There was another concept discussed in that same article that I also want to highlight. As you all know from your syllabus and from our discussions about setting up a practice schedule, I am an advocate of dividing your practice time into different sessions. In fact, I just wrote about this topic for a book that is about to be published (*hair toss*).
In Nix's article, he also discusses divided practice sessions, making a distinction between "distributed practice" and "massed practice."
An example of distributed practice would be six 10-minute sessions done at different times throughout a single day. Each session could be spent on just one aspect of your vocal technique. At 10 minutes, the sessions are generally short enough that your voice won't get tired and you won't get too bored from focusing on just one technique.
To contrast, an example of massed practice would be one 60-minute practice session per day. This kind of practice can help build endurance for longer performances, like a demanding stage role or an hour-long recital. Massed practice could be several distributed practice sessions strung together or it could be more varied in order to include work on repertoire.
In both cases, you are getting 60 minutes of practice time per day but you will obviously build different skills.
In fact, for students working up stamina for a senior recital (some of you this semester!), Nix suggests a combination of distributed and massed practice over a period of months:
- 3 months prior to the performance: distributed practice.
- 1 month prior to performance: 4 days per week distributed practice, 2 days per week massed practice (similar to performance conditions), 1 day per week rest (post massed practice).
- 2 weeks prior to performance: alternate 1 day distributed, 1 day massed (with all aspects as similar to actual performance as possible, including time of day, location, room acoustics, wearing performance-related articles of clothing, etc.), saving 1 day per week for rest following a massed practice day.
- Performance day: massed, blocked, constant warm-up of skills needed in recital; sing the recital; brief warm down afterward.
It's not mentioned in the article but logic would dictate that you could also gradually lengthen each of your distributed sessions, from six 10-minute sessions to four 15-minute sessions to three 20-minute sessions to two 30-minute sessions. This could be another way to gradually build endurance for longer singing sessions.
As you get settled into your practice schedules for the semester, you may consider some adjustments along the way that allow for a combination of distributed and massed practice. See how your voice responds. It's good to have consistency in your routine but it's also good to throw some variation in from time to time as well.
How has your practice been so far this semester?
Now go practice.
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| We're more than halfway to summer! |
I have been so stressed out by school starting and trying to find material for auditions( class but, also in general). I am struggling to find material that I feel like shows me off vocally and emotionally. I am trying to find some funny material so show off my comedic chops( or try to) and some emotional songs that show my range. I think this semester is going to challenge me which is very exciting. I am more committed than ever to figure out my life( or some semblance of it). With this in mind I think Im becoming better at distributing my practice. I appreciate muscle memory so, much. I am a massed practicer more often though. I like the pressure, I think its when I work the best.
ReplyDeleteTrying to remember to practice multiple times a day might be harder than the actual skills we're trying to build 😂 This isn't to say that this isn't the correct practice, because the proposed schedule makes the most sense, but purely established a new work ethic for a practice otherwise not fully realized. Committing myself to further practice and regiment is a worth while cause, just trying to actively remind myself so that these new habits don't fall to the wayside.
ReplyDeleteive been so busy getting back in the swing of things since missing the first week but im starting to get back into the swing I personally love having smaller sessions it lets my voice stay warm throughout the day which is really nice. Im really spending so much time trying to stay healthy my voice has been a little tired just from having such a vocally demanding break but im trying to spend my time now focusing on basic exercises and getting all my little kinks out and my voice back to a more relaxed place where its ready for work
ReplyDeletePractice has been good thus far! I feel really motivated now that I am taking private voice lessons and I have new material to practice each week. My favorite practice sessions are always in my car. I find that I don't have to worry about volume or just the pure annoyance of a repeated drill. My neighbors are surely much happier on these days. However, I am embarking on studying classical, which is new to me. Patience, patience, patience is my new mantra. Even though I don't like the sound of a classical voice, I have to trust that this is a building block that will strengthen other techniques and styles. I tend to just want to jump over this chapter and hurl into singing contemporary! But patience will find me. I find a lot of comfort from an interview with Cynthia Erivo who discusses how she has been trained in Opera and how one of the best things a performer can do, is train outside of their genre. So classical here I come! If Cynthia said it, it must be true. :)
ReplyDeleteMy practice has been much more conscious this semester. I would always warm up, practice, find new rep, revisit old rep, etc. but i wasnt always conscious of HOW i was doing this. As i age i'm realizing more and more how sensitive the voice really is, and how much more conscious i need to be while im using it, in numerous settings. Splitting practice times up into smaller sessions has been very beneficial for me. I feel like its almost meditative to just focus on one part of my voice and technique, and practice other things later on. Knowing that i dont need to achieve full vocal capacity each time i sing, that i dont need to belt like i'm on broadway in my house at 9am, or 11pm has helped my technique balance itself out. I'm excited to work more long sessions to build stamina as i approach senior recital season.
ReplyDeleteMy practice has been pretty good so far. I think its the new year and i'm feeling more organized and energized than I was last semester even though I'm even busier this semester. The idea of being able to practice in short little spurts sounds like a good way to practice if only it worked into my daily life! I think ill try to break my practicing sessions into two mini sessions per day instead of one big session and see how that effects my practice and attention span.
ReplyDeleteMy practice has been much more focused this semester in comparison to last semester. I'm definitely more busy this semester, but I find that practice in shorter increments of time pays off more than trying to fit in 30 minutes to an hour. It definitely helps to motivate me more into practicing if its only for 10-15 minutes.
ReplyDeletePractice has been ok this semester. I find that every weeknight I get home very late, so I rely on weekends for the bulk of my practice; nonetheless, I try to do what I can. This usually amounts to a few massed practices a week. I personally prefer distributed practices, as they are shorter and I think more a effective than a crammed massed practice. Working and an overwhelming school schedule have made squeezing in effective distributed practice somewhat difficult, so my weekends at least are filled with a few massed practices.
