Freedom to fail

I recently read this article written by a college professor:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/201509/declining-student-resilience-serious-problem-colleges

While at first I wanted to dismiss it as another grown-up complaining about “these kids today,” I think he brings up real concerns about our ability to confront failure.

Part of what the article describes is that, in the current generation, failure in any capacity has become cause for panic. There are lots of theories as to how this came to be. Maybe we put too much emphasis on testing. Maybe parents (and teachers) have swooped in and prevented you from failure in an attempt to protect you (even though most real learning comes from failure). Maybe the increased pressure to succeed (get into a good school, land a lucrative job, etc.) has given the impression that failure should never occur, even though most successful people can relate story after story of how they bounced back from failures.

There is an obvious connection to the vocal studio. While none of us TRY to fail, it’s bound to happen. Whether it’s an audition where we don’t get the part, a performance that lands flat, or the occasional complete train wreck, anyone doing what we do will experience failure.

The question is, how do we react?

If we fail because we’re unprepared (not as memorized as we should have been, didn’t know the song as well as we could have) then that should obviously motivate us to prepare better the next time.

If we fail because our technique or interpretation was flawed, we should self analyze and decide what we need to do differently to improve.

If we fail because there were others who were just better than us on that day, we should strive to be better the next time and take steps to make that happen.

Failure is normal. Struggle is expected. It does not mean you are worthless.

True, we (the faculty and the institution) are responsible for encouraging a safe environment here at school. But that is not to keep you from failing. It’s so that when (not if) you do fail it doesn’t feel like the end of the world. You are not a failure just because you don’t always succeed.

This week I am working to enjoy my past failures and focusing on how they have helped me improve. In so many cases, it was by failing that I was forced to consider a different way of doing things that ultimately led to greater success.

How have you been failing this week?

Now go practice.

Pacing Practice

Back in my school of music days I had friends (pianists and violinists mostly) who would practice anywhere from four to eight hours a day. In order to be competitive, and in order to learn the complex music that is an expected part of their repertoire, that schedule is not uncommon among certain instrumentalists.

As vocalists, we just can’t do that. The vocal folds are muscles and can’t take the wear and tear of that much extended use. I often liken it to marathon runners. Most people wouldn’t run a marathon and then get up the next day and run another marathon and then get up the next day and run another marathon. Muscles need recovery time or they are susceptible to injury.

I’ve been reminded of this personally as I have been preparing for my recital (Sunday, October 4th, 2pm, Dumke Recital Hall, David Gardner Music Building, Free for U of U students!). Most of my vocalizing thus far has been in short sets, working on difficult passages, running entire songs, and then running groups of songs back to back. This has been paired with time on the train spent memorizing and dissecting the music and text. But now that the recital is only three weeks away I need to adjust my practicing to start building up the stamina of an entire program (18 songs with only short breaks in between). So I need to start considering longevity and adjust my daily vocal use accordingly.

If I were strictly a performer and only had to worry about my evening shows, it would be less complicated to manage my vocal energies every day. But in teaching a full load of lessons and classes I need to make sure I am getting sufficient rest as I pace all of my vocal activities. Spending a Saturday screaming (at a football game, at an amusement park, or at a rock concert) is just not an option.

I have had this conversation with many of my students who are in the American Idiot cast. For the next few weeks, they need to pace ALL their vocal activities around their performance requirements. That’s what professionals do and they don’t have to wake up for 8am dance or take a full-time course load. That may mean that each day these students only get in Session 1 vocalization to stretch and warm up the voice and then some silent Session 3 work on learning notes, memorization, and analysis. They can’t afford to go to their shows vocally tired or their performances will suffer. They also can’t afford to skip their daily vocal regimen—that would be like running at a full sprint without any stretching or warming up.

These are just some of the considerations we must keep in mind as vocal athletes. The mental work never needs to take a break but the physical work needs to be carefully paced with all our other daily vocal demands.

How has your singing been going this week?

Now go practice.