- What do I do if I have a sore throat and it hurts to sing?
- How can I become part of the Special Chorus?
- How often should a person sing?
- How does one read music?
- What type of singing technique do you teach, Mrs. Cowan?
What do I do if I have a sore throat and it hurts to sing?
When you have a sore throat, either sing softly or don't sing. If you have
chorus, tell me and I will let you sit out. BUT you still have alot to do,
read along, pay attention, you can still learn alot. Also, at home, fix a
glass of warm water and put a little lemon juice in it and gargle it. You
don't have to drink it, just spit it out. Lemon is the BEST thing for a
singer's throat. Celine Dion does this before EVERY concert she sings!!!
How can I become part of the Special Chorus?
I pick several Special Chorus's throughout the year. Sometimes I audition for
them, sometimes I just choose singers. It depends on what songs I want to do
and for what occassions we're performing. But I will always let you know when
the auditions are and what I'm looking for.
How often should a person sing?
singing is NEVER over. If you ask me, a person should sing all day; in the
shower when you get up in the morning, on the way home on the bus, out on the
baseball field. Singing yourself to sleep is the best. It's better then
counting sheep!!! When I was a kid, I used to challenge myself to see how
often I could remember to sing. Try it sometime.
How does one read music?
When ever you learn a Chorus song, learn the words first by heart. After this
then you can free up your eyes to look at the notes over top of the words.
Even if you can't tell exactly what the notes are, you can still learn to see
where the notes are going. Are they going up, walking or jumping, or going
down or staying the same. If you do this enough you will eventually be able to
"read the music". When you get good enough then you can figure your
song out
all by yourself with no piano. Hah!
What type of singing technique do you teach, Mrs. Cowan?
I am a little different then many other voice teachers in school districts. I
was operatically trained by Beatric Littau of the New York Metropolitan Opera.
I do not teach, as many teachers do, that there are 3 registers. Instead I
teach what is called the "Open Throat" method. The concept of this
technique
is that our voice is all one, like a rubber band. I approach it as one
instrument inorder to creat a smooth continuum throughout the voice, with no
break points. So I start by teaching children to "open their
throats". I'll
say things like "put the orange in your mouth" or "give me
shape". Opera
singers specialize in keeping their position in singing; the best ones do
anyway. It's like the difference between sitting up straight and slouching.
When I want you to keep the position in singing I'll say "you are the king
rolling out the red carpet, looking down" or "pull the puppet
string." The
final part to the package is breath. Many times in opera, the singers do not
use microphones, they can through the use of air put out incredible sound.
When it gets close to concert time, especially I teach the children how to
"fill the room with sound."