Amarilli, mia bella – Giulio Caccini
I chose to learn this song because I thought that the pace would help with my need to work on elongating my vowels. 3 weeks in, what have I learned from this song?
- I have found that not only has it helped with my vowels, but this song has also helped with a more consistent vocal resonance. Who would have thought?
- I have been practicing bouncing my consonants like the Italians do
While I love Cecilia Bartoli’s rendition, I would have to say my favorite is Jan Degaetani’s recording.
Sight Singing Made Simple – Rhythm
As a new singer, one of the personal goals that I set for myself is sight singing. There are two books that I researched but decided I wanted to start with the more amateur of the two: ”Sight Singing Made Simple” by David Bauguess.
What’s great about the book is that it “assumes you know nothing about reading music.” That’s a lie for me to some extent but that just means the basics will be a bit easier for me.
Thus far, I have gone through the first section regarding Rhythm, Note Value and Rest Value. The exercises were very straight forward but I do wish that there was a metronome track of some sort that could be used for the various exercises. I may be a long time dancer but that doesn’t mean that I have the rhythm of a percussionist.
Anyone find this section as easy as I did?
Se tu m’ami, se sospiri – Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
When choosing a song for my first classical recital, my teacher played the vocal line of two songs. I chose this one because the sound was darker and definitely more appealing.
What are some of the things I learned from this song?
- I much prefer the warmer tones of my middle/lower register
- Beginning knowledge of Italian diction
- Elongating vowels by pushing ending consonants to the beginning of the next word
The best tool that I found for learning this song was the companion disc that comes with the book “Classical Contest Solos – Soprano” published by Hal Leonard (and found at my local library). The disc includes the song performed, an accompaniment track, and an Italian lesson track for the song.