal technique. I always gave constructive criticism that would help them to develop their techniques and improve their individuality in their song.

In addition, when it came to performing my song I had to do it Capella due to the fact that I couldn’t find a karaoke version or just an instrumental. This went extremely well as this was the first time I was able to hear myself and when I went off pitch. Also, Tanya suggested that maybe getting Enrico to learn the cords on the piano might be better than having it with a backing.

EBI: I need to make sure I practice with Enrico a lot to make sure that I’m consistently improving and to see how well the piano goes with my voice. But also to analyse any changes that need to be made that would compliment my voice a little better.

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24th September 2019

Our learning objectives for this lesson are:

* Lead a group warm up or teach at-least one activity

* Perform your song to Mrs Nash and Diamantina

Diamantina is another outside singing source that comes in and helps us with the development of our voices.

WWW: For the warm up task, I decided to change my focus from articulation and phrasing to diaphragmatic exercise. The diaphragm is very important because that’s where all the breath and sound comes from. The exercise IcI was able to sing the first section of my song with more confidence and energy than when Tanya was evaluating.

EBI: I need to not lose confidence or motivation to carry on the whole song when something goes wrong. I also need to find a karaoke version of my song so that I can perform it or I’m going to have to choose another song or think of an alternative.

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19th&20th September 2019

During these two morning sessions, one of our outside contacts who helps every year to improve our vocal abilities came in for the first time. Tanya Edwards was part of many west end shows and still is in the performing arts industry.

For the first morning session with Tanya I performed one out of the two of my songs which was ‘Unlove you’ from the television show star and then on the second morning session I performed my second song which was ‘if I have nothing’ Whitney Houston. By performing both songs I was able to utilise tanya’s in what song best matched my vocal key.

WWW: I was able to finally pick a song that matched my voice the best. The song that I was recommended to sing was ‘Unlove you’. The feedback given was that i was in pitch the whole time and my articulation was on point; every word was heard and fluent. The warm up exercises to do with articulation were improving my singing overall.

EBI: when singing to new people or an audience I should always look out wards them no matter how nervous I am because stage presences is everything and I don’t want the story of my song to be lost because the main thing I’m portraying is how nervous I am.

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18th September 2019

The aim in today’s lesson was to get everyone into leading their own warm-up so each person choose one warm up to put towards the group. Also, we came up with a group song for the cabaret.

WWW: I was capable in picking a warm up to reach back to the class. I chose to work on focus on tongue twisters as my main focus as an individual is phrasing and articulation. I taught my class tongue twisters that enhances their ‘P’ ‘B’ ‘S’ and ‘SH’ sounds. This help with more difficult songs which have loads of different phonics.

EBI: I need to work on my concentration skills and being able to get through a whole warm up without losing focus or getting tired. Due to the fact that if you sit down and try and sing it warm up your voice you can strain it due to the fact that you’re crushing your diaphragm.

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17th September 2019

During this lesson, I worked on the anatomy of the voice. All the things and elements that make up our voices and how we can maintain and care them.

Some of the areas that we covered were :

* Warm ups

* Scales- warming up your vocal range

* Breathing techniques - are you running out of breath when you come to the end of the line

* Diction-

* Articulation - are you able to sing the words with the right sound

* Projection - how loud you are

* Phrasing - can every word be heard

WWW: I was able to successfully label the part of the body that focuses on your voice and use warm up techniques such as scales to warm up my voice in order to sing. Furthermore, I stayed focus during the whole lesson which meant I was able to learn more ways to take care of my voice but what I needed to go home and research.

EBI: I need to work on my phrasing and diction. These two elements are key and sometimes I forget that I need to pronounce the words or the audience won’t be able to hear what I’m saying which makes the song not enjoyable. Many way I can achieve this is by doing loads of tongue twisters and go through my song slowly to make sure I’m articulating my words accurately.

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10th September 2019

The first day we started to sing and understand what the module consisted of. We started off by getting into a circle and start to warm up our voices.

WWW: I was focused and listened to what I needed to do when I must warm up my voice, because without the right techniques I will strain my vocal box and my throat will produce a horrible sound which can permanently damage my voice box

EBI: I did more research after the lesson and how I could warm up my voice in other ways or other exercises I could bring to the next lesson which we haven’t used yet. Also I feel like I need to go into more detail about what is wanted of myself for this term.