The November issue of Classical Singer magazine (I have extra copies in my office if you would like one) has an article by Laura Portune called “Practicing Efficiently.” In the article she suggests an order for how to practice a song, once all of the notes and rhythms are learned:
- Warm up your body.
- Warm up your voice.
- Speak through the text in rhythm.
- Sing through the piece on lip trills, humming, alternating vowels. Focus on easy production through phrasing and breathing.
- Sing through the piece with words, focusing on technique.
- Sing through the piece with words, focusing on expression/acting.
- Sing through the piece putting together technique and expression/acting.
- End with “performance.”
- Warm down.
A lot has been written about “The Myth of Multitasking” and how trying to do too many things at once actually wastes more time than it saves. This can be true in our singing as well, which is what I like about the process above. By intentionally focusing on a single element of performance we can fine tune that aspect before moving on.
Of course, we tend to want to jump right to the expressive elements of singing. After all, that’s why we sing in the first place. But if we haven’t solidified technical elements, or haven’t learned the song properly, then we may be distracted when performing because we haven’t ironed out those deficiencies yet.
Following a systematic approach can ensure that we aren’t skipping steps in the process and getting ahead of ourselves. It takes time and can be tedious. But the learning that occurs is ingrained more thoroughly, which always saves time down the road.
Think about your own process for practicing and learning a song. How is it the same as the process above? How is it different? Which element(s) on the list above would improve your practicing?
Now go practice.
I think we all have our own way of learning music. For me i usually have to like a song, if i don't like it i am usually not as motivated (something i must work on). Regardless i usually will warm up, learn the words/meaning and what the character is trying to say. I try to think of a moment in my life i could use to help me with whatever the song is saying. I don't usually do the alternating vowels, breathing (vital step which i have come to learn) etc but i find that doing them helps technique. All the steps listed i believe are helpful its just a matter of getting them in our system and just doing them.
ReplyDeleteI lately have felt in a slump singing wise. I don't know if it's just with the material being mix as opposed to belt. However, this weekend being able to perform at the cabaret revitalized me. I remembered the adrenaline, fear and passion I have for this. Referencing up above however, I realized I tend to jump to the expressive elements of singing. In this weeks lesson I am hoping that my shifted focus will improve thee technique of the pieces.
ReplyDeleteI really like working the technique of more difficult songs in my repertoire. In the ATP, a lot of stress is put on having the technique really down before moving on to anything expressive, so I want to dive into the high notes without doing a proper warm up. This is similar to my acting, in a lot of ways. I want to pull out the stops and do the most difficult part of the scene before I've worked up to it. It isn't healthy, and certainly not conducive to good practice. So, going forward, I want to find the pleasure and the curiosity of doing the slower, lower warm ups. Taking the time is really helpful to being ready to stretch myself on the high notes, as well as staying safe doing so.
ReplyDeleteI always start with the warm up, not doing so scares me. Sometimes I will take the time to warm up my body to feel up and ready to move with the music and really get into it, but being in dance class at 8 am does that for me. I learn the rhythm of the song either by actually writing it down or clapping it if it's not too hard. Then, I work on the notes and learning themore by plunking them out on the piano. If the words are in english, I just add the words as I learn the notes instead of just doing la or something like that. It gets me into the character quicker if I can feel what they're saying and what it means that each word goes with that note. Once that is down, I add the feels and movement to the piece. However I feel that once the individual practice routine is down, it just becomes a natural thing.
ReplyDeleteI usually jump ahead when it comes to singing, I think I know all the steps right away because I think of learning a song as learning lines, it comes very easily to me. I've just always picked things up quickly. And because of this I have been lacking in singing, I keep jumping ahead instead of working it step by step and then get mad at myself when I don't get it right. I think the steps listed above are really going to help me get out of that slump.
ReplyDeleteI feel like this practice itinerary would be very beneficial to me. I admit that sometimes I like to just jump right into my pieces, but I feel like with a set itinerary, I'd be practicing a lot more efficiently. I love the concept of warming down! I never really thought about it, but it I feel like it'd be a cool concept to try!
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