http://debralynnmusic.com/news.html Debra Lynn: News Jannis' PHPRss class - http://www.jannis.to/ Sat, 19 May 2012 01:10:27 -0700 http://debralynnmusic.com/news.html#5
Tom is Co-Director of the Valleyaires in South Bend, Indiana]]> http://debralynnmusic.com/news.html#5 Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700 Debra Lynn Music - Debra Lynn - News http://debralynnmusic.com/news.html#4
Here I am again - six months into my journey. Do you remember that I started with Debra in November, just as we were working towards IC&C? Debra said, “Give me six months, Evie!”

I had a lesson every other week. We started with the basics, changing my breathing and giving me a good understanding of support. Then we moved into vocal quality, placement, range, and many more things!

The added twist to this story is that every time I had a lesson, I took what I had learned back to my chorus. I incorporated Debra’s methods in my warm ups with the whole group. Extra section practices had us analyzing our songs and using Debra’s methods to maneuver through the tricky parts. I had every lead share a lesson with me because Debra is absolutely brilliant in hearing where each person is having difficulty and giving spot on advice to solve the problem!

So by the time April, and AC&C came along, the entire chorus was singing with Debra’s ”˜bel canto buzz’ ringing in their ears. We all were doing our best to hold out those ribs, keep the inner smile, and keep the lift so we would stay in pitch.

Were we successful? I’d say so! Here’s what we won:

Best Small Chorus & Most Improved in Singing Category - 8 points better than our last AC&C mark!

The singing judge said we were the only chorus that “sang like a quartet”!

Give Debra Lynn six months? I’ll give her the rest of my singing career!

With heartfelt thanks to you Debra, from Evie and The Thousand Islanders Chorus]]> http://debralynnmusic.com/news.html#4 Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700 Debra Lynn Music - Debra Lynn - News http://debralynnmusic.com/news.html#3
OK - she didn’t actually breathe life into me, but she certainly did revive me. You know how it is when the one thing in life that you do, starts to go? How would you feel if someone came along & gave you just the boost you needed to get you on track again, better than ever you imagined? I’m an old lady, 69 years young, and like everyone else who loves to sing, I’ve been in choirs all my life. We all hear that, don’t we? Sitting in a circle, making nice to the new workshop leader. “Oh I’ve sung all my life!”

But it wasn’t much fun anymore! My ”˜pretty voice’ wasn’t aging well. Well nothing else was either so why was I surprised? Oh, sure, I’d had a few singing teachers along the way. I’ve been told (for $30 an hour) to keep the sound up in front. I’ve agonized over my diaphragm & nodded sagely when the director pointed to his tummy & mouthed “SUPPORT”. His lessons were $40 an hour. Barbershop opened a big new world to me and I was fixated on pushing against my belt and bubbling. For $50 an hour.

Of course I understood none of it and blithely went on my way, pleased with my ”˜pretty but not very strong’ voice. Quartet? Oh, no thanks, I’ll just hide out in the chorus where I can sneak as many breaths as I need & where the people around me will keep me from my tendency to flatness. Was that enough? Sure. I worked hard, was ”˜off the paper’ quickly, arrived on time & kept quiet except for singing. I’m an excellent member of the chorus.

But then our tiny chorus qualified to go to Internationals! They got ”˜Best Small Chorus’ at AC&C, without me, as I had slipped away to visit family just before contest time. I knew I wasn’t ”˜contest material’! The problem was that a few gals couldn’t go to IC&C. So, I was asked, begged, to join them so a chorus could go. “I can’t sing at a big contest,” I said. “I can’t hold my breath long enough to breathe in the right places and I can’t stay in tune. What are you thinking?!”

Well, life is funny, isn’t it? Just at that time, we had the opportunity to share with a large chorus in the next town, and to have a workshop with a lady who was being talked about for her teaching methods and her ideas about bel canto singing. What kind of singing? Oh well, it doesn’t matter. A new workshop leader is always fun! And that night I met Debra Lynn. And Debra Lynn changed my life.

