By Fin Harrison
Introduction
In this portfolio, I will be reflecting on the progress I’ve made throughout the academic year in three aspects: acting through song and looking at the context of my songs in more depth to help deliver a more effective performance as well as looking at styles out of my comfort zone, vocal performance with power and consistency and pullbacks in tap dancing. In this portfolio, I will evaluate where I was when I first began in September with what I found difficult and what could be improved, before looking at the steps I took to help improve these skills and aspects. I will explain how these steps assisted me in moving forward, looking at which fields specifically aided me, for example singing, with what vocal exercises I found more helpful in feeling more confident in my voice’s ability. Finally, I will evaluate where I am now with these three aspects, looking at what goals I now set myself for the next two years of university. I will look over where I was when I started, where I am now and, most importantly, where I want to be by the end of my training.
Acting Through Song
Prior to beginning my training at university, I had little experience focusing on my acting through song and what goes into creating a good, effective performance. I tended to go for comedic songs only, as that is what I was comfortable with prior to starting my training and didn’t plan on changing it. I also found that once I learnt a song, I thought I knew what I was doing straight away without any need to look at my song from a different perspective than just letting the acting choices come to me when rehearsing. In my first experience of getting up in acting through song, I didn’t do enough research into a song that required an adequate amount. I sang “What Chance Have I With Love” (Berlin, Ryskind, 1940), which looks at many figures in history that had love effect them in a negative way. I was unaware of some of the names and their stories mentioned and as the song is meant to be performed in a very comical manner, I believe there were many opportunities to have a comical moment missed. I was given notes on how to physically reference some of these figures of history and knew that instead of focusing on the context of the music, I was too focused on the melody itself and delivering a good performance vocally. I decided to look into the context of the beings mentioned and realized how crucial they were to the song. I believe that it could’ve gone worse due to my knowledge of some beings mentioned, yet it would have been a lot more impactful if I had researched the ones I didn’t know.
With that, I looked at the context of my songs in more detail. I decided to listen to other songs from the same show to understand the style of how it was written more. I found that listening to other songs from the same show helped me get a feel for the music; the style it was written in and how it should be sang. I also discovered that after researching the context of the show, the motive of the song became a lot clearer to me and a lot easier to perform. The next song I sang was “She Loves Me” (Bock, Harnick & Masteroff, 1963), which is another comical song but one that needs a lot of contextual awareness to drive the song forward. I decided to listen to the show and research the story as well as the character singing the song, which really opened my eyes on how big of an impact research can make. Before coming to university, I had no knowledge of this show, and after a couple of hours of research, I knew everything that I needed to in order to build my performance to a satisfying level. I was more aware of the objectives, purpose, as well as who and what exactly I was singing about. My performance was only recorded at the end, and my only note in this video was my eye line being too low, which was easily corrected. I was really proud of myself in terms of how I let my research implement itself into my acting, with letting the objective deliver the comedic essence of the song. I felt a lot more confident with getting up to sing the song as well, as I felt well prepared with my material and the choices I had made.
Finally, I got up to sing “Mr Cellophane” (Kander, Ebb, 1975). This piece is a bit contrasting compared to the songs I sang prior, as even though there are some comedic elements in the song, these are overshadowed by more serious elements. As mentioned, I only went for comedic songs, so I thought this song was perfect for introducing me to other themes. With that, this song pushed me in the sense of looking at more naturalistic themes of someone going through a heartbreak or feeling quite low. I already knew the context of this song due to its popularity, yet didn’t research other performers’ takes on how they performed this song, as I wanted to do it in my own way. I believe that I had grown in self assurance of my own craft that I could create my own character from looking at the sheet music and being aware of the context. As seen in the video, I started off with an exercise that let me sing the chorus with a group of my peers walking around me as if I wasn’t there, which assisted me in acquiring the desperation necessary to portray the character. This really helped me get into the mindset of the character and immersed me in what he would have been feeling at that time.
