Welcome, Riley
From Prof. G
Sep 14 NATS student auditions open Oct 1. Tell me by Friday if you want to enter.
Sep 10 Studio class Sep 26, 4:00, T405. Bring one piece in progress, any phase.
Lesson loop
Tue Sep 15Practice loop
This weekRepertoire
3 active piecesAnalytics
SeptemberLesson
From Prof. G
Lesson debrief
Repertoire worked
- "Deep River" (Burleigh): worked from "I want to cross over" with the warm quality leading. The low F entrances got the open-open onset treatment; the descent kept its brightness instead of going smoky.
- "She Used to Be Mine" (Waitress): bridge only. The build stayed on airflow instead of squeeze through "she is gone, but she used to be mine."
Exercises
- Marmalade descents: bright and buzzy on the way down, small space, no dome.
- Open-open onsets: breathe in, close, then open. The onset is a release, not a push.
- Straw slides: through the passaggio, spigot on the whole way.
What we covered
- Goals conversation: rebuilding after a year away from lessons; wants warmth back in the middle voice.
- Speech-level check-ins ("my mama made marmalade") to map the starting point.
- Repertoire direction set: one spiritual, one contemporary MT, oratorio later in the fall.
Repertoire worked
- "Deep River" (Burleigh): first read. Key check settled on the medium-low edition.
Exercises
- Speech-to-sing check-in: "my mama made marmalade" from speech into pitch.
- Hose metaphor introduced: spigot, kink, and thumb-downstream narrowing.
Your reflection
What did you take from it?
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
This week
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 Sep 15
Translation + Characterization · phase 1 of 6
Past repertoire
Your voice in the rep list
Suggest a piece
Your suggestions
Analytics
Monthly voice check-in
How is singing feeling this month?
Next check-in opens Oct 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 11 jury.
- Sing through the transitional region without resetting the breath.