Untitled #15

Today before Madrigals I decided to take that half hour to practice.  First I ran through Star Vicino a couple of times just to keep it fresh in my memory.  That went very well because I remembered all of it this time and that last little interval didn't throw me off like it usually does:)  After that, I decided it was time to work on Liebst du um Shonheit.  I started by reviewing what I had learned yesterday, which was the first two pages.  There is only one part out those two pages that trips me up, and that is the very last two measure of the second page.  It's not the notes, it's the rhythms.  I'm not sure if I am doing them correctly.  On my way to Wakefield for observation, I'll listen to my recording and try to put two and two together.  After I had reviewed the first two pages, I moved on to the last two.  There are a couple of sections that I question the rhythms on, but when I listen to the recording I'll figure it out.  I also recognized a couple of repeated parts in the song.  Once I had sang through the last two pages a few times and felt that they were solid I decided to start from the beginning and see if I could put them together.  There were a couple of rough spots, otherwise I'd say it went very well.  I stopped a few times to correct myself on the last measure of page two and the last verse of the last page.  All in all, my practice session went well today and I feel like I've gotten a lot accomplished.

Untitled #14

Today I stared my practice by singing through Star Vicino a couple of times just to refresh my memory.  Voila! It's still bright in the attic!!! With my success, I felt that it was time to move on to Liebst du um Shonheit.  I haven't looked at it for a while.  Learning the melody has gone smoothly for me.  I have two pages learned and tomorrow I plan on finishing the last two pages.  I think it is going so well because the words are easy to pronounce and I've been listening to the recording religiously.  Tonight when I get off work I am going to sit down and memorize the words to Star Vicino and see if I can remember the first two pages of Liebst du um Shonheit without my piano.

Untitled # 13

Monday and Tuesday I worked on my embellishments for Star Vicino. The first two really tripped me up.  Especially the second one that required me to jump from a high D to a low D.  I played them over and over till I they were stuck in my head.  Then I quit playing it and tried singing it without the piano.  It went pretty well but I wasn't completely confident about it yet so I sang through that section a couple more times.  I was really afraid I'd forget it but I didn't have much time so I had to move on.  Then next embellishment I tackled was not quite as hard to learn but there was one interval I kept missing.  It was only a M3 but the rest of the embellishment was like a scale so I kept missing it.  I resolved this problem by starting three notes ahead of the interval and playing it so that I could get used to hearing the section.  When I was sure that I had it down, I ran through the entire song a couple of times so that I could put it all together and see if I could remember everything.  So far, my memory hasn't failed me yet! I am pleased with my work:)

Untitled #12

Today I worked more on Star vicino.  Mostly on measures 38 through 40.  I am comfortable with the runs in measures 10 through 13 and 30 through 32.  This last one I worked on is different from all the rest.  I started working it slowly measure by measure.  Measure 38 is similar to th e other runs in this piece.  Measures 39 and 40, however, are much different.  So I worked them both individually for a while until I was comfortable with them.  When I felt confident with this section, I backed up to the pick up at measure 30 and sang through until the end.  This was not so successful.  I still had note errors on measure 39.  So I went back and sang through that particular section a few times.  Then, I decided to start from the top and go all the way through.  This time it was very successful and all that is left is the fine tuning:)

Untitled #11

Today I worked through just the embellishments on Star Vicino.  I started out on measure 21 and worked through the entire section slowly.  The first couple of times I went through it, I sang the notes on "din din din".  Then once I felt comfortable enough with it, I decided to add the words.  After I had been through that section a few times with the lyrics, I decided to try singing the whole song all the way through a few times.

Untitled #10 (continued...)

So I'm not quite sure what to do about the embellishments for Star Vicino yet.   I wasn't sure if you wanted me to learn them or just sing them straight through like they are originally written.  I've practiced it both ways and so I'll just wait till I see you on Monday, Dr. H, and see what you want me to do.  So far, so good.  I am really enjoying this piece.  I think you'll be impressed with my work thus far.  As far as any rough spots might go, the place I am having trouble with would just be the last embellishment in measure 42.

Untitled #10

This past week I have been working on Star Vicino.  I love this song!  It is beautiful and it's style is so warm and rich!  To quote Dr. H, "It is like a chocolate snuggie!"  On Tuesday, I did not have practice with Phil because of the recitals, so I took that time slot to the practice room and worked on just the melody.  It's not a very long song and some of the parts are repeated so it only took Monday and Tuesday to have it down.  The next step would be to memorize and hopefully I will have time for that  today and on the weekend.  I don't want to be overly confident but because this song is going so well, I project memorization to be accomplished in a day or less.  I have this one in the bag! I will have more later:) xoxoxoxo

Im tired:(

I need coffee!

Untitled #9

All week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday  have been spent memorizing lyrics for my NATS repertoire.   Monday, I memorized "That's Life" and spent Tuesday making sure it was down pat.  Tuesday night and Wednesday were spent memorizing "Lullaby".  I feel very confident with my progress and my skills and tomorrow I will walk into the room and I will not shake.  I will be pleasant and confident and I will nail it.  Today I am going to continue working on my songs and making sure they are solid.  No heavy singing of course!  I am so excited for NATS!  This year I will not allow my nerves to get  the best of me! I will eat bananas!