57^th Annual Choir Assembly- October 24-26, 2003

St Leon Armenian Church, Fair Lawn, NJ

Notes from Senior Choir Workshop presented by Anoosh Barclay

to the Delegates of the 57^th Annual Choir Assembly

 

10 Points to Remember in Vocal Production

 

1. Breathe "down and out".
2. As breath goes in, lower stomach muscles release and ribs expand.
3. Lift soft palate.
4. Think that air as you sing is shooting straight up in a column, up the back of the throat and is resonating in the "mask", or cheek bone sinus area.
5. While singing, try to keep ribs expanded as long as possible and slowly bring in your lower stomach muscles as you reach the last drops of air. (Squeezing in your bottom muscles also helps when you are really in a pinch.)
6. When warming up, start with the breathing exercises:
• Drop over from the waist and let your upper body hang loosely.
• Take in deep breaths and hold for a few seconds.
• Release breaths slowly.
• Repeat 2-3 times and then SLOWLY come up working from the lower vertebrae up to your top neck muscles.
7. Practice taking in deep breaths and holding for a count of 6 seconds then releasing on "s" sound VERY slowly.
8. To get voice in good focus at first vocalize on the "ee" sound and then move to other vowel sounds but try to have the same feeling and resonance you had in the "ee" sound.
9. Stay true to the vowel sound in whatever you are singing, do not make the vowels "heavy".
10. Sing on the breath. Always let your diaphragm do the work - not your throat, to avoid getting vocally exhausted.