With the help of that, I sang the song by myself, internalising that despondence at the start before ultimately letting it seep through by the end. I was given a note to mime the words when there was a break vocally in the music, and so I found that I let myself maintain that sense of comedy whilst remaining quite a lot more vulnerable than I usually portray myself. I tend to go for more comedic songs in my repertoire, so this song was very challenging to get right, but I am pleased with how I did and I believe that I was successful. I have felt an expansion in the of range of styles I am able to perform as an actor after looking at this song, as I taught myself that an audience can be captivated without laughing. I always felt that I needed to make the audience laugh to ensure that I was performing well, yet with this song in particular, I allowed myself to refrain from going for just laughs, and I was very proud of the performance I conveyed. Overall, this has granted me a lot of determination to look at more serious pieces which can showcase the range of my acting ability, with performing both comedic and more serious material in my second and third year at university.
Singing
At the start of my training at university, I believe I was at an adequate level of singing. I had previous experience with singing during my time at college, with occasional short one to one sessions focusing on technique, yet didn’t have enough for them to be too beneficial. I was only made aware of my range, being told that I was a baritone and so, with that, I didn’t understand enough about my own voice and its capability. I was unaware of different styles of singing, placement and how to control my breath. During my first few singing lessons, I was running out of breath constantly as I didn’t know where to pause, and at the top notes of the songs, typically at an F4 for my range, I was straining too much and was too afraid to just let it break instead which is much better for growth. Finally, I was completely unaware of where to place the sound with different notes. For instance, when my one to one teacher told me to place my voice it in my chest, I was unable to do so as I wasn’t educated enough on the matter. Overall, I had only ever had experience with just singing, not looking at my technique in depth, being unable to control my breath and straining at the higher notes in my range, being completely unaware on how to change these matters.
My singing teacher was made aware of my struggles with my technique and assisted me straight away. She helped me straighten my posture and get into the right stance, with slightly bent knees and shoulders wide. As heard in the first video, I am giving instructions on how to breathe out on a “shh” before running out of breath. She did this so I could acknowledge the release in my lungs and feel the air return to them without having to worry about taking a large inhale, which normally sabotages the next notes that I sing due to lack of concentration and loss of time. I was told to go away and practice that exercise and so I did. I felt improvement after the first couple of days, with my mind beginning to worry less about breathing, letting my body relax and even letting the amount of time I breathed out on the “Shh” sound to elongate. I also found that it became muscle memory to stand in the position I was told to stand in, with my knees automatically bending slightly and not locking, as well as my shoulders going back. I discovered by myself that moving my shoulders resulted in my chest opening up more, which then allowed more air to get into my lungs was the reason for the improvement. I was very proud of myself for already improving in multiple fields, of both breath control and my knowledge of technique, and grew in confidence of what was to come.
In the next video, it can be heard that I am told to listen out for the resonance and blade in my voice, learning more about my tone, as well as helping me improve my range. My singing teacher tells me to sing each note on a “Bah” sound, going up the scale before sliding down. I felt this aided me in becoming aware of maintaining power in my voice the further I go up in my range. I have always found that I have had resonance in the lower end of my vocal range, and so this exercise helped me become aware on how to preserve that richness in the higher end. The further into the exercise I got, the more I improved with consistency. Later in the video, it can be heard that I am struggling with the higher notes and that I was straining. I was instructed to go to a “Da” sound, which did help me, before the G4, where my voice broke completely. I was able to hit it eventually after another try, and even though it was strained, it was progress compared to my singing in the earlier stages of my time as a performer, where I simply was unable to hit the note. I was once again told to go away and practice this exercise, as it taught me how to maintain resonance in my voice, and where it was placed after conversing with my teacher about such. I felt a lot of improvement in my range and resonance after practicing this exercise, slowly but surely, and it has assisted me in hitting those higher notes with a lot more confidence and health.
Nearing the end of my first academic year at university, I feel a lot more comfortable with my voice, with knowledge of the technique of how to use it as well, my breath control and how long I can hold onto notes and my vocal range, with my power and control over the higher notes in my range. In the video on the right, I am singing “Gethsemane” (Webber, Rice, 1969), which to me was a very difficult song when I first started. In the video, I am not straining with the higher notes at all, hitting them quite comfortably with little doubt of my ability, and that is thanks to the exercises that were given to me, which assisted me and improving my range greatly. To improve further, I will continue to use these exercises and push myself to gain this resonance in higher notes that I may not be able to reach now, as expanding my range will also expand the range of songs I can use in my repertoire. As for breath control that applies to my repertoire, as I will be able to choose more difficult songs that require a competent amount of control of breath.
