Drivers Ed

    Learning how to drive was an important rite of passage for me in my early teen years. It was a big deal to be able to get behind the wheel so, once I was old enough, I was eager to start the process toward earning my driver's license. 

    The first thing I had to do was to pass a written test in order to get my driver's permit. This meant studying DMV materials until I could demonstrate a basic knowledge of laws, procedures, and general rules of the road. 

    Once I earned my permit, I was allowed to enroll in a summer-long driver's ed course. Besides a class component (with lectures and exams), this course also required that each student log a certain number of hours of supervised driving. 

    During my first of these supervised trips, my instructor had me drive around an empty parking lot, just to make sure I could stop and start smoothly and safely maneuver the car. He gave me step-by-step directions to make sure I did everything right: "Put your hands on the steering wheel at ten o'clock and two o'clock. Press the brake and put the car into drive. Remove your foot from the brake and slowly press down on the gas pedal." It all seems so rudimentary now, but it was my first time operating a motor vehicle, so it was important not to take on too much too soon. 

    Once I was sufficiently capable of these basics, we headed out into the relatively uncrowded streets of my small hometown. Instead of the wide-open space of the parking lot, now I had curbs and lanes to negotiate, complete with oncoming traffic reminding me of how important it is not to drift outside of my designated lane. 

    When I could handle driving at these slower speeds, my instructor eventually directed me onto the highway to see what it was like to drive at 55 mph. Now he directed my attention to what was further off in the distance, since higher speeds meant obstacles that seemed far off would need to be contended with sooner than expected. Inevitably, we would come up behind a tractor or a combine (this was Iowa, after all) and I would have to check my mirrors, use my turning signal, and safely pass these slow-moving vehicles. 

    My last supervised trip was into the big city (OK, it was Cedar Rapids, which was less than 110,000 people at the time...but it was big to a small-town boy like me!). Driving in a more populated area meant changing lanes in traffic, dealing with stop lights every block, and being aware of a LOT more cars on the road. I was practicing all of the same skills I had been learning throughout my driver's education (acceleration, braking, negotiating turns, adjusting to traffic, etc.) but I found it much more difficult in that situation. I could easily see why this driving challenge was saved until the end of my training. 

    I have often thought that learning how to sing is similar to learning how to drive. For those who aspire to be serious (and even professional) musicians, there is a certain amount of "book knowledge" that is necessary: music theory, anatomy and physiology, musical theatre history, etc. 

    Then, in order to build skills, we have to gradually take on increasingly difficult tasks. As those tasks become easier, we can move on to new challenges that will continue to stretch our abilities. 

    Now that I've had my driver's license for nearly 30 years, it seems funny to think that I ever would have been intimidated by driving in mild city traffic or that I would have had trouble passing a tractor on the highway. Similarly, I've been singing so long that it can be hard to remember when I gained certain aspects of my technique and what it was like not to be able to make certain sounds. 

    But I know that I learned both skills the same way: gradually, over time, with lots of instruction, lots of mistakes, and lots of refining amid lots of repetition. I'm confident the same process will help drive your success, as well. 

    How has your singing been this week?

    Now go practice. 

Knowing where you've been can help you plan where you're going.

Prerequisites for advanced singing

As college students, you're all familiar with prerequisites. Obviously, you can't take Algebra II unless you have passed Algebra I, and you wouldn't want to take Advanced Composition if you have haven't completed Beginning Composition. 

Pre-reqs are a little different in voice studies, however. Since I believe wholeheartedly in the process of "discovering your voice," I want everyone to have the experience of taking voice lessons—even those without professional singing aspirations. To that end, some students have come to my studio as complete beginners and others have come with a significant amount of previous singing training. 

That being said, I believe there are some prerequisites that are necessary for embarking upon advanced vocal studies. 

First, advanced singers should have at least a basic knowledge of vocal anatomy (parts of the body) and physiology (how those parts work) in order to accurately understand what their bodies are doing when they're singing. They don't necessarily need to know every minute detail or have the same in-depth knowledge that you would expect a voice teacher to have, but they should know enough about vocal function in order to self-diagnose certain inefficiencies and prescribe vocal exercises that work with physical reality rather than against it. 

Second, advanced singers should have a good grasp on the main tenets of vocal health. They need to know which vocal uses can cause fatigue and which can lead to undue stress on the vocal mechanism. They should know how to pace their vocal use and how to efficiently train their instruments, and they should understand how lifestyle factors (diet, sleep, hydration, etc.) can impact their vocal health. 

Third, advanced singers should know what professional-level singing sounds like. That doesn't mean they have to imitate other singers, but they should know what the industry standard is (especially if they expect to meet that standard). Ideally, this will be done by thoughtfully observing professional singers in live performance. In lieu of that, thankfully, YouTube is a thing. Recordings of live performances with minimal "aural airbrushing" or studio sound mixing will be the most representative of what's actually going on vocally. Of course, it's perfectly fine to listen to music just for the fun of it. But advanced singers should also take the time to listen with "singer's ears" to try to determine how professional singers create their sound. 

Fourth, advanced singers need to know what their own successful singing feels like and sounds like. This may seem obvious, but in order to consistently create advanced-level sounds, singers need to have enough experience making those sounds to know what it is they are recreating. In other words, their singing should be beyond the trial-and-error guessing game that takes place in the early stages of learning. Naturally, it may vary a bit from person to person as to what designates "successful singing." But in order to reach an advanced skill level, singers must have a foundation to build upon. In fact, it stands to reason that the more singers experience successful singing, the more they will be considered advanced. 

I suspect that if you ask other voice teachers what they would consider prerequisites for advanced singing, you may get a variety of additions to this non-exhaustive list. And, as the Dunning-Kruger Effect indicates, the more we know about a subject, the more likely we are to realize how much more we still have to learn. To that end, the more singers become advanced, the more conscious they may be of all they are not yet able to do and, ironically, the less advanced they may feel. 

Even so, the more singers can confidently check the boxes indicating that they have met each of these prerequisites, the more likely they are to have graduated beyond the beginning levels of vocal study. 

How has your practice been this week? How are you progressing toward the goals you outlined in the last blog? 

Now go practice. 

"Curiosity is a fuel that powers the engine of human advancement." 

―Keigo Higashino