SomersetHaus Day 10

Visitors.We set up the space, the routine gets under-way. I love routine, getting on with it. The space is ready and I go to meet our first visitor Frances Lynch. A wonderful singer and singing tutor. I take Frances into the windowless meeting room and turn off the lights. We chat for quite some time. I bring her into our world, where we are at with this particular building, meanwhile Frances is listening to how I create sound and how I use my voice. Frances says, ' I think I need to see you now' , so we move into one of the other spaces, I make tea and we do some work. I apologise for not having a piano to pitch to, Frances regales her annoyance at the piano. 'the piano is not as pure as the voice, vocal pitch is much purer, let me demonstrate she says...' Like a mathematician, she demonstrates a piano note and a vocal note of the same note.....vocal pitch is slightly sharper and brighter. My throat tightens with awe and fear! This woman is music, she doesn't just sing, she is the singing. We throw vocal notes across the room, hers are full enormous and wonderful. Mine are thin and quiet. Frances saw KlangHaus in Edinburgh so was familiar with my style and technique of singing. She asked me what I wanted to work on. I can do the loud and quiet, but the bit in the middle is a bit boring. Spot on she said. The mid and top part of your range are unexplored. There is a disconnect. Sing from your feet not your throat or chest. Imagine the sea coming in through your toes and out through your heels, think of that when you breathe. She mentioned extended vocal techniques....my knowledge is sketchy! Work on your core, core strength, use your pelvic floor muscles, just a little bit...basically, work on your middle! good stuff. Frances met, Jon and Sal and they talked science and maths. Next visitor... Pasco, Director of Norwich and Arts Centre and mentor, always inspiring and great fun. We thought big and then even bigger, then we got practical, then we drank lots of coffee. Next visitors Molly Rigg and Louisa, who work as producers at Somerset House, Molly has been a friend and colleague and helped us back in 2012 at our Butcher of Common Sense show at the Horse Hospital, Bloomsbury. Molly's greatest action for me was to open the fire door which looked alarmed, but wasn't. We suddenly had a whole new playground outside and an accessible ground level access point and our own dead rat. We can do a show here at Somerset House... possibilities abound.