In the last blog, we talked about singing with a specific purpose or goal in mind. In that discussion, I referenced author W. Stephen Smith and his suggestion to sincerely commit to an action when you practice and to then zero in on how to improve the way you perform that action.
Smith highlights an additional concern he finds in many singing students as they practice, which is that they try to fix their vocal problems. That shouldn't be a bad thing, right? Isn't the point of practicing to fix our problems so we can get better? As Smith explains,
"Focusing on fixing problems means you're focusing on problems, but a positive mind-set gets much better results than a negative one. So I don't think fixing problems is the thing you should go for—if you do an action, then try to do that action better and better, in that process problems do get fixed, so focus on what you need to do to sing better and not on fixing problems that seem to be in the way of your singing better." (quoted in The Singer's Audition & Career Handbook by Claudia Friedlander, p.44)
I explored this idea in a 2021 blog titled "Motivation: Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive." Back then, I asked students to examine their approach to practicing and then wrote:
"Do you tend to pursue what is working or do you dwell on what is not working? If you try something five times and only get the intended result once, do you pick apart the negative attempts or do you focus on recreating the one that went well?"
As it turns out, the Mayo Clinic suggests several of the same strategies for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. In the article "Accentuate the positive to make lasting health changes," the authors recommend setting clear goals, starting small (focus on the next step, not the overall end goal), focusing on the times you did achieve your goals rather than ruminating on the times you didn't, and concentrating on what you can do instead of on what you can't. Lastly, and importantly, the authors advocate letting go of negative thoughts. Certainly this is easier said than done, but they clarify the statement by saying that doesn't mean just ignoring negative thoughts. Rather, they encourage reevaluating your response to negative thoughts and choosing to actively focus on positive feelings and accomplishments instead.
Many of you have seen the "Operating Instructions" I wrote on my studio whiteboard at the start of the semester, the first of which is, "I am not here to fix you or your voice, because neither are broken." How would your practicing be different if you took on an attitude of enjoying and improving—rather than repairing—your voice?
Now go practice.
The ¨glass half full¨ mentality is one I've heard a lot about in a more general sense as I´ve grown up. However I´ve never seen it used in this context. I think the concept of trying to recreate your successes as opposed to obsessing over what you deem to be your problems could be a very successful approach. After a rehearsal focusing on what I like and how I can extend that, I imagine I will be much more fulfilled and happy.
ReplyDeleteI really like this outlook. Many times I walk out of class or finish practicing feeling so defeated because I felt I could have done better or wished I had been able to keep my nerves at bay or hit the note, and on and on. This idea of pin-pointing the successes, even if they’re small, and choosing to focus on replicating that or continuing to expand on that is a much healthier outlook and one I really want to work on implementing. I really loved the sentence, “I am not here to fix you or your voice, because neither are broken.” It goes back to that idea we discussed in class of singing being a skill. You can’t “fix” a skill, you can only improve upon it. Where looking for the failures fuels the idea of “fixing”, seeing the successes supports the idea of improvement.
ReplyDeleteThis outlook is almost necessary for me. Lately ive been performing so much inside and outside of class, that there is bound to be mistakes. For example, this summer i was working on Hamlet with some older actors. I became so obsessed with trying to make every line so perfect, I would become so caught up in my mistakes. Later on in the rehearsal process I expressed these feelings to another actor in the cast. He ended up replying with something along the lines of, "yeah but think of all the things you're doing right". That comment, along with this blog post really puts into perspective how important positivity is in performing.
ReplyDeleteI think this post builds really well on the other one. I like the difference between focusing on solving a problem and focusing on improvement of action. They can almost be read as the same thing but I think differentiating how one is problem and therefore negatively focused, and how the other is more positively focused can greatly impact of we practice.
ReplyDeleteI have to be honest I disagree with the thought process of trying to fix problems as a bad way of practicing. You definitely shouldn't only be focusing on problems and what you are doing wrong, but sometimes noticing what is wrong, taking note and finding out what is wrong can really help deepen my work. Yes you can't fix a skill, but I do think there are aspects involved in a skill that can be fixed to improve said skill.
