Efficiency, Inherent Laziness, and Patient Persistence

One of the goals of singing training is to identify and eliminate inefficiencies. Oxford Languages defines efficiency as "maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense." As I sometimes describe it, we want to use the fewest number of muscles doing the least amount of work possible for any given task when it comes to physical efficiency in the voice studio. For instance, if it takes two muscles to do something and we are using five muscles, we are not being as efficient as we could. The result is that we're working harder than we need to because we're giving energy to three muscles that are not needed for the task. In addition, those unnecessary muscles may start to interfere with the job that the two primary muscles are trying to accomplish. 

In a recent Journal of Singing column (Sept/Oct 2024), voice professor Lynn Helding presents a quote by psychologist and author Daniel Kahneman from his book Thinking Fast and Slow. Kahneman expands the idea of efficiency to include our brains and not just our bodies: 

"A general law of least effort applies to cognitive as well as physical exertion. The law asserts that if there are several ways of achieving the same goal, people will eventually gravitate to the least demanding course of action. In the economy of action, effort is a cost, and the acquisition of skill is driven by the balance of benefits and costs. Laziness is built deep into our nature." (p.35)

I guess it makes sense that, if we are always trying to find less effortful ways to do things, it could indicate we are all inherently lazy. Whether we refer to this inclination as laziness or simply seeking efficiency, it's good to acknowledge that it is in our nature to choose the path of least resistance and to look for the easier way of doing things. 

Of course, effort is a key requirement for deep learning and skill building. If we want to become better singers, we need to log lots of hours of meaningful practice—there is no easier way around this reality. That understanding, however, can be overwhelming, since there is always more we can do. At no point will we ever reach the pinnacle where our voices are perfectly capable of executing everything we could possibly want. And even when we do reach a high level of accomplishment, it still takes a lot of practice to maintain those skills. It's sort of like exercise for general health. None of us will ever be able to say, "I've finally exercised enough to last for the rest of my life." If we want to continue reaping the health benefits of exercise, we have to keep doing it (especially as we get older). 

But, that realization can actually paralyze us in our practicing, since there is no easier path (and we are programmed to look for the easy route). At times, we may conclude that there is just too much to do, so we might as well not even bother. To address this feeling, Helding encourages what she describes as an attitude of "patient persistence." Instead of being intimidated into inaction (knowing that "Laziness is built deep into our nature"), or taking the opposite approach of trying to do too much at once, she offers an alternative: "Choose a patiently persistent mode of acquiring new habits by starting with small, yet feasible steps" (JOS p.10). 

Consistently choosing to do just a bit of work—through patient persistence—can lead to big gains over time. 

How do you encourage yourself to take small steps toward improvement? How do you motivate yourself to be more persistent in your practicing? 

Now go practice.