I started this blog last year as a way to encourage us all to be regular and disciplined in practicing our voices. We all sing, all the time. But practicing is more than just singing. It is coordinating specific muscle groups, it is heightening our awareness of physical sensations as they relate to singing, it is sometimes tedious repetition in order to get our music completely accurate, and it is drilling the technical elements of singing often enough for them to become so ingrained that we can focus more of our attention on expression and the emotional intent behind our singing.
This summer I read a book called The Yoga of Discipline by Swami Chidvilasananda. It provided some great perspectives on how the everyday choices we make impact the direction of our lives. One paragraph related specifically to singing:
“You have heard great singers. Do you think they could sing the way they do without discipline? Because they have led disciplined lives, now they can go beyond what we think of as the limitations of the human body. They can reach people’s hearts.”
Of course, we all know singers who do not lead disciplined lives and still manage to be effective performers, more or less. When I encounter those people I always wonder how much better they would be if they were serious enough about their craft to work harder at it. That’s our challenge. Anyone can get really fired up about something once in a while. The successful ones, however, make their art a daily discipline.
So, this first blog is about sharing ideas that help you stay disciplined about practicing your voice. What works for you?
Here are some things that help me:
-Scheduling regular time for it. If practice time is not in my calendar at a specific time, it’s too easy not to do it.
-Allowing myself to stop practicing after a certain amount of time. Some days it feels great and I just keep going. Some days are more difficult so after I work for my designated period of time, I stop and do something else.
-Alternating between brain work and voice work so I don’t get too tired or overwhelmed. A lot of your practicing can be done silently.
-Starting simple. Jumping right to the hard parts tends to frustrate me, partly because I try to take on too much before I'm physically warmed up and prepared.
-Having a goal or something specific I'm trying to accomplish. Maybe that’s just getting a certain rhythm down, maybe that’s memorizing a section of music, maybe that’s an ongoing goal like smoothing out the passaggio or getting better dynamic control.
What works for you?
Now go practice.
I am obviously brand new to this program, but I bought myself entry into the practice rooms in the music building and am so excited to get going! My Italian songbook hasn't arrived yet, so until then I don't have too much to practice, but I've just been working on my musical theatre piece and the other exercises that I learned in my lesson. (I love having the recording to follow along with!) I could do better at breaking up my practices into 3 smaller practices everyday, so that is my goal for the rest of the week.
ReplyDeleteHow much is it for the music building practice rooms?
Delete$60
Delete$60
DeleteI've noticed that I sing my best towards the end of the day (around evening and night) because I've had the entire day to warm up my voice. The 3 practices sessions will actually be very beneficial and won't change much of my normal routine. In the morning, when going to school, I usually sing along to music off of my phone in my car (knowing that it sounds horrible) while focusing strictly on lyrics and rhythm while also being very cautious about not pushing my voice past its limits in the morning. By the time the evening comes, my voice is able to sing normally without much strain which allows me to work on the more vocally challenging songs. All I need to do is implement a middle session during the day where I can focus on drills and getting past that darn passaggio and into my head voice. This will be my goal for this next week.
ReplyDeleteI think the most beneficial thing will be to remember to vocalize! As freshman we are busy and preoccupied with the new things around us, so it's very important to vocalize daily. I know I am still getting used to the Utah air and if I don't vocalize and drink water, it will be unhealthy. I think a goal for this year will be to practice, practice, practice, and work on my middle range too. With the awesome exercises Brian gives us, it shouldn't be too hard.
ReplyDeleteAt first it was difficult to find time in my schedule to practice. Then I just found the little openings in my schedule that work perfectly. For example, I do my session one warm ups on my walk down to dance class. I've been doing more brainwork recently. A. Because my pieces are new to me. And B. Because I'm still getting used to the altitude. I have been using the practice rooms at the PHC. They're quite nice and there hasn't been a time where I needed one and it wasn't available. (Knock on wood)
ReplyDeleteBack at home, I kept a loose schedule of when I would warm-up and vocalize each day to work my voice. It allowed my to find and relieve tension while singing, kept me from vocalizing unhealthily during the day, and worked and strengthened the muscles needed when singing. While being at the U, I have lost this schedule due to a different daily schedule and not knowing where to practice amongst other things. But recently through actually mapping out and scheduling times to perform warm-up sessions during my week, I have found time and different places to keep my voice healthy and strengthen it.
ReplyDeleteI think setting small goals during practices , help keep me motivated. Sometimes when I don't have a big goal or working toward something specific I find it hard to practice. However then I think of the motivation/ passion I have for what I'm doing . Thats what keeps me focused and driven. I think what works best practice wise for me is section 1 and 2 together and 3 at another time. I find that for me it works best to have something warm usually tea before I warm up. -Sarah Hutchinson
ReplyDeleteI absolutely think the best way to motivate myself to practice rigorously on something that is boring or difficult is to reward myself by singing something that I take total joy in at the end of my practice, after I have done the exercises and worked on songs. This could be anything from a rock song or a musical theatre song to just hearing myself sing a note that I might not have been able to do before. It makes the next time I practice easier to come to with focus, since I feel the difference in singing when I practice and warm up properly. It also helps as a reminder of why I am doing all this work to begin with!
