Jamie Cullum singing assessment

On the 22nd of May we did our final performance of 'Everything you didn't do'. We had been working on this for a few weeks and had worked a lot of exsploring harmonies in three parts. This was for our final singing ensemble assessment.

One of my strengths in the song was my projection with in the group and making my volume louder to battle over everyone else. I felt this came naturally to me as when in a big group of people singing you have to make twise the effort to get your notes heard by the audience. Another one of my Stregnths in the song was my diction. I felt that I spoke really clear and paced so that my words were really clear. And really pronounced all of my consonants sounds, particularly 'T' and 'S'. I think this made the words clearer and made the lines come to life. This therefor making all of the lines in the verses Stacarto and sharp. In contrast to this style for the chorus and the bridge in the song I felt that it would sound better if it was a lot more slurred and Lagarto to Emphasis the words of being relaxed. I think this worked for most of the verses but not all.

One thing that I would have liked to work in was the key change in the third chorus and then going into the harmony. I struggled to get this on tune at the start of this section and then, I found the right notes with the help from the piano and others in my harmony group.

Singing Practice Routine Two

 

Vocal technique	Progress to date	Target	Date	Progress to date	Target	Date
Intonation—The tuning of your notes to the music compliment and making sure your in key.	I have started to sing my songs alongside with the backing vocals, I use this to pitch my notes against as I find it easier to see if I’m tune.	I will keep doing this but I will notice how it feels to hit these high notes, and then play them alongside with the backing.	6/02/15	For the next two weeks after the solos I will just be focusing on in pitching with notes, I have been going over my scales and recording my scales and checking the pitches.	I have been very productive, and have gone over my mid-range scales and feel very confident with my range in the mid and getting the notes in key.	21/03/15
Flexibility	I have carried on the number scales, but have changed up the pattern to make it even jumpier. (1,3,5,8,1,8)	I will carry on this onto the next week but will start to pair it up with intonation where I will do these but making sure that I hit the correct notes.	06/02/15	I have extended this even further as am using the pattern (1,3,5,8,1,8) but repeating this everything up the octave.	I will go over this till I’m fully flexibly and can jump from the notes in the scale. I will mainly focus on the higher notes in the octave to give me a wider range in my flexibility	02/05/15
Range— the range of notes that you can hit without strain	I did a new scale that is the octave higher then I usually do, I found a strain in my voice.	I will keep doing this till I can see the wider range. I can already see an improvement as I feel more comfortable with a couple of notes higher.	13/02/15	My range has improved as I’m getting better at my lower notes. I have been doing my scales and getting lower each time.	I will keep doing these scales to widen my range even lower and then start to go into the higher side of the scales.	4/04/15
Diction—how you or a character pronounce certain words or sounds	I found a new technique to improve my diction, by placing constants with vowels such as ( F with Fa, Fe, Fi, Fo, Fu)	I will placing these with different sounds and doing up and down the scale.	27/02/15	I have been going over the constants with vowels, but have really tried to over exaggerate my movements	I’m going to keep doing this whenever I feel that I slip, but I feel that my diction has improves and my vocals are clear and well thought out.	19/05/15
Articulation– Pronouncing any sound especially constantans.	I have done some scales in a staccato style. But changing up the sounds from AH to EE	I will carry over these scales but changing up the patterns, sounds and the key on the octave.	13/02/15	I sang the song fish and chips and vinegar. I did this by over exaggerating the staccato and the Legato sections.	I kept doing this over the next week, I think that this has shown me the difference between the two styles.	18/04/15
Projection	Some of the techniques to improve my projection I have been focusing on the diaphragm.	I have been pushing from my diaphragm to make the notes last longer.	27/02/15	I haven’t focused much on my projection as I feel that this is one of my strongest techniques.	I haven’t focused much on my projection as I feel that this is one of my strongest techniques.	18/04/15
Breath control	Panting helps to widen lungs and let more air into the lungs. I will use this to improve my quick breathing skills.	I will then place these into my solo so I can put to breath at certain points In the song.	7/03/15	I feel that I have got the right techniques that I need to produce a solo in the right amount of breathes in a song.	I feel that I have got the right techniques that I need to produce a solo in the right amount of breathes in a song.	16/05/15

 

Sing Vocal Practice Routine one

Vocal technique	Progress to date	Target	Date	Progress to date	Target	Date
Intonation—The tuning of your notes to the music compliment and making sure your in key.	I first off struggled with my intonation, mainly with the ‘It Takes Two’	I listened to the lines on the CD and piano then went over them singly until I was sure then put it all together.	9/01/15	I did another lesson with Kim, with this we took each note one by one, and highlighted the same high notes so I can know where they are.	I will run the song over and over using the backing track, while following the sheet music, and linking the high notes to the words.	23/01/15
Flexibility	I sang ascending and descending scales, which where higher then usual, until I could hit the notes.	I will keep raising the notes until I can hit the higher range of notes. I can already see that my range is wider then it was.	16/01/15	I sang some scale hitting every odd number on the scale. Going from 1,3,5,8 on the octave and then back down.	I will keep doing these scales, but changing up the pattern of the notes that I did.	30/01/15
Range— the range of notes that you can hit without strain	My range mostly goes more to the lower side and has improved due to the scales within lessons	I shall be doing octave scales to make my range wider to hit the higher notes as in ‘It Takes Two ‘ it is high and goes very high and at the moment I struggle to hit them	9/01/15	To improve my range I did some on the piano scales with my friend. We did the higher octave, and I could feel a strain at the higher end.	This target is a longer target, but I hope to be able to see an improvement by the reduce of strain and confidence in the scales.	23/01/15
Diction—how you or a character pronounce certain words or sounds	I have been focusing on the lip movements to make the constantans sounds, by over exaggerating my movements.	I will keep this going over the next week,  one technique that I have been looking at is putting at pencil in my teeth and saying the sounds through this with exaggerated movement.	9/01/15	I have been the pencil in my mouth to see the difference between the sounds the accuracy.	I think that It helps to be in front of the mirror, I can then pick up on the lip movements that I need to do.	6/02/15
Articulation– Pronouncing any sound especially constantans.	I think that at the moment my articulation is fair and most of my words are understandable.	To keep repeating constants to get use to them, focusing on the sounds in ‘Slipper’ as this is what I struggle to make understandable during songs.	16/01/15	I have done my basic scale, but started to incorporate a legato style it. Going up the same octave.	For my target over the next week,  I will start to do some of the same scales but using a staccato scale.	30/01/15
Projection	I have explored what I can do already by trying different levels to my voice.	I feel confident with my ;projection, but I want to practice my projection with the right intonation.	23/01/15	I have been looking into my projection but have noticed that I have strain with the higher notes.	I'm going to focus on projection from my diaphragm, rather then my vocal cords.	30/01/15
Breath control	My breathing does limit my singing and how long I hold notes, in a song.	I will  use the breathing pattern of holding in for 10 then letting out for 10 beats, I will then repeat this for 10,15,20,30,40	16/01/15	For my songs that in have been focusing on I have looked at the song and pin pointed some of the moments to breath	For my next practice of Breath Control, I look into getting a pattern of my breath into practice	6/02/15