The past few weeks since my last post have been absolutely crazy. One should never underestimate the various finales that accompany the end of a graduate degree.
In the background since I have not been writing (on this blog anyway, I have written several rather long papers for school), I have been exploring my new “tenor-hood”. My opera focus so far has been on Rossini, Donizetti and Mozart almost exclusively. For songs, I have bought the same song books that I had before in higher keys. And it’s been working just fine. However, within my own personal craziness, I have a fear that I am like the Emperor of “The Emperor’s New Clothes”, and my tenor-hood is like his proud nakedness. Of course, no innocent children have come along to pop this bubble yet, so I continue. I wonder if anyone who changes voice type experiences similar doubts. Please let me know if you do!
Because of this shift, I have now come to know and fear my own passaggio. I had never experienced it before as a baritone because I never sang high enough! The only time I really sang notes within it were on my highest notes G and Ab. I never felt like I could really lay into them and sing loudly. And that’s why. My passaggio is pretty high.
For those of you who don’t know, the passaggio is the “passageway” between registers in voices. In the way I think about it (and along with breathing register talk tends to be very controversial amongst singers and pedagogues) men have one main passaggio area while women tend to have several. It is, at first, very difficult to work with it because certain vowels work very poorly within it, and it is hard to sing loudly within it. It also feels like it may be ready to crack if the poor singer does not move very carefully through it. So the singer must abandon a certain amount of fear to even begin dealing with it because otherwise it’s too nerve wracking.
So, the main point that I want to get across is that I am writing again and that this change to tenor is occupying a great deal of my thoughts on singing. Thus it will be mentioned quite a bit on here, especially as I become more adept at moving through my passaggio and I find things to share that may help other singers.
I have also graduated and have my Masters of Music degree. Pretty cool. 
Here’s a video with Rockwell Blake singing an aria that I am currently working on. There is some of that awful digital video delay, but if it bothers you, just close your eyes and listen.This guy is just awesome, and I hope you enjoy it!
