Resubmission

the songs that i will be singing are

1. on and on by Erykah Badu (blues/soul written in 1997) i chose this because i love the lyrics and meaning of the song. 
2. well well well by Duffy (pop written in 2010) i decided to do this song because i think it suits my voice and it allows me to show of range 
3. heavy by Dreamgirls cast (pop/rnb written in 1981) i like this song because it starts slow and jazzy and then gets faster i also like it because its a musical theatre song   
4. proud mary by Tina Turner (funk/soul written in 1988) i also like how this song is slow then fast and i like the message and the underline meaning of the song
5. be my baby by Wonder Girls (kpop written in 2011) i want to sing this song acapella and i like it because its a ballad and it about wanted to be with someone im going to do an English version of the k-pop song 
6. dont think im not by Kandi (pop written in 2000) i like this song because its all about if someone does you wrong and you do it back to them as pay back 

i have also got some songs that i was going to sing but then chose to not sing because i felt they may not have fit my range, pitch or they didn't contrast

• you know i'm no good by Amy Whinehouse 
• Valarie Amy Whinehouse
• don't touch my hair by Solange  
• cranes in the sky by Solange 
• umbrella by Rihanna 
• love on the brain by Rihanna 
• think by Aretha Franklin
• Respect Aretha Franklin 
• he's the wizard by the Wiz cast 
• all that jazz by Chicago cast

i am very happy with the songs that i have chosen because i think they all suit my voice really well and i have been able to sing through all of the songs without getting tired or running out of breath. there were a lot of of challenges picking a perfect set list because you have to think about your voice what goes with it, what notes can you hit, how fast or slow you can sing and how you feel  the song there is no point of singing if you don't connect to the song emotionally. you also have to think about your audience if yo sing songs that are boring and that no one will get into then they will find it hard to enjoy what your doing, my set has a range of different songs they has all different tempos styles and meanings.



to prepare for this i have been constantly going through the songs repeating over and over again I've been trying to sit up straight and keep a good posture i have also been doing some back exercises to help with posture. for breathing and control of breathing i have been doing some inhaling and exhaling exercises to help with holding notes and to help my when im singing a fast song that i can keep my breath steady. for tone my teacher has said that i already have made improvements on my pitch and i have been trying to do different exercises to help me get comfortable with my vocals. to help with my stage presents i have been doing open mic nights and i have been listening to the songs and finding little ways that i could make movements so that it more fun to watch. 

Wednesday 31st January     

 
today we were given a sheet telling us to work on our set lists we then split up into different groups and my group decided to show a verse and a chorus to each other so we can tell on and other what we thought about the songs. when it was time for me to sing i sung on and on the reason i chose that song was because i wanted to put it at the beginning of my recital and i needed to know if it was a strong open, the freed back that i got was positive and what they did say is i need to get into the song more like actually feel it.

Friday 2nd February

because we had a day off i spent the whole day going thought songs i knew i could sing well writing them down and then singing them and deciding which ones sound good.

Saturday 3rd February

i am really happy because today i did an open mic night at one of my friends parents restaurants and i sung two songs from my list and it felt good to get over my stage fright a little bit by getting on the stage and singing songs that i love singing.

for the past three months i have been doing a lot to help me with my voice for one i have been singing basically everyday because i feel more confident in my voice i have also been singing in front of family and friends to get their feedback to try and better my singing skills. i have also been signing

To prepare for the solos I had to do A LOT of practice and vocal exercises to reach certain ranges. To help with me with this I looked up different types of vocal stretch exercises, the ones that I ended up using was one where u go up and down the scale in one breath (because breathing is another thing I needed to work on) and I would voice record every time i would do this so I could look back and see how I have improved on what still needed work on. this is important because it helps with breathing which I will need whilst I'm singing to have support to sustain notes.
Another exercise that I did was breathing in for 4 counts then letting go for 8 after doing that for a while i eventually changed it to breathing in for 4 and breathing out for 12 and then breathing in for 2 and coming out for 8. humming whilst breathing out also helps (a,e,i,o,u) because its stretching out your vocals. This is important because it will help improve my vocal range.
I get very bad stage fright sometimes as well so to help me try and get over that i would sing daily in front of my mum and sister, and even sometimes go to my mums work and sing at open mic nights I feel like this helped because i was able to perform in front of people i don't know and get an honest reaction from them. doing live performances are very valuable because it helps with my stage confidence. i also took load of videos of myself singing the songs which helped me because i tried to act like i was singing to an audience and then i would look back at them and assess when i was doing wrong or right, for example i once was singing a song whilst closing my eyes for too long so i sang it again trying to engage with an audience. my voice is very loud so i felt like projection isn't something i need to work on but just in case i used my living room and tried to fill up the room with my voice. to help me with articulation and pronunciation i practiced singing song fast and slow to see if my voice could adjust to the different speeds whilst still being heard and understood this is important because i need to be able to go different speed to match a different beat.
 I'm glad that I took the opportunity to do live shows before the recital because it helped me to learn how to control my nerves. i learned quickly that if i used the breathing exercises that i had been rehearsing with it helped me not be out of breath during performances. By drawing on the different vowel sounds it helped with my pronunciation and articulation. I am glad a practiced this as I could hear the benefits when performing.