Ok, so I know it wasn’t a Speech Level Singing class but yesterday I got a phonecall inviting me to take the last slot in a masterclass with the opera singer Teresa Cahill who had been brought over to the Island for the weekend.
It was very much a classical singing session, with focus on the normal ‘operatic’ classical vocal technique. My voice was tired from a week of teaching and, this week, shouting, but she did get the best out of the two songs I chose to do for her.
Her main focus in my voice was using the ’singer’s mask’ to lift the tone of the voice and give it more of a ping. It is a technique I know well, or at least, knew well, but I had got out of the habit of doing it. It did make a difference to the tone on the upper notes (highest note = top G) and brought even more projection.
I’m still on the hunt for that elusive top B flat and time is pressing. I had a practice with my pianist on Wednesday and actually, although the B flat cracked as usual, the top C was vaguely acceptable. For some reason, the B flat seems right on a cracking point between chest and head. I think I’m going to have to break this down and practise the two phrases leading to the B flats in Ingemisco until I crack it. I’ll report back.
Teresa Cahill
