“Tika buda, Tika buda, Tika buda…. ” Good! Now let’s lift up all chins, and really spit out the consonants. I want to see your faces and understand every letter in every syllable you sing!”
On Wednesdays, in preparation for Sing for PDSM class, William Wade first plays scales while BPG participants sing nonsensical vowels and consonants strung together , in order to warm up their voices. The BPG Sing for PDSMSongbook consists of participants’ favorite show tunes old and new –Sondheim, Bernstein, Lerner and Lowe, Cole Porter among others, with some Mozart and Vivaldi and the Beatles added now and then.
During class participants discuss the meaning of a song and William suggests ways to use the voice and facial expressions to express a particular meaning. “I teach students in my Sing for PDSM class the same things that I teach in a class for singers on Broadway” William explains. “Everyone can learn how to project their voice and be understood.”