Unit 26 Singing Technique - Deacon Cutt

This week, we were able to learn the majority of the song's lyrics. I was able to sing the song off book for the most part. I also feel that I had very good projection and diction on the sections of the song that I knew for only the second rehearsal. I also feel that the song worked really well for everyone as an ensemble with it complementing all of our vocal ranges and specialities quite well.  However, I do feel that I really need to improve on my singing of the lower harmony part of the song. Although this is something that I can improve my listening to the song more and getting used to not singing the tune and to focus on the lower harmony more in my head. 

In general, I feel that I have greatly improved over the rehearsal process of SIX. During the first couple of weeks, I really struggled to sing and dance in time especially when trying to sing harmonies, to begin with I found this to be nearly impossible. However, as the rehearsal process went on I was able to greatly improve on this.  Through the rehearsals I have been able to greatly improve my ability to sing harmonies since starting Six. Before, I really struggled to differentiate the tune of a song from the harmonies, however I can now isolate the tune of a song from the harmonies and sing them to an accurate and high standard.  For my role as an understudy I was also able to sing the principal role's song to a high standard, even though I had change the belting note at the end to fit something to match my range I felt this fit the song really well and didn't diminish the quality of the song in anyway.  However, I do feel that I could still improve on my characterisa...

In the final show week, we had our tech and dress rehearsals. These rehearsals were incredibly useful in fully cementing all of the numbers within us as a company. Rehearsing with the band also allowed us to work on timings and our harmonies without the backing track, this incredibly useful as it allowed us all to work on any last minute things that we were struggling with such as certain harmonies in songs like the lower harmony in Heart Of Stone.  On Wednesday morning, I also found out that I would have to take up the principle role of Anna Of Cleves that day. On my first rehearsal in the morning, I was able to mostly perform the role up to a high standard. However, there were moments where I was supposed to sing the lower harmony in songs and I decided to sing the tune due to not being fully confident as I had not been singing the lower harmonies in the majority of the songs while being in a member of the ensemble. I also found it harder to sing harmonies while I was performing ...

This week, we began rehearsing a new song: Treat People With Kindness by Harry Styles. We were able to run through the majority of the song and establish most of the harmonies within. Our projection and overall diction during the first verse and the choruses was very good, with the higher harmonies also having a very high level of clarity which sounded really developed, especially for our first rehearsal of the piece.  However, I do feel that the lower harmony required much more development. Our projection and diction on solo lines was very prevalent as something that required development. Although I feel that the thing which needs to be worked on the most is the key in which we sing in, once we properly practice singing in the key of the lower harmony I think that we will be able to develop our diction and articulation at a much more accelerated rate  Link To Rehearsal

This week, we performed our first full run through of Six. This was incredibly successful, we were able to complete the performance accurately without the need to stop. We have greatly improved on our characterisation and our volume throughout all of the songs and as a result the entire performance had much more energy and vigor to it.  Personally, I have definitely improved on my use of vocals and movement at the same time. This became apparent to me when I was tasked with singing the song "Get Down" while performing the normal movements I would as a backup dancer; this highlighted how much easier it is for me to sing and dance now. My breath control has greatly improved compared to my performances earlier on in the rehearsal process.  However, I do feel that we still need to improve on our characterisation in the final number. This includes our use of facial expressions and overall body language, this song is quite different to the other songs within the play as it is a muc...

 

This week, we greatly improved on our projection while we were performing. Now, we can be heard much clearer over the music of the backing track while still keeping up a high level of dancing and overall movement. We also got to perform in front of the college later in the week, this was useful for all of us to perform to a big audience for the first time. It was also a good experience for performing in a smaller space where we had to be more mindful of the movements that we were making due to everyone being more enclosed.  I have also been able to greatly improve my harmonies within the songs, I can now sing the lower harmonies without feeling the need to sing the tune of the song.  However, we still need to work on our characterisation with the songs. Although we have made progress on this, the dances themselves still do not have character to them, with many of us not matching the tone of the song in our facial expressions, vocals and the personality of our movements.  ...