Concone

Within a couple weeks of starting voice lessons, Dr. Singalot  told us to buy a vocal exercise book, called "Concone".  It's thirty different exercises of increasing difficulty.  There's everything from scales to trills to just plain weird intervals.

I love concone. 

It is a challenge, and one that I see myself improve upon on a weekly basis.  The first one he ever gave me scared me to death.  At that point, I still had the issue of my vocal break, and this very slow, simple scale seemed like a mountain I'd never climb.  Now, it's more like an anthill.

I know that someday, I will look back on ones I find difficult now and laugh, but there is nothing like seeing yourself improve so quickly.  

I never said it was painless.

There have been days of frustration.  Plenty of them.  I thought I'd never be able to do a fast scale.  Tonight, though, I had very little problem with it.

Another thing Concone has fostered is my high notes.  Part of my high notes are due to my awareness of technique, but I owe a great deal of my high notes to Concone.  Within the past couple weeks, high notes(up to about a high C) have felt like they are in my normal range.  Before, they were strained and felt very different from my middle range.  Now, it's like I don't even realize I'm singing high.  It's an awesome feeling.

Singing is a physically rewarding process.  The open, relaxed feeling in my throat is more pleasurable than any other thing I could possibly be doing.  Sounds crazy, but it's true. 

More than anything, Concone has made me believe in myself.  Had Dr. Singalot babied me and not challenged me, I would not be encouraged(he who aims at nothing will always it it), but to be able to look back and see how far I've come is incredible.

I remember Renee Fleming writing in her book, "The Inner Voice", about how, as a daughter of two voice teachers, she understood the importance of note by note practice.  Building technique.  Tedious, perhaps(not my case), but necessary.  No one wakes up as Mimi at the Met singing a perfect high C.  No one.

I love Concone.