ReplyDelete-Tate Foshay
I really appreciated hearing this outlook. For most of my life I did ballet quite seriously, and there was a culture where practice was something you did when you "messed up" or needed to put in extra work so that you could be on the same level as your peers. Because of this, I feel like I tend to view practice as punishment, or something I do because I'm not good enough. So it was really refreshing to hear this point of view where practice is something that's enjoyable and approached to with an open mind!
ReplyDeleteFocusing on why things went well is something I wish I was better at doing. It’s easy for me to criticize how I sound and what I want to do better, but when I feel good about how I sounded, it’s often hard for me to define what I was doing that made that possible. I also sometimes feel lost with singing because I haven’t had a lot of guidance on how to do it well, so it can feel hard to evaluate my own technique and figure out what I’m doing well and what I could do better. However, I have found, at least in performance, that I do a lot better if I go into it focusing on the positive and not worrying about the mistakes I’m trying to avoid.
ReplyDeleteThis blog came at a very good time for me. Ever since moving to Utah, I've noticed that the environment has really affected my voice. Rather than giving myself grace, I often find myself practicing negative self talk when I can't do things I used to. Recently, I've been trying to practice positive self talk/thinking in my day-to-day life, so why not in the practice room. I am very much a perfectionist so while this will be difficult for me to put into practice, I am motivated to do it more as it will ultimately make me a better person and artist.
ReplyDeleteAlexa Shaheen
I feel like it's really difficult for me to point out what went right when I'm singing. When I went up to perform the first time I wasn't nervous until I got into the room. All of these "rAnDoM" negative thoughts came into my head all at once. It made my voice shaky, and hard to understand what I was saying. I just feel like I needed more confidence that day and told myself your voice isn't broken so why are you so worried?
ReplyDeleteI feel as though this blog came at just the right time in my life that I needed to hear this, thanks Brian :) ! I am definitely my harshest critic and recently in dance, I’ve been feeling more and more frustrated at myself because I feel like I still have a lot of trouble with technique when I don’t even realize in the moment, that I have improved since the last week! Same with singing, there are days when I just can’t hit the right note or feel like I just can’t do anything right, but there are days where I feel like my voice soars! I feel as though it’s ok to have a few moments to focus on the “negative” parts to acknowledge that they are there and to try to fix them, but I also agree that focusing on just those parts will not benefit you as much as focusing on the positive parts do!
ReplyDeleteI do agree that focusing on what went right can go a long way. Concentrating on positives does sound better than looking at the negatives, but it’s so much easier for me to focus on negatives. Usually, when I perform I think of what went wrong instead of what went right. I’ve never really thought of things that go well for me when I perform. I need to start practicing on focusing on positive aspects in my performances.
ReplyDeleteThis post really resonates with me as I always tend to focus on the things that went wrong with my day quite often, especially when listening over my voice memos of our weekly lessons. I always find some sort of negative that, until reading this post just now made me realize, really restricts any sort of progress being done all together. I mean sure there are days where I feel as though my voice sounds super healthy and I can feel confident in using it to perform, but those negatives always linger in my mind and fill me with worry when there should not be any. Going further, I will definitely take on a more positive outlook on where things do go right when practicing or singing, rather than getting hung up and stuck on all the negatives, because, in the end, learning to be more confident and happy with all the things that go right, it will help me repair and improve when negative things happen associated with my voice.
ReplyDeleteI like this approach a lot. I have found that my work is much more sustainable if I approach it from a more positive standpoint. The whole "I will continually work because I will never be good enough" may be motivation enough to some, but for me that is not inspiring or encouraging. I really like the idea that we don't need to "repair" our voices. They are not broken, but rather have their unique strengths and weaknesses. I like the think of practicing and gaining something (skill, technique, etc.), rather than fixing something. I think this also ties in well with the idea of "growth motivation", as its motivating from a point of not NEEDING to do something in order to be X, Y, Z.