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that always motivates me to practice is watching and listening to all of the amazing people in our department. I always feel inspired to practice after a rehearsal full of hearing amazing voices. Also I am lucky to have a girlfriend who gives me reminders to practice when I am doing lazy things. She also helps me out a lot if I am struggling with a particular piece of music.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I go through phases with my practice routine. For a couple weeks I will be extremely dedicated, practicing nearly every day, and the next few weeks I'll completely fall off the wagon. I think this inconsistent behavior stems from my busy schedule. I am either in school, at work, or performing and don't have much downtime in between. However, another habit of mine is to have extremely long practice sessions. I don't just vocalize for 10 minutes. If I'm, going to take the time to find a practice room (which is hard to do in our building), l am going to practice for a long time. Because I have routinely used long sessions, I associate practicing with spending large amounts of time. I need to try to implement more frequent, shorter sessions now that I have such a busy schedule. I'll keep you posted as to how that works for me! :)
ReplyDeleteI find it hard to set aside specific times for practice daily, because my schedule is so insane, and i never stop moving. And half of my days change weekly, so i do my best to practice when i have a few minutes here or there during the days. I do my best to use good technique when speaking as well, i often times thing of and try to be aware of the things that are going on for me vocally in my throat while im speaking, with friends, or in classes. I find speaking in certain vocal placements or registers helps me while im singing, and also to translate into good speaking techniques on stage. When i do have a long time, or specific times for practicing, i usually go pretty hard core and really dive into music and technique, but those moments are few and far between so i do my best to practice as often as i can for as long as time allots.
ReplyDeleteThis week (as I practiced at the good doctor's house) I worked on pieces that resided in the key of C major (so I could plunk it out as I sang). This included "Popular" from Wicked...and others...
ReplyDeleteAlright, now here we go.
Actual practicing.
I worked a lot on smoothing out my transition (passagio) places. I found that if I could find a good vowel that transitioned easily ([i] worked really well) then I could work through other vowels by imitating the sensations and placement of the "good" vowel. It worked really well for me and I'm excited to work through this technique with all of my "4 voices."
Bam. Done.
This week I learned the important of balance in a days worth of practice. For example, after my lesson my voice felt extremely taxed from the things we were doing and when I went to practice for my evening session, I found it very uncomfortable. I think I'm starting to grasp how often/how much to practice a day to have those sessions still be worth my while and not just killing my voice, which has been a huge problem in the past for me. I have also found over the course of the summer that water can pretty much fix any problem. Whenever I have mucus issues or hoarseness, i find that maintaining a constant water stream (every 10 minutes or so) resolves the problem great and very quickly. Now I just have to learn how to do it before the problem arises
ReplyDelete-Cameron Fleck
One thing I absolutely have to do to keep myself disciplined is making a to do list- and sticking to it. I'm really big on lists and it helps me feel like I'm making progress and doing work when I can check off a box. These lists will include my goals for the practice, the warm ups I should focus on, and specific notes for the songs I'm currently working on. I've found that with these lists, I use my time much better and I get way more out of my private practice. I can keep a fluctuating schedule, so I don't necessarily have to practice at 5pm every day, and find that having varying times to work helps my attention span, and allows me to remain strict about practicing regularly. With these two, I've seen that I get way more out of my practicing.
ReplyDeleteHello there Brian!
ReplyDeleteSo I probably take the cake for being the worst at consistent practice. Like Jessica said, I have weeks where I am doing really great and will practice and go over music on a daily basis and THEN I have weeks where I always forget. I have found that the straw exercises are very helpful to get the day going. If I've done the straw exercises I feel warmed up for the rest of the day and have no problem going straight into a 30 minute session of singing. I have found that straw exercises are good for the morning in my car. Then I have a bit of time most days right after school before work where I can focus on scales and breathing exercises. I have been trying to work on breathing more because I think this is my biggest issue with singing. Then later on in the the day I look over my music and play the piano or a karaoke version with it. I also like to listen to youtube versions of the song after I know it a little better. I have been focusing on dynamics of songs lately. I was talking with a friend about how holding a note out or shortening something and then speeding up the next part can make the song more interesting. YAY. It's very obvious that my voice is getting stronger with daily practice and focus on specific elements.
For me it is important to have someone to support me and be there for me. I find that talking about what i am doing with someone i care about helps me. Motivation is key for me, if i can't envision the ending result then i lose interest. I like to watch people who are in the place i would like to be and i get motivated and encouraged by watching. I think that short but regular sessions of practice work for me (unless i am in the car, then i will not stop singing). It is important to keep in mind that i have time and not get myself down by comparing myself to others.
ReplyDeleteI find that when I sit down to watch tv or listen to my ipod while I'm cooking, I think of the actors or singers and how much those people practice to be where they are today and how I want to be where they are. So instead of just sitting there, I stand up and start warming up and practicing the songs that I need to prepare for my future. I also find that as a college student and a musical theater student, it's difficult to find time to myself to warm up and practice. But the interludes between destinations seem to be just enough time to warm my voice up, so that when the longer periods of time arrive, I don't have to worry about warming up and everything else, I can just always be ready to go. Lastly, I seem to beat myself down when I don't practice because I know that my peers are practicing. I know that my teachers will be able to tell that I haven't been practicing. Also, that I am holding myself back by not working my voice and preparing it. So, I usually end up practicing a little bit harder for the rest of the week.
ReplyDeleteWith practice, beginning my session is always the biggest hurdle. I think of practicing as "work" so I don't look forward to it. But once i'm actually going, I always find myself having fun as I am doing my practice, even getting carried away and *gasp* accidentally practicing longer that I had intended to! It's because of this I know, that at least for me, it's all about the mentality with which I approach things. I don't need to force myself to watch The Bachelor, because I know I find it entertaining, and it's something I look forward to doing. I associated it positively mentally so it becomes something I want to actively engage in. It makes me think how powerful it could be to approach practicing, or rehearsing with that same positive mentality! It's something I'm really going to work on this year, because practicing my craft should be something I look forward to and crave doing, not a chore to be completed.
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