A few other vocal issues to consider in terms of intonation:
- Extremes of range - moving to the top of any singer's range will be a challenge--vocally and therefore for intonation as well. This is an area that needs the kind of long-term vocal work that I've already described: vocalizes that help singers learn how to sing high notes well and modification of vowels, especially for sopranos as they move to the top of the staff and above (closed vowels will need to be more open) - these aren't short-term fixes (although if you've already been working on these techniques, sometimes a reminder is all that's needed)
- Music written in the passaggio or break -- this is too complex a topic for a brief blog, but we're speaking of the transitions from one register to another -- suffice it to say that you need to learn how to help your singers deal with this issue and it's always an area to consider when diagnosing intonation problems -- all singers will find it challenging to sing with