Dancing
At the start of the year, I was unable to execute pullbacks due to not having training in tap prior. This move was taught to us in the early to mid stages of the academic year and due to an injury, I was unable to participate. When I returned to tap dancing, I found that I was very behind in my practice and took it upon myself to rehearse this move in my own time. As seen in the first video, I practiced the move and found myself to not be very confident. I tended to struggle with co-ordination of putting all of the moves together, with lifting my toes off the ground and then quickly pulling them back. When trying to do this move in lessons, I was given feedback in aiming to move up rather than backwards which would aid the amount of time I had to execute the move. With that, I got to work.
The first exercise I looked at a form of pick ups, which I believe to be a similar move, where you hit the floor with your toes before transferring your weight to the other foot before repeating it on the other side. I read “Teach Yourself Tap Dancing” and I was instructed to “be doing a lift-off from one foot, then trying to catch the toe tap before landing on the ball of the foot” (Hartley, 2007). I found that this move helped me understand how to quickly hit the floor with my toes whilst in the air. In the attached video, it shows how I tended to struggle with the move at first, but in the second half after some practice in my own time, there is a clear difference in fluidity, balance and sound, as there is a distinct difference in noise, as it sounded a lot neater and clearer. The noise of both transference of weight and the toe hitting the floor can be heard. Looking back on where I was in the first half of the clip compared to the second, I am very pleased with the progress made in the time between both pieces of evidence. I could feel a larger sense of confidence when doing the pick up exercise the second time, and I felt more confident about returning to pull backs. This is because I felt that I had more control over my feet the more I did the exercise and had trained my muscles in that area to be stronger to hold my balance and be quicker.
After this, I returned to focusing on pullbacks using this momentum of confidence to aid my ability of executing the move. Even though they can still be improved, I am very happy with where I am now with what I can do. As seen in the video, I am able to pull off pull backs a lot more efficiently, with the sound being more distinct and there being less blanks/ misses. I am more aware of where to place my weight in my body and how to transfer that energy into getting off the floor, before having the co-ordination in my feet to pull the move off. As mentioned prior, confidence played a big part in the learning and performance of this move, as after sitting out of lessons and only observing, I tended to struggle with finding the mental strength to continue. However, this has assisted me in becoming more trusting of my ability of tap dancing and my capability as a performer, which has benefited me in other areas of my practice. I have become more aware that I am not perfect at tap dancing yet I am improving and have done so over the past academic year. At the end of the video, I am shown working on singular footed pullbacks, and in the future I aim to improve those over the next couple of years so they are more consistent and distinct, yet I am very pleased with where I am now. I believe I am confident in this move due to them being along the same lines as the pick up exercise I used to assist me in improving my pullbacks, and can see myself using this move in any improvisations that I may take part in, if that’s in a tap assessment or even a show.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I am very pleased with the improvement I have made over the past academic year in these three skills. I have become a lot more confident in my acting ability with more serious/ naturalistic styles when singing as well as letting research embed itself into my performance. I have developed the ability of my voice, with control over my breath and comfortability with range and as for tap dancing, I have improved a move that I deemed to be quite difficult when I first begun. Overall, I have become more confident in my craft and ability as a performer, and aim to improve these skills over the next two years before I graduate, aspiring to have many skills I can showcase to a satisfactory level, to both the industry and myself.
Bibliography
Bock, J., Harnick, S.& Masteroff, J. (1963) “She Loves Me”, She Loves Me, New York.
Berlin, I., Ryskind, M. (1940) “What Chance Have I With Love”, Louisiana Purchase, New York.
Kander, J., Ebb, F. (1975) “Mr Cellophane”, Chicago, New York.
Hartley, D. (2007). Teach Yourself Tap Dancing. Hodder Education, London.
