"Break-through moment"

That's what my voice teacher called it.  We'd been working on the Schubert "Ave Maria" and she gave me a visualization trick to try.  I noticed the difference immediately - I could feel the sound acquire "spin" or resonance, and it wasn't as much work to produce it.  I've been taking voice lessons for years but there's still so much to master!

Yes, this singing stuff can be hard work: supporting the breath fully instead of "under-singing"; sustaining that support all the way through a phrase, then an entire piece; enunciating properly; focusing the sound and keeping it forward in the mouth (mine keeps wanting to head for the back of my throat); conveying the message and emotion of the piece; and not frowning in concentration while I try to keep all that going!  Seemingly little things like that visualization trick can mean a lot when you feel you've just bumped up a level - encourages you to keep at it.  Now if I could just get someone to hire me to sing at their wedding or something... :)