ReplyDeleteI love this post! What really resonated me is that focusing on what goes right can be extremely helpful and go a long way. When I sing it's hard to not focus on everything that went wrong and to beat myself up over it. Sometimes it's really hard to focus on the positive throughout a performance but in the end it makes you feel so much better.
ReplyDeleteThis blog resonated with me! Especially with acting, I can have a tendency towards negative self talk and trying to make every little thing just the way I want it to. In particular, when I’m filming self tapes of auditions I can get very finicky about redoing them over and over again because there’s small things I’m upset with and I’m able to rewatch my performances and critique them. This can make performing (something that I love) less enjoyable. When instead I focus on the things I loved and was proud of myself for, I feel more encouraged to keep improving and it makes the process more rewarding.
ReplyDelete-True Leavitt
I think that this was something I really needed to read. I have unknowingly veered into the dangerous "x is broken in my voice" mentality for a very long time, and need to unlearn this bad habit as soon as possible. I have found that a positive mentality and self talk has historically helped me a lot in other areas of my life, so I don't know why I didn't also start applying this to voice! Something that I use to try to minimize the inner critic is to call it "the monkey in my head," because that's all it really is. It doesn't say anything truthful, and takes the worst of my self doubt and brings it to the foreground of my mind instead of letting kinder thoughts come through easily. I will definitely commit to combatting this monkey during practice sessions from now on!
ReplyDeleteI really resonated with this particular post. I believe that sometimes when practicing or just singing for fun, I waffle between picking apart the negative results and trying to recreate the positive results. I do think that sometimes reflection on failure can be beneficial, but it can also be very discouraging. A good balance between neutral reflection and active replication is key to improvement.
ReplyDeleteGoing towards a more positive outlook during performances and overall practice would be shift in perspective for many of us. It means a lot to focus on what can or will go wrong, but worrying will not do you any good. Even if we focus on what will go wrong and it went wrong, the environment will not change and you will still end up with more to practice. I loved this post and the outlook it took on perspectives!
ReplyDeleteA way I have been able to do this more, is to think of my "mess ups" or "mistakes" when practicing as serving future me. Meaning that I can look at those and see why they happened and try and solve it. I look at warm ups and practicing as a way to grow and push myself. I have been reading a book that talks about confidence and self help, and it has really helped in changing my way of how I look at everything. But I try and think of my growth and were I can keep going.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of accentuating the positive is certainly something I struggle with regarding myself on a daily basis, especially as it pertains to productivity - when I fail to complete the tasks I've set forth for myself for a particular day, I wonder "what is wrong with me?" This mindset I've cultivated is inherently insensitive to myself, but this is even worsened by the fact that I overcommit in the to-do lists I create by believing I can accomplish more over a period of time than is physically possible. As this mindset pertains to my voice, I have found it specifically apparent when I've attempted to sing "How Will I Know" recently, because I can never seem to get the breathing quite right; instead of believing it will get better each time I try it, I pessimistically think "maybe I'll get it this time, but probably not." I really like this idea of seeing each new attempt through the eyes of possibility, instead of through the lens of trying to fix a problem that is occurring in the voice and/or in the acting. With that, I look forward to beginning to implement this new mindset into my practicing as it continues to become more mindful.
ReplyDeleteIt’s comforting to hear that I’m not the only one who often zeros in on what went wrong when practicing. Even if several things went right, I become hyper focused on “fixing.” And I’ve noticed that because I tend to focus on only the problems, it makes practicing less enjoyable. This post reminded me of a study that was done, by now it must be several years ago, where two plants were placed at a school and the variable was what sort of comments/words the plants received. One plant received positive words from the kids and the other plant received negative words. In the end, the plant who was told it was “beautiful, strong, etc.” thrived and the other plant died (or at least it didn’t do very well). That study feels similar to some of the thoughts shared in the post. When we are practicing, while taking note of what went wrong might serve a valuable purpose, I think for me, striving to remember to spend more time on what went right—even if it’s something small—will make my voice journey a more positive experience. Lastly, I wonder if that positive mindset would also affect how I approach this idea of “fixing” my voice.
