I had a lesson yesterday and my teacher told me that indeed my problems during that dreadful practice session had been caused by my overdoing singing "oo" with a smile. He said I should only do that as an exercise, which helps place my voice properly, but that I should not do that when I am singing. Using the relaxed "o" position and sometimes imagining I am drinking the sound in with a small mouth seems to help. During the rehearsal I was able to sing the difficult passages numerous times with minimal mishap. I didn't sing as well at the very end when he asked us to sing the piece through (after rehearsing other things) but I didn't disgrace myself. There are several passages I don't sing, which is noticeable, because even singing softly my voice has a different timbre from other people's, but that's tough nuggies.
He also mentioned a "Music Sunday" (not a church holiday) and asked for volunteers for solos. I asked about singing the "Laudamus te" from the Bach B Minor Mass again and he said he thought it was too long, so I suggested the Saint Saens piece "Thou O Lord Art My Redeemer". I gave him the music and he said he would take a look at it. He also said he might want to give opportunities to people who don't usually sing solos. If you only look at individual solos, I probably sing more than most people, on the other hand this is no longer true if you count solo sections from choral pieces, which I rarely sing, because except in Bach and Mozart, where there are solos for each voice part, most of the choral pieces have solos for high sopranos, high tenors, or low basses, but rarely for midrange and lower women's voices. But I would not be offended if he gave the solo spots to other people as long as they were from our choir and not "professionals" brought in from outside.
I also mentioned singing "Qui Sedes" (also from the B Minor Mass) during the summer. I told him I had the oboe music as well. He said he didn't know if he could get an oboist, but maybe I can sing it just with him on the organ.
On another subject, my hairdresser came to my house a few days ago to give me a perm. I am not crazy about it because she cut my hair too short and it didn't really curl enough, but I got a lot of compliments on it yesterday. She also brought her new Ipad and took a series of photos, which I like. I am posting the best ones here.
Not only am I determined to hold my own against the "real" singers when they talk about singing, I am also determined to hold my own against them in posting my own glam shots, when I can find people to take them.
Not bad for someone who will be eligible to collect Social Security in a little over two months!
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