Refine

Continuing through "The Four Rs of Effective Practice," singers can first find their resolve (determination), then resolve on a plan of action, then implement and repeat that plan of action. 

If strict repetitions (and the natural variations that come with repeated attempts) aren't leading to success, the next step is to refine how you implementing the strategy—in other words, changing something about the way you are performing the exercise. Since singing involves many systems (for example, respiration, phonation, resonance, articulation, etc.) all of which are interacting in a non-linear manner, every strategy may have lots ways in which it can be performed. As Rosenberg and LeBorgne state in The Vocal Athlete: Application and Technique for the Hybrid Singer, “There are many ways to approach the same vocal problem or issue. A teacher must be prepared to modify and adapt in the moment as needed.” (xiii) Singers can similarly modify and adapt during practice sessions. 

Refining the execution of an exercise may involve checking in on these various systems for levels of balance. Maybe there is too much engagement in one system (hyperfunction) or not enough engagement in another (hypofunction). Maybe extraneous tension is interfering with the process. If so, refining the implementation of your strategies, and then repeating the refined implementation, may help move you closer to your target. 

If refining the implementation is not leading you in the desired direction, the strategy itself can be refined. For instance, if the exercise is performed on a certain vowel, maybe changing to another vowel would be useful. If the new vowel seems to help, you can gradually start shifting back toward the original vowel as your system calibrates—taking what works and moving it in the direction of what isn't working. If the strategy involves the use of a semi-occluded vocal tract exercise (SOVTE) like a lip trill or a voiced consonant, shifting to a different SOVTE, like straw phonation, may improve your performance. 

These sorts of refinements are not wholesale changes to your original strategy—they're simply adjustments. The core of the exercise remains intact as you start to introduce subtle tweaks. Of course, as you refine your strategies, each adjustment may require multiple repetitions to find success.

If multiple attempts, refinements, and additional attempts are not leading to desired results, an entirely new strategy may be needed. Rosenberg and LeBorgne again offer advice for teachers in these situations that singers can also use in the practice room:

If the exercise ultimately does not yield the intended outcome, it is incumbent upon the teacher to reassess and modify to suit the specific needs of the student, for it is the process that is important, not a specific exercise. We encourage you to explore and experiment . . . Take what is useful and modify and adapt to the needs of your students. (xiv)

In this case, you can go back to the first “R” of effective practice and resolve upon a new plan of action. Although it can feel like failure to have to start all over again, all of these investigations provide a body of evidence that can inform your future choices. Each ineffective strategy you identify could mean you are one step closer to finding the strategy that will work. 

I admit that the work of finding the right strategy can be tedious and frustrating business. A strategy that may have worked for you a month ago may not be working as well today. A strategy that seemed to work in your lesson or in class may not work as well when you are on your own. These are situations where you may, once again, need to tap into your resolve. 

When you find yourself in one of these dead ends, it may help to consider yourself like a detective solving a mystery. You develop an informed theory based on the evidence and clues you have access to. One by one, you start to follow useful clues until you finally find the missing piece that leads you to resolve (there's that word again) the case. This approach can empower you to use your practice time to explore, make informed choices, and enjoy the thrill of discovery. 

Now go practice.