autumn

Sink into autumn with my listening playlist, full of autumn inspired music from the world of classical music.

What’s your favourite season? I know a lot of people would say autumn (or ‘fall’ in the US). Would it surprise you to I love every season and the changes between them?… sad to see the previous season go, and to welcome the return of the new season like an old friend.

There are many depictions of the seasons in art and music, so I thought I would add a few here and link it to a youtube playlist for you to explore more.

Feel free to add your favourite pieces in the comments section below if I’ve missed something out! You’ll see I’ve included a range of instruments/emsembles/styles/periods and I hope a few that you enjoy exploring for the first time as I have.

1 Chant d’automne, Faure

Sung by soprano Mary Bevan, accompanied by Joseph Middleton

2 Four Seasons, Autumn, 3rd Movement Allegro, Vivaldi

Played by Voices of Music, with solo baroque violin from Carla Moore

3 ‘October - Autumn Song’ from The Seasons, Tchaikovsky

Solo piano Olga Scheps

4 ‘Now the Leaves are Falling Fast’, from On This Island, Benjamin Britten

Sung by Peter Pears, Accompanied by Benjamin Britten

5 ‘September’ from Das Jahr, Fanny Hensel (Fanny Mendelssohn)

Solo piano Diana Sahakyan

6 ‘The Fall of the Leaf’, Imogen Holst

Solo cello Amily Airhart

7 ‘September’ from Vier Letzte Lieder, Richard Strauss

Sung by Renee Fleming, at the Proms, in 2001

8 The Seasons: 1. Autumn, Thea Musgrave

Solo clarinet Concerto played by Victoria Soames Samek, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Conducted by Thea Musgrave

9 Pensee D’automne, Massenet

Sung by Huguette Tourangeau, Accompanied by Richard Bonynge

10 Autumn Gardens, Einojuhani Rautavaara

Played by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy

grow

“Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still”

— Chinese Proverb

In our blog today we are thinking about growth. In an attempt to allow balance in my work and personal life I have enjoyed trying to reflect the seasons more. I am learning to accept quiet times and use them for learning/technical work, planning (usually the dark winter months) and enjoy them knowing that busier times always come, particularly in the warm sunny summer months. Some people try ‘wintering’, a sort of modern-day hibernating - is this something you have tried?

So as we are now in spring, I am thinking of growth. What is growth in our performing life? Why is growth important? How can we grow?

What is growth?

We’ve all felt that nagging feeling that we are ‘stuck’, failing to progress, or being given work that does not stretch us - and felt frustration from those feelings! We don't always feel that we are in a position to progress at a pace we are happy with. So taking some ownership is helpful to plan your own development.

So what can you do? It’s a case of ‘Show: don’t tell’. Don't waste time telling people, find ways to do it!

Why is growth good for us?

Having a growth mindset means believing that effort and skill development will better your life.

As humans, having a ‘growth mindset’ is linked with higher levels of wellbeing and better mental health.

Those with a growth mindset are found to have better ability to cope with stress and anxiety.

Have a quick google to read more about growth mindset and how it might help you!

Tips to grow

• Choose new repertoire, research something you haven’t yet learned. Perhaps if you are a singer you could brush up your language skills, or learn a new song cycle?

• Tackle the technique you have been having difficulty with. We all come to a point where we need to address something that has been causing us difficulty - maybe there is someone who can help you do that or you can ask your teacher to help you find ways to work it out.

• Work with someone new. A new accompanist, a new group of musicians, a new teacher, a new coach, a music course… Get a fresh perspective and ask their advice.

• Be brave. Challenges help you to figure out the true extent of your abilities. Experimenting in lessons and with teachers is a safe space to try.

• Remove the fear of failure. If you try something in a safe space, failure is not a problem, and growth is more likely as you will not be holding back.

l’amour

“Every heart sings a song incomplete until another heart whispers back.”

— Plato, Greek philosopher

In this months blog I’m tackling the complex idea of love and its different forms as categorised by the Greeks.

Within the world of music, opera, and lieder, we are asked to understand and portray all these forms of love. Here is my summation to help you fast-track your research.

By being able to distinguish which type of love you are portraying, you will have a clearer idea of motivation, whether your character is experiencing a deep and powerful reason for the action in the aria, or perhaps a surface and poorly thought out reason.

Do you agree with my different suggestions of opera characters and which are experiencing which type of love? Let me know of any other suggestions in the comments below. Most operas include the tension between Eros and Philia, for instance, and I think sexual passion is probably the main one in most operas!