She sat down and talked WITH us. She asked what was bothering us the most about our singing. She understood, she cared, and she promised she could help. And she did! We held our ribs out & our music soared, we sang for her & tried a few of her ”˜quick tips’ and we could hear a real difference. We could see the visual pictures she drew for us to help us sound better. And we did! We sounded a lot better! And our Director was smiling!

I thought to myself, ”˜I wonder if Debra does private lessons on Skype. I wonder if she can help an old lady.’ So I got online & we worked it out. I was nervous, but, Debra took charge and the hour flew by. I had no time to worry about how awful I was. Debra was totally focused and knew exactly where she was going. She listened, suggested, listened some more & gave me another visual, listened even more and tried using different words to help me get where she was confident I could go, and where she knew I could feel what it was like when the sound was good. I learned more in one hour than I had learned in all my other lessons ($75 an hour - no gas or travel involved, no going out in the snow!)

In my first lesson, Debra said to me, “ Give me 6 months.” Well I only had one month until contest but I figured maybe I could be a whiz kid & learn quickly! I agreed to go with the chorus. To Internationals! And I signed up for 6 months of hard work with Debra. Every day I worked, following the last lesson I had recorded & saved on my computer. I made CD’s with my lessons on them so I could listen & review in the car. Maybe I wouldn’t be much better for contest but at least I knew what I was trying to do. And the next contest would come around in 6 months & then look out world!

So - what is it that’s so special? Why does Debra’s teaching ”˜work’ for me when other advice did not?

Debra listens to ME. She hears every nuance in my voice. She KNOWS what’s going on in my body. And she knows how a singer’s body should work. Debra not only feels what needs to happen, but she can show me, tell me, explain to me, give me visuals that make me see, and finally, actually gets me to FEEL what we’re after. That doesn’t mean I can do it all the time. But, if I can do it once, with Debra listening & leading me through it, then I can do it again myself, slowly, in my own practices, and I can, more & more, actually sing well at chorus! Everyone tells me they hear a huge difference in my singing.

Are you tired of hearing the director say, ”˜Hold through the end of the phrase’ and not being able to do so without taking a breath in the middle? The adage, just ”˜tank up’ never worked for me, and just ”˜sneaking a breath’ doesn’t work in a chorus of 12! Guess what? I now understand support, because Debra doesn’t tell you to do it and just expect it to happen. She shows you exactly what to do, step by step, until you FEEL what is going on in your body so you CAN sing the long phrases. It’s unbelievable!

How do you get through your break (or as Debra calls them, your passaggio)? Just do your ”˜nee nee’s’ with Debra and soon you’ll be zipping through the scale, without even being aware of them anymore.

Do some songs leave you behind because of high and low notes? Debra has increased my range, in both directions, so I can sing anything the director throws at us.

So - how did we do at Internationals? Well we were the smallest chorus & we weren’t last.

I’ve been working with Debra for four months. I am now a respected member of the chorus (section leader, believe it or not). I even get asked to sub in quartets occasionally. And I am determined that all my section will be able to sing the long phrases, hold to the end of the phrase, stay in tune, sing the high (and low) notes, and SMILE.

The next contest is approaching. We are singing the same ballad again. How am I doing with it? I take my breaths in the proper place. I hold strong to the end of phrases. I’m working on having more resonance, but I still have lots of ”˜ping’. And, best of all, I can hit that last high E with clarity and hold it out there as long as the director can hold her arms out to the audience!

I love you Debra Lynn. You are saving my life.

Evelyn Hazzard, Brockville Thousand Islanders]]> http://debralynnmusic.com/news.html#3 Sun, 26 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800 Debra Lynn Music - Debra Lynn - News http://debralynnmusic.com/news.html#2
Impeccable legato
Seamless vocal production
Vocal agility
Well-focused timbre
Clean attacks
Graceful phrasing
Full mastery of breath control
Avoidance of aspirants
Avoidance of loose vibrato]]> http://debralynnmusic.com/news.html#2 Fri, 11 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700 Debra Lynn Music - Debra Lynn - News