Welcome, Riley
From Prof. G
Oct 5 NATS student auditions Open Nov 1. Tell me by Friday if you want to enter.
Oct 1 Studio class Oct 17, 4:00, T405. Bring one piece in progress, any phase.
Lesson loop
Tue Oct 6Practice loop
Last 7 daysRepertoire
3 active piecesAnalytics
OctoberLesson
From Prof. G
Tuesday, October 6, 2026
What we worked on
- "Deep River" (Burleigh): from "I want to cross over," warm quality leading, open-open onsets on the low F entrances.
- "She Used to Be Mine" (Waitress): bridge only, building on airflow instead of squeeze.
- Marmalade descents: bright and buzzy on the way down, small space.
- Straw slides through the passaggio, spigot on the whole way.
Breakthroughs
The "Deep River" descent kept its brightness instead of going smoky.
Observations
Intention + learning: Named the squeeze on the bridge before I did, then reset on her own.
Expression: Once the onsets softened, "I want to cross over" read as a plea instead of a statement.
Function: Open-open onsets released cleanly at the low F. The bridge build stayed on airflow.
What we are working toward
Carry the low-voice brightness into the bridge of "She Used to Be Mine" without pressing.
Tuesday, September 22, 2026
What we worked on
- Goals conversation: rebuilding after a year away from lessons, warmth back in the middle voice.
- Speech-level check-ins ("my mama made marmalade") to map the starting point.
- Repertoire direction: one spiritual, one contemporary MT, oratorio later in the fall.
Observations
Intention + learning: Came in expecting to be fixed. The check-in turned the lesson into mapping where she is.
What we are working toward
Warmth back in the middle voice on sustained phrases.
Tuesday, September 29, 2026
What we worked on
- "Deep River" (Burleigh): first read, settled on the medium-low edition.
- Speech-to-sing check-in: "my mama made marmalade" from speech into pitch.
- The hose picture: spigot, kink, and narrowing downstream.
Breakthroughs
Brightness came from the narrowing downstream, not from the squeeze.
Observations
Function: Squeezing for brightness showed up as a kink at the throat. Narrowing with the tongue and space kept the sound bright without it.
What we are working toward
Find the narrowing on EE without spreading.
Your reflection
Reflect on this lesson
Takeaways: I came in braced to be fixed and instead we mapped where I actually am. The marmalade check-in showed me my speech still has the warmth I thought I lost.
Questions or goals: Can we record the check-in each week so I can hear the change?
Takeaways: The hose picture finally separated two things I always mixed up. Squeezing my throat for brightness is the kink. The narrowing that works is way downstream, tongue and space. I could feel the difference on the marmalade descents.
Risk taken: I let the cracky sound happen on the slides instead of smoothing it over, and stayed with it long enough to hear where it lives.
Questions or goals: How do I find the narrowing on an EE vowel without spreading?
Think NG placement on the EE, then release the tongue tip only. We will drill it Thursday; bring the marmalade descents into EE and notice where the spread urge starts.
Lessons
Practice
From Prof. G
Current practice plan
Exercises
Repertoire
Session shape
30 to 40 minutes. Block the exercises this week, then one piece per day. Stop on the timbre shift.
Read the full practice plan
The same approved text you get in the debrief email, in full. The checklist above is the working distillation; this is the complete plan with every exercise's purpose, what to listen for, and the repertoire connections spelled out.
Marmalade descents. Five-note descents on "my mama made marmalade," starting at middle C. This keeps your speech-warmth in the sung line. Listen for the bright and buzzy staying present as you descend. If the sound goes smoky, the space got too big for the pitch...
Your practice log
Log voice use
Last 7 days
3 entries · 165 min of singing
Repertoire
Active pieces
H. T. Burleigh · due at jury · sheet music
Melody + Text + Rhythm · phase 3 of 6
Sara Bareilles, Waitress · due at jury · sheet music
Characterization Integration · phase 4 of 6
Handel, Messiah · assigned Oct 6
Translation + Characterization · phase 1 of 6
Past repertoire
Your voice in the rep list
Suggest a piece
Analytics
Monthly voice check-in
How is singing feeling this month?
Next check-in opens Nov 1. Your answers join the trend below.
Semester goals
Fall 2026
- Warmth back in the middle voice on sustained phrases.
- Four pieces memorized for the Dec 5 jury.
- Sing through the transitional region without resetting the breath.