Eros (sexual passion) - Carmen, Semele, Romeo and Juliette, Turridu for Lola: Cavalleria Rusticana, Manon, La Traviata, La Boheme, probably most operas!

Eros (ἔρως érōs)

(from the Greek deity Eros) is passionate love, with sensual desire and longing. The Greek word erotameans in love. Plato refined his own definition. Although eros is initially felt for a person, with contemplation it becomes an appreciation of the beauty within that person, or even becomes appreciation of beauty itself. Eros helps the soul recall knowledge of beauty and contributes to an understanding of spiritual truth. Lovers and philosophers are all inspired to seek truth by eros. Some translations list it as "love of the body".

Philia (deep friendship) - Nadir and Zurga: Les Pêcheurs de perles, Cosi fan Tutti

Philia (φιλία philía)

dispassionate virtuous love, was a concept addressed and developed by Aristotle in his Nicomachean Ethics Book VIII. It includes loyalty to friends, family, and community, and requires virtue, equality, and familiarity.

Philia is motivated by practical reasons; one or both of the parties benefit from the relationship. It can also mean "love of the mind."

Ludus (playful/flirtatious love) - Papagena/Papageno: Die Zauberflöte, Cherubino: Le nozze di Figaro

Agape (love for everyone, empathetic love) - Violetta: La Traviata

Agape (ἀγάπη agápē)

love in modern-day Greek. The term s'agapo means I love you in Greek.

Referring to a general "pure," ideal type of love, rather than physical attraction suggested by eros. However, there are some examples of agape used to mean the same as eros. Sometimes translated as "love of the soul."

Pragma (longstanding love, committed companionate love) -The Merry Widow,

Storge (unconditional, family love) - Ilia for her family: Idomeneo, Romeo and Tybalt, Nurse for Juliette, Aida

Storge (στοργή storgē)

natural affection, like that felt by parents for offspring

Mania (obsessive love) - Lady Macbeth

warm up

Here I am, in my sunglasses, ready to help you warm-up your body and voice to sing. Are you ready to start work?

Here are my top tips for a successful warm-up that will help you sing your best.

1. Schedule

   Begin by scheduling in the time to warm up and practice. Make sure you leave yourself enough time to fit in what you want to achieve - or change your practice goals for that day.

   Make sure you know how many times you want to practise this week, or even just to warm up your voice. Too much or too little will affect your goals and your muscle memory.

2. Prepare your space

   I can't concentrate in an untidy room. Maybe you don’t have this problem - but I like the room to be clean and tidy, so I have as few distractions as possible! This helps create a calm space to work and I always feel more relaxed about my work.

3. How are you?

   Before singing, take a moment to check in with how you feel today. Do you have a headache? Are you getting over a cold? Maybe you ache from exercise? All these things may affect how you will warm up and practice. Make sure you are making realistic and safe goals for the voice you have woken up with and not overdoing it.

4. Stretch, and Connect

   We want our voices to be produced from a warmed-up neutral body that has no tension, pain, pulled muscles, or illness. We want our whole body to feel energised and yet relaxed - so begin with your favourite stretches. Choose a few positions that you may know from yoga or pilates, like roll-downs and Downward Dog to focus your mind and body.

   I ask my students to do the same stretch I do. Reach up to the ceiling and pause, then gently lower your arms back down, feeling your shoulder blades slide down their back. This with a few gentle back rotations really helps me with my shoulder tension. Be aware of your own body and what it needs today.

5. Start at the very beginning

   Be like Maria in The Sound of Music, and begin with gentle exercises of a few notes, before working up to longer and more complicated exercises. The voice should be treated gently.

6. Expand

   Once you have completed the gentle exercises you are ready to expand and sing higher, and lower. You want to warm-up beyond the lowest notes and highest notes of the pieces you are working on in your practise session.

7. Add emotions

   Even though your scales and arpeggios may be without words, experiment with adding emotion and meaning. Sing a scale as though very happy, very sad, angry, in love. Spot how your voice changes. Do you have a favourite emotion? Is the scale easier in one of these emotions than the other?

8. Isolate

   Finally, you might want to take a phrase from your pieces that needs technical work and work on it in isolation from the whole piece.

   Or, you may have a favourite piece/part of a piece you sing really well and you feel helps ground your voice in the right place. You might find it useful singing this before heading into the main part of your practice.

I hope you’ve enjoyed these tips - which do you find useful? As always, feel free to comment below, or share with your friends.

