Hello Everybody!

I hope you’re all enjoying the warm weather we’ve been having!

Noreet:

This week please have Noreet listen to different recordings of the Ode to Joy so that she can compare the style of each. Practice more energized playing through the finger tip to enhance the celebratory feel of the song. Use softer articulation in the fingers by pressing lightly on the keys to help the line feel lighter and flow more freely. Lean into the build up towards the end during the ottava section (8va), then pull back to build the anticipation for that final chord! Pay close attention to the dynamics of the piece to help build the excitement of the song – specifically phrases that crescendo/decrescendo!

Review the notes in the first two phrases of Our Detective Agency! The unfamiliar notes are written in for you and I’ve divided the phrase where the left hand takes over for the right in the eighth note group. We will add onto this next week.

Clara:

Warm up with B flat Major hands separately.

For the Andante, practice with lighter articulation when playing at faster tempos to allow for quick, precise eighth notes – specifically in the left hand. Review both the right hand and left hand of the song at a slow tempo while counting out loud to ensure your rhythms are precise. 

When practicing Ukrainian Folk Song, use lighter articulation during the first phrase to help you play faster eighth notes. Lighter pressure, not more, will help the notes sound faster. Use the first note of your thumb to help your hand launch into the upper eighth notes. Play the B section under tempo and count out loud while playing the dotted eighth note/sixteenth note groups. These should be counted as one – e- and – a with the sixteenth note sounding on the “a”. Just like the tied triplets in Pink Panther, the sixteenth note comes in at the very last second of the bar. 

Andrew:

The recordings for your vocal warm up have been uploaded to the google drive here. You can use the recording with the reference voice as a starting point for specific exercises we tried in class. Feel free to use the solo piano recordings to warm up with other words and vowels. Play with this, choose a vowel you like and apply it to the scale. You can also add voiced consonances (M, N, V) to help you pitch the note on the scale creating sounds like “M-Uh” “V-Aw” or “N-ee”. Apply these to both the 5-tone scale and the Triad scale. 

To practice a more speech-like placement for the beginning of the song, sing the melody of the first verse on “May”. Emphasize the “M” to help bring out a more speech-like tone. For the first chorus part, to play with the lighter, breathy placement, try this on a “wee”. Use the “w” to help find that light head voice placement. Finally, when practicing the bigger belter parts of the song, use words like “N’yeah” “No” and “Nee”. The N sound should help provide a more whiny, nasal placement that will allow for a resonant belt sound. 

Thank you everyone!

Happy practicing!