Group 1

Sedef CANKOCAK you do NOT need to sing. You can just show an annotated score and then perform the solo piano, highlighting the phrasing in your playing that you derived from your new vocal part. Hope that clarifies a bit more! An annotated score and discussion is equally wonderful -

@Dr. Leann Osterkamp  Hi dear All, here is my piece set to lyrics. I chose measures 6 to 13 from Baldassare Galuppi's piano sonata no. 5; I skipped the beginning so as not to repeat the phrase.  This simple melody which is very singable, reminded me of the French "chanson" style  so I wrote a little 'ode' to the river Seine (and Paris) for it:  "Le Seine, c'est une belle rivière, dans une ville pleine de joie, une ville pleine d'histoire qui nous rende bien heureux; une rivière qui brille,  qui danse sous le soleil; sans pareil, elle nous enchante à chaque réveille; padam, padam, chantons, chantons, à la gloire, à la gloire de la Seine."   The blue commas are breathing spaces.  In the first phrase (measures 8 and 9 , although there is an 8th note break, it somehow sounded better without a break so I sang it as a single line;  I sang measures 11-12 and 13-14 differently, the first slurred and  the second more staccato  moving towards the more playful jumping notes part.  I will upload a recording asap (without singing though, as I tend to croak out of tune). Cheers. Sedef  

Sedef CANKOCAK great work! You bring up an interesting topic... does a rest REQUIRE a breath? If you look at m. 11 and m. 13, you see that, although there is a rest, there is also a longer phrase marking showing the lengthening of the idea. Although m. 9 does NOT have the longer phrase mark, I can see how one might choose to do the phrase without a breath there. Perhaps how we articulate and pace our phrase can give the function of a rest without having to do an actual breath. 

Blair Boone-Migura wonderful work! You have a truly wonderful sense of poetry and you are also talented with a great voice! :) 

I think you demonstrated a great point for everyone. Playing the piano part well while singing is very challenging. I would say that this is a great exercise for everyone, even if you are not a singer. Having to shift your attention to something on both a physical and mental level will "shake" up your practicing. Often, we can get stuck focusing on the same thing the same way every time. When we make a mistake, sometimes fixing it is just a matter of focusing on something different. Maybe you only focus on the right hand but focusing on the left hand for a measure will put everything in place or fix a voicing issue, for example. 

Not only is singing a melodic line while playing a good exercise but singing lots of different lines is a great exercise. Sing the bass line, sing a random hidden counter melody! Not only will you improve by focusing on something new but you will also be forced to really detail work that line dynamically and with phrasing. If your bass line is vocal, where would you breathe? Where would the phrase arc? 

As a final project for an Ear Training course at Juilliard, I remember they had us sing a chosen middle voice of a piece of repertoire while performing it. I think I had to sing a random inner voice while playing Chopin Ballade No. 4..... woof! 

Dr. Leann Osterkamp He Thank you so much for the thoughtful feedback and kind words. And what a great idea and challenge to try and sing a different vocal line from the main melody. I can't even imagine trying to do that while playing Chopin's Ballade No. 4 (my dream piece which for the time being remains only in my dreams). So, very impressive!