Learn to Sing

In my blog post today I’m going to take you through the benefits of taking singing lessons, and what happens in lessons with me. I’ve rarely met anyone who hasn’t dreamed of having singing lessons or working on their voice - but what do lessons entail? What happens in a lesson when you are a pupil, and what will you gain from lessons?

“The only thing better than singing, is more singing”

— Ella Fitzgerald

Why do people take singing lessons?

There are a number of reasons people take singing lessons, here is a list of some of the main ones I’ve encountered.

• For enjoyment. Singing is enjoyable, and it makes us feel good. Many pupils take lessons simply because they enjoy the chance to sing and make music together. This is something I love sharing with my pupils.

• To improve confidence. Many people feel vulnerable or self-conscious when performing, but lessons can help to give you confidence. Some people use lessons to help them learn and have more confidence to join or audition for choirs, musical theatre groups, sing with their guitar, or to join their local opera or Gilbert and Sullivan groups.

  Sometimes pupils feel more confident presenting and public speaking in their jobs through their practise performing in singing lessons.

• To gain qualifications through exams - school exams or College/University/ABRSM/Trinity/etc exams that progress through grades.

• To learn more about technique. The human voice changes throughout our lives, so even the most experienced singer will continue to work on their technique. Lessons can help to ground your warm-up and practise with up-to-date information and ideas to help you with whatever stage you are at.

• To explore different sounds. We all have the capability to make different sounds with our voices - and make different decisions about how certain phrases or songs should sound to communicate what we want to the audience. In lessons we can explore different sounds and choose which one you would like to use.

• To problem solve. Some pupils have experienced difficulty doing something with their voice, or conquering a certain technique or repertoire. Lessons can help you work towards your goals.

• To work on the performance or repertoire. Having a second person in the room can be useful to give you another perspective on your performance. Your teacher can guide you through portraying a character, showing journey, and making musical choices to ground that portrayal.

What happens in my singing lessons?

• Firstly, I’ll invite a new pupil to sit and we will have a chat. I’ll introduce myself a little, and I ask about your previous experiences learning music (if any), your understanding of music, the body, and reading music, and your goals for lessons. I may make notes to remind myself - for instance if you can read music a little I know you can find your own note to start in your practice. If not, we will find other ways to help you.

• I will ask how your voice feels today, check you have no illness, allergies, or feel tired. All these things may affect our lesson and what we sing together.

• I will sit at the piano because I can play/accompany you for your lesson. Sometimes I use recordings for you to listen to/sing with, but for live performance practise and technical work I prefer using the piano as it gives us more freedom to stop and experiment.

• Warm Up. We will sing a general/easy warm up of several exercises aimed to gently warm up your voice, and introduce the sung sound into our session. I know this can be a nerve-wracking thing for a new pupil (I’ve been there too!) so I will explain that these noises are for ‘play’ and experiment. They are not meant to be judged - in fact that isn't really my job at all!

  I will choose exercises depending on your voice type, how comfortably you are singing in our lesson, and if you mentioned something in your goals you wish to work on.

• We will sing a song. Either you will have brought music to sing together, or I will have music for you to learn. In regular lessons you may work on more than one piece for each lesson. The pieces you are working on will probably contrast - different emotions, different characters, different languages, different historical style etc. This avoids singing with the same style as it makes you sing out-with your comfort zone and make new muscle memory, helping you grow as a singer.

What will I gain from singing lessons?

This will depend entirely on you, and your goals!

• You will enjoy singing with a live accompaniment, learning a song from an unknown piece of music up to performance standard

• You will learn new ways to use technique and your voice to alter the sound you make

• You will learn how to negotiate different phrases to make them sound the way you want them to

• You will learn a variety of repertoire, including songs you may never have heard of before, broadening your knowledge and understanding of your voice

• You will learn to think about the interpretation and performance of your music, and develop your skills as a communicator

• You will become more confident in the sound you make from gaining better understanding of your voice

• You will learn a skill, with many different aspects that shows development and skill attainment. This will give you a sense of achievement and pride, regardless of whether you sit exams or learn for your own enjoyment

• You will learn a skill that you can share with others whether at home, with your friends or family, or taking part in performances

• You will learn the skills of how to use your voice so that you can problem solve technique and work on music yourself

I have a broad experience of teaching and have taught people with different learning styles and approaches, so please let me know if there is anything you would like to share with me about you before your lesson.

I always aim to teach in a way that helps each pupil achieve and succeed in their own goals, and I am open to altering our lessons to help you do this.