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ReplyDeletePractice has been more consistent this semester! I've been warming up in the morning before class and then working for under an hour after class, because I have rehearsal from 6-10 in which I am typically singing. This past week in rehearsals during a run through, I did notice that my voice was definitely fatiguing by the end of act one, and knew I wanted to do something about it. Moving forward, I think I will try three 15 minute sessions before rehearsal each day and see if that helps build stamina as opposed to overdoing it every day.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very intriguing and practical topic to discuss. For me, having a practice schedule always meant you would set aside a lengthy amount of time to completely focus yourself on that task. Like sports, or going into rehearsals. The idea of splitting up the practice time into 10-minute increments seemed inefficient to do if you wanted to improve the skill. It’s always been placed in my head you needed to go and go until you were exhausted with the idea of it at all. But now that college has changed my schedule so drastically from high school, it’s easier and more practical for me to split up practice time. Plus, it doesn’t make me absolutely hate doing it. I do like, however the suggestion of mixing it up with distributed practice and mass practice. I definitely want to start implementing this more with my singing and other things in my life.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Camie, that the task of setting aside a full 45mins to an hour of practice is daunting and makes me feel like I can't do it. But viewing the time as something to practice throughout the day, a continuous exercise, it seems much easier. It also helps my attention span a lot as I can be easily distracted and discouraged during long sessions. Currently, stamina is not a priority for me to work on so I look forward to focusing in on my voice more specifically as i move forward.
ReplyDeleteAh, practice. It could be better and that is just the truth If I'm being completely honest I've been lacking motivation to practice because of how my "performance" of Little Grey on Thursday. I have once again convinced myself I am the worst singer to walk this earth. I've noticed that when I become discouraged it gets in the way of me feeling like I can and should rehearse. It seems silly but old insecurities have resurfaced and I'm doing what I can to move forward. I think going into this week I have a lot of inspiration. I just watched the Grammy's tonight and while that isn't a goal of mine, singing is an incredible skill and art that I respect. Moving into Monday I've set alarms on my phone to remind me to practice this week. I've come so far and I hope that one day I'll not only be comfortable with my voice but confident!
ReplyDeleteConsidering I just picked up a new job and I'm at the tail end of working 4 days in a row, practice has been slim if I'm being perfectly honest. What I have been focusing on is a lot of breathing and trying to extend my breath capacity. I have been looking into composing a bit of music though, though programs such Audition and Finale, of course they are a bit pricey so I've just been working on writing it out first.
ReplyDeleteThroughout most of my week I usually have 4-5 practice sessions a day each being about 10-15 minutes. This is usually time spent in my car on the way to class or work, and when warming up before rehearsal. On Sundays however I usually have time to get in a single longer practice session that helps to building endurance. This semester I want to build healthy habits (such as the idea of jaw release being directly connected to breath) into my practicing, and being mindful of that several times a Day helps to build those habits.
ReplyDeleteI remember thinking that distributed practice seemed more daunting at one time in my college life, because it seemed more difficult to accommodate in my packed together class schedule with 15 minute food/bathroom breaks. However, the idea of it did seem appealing and actually more achievable should it be able to fit in one's schedule. I like the idea of getting in practice time in focused, spaced out chunks - it could be easier to digest. Thinking about my schedule this final semester, trying distributed practice instead of mass practice may come in handy when I start getting into those long evening rehearsals for OUR COUNTRY'S GOOD. The shorter bursts of practice may keep me from feeling like I'm doing one thing for too long (which I will feel like I'm doing with classes, work shifts, rehearsals, etc.) Or they might be a good option to consider on M/W/Fs for me since I have 50 minute A Capella rehearsals on those days.
ReplyDeleteI consider this a very interesting concept. There was definetely a point in my life where doing my practice sessions in short bursts seemed redundant at best, and a waste of time at worst. I have always found I do better with longer structured sessions of anything I am trying to work on. That being said, when I'm working on memorizing anything, after I've dedicated a large chunk of time to that first blast of getting it locked in, I do exactly this. Running the monologue anytime I'm walking somewhere or have a short section of free time to make sure its a part of me. Maybe this is something I should incorporate into my vocal work as well.
ReplyDeleteI need to get better at distributed practice. I tend to do mass practice spastically instead of sitting down and asking myself to really focus on skill building. I think this is very important as I approach my senior recital. I want to feel like I put in as much practice time as possible. And that it is practice that will benefit me in the long run. I think because I have been prepping for so many auditions recently, and not really working on new rep, that that could be part of the reason I have been avoiding skill building--which is just laziness on my part. This week I am going to make promise to myself to be more conscious of my practice sessions and making sure that I am goal setting a bit so that I can start getting really comfortable with some of my more difficult recital pieces.
ReplyDeleteI find myself becoming more flexible with the ways in which I choose to practice. Before reading this blog, I have tried very similar versions of these and find each to have there pros and cons. Personally, I love disturbed practices because it allows me to be more focused when needed. It gives my full attention to those 10 minutes, because otherwise, what a waste of time. However, the downfall with these disturbed practices, are my inability to remember to do all of them. Completely out of misfortune, I can sometimes forget to do one or two of the disturbed practices, oops. In massed practices, I have tended to struggled. I have tried a few 45 min mass practices, and they become quite tedious. I feel like I can get a tremendous amount of work done on my voice, but by the end of it I seem as if I'm ready to shut up for a good while. In conclusion, I don't know what works best for me. I think I need to hone both practices and do a mixture of both as I continue growing and besting my voice.
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