DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS L. TRANSLATE THE WORDS. I£ the text is in a foreign language, weite the word by word English translation above the words in the music. “Tf the song is in English, make sure you look up any unfamiliac words. 2. SPEAK THE TEXT. Write out the text in your notebook for these three steps. @) Speak the text slowly with full voice to be sure of the correct sounds. b) Speak the text out loud with continuous sound (legato), sustaining the vowels as you would in singing. Smoothly connect. all the sounds with no glottal stops or pulsing of the breath. Repeat this step until you can speak the text faster than you w lever have to sing it. “—g) Speak thé tex Bringing out the important words. 3. TEXT, MUSIC, IMAGINATION. Completely answer in your notebook in detail the following questions about your song text: a) Time? (year, date, season, time of day or night b) Where does. the story take place? Take into - consideration the language in which you are singing. (the country, the city, the location as specific as a certain room in a house) ¢) Character? Use imagination, be specific and interesting. (Sex, age, education, social status: give a biography as it is pertinent to the song) @) To whom is the character singing? (oneself, many ethers, someone else) If singing to someone else, give a history of their relationship. e) Is the song representational (audience looks in on you doing the scene) or presentational (you sing directly to the audience and include them in your scene)? £) Scene setting? (time of day, describe the specific place and what you see, hear, smell, and touch g) What has gone on just before you sing that makes the singer use these particular words? & good song has emotional conflict and tension in it which may be resolved or left unresolved. What is the tension or release of tension which causes the singer to sing these words and not some others? h) Choose a progression of emotional states which may be applied to this song. One state throughout is not interesting. 4° MEMORIZE THE TEXT AND PERFORM AS A SPOKEN MONOLOGUE. Imagine the surroundings of your story and perform the text as a realistic monologue in a play. Move around, sit down, lie down or do whatever makes sense. If you are dealing with 4 foreign language text, be able to do this monologue in the foreign Tanguage and in an English paraphrase.STEPS TO LEARNING A SONG Name Semester Do these steps in the order given. Mark X in the box when you have completed each step. DO NOT go to the next step until you have perfected the previous one. See the attached sheets for detailed instructions. SONG TITLES 1. Translate the words 2. Speak the text a) for correct pronunciation b) for continuity ¢) for expression 3. Text, music, imagination paper 4. Memorize text and perform as ssoken monologue 5. Rhythm a) tap the beat, speak the rhythm b) tap the beat, speak the words Melody a) play on piano b) sing on “1a” ¢) sing on one vowel (legato) 4) sing on written vowels e) sing with consonants added 7. Study the accompaniment 8. Assign emotional states + Presentation a) eye focus shifts b) body shifts, gestures {aoe ne jr9. PRESENTATION. a) Bye focus shifts. If you see your scene, your audience will also see it. A song will be boring if you focus in one place throughout. Practice the various kinds of focuses listed below until they are natural for you. Until you are proficient with focus shifts, plan them out and write them in your music beginning with the few seconds before the plano beginee 1. SUST LOOK AT SOMETHING (The eyes stay in one place seeing one thing that is real or imagined.) 2. {OOK AT THE ENVIRONMENT (The eyes gradually sweep from one side to the other, taking in the total distant environment in general - not stopping to focus on any one thing very long.) 3. SEARCH (The eyes search for something real or for a thought, such as a solution to a problem.- The eyes move from one thing to another holding for a second in each spot to consider each possibility. The most common fault in this focus is to look too quickly from one thing to the next.) 4. INTERIOR FOCUS (You see your own thoughts. Usually, past thoughts are seen downward, and future thoughts are seen upward. The eyes stay in’one spot. Remember, " A wandering eye indicates a wandering mind.") 5. LIGHTBULB! (Your eyes suddenly move to something else and remain there, as if something startled you.) 6. VISION (You see the future or something that no one else can see. This is most strongly effective if the focus stays in one place ahead of you.) 7. EYE SHUTTER . (Your eyes shut to close out something you cannot bear to see any longer, or they shut to revel in something wonderful that you want to last forever.) b) Body shifts and gestures need to be practiced until they feel natural. Shifting your weight, gesturing and changing your eye focus helps the audience to see what they are hearing. Additionally, these shifts help you to relax. Make specific choices, write them in your music, and repeat them until they are notivated and hatural-Ieeking. i Ag. Do not leave this step to the last minute or to the spontaneity of the moment of performance until you are very skilled. a5; RHYTHM. 00 not begin this step until you have played man cimes with stap Ft and have Ehe Pent ChOroughTe wom argughly wemeriteds ay Tap the steady metcic beats with one hand and Speak the chythm of the melody on "la." Go only as quickly as you can do correctly the most difficult section. Repeat until you are accurately speaking faster than you will ever have to sing the song. ob) nap a steady metrical beat and speak the words. Eventually go faster that you will sing the song. 6. MELODY. a) Tap the meter with one hand and play the melody on the piano. Not just once; repeat until you know it. pi Repeat and add your voice lightly singing "1a" until you know it. és c) Away from the piano sing-the melody on one’ vowél to make a smooth convection or ies rom note to note (legato). Do not*fs punch the rhythm with your breath. You should internalizs-the-— Pulse of the meter. a) Now work the song into your voice by singing the. melody again only using the vowels of the eavetx (Ho consonants). Pay strict attention to use a smooth (even sloppy) flow of air ts connect all the vowels and pitch intervals. e) Sing with consonants added. Make the air continue through the consonants and clusters of consonants. 7. STUDY THE ACCOMPANIMENT. 2) gotudy the texture, the complexity, the dynamics and any unexpected or colorful harmonic changes and relate these to the text. Look for your beginning pitches in the prelude and interludes. b) Listen to the accompaniment by playing it or by having someone play it for you at the piano. " c) Listen to.a recording. If an orchestra is playing, listen for the changes of texture and instrumental coloy. a) Sing with the accompaniment. &- ASSIGN EMOTIONAL STATES. From your imagination, apply specific and interesting emotional reactions to your text. Because noone else has conceived the same story behind the song as you have, your story and emotional reactions are unique. This makes your performance artistic. Choose a progression of a least ppomettonal states which makes this character change throughout the song. Play with many different possibilities and do not Settle for the first obvious ones which come to mind. Remember, aheppy" and "sad" are very general and not interesting choices. After you have experimented with many possibilities, make Gencrete choices and write them in your music. Do not wait for he spontaneity of the performance to make your choices -~ that is the work of amateurs. Plan them out.