ReplyDeleteJosh W
ReplyDeleteAhhh yes, the pursuit of perfection always seems to get in the way, even of the good things!
I think in my earlier years of voice lessons, I took the same approach I took to sports or schooling, in that i pushed for perfection on my jumpshot or my running form or my knowledge of a particular study guide. It certainly got me to a point that made me better, faster, more prepared, but I wasn’t satisfied, nor was I happy with how far I had come. With a positive mindset, which I think I’ve implemented with my craft in the past year or so, I am much more content and have scrutinized myself when I do something incorrect, and instead i focus on what went right and try to build upon that.
Anybody who’s ever gotten a 95% on a test probably focuses on that 5% that they missed, and disregards the 95% of the test in which they did perfectly. It would do well to acknowledge that 95% and be proud and motivated about it, and use it to move forward in a positive manner.
I really like this outlook Brian. It’s probably one of the best things for me to hear right about now. This is a huge issue for me and it’s something I’m actively still working on and haven’t quite been able to figure out. I really am such a perfectionist and harsh critic for myself that it’s difficult not to notice the things I do wrong or that I want to improve. I tend to gloss over the things I do right and dwell on all the bad ones and while I believe it’s good to notice what you do wrong and how to fix it, it’s probably not good to dwell on it as much as I do. I will try to start focusing on the positive because I have a strong feeling it’ll improve many things while also helping my mental health in general.
ReplyDeleteThis blog post really resonated with me today. Recently, a lot of my teachers have been talking about not comparing ourselves to our peers, and I feel like practicing with the intention of improving and enjoying rather than fixing goes right along with that. A lot of the time with singing, I feel like I listen to other people and wonder why I can’t do the same things as them and then get really frustrated with myself. If I focus more on my own goals and my own improvements, rather than what I think can’t do, I might be able to get closer and closer to what it is that I want to do. It’s a matter of thinking about everything in a more positive way, and that will even help to make the practicing more enjoyable rather than frustrating.
ReplyDelete-Nate
I really liked what you had to say. I believe that I have at times seen what I cannot do with my voice as a problem when in fact I should see it as something that I can grow and make more powerful. I know that at times I need to give myself more credit and at the same time, know that I need to put in the work necessary to improve. It's nice to have a reminder that we have no problems with are voice. Only building it further.
ReplyDeleteAlex Fish
I think that having a positive mindset when practicing singing is so important because when you focus on trying to fix your mistakes and holding on to those negative moments, practice as a whole can become a negative experience and you will not want to practice as much as if you focused on what went well during practice so that you learn to enjoy singing and are more motivated to practice. I think this can be applied to all aspects and areas of our lives and I think is an important part of learning and practice. Often when I practice like most people, can really fixate on the negative and what went wrong and I know from experience, this can become frustrating and makes me want to give up and thats why I think focusing on the positive is important and works hand in hand with motivation.
ReplyDeleteMy goal this semester is to sing from a place of love, because I do truly love music. I think that will help me keep a positive mindset, and improve rather than tearing myself down. This week, I've been trying to change my mindset about dance. Whenever I look in the mirror and see something I don't like, I choose to smile and love it rather than hate it and be afraid. I can use that mindset for singing too.
ReplyDeleteThis blog is so important! I definitely should have read it two weeks ago when it was due!
ReplyDeleteWith that being said, for me, positivity is so much more easily encouraged to others than it is replicated within myself and in my own practice sessions. I find myself being so harsh and negative when rehearsing/practicing or looking back on how performances or lessons went, but when I do take the opportunity to stop and think about it, I find that I have made so much progress over time and that I have so much to be proud of. It is especially refreshing to go back several years and think about or even listen to where I used to be vocally. While I probably shouldn’t rely on physical checkpoints like that, it is helpful to move forward with the mindset that I am capable of working hard and making progress. Above all else, I should be singing because I want to and it is fun!!! Here’s to focusing on the positive.