SINGING IN ENGLISH ... 

 

February, 2009

 

Some years ago, I was attending an after-performance “do” at the Met, solo, when I observed a fellow apparently, also alone. We smiled and I walked over and introduced myself and he began, “Oh, I’m not really anybody. Oh ..wait a minute, d you say, Dick Fredricks?” I smiled in the affirmative and he animatedly began calling to a woman, in a group several feet away, “ Madeline, Madeline, come over here.” She broke away from her party and as she joined us, he excitedly said, “Madeline ... THIS is Dick Fredricks.” It apparently was her turn to get excited, as she said, “Oh Mr. Fredricks, I’m Madeline Marshall ... and I teach English diction, for the operatic stage, at Juilliard and I tell everyone of my students, ‘If you want to hear the best English diction, on the operatic stage, go listen to Richard Fredricks ... and he’s not even my student!’” I expressed my appreciation for her compliment and we exchanged some anecdotal instances and pleasantries.

 

I have mentioned previously, on these pages, how Carlos Noble–my first real coach–had made me acutely aware of the meaning of the words, rather than the quality of my voice. Over the years, as I began teaching what it do, I had to take it apart–engineering mind at work–to be able to speak not only authoritatively, but with the specificity of the processes individual parts and how they work in harmony. It is a technique ...

 

The most important thing, out front, is my support technique, which makes an unending, flexible flow of sound, always spinning forward in a pocket, arbitrarily the size of a ping-pong ball, in and under the nose and hard palate, with flexible support on demand. (See Aug and Sept, 2007!) The “secret’ is the pure, bright, clean vowels, flowing seamlessly, one to another, without letting the consonants and diphthongs disturb the line!

 

The next concept is to always–repeat–always vocally grow on the stressed vowels, singing them just tad longer, as a result, than the other “passing” words that fill out a sentence. That allows the ears of the audience to have the slightly longer, time to IDENTIFY the vowes/words ... and to more readily grasp the meaning of the sentences. There is more to the shaping of the phrases, than that ... but, those subtleties are difficult to put into words you can readily translate into action. It’s much easier to understand the concept, when demonstrated. You might find more clarity in actually listening to how I do it, in a variety of different songs, on the audio portion of my Video/Audio pages ... if you have ever been below the videos, on the page. Listen to, for instance, the Cabin Scene, from Molly Brown, as well as The Girl that I Marry, from Annie Get Your Gun. There are lots more songs, as well.

You fellas, out there ... sing along with me and you will start to see how I put the emphasis on the stressed vowels. Another alternative, is to go to YouTube and listen to these “Ballad of Baby Doe” scenes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayIKypqyEiM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWZHO3DP-18&feature=related

 

For one on one lessons, on Skype, that address is METBARITONE4

 

Best, Richard.
 

JANUARY 09 - GETTING AN AGENT AND/OR MANAGER (Part 4)

DECEMBER 08 - GETTING AN AGENT AND/OR MANAGER (Part 3)

NOVEMBER 08 -
GETTING AN AGENT AND/OR MANAGER (Part 2)

OCTOBER 08 - GETTING AN AGENT AND/OR MANAGER (Part 1)

SEPTEMBER 08 - HEAVY BREATHING ADVISED FOR JOCKS

AUGUST 08 -  THE VAGARIES OF AUDITIONS AND AUDITIONING (Part 3)

JULY 08 -
THE VAGARIES OF AUDITIONS AND AUDITIONING (Part 2)

JUNE 08 -
THE VAGARIES OF AUDITIONS AND AUDITIONING (Part 1)

MAY 08 - ABSENCE OF TENSION

APRIL 08 -
THE FLAT TONGUE TECHNIQUE AND HOW DO YOU MAKE A VOWEL

MARCH 08  - THE VOICE COACHING THAT  MADE MY CAREER

FEBRUARY 08 - WHAT ARE YOU SINGING?

JANUARY 08 -
VIBRATO/WOBBLE

DECEMBER 07 - BREATHING REVISITED

NOVEMBER  07 - HOW TO KILL A COLD IN FIVE DAYS

OCTOBER 07 - A BIT MORE SUPPORT

SEPTEMBER 07 - MORE SUPPORT

AUGUST 07 - INTRO & BREATHING/SUPPORT