Silent Practicing

At the beginning of the semester we talked through the syllabus and discussed dividing your practice time into three sessions. I highlighted the fact that much of your session 3 practice can be done silently.

Many of you have been finding that out over the last couple of weeks since it seems about half of you have been fighting colds or some other illness. Having no voice because you are sick, of course, does not excuse you from practicing. It just means you have to practice differently.

This article includes a list of things you can do for practice that don’t require vocal use. Since it’s written for choral singers, not everything on the list applies to you, but most of it does:

http://doreenfryling.org/2015/09/15/practicing-choral-music-ten-ideas-for-the-singer-who-doesnt-think-they-can-practice-on-their-own/

#2 on the list suggests listening to a recording. Hopefully when I assign you songs you don’t just run to a professional recording or youtube in order to learn the piece. If you have you probably found out just how different some renditions can be from the notes and rhythms printed on the page. But at this point in the semester, now that (most of) you know (most of) your music well, this is a good time to listen to some recordings to compare interpretive ideas. You may hear some things you like that could work in your voice or you may decide you like your own choices best. Either way, it’s good to see what other singers have done with the same song.

I find #8 particularly helpful. I get some of my best text work and memorization done when I’m on my morning run or sitting on the train heading to campus. I just let my mind go through the songs and the repetition helps solidify the parts I know and clues me in on the sections that still need more work.

Experiment with the list this week. Which exercises do you find helpful? Which are difficult for you to do?

Now go practice.

Agility

The ability to move the voice quickly is a technical skill that has important applications. While fast moving passages of music (called coloratura or fioratura) are more common in classical music than in music theatre repertoire, agility exercises encourage flexibility in the voice and balance throughout the range. It would be a good idea to work agility exercises into your regular vocal regimen.

Probably the simplest agility exercise is a five note scale 123454321 (Do re mi fa sol fa mi re do). After you have done some session 1 exercises (most agility exercises are better used in session 2) try singing this pattern in the middle voice on an “ah” vowel. Move quickly but not so fast that the notes get sloppy. Move up and down the middle voice using the exercise on different vowels. As you approach the passaggio allow the vowel to modify to whatever works best. If a certain vowel is not working well, try a different one.

Try setting the exercise to a metronome. Gradually work faster and faster, working for the same evenness and clarity from note to note.

You can easily extend this exercise a couple of different ways. Try starting on scale degree 5 (sol) and descending first: 5432123454321 (Sol fa mi re do re mi fa sol fa mi re do). Again experiment with different vowels as you move throughout the range.

You can also try the exercise two or three times in a row using different vowels each time: start with [i] (“ee”) and sing 123454321 then move immediately to [e] (“ay”) for 123454321 and then to [a] “ah” for 123454321. Work for the same evenness from note to note and gradually increase the tempo.

Another one I like to incorporate is even shorter, though not necessarily easier. Choose a vowel and sing the pattern 121232321 (Do re do re mi re mi re do). Again, try it on different vowels and at increasing speeds. You can string this pattern together with the first pattern: 12123232-123454321.

Why are agility exercises important? We all want a bigger sound (in coming to lessons, many singers have two main goals: to sing higher and to sing louder). The result is the tendency to sing too heavily or with too much weight in the voice. Physically this means that we use more mass of the vocal folds when we sing.

To sing fast agility patterns (and to sing higher) we need to use a lighter balance that encourages the edges or outer layer of the vocal folds to handle most of the vibration. Then the voice doesn’t get bogged down with too much pressure and the result is better flexibility and range. Often, if the voice can’t move quickly it’s because we’re just singing with too much weight. Finding how the voice can move faster through agility exercises builds the balance of pressure that will allow us to access more of our full range and will gradually develop into greater dynamic control as well.

Move the voice!

Now go practice.

Freedom to fail

I recently read this article written by a college professor:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/201509/declining-student-resilience-serious-problem-colleges

While at first I wanted to dismiss it as another grown-up complaining about “these kids today,” I think he brings up real concerns about our ability to confront failure.

Part of what the article describes is that, in the current generation, failure in any capacity has become cause for panic. There are lots of theories as to how this came to be. Maybe we put too much emphasis on testing. Maybe parents (and teachers) have swooped in and prevented you from failure in an attempt to protect you (even though most real learning comes from failure). Maybe the increased pressure to succeed (get into a good school, land a lucrative job, etc.) has given the impression that failure should never occur, even though most successful people can relate story after story of how they bounced back from failures.

There is an obvious connection to the vocal studio. While none of us TRY to fail, it’s bound to happen. Whether it’s an audition where we don’t get the part, a performance that lands flat, or the occasional complete train wreck, anyone doing what we do will experience failure.

The question is, how do we react?

If we fail because we’re unprepared (not as memorized as we should have been, didn’t know the song as well as we could have) then that should obviously motivate us to prepare better the next time.

If we fail because our technique or interpretation was flawed, we should self analyze and decide what we need to do differently to improve.

If we fail because there were others who were just better than us on that day, we should strive to be better the next time and take steps to make that happen.

Failure is normal. Struggle is expected. It does not mean you are worthless.

True, we (the faculty and the institution) are responsible for encouraging a safe environment here at school. But that is not to keep you from failing. It’s so that when (not if) you do fail it doesn’t feel like the end of the world. You are not a failure just because you don’t always succeed.

This week I am working to enjoy my past failures and focusing on how they have helped me improve. In so many cases, it was by failing that I was forced to consider a different way of doing things that ultimately led to greater success.

How have you been failing this week?

Now go practice.

Pacing Practice

Back in my school of music days I had friends (pianists and violinists mostly) who would practice anywhere from four to eight hours a day. In order to be competitive, and in order to learn the complex music that is an expected part of their repertoire, that schedule is not uncommon among certain instrumentalists.

As vocalists, we just can’t do that. The vocal folds are muscles and can’t take the wear and tear of that much extended use. I often liken it to marathon runners. Most people wouldn’t run a marathon and then get up the next day and run another marathon and then get up the next day and run another marathon. Muscles need recovery time or they are susceptible to injury.

I’ve been reminded of this personally as I have been preparing for my recital (Sunday, October 4th, 2pm, Dumke Recital Hall, David Gardner Music Building, Free for U of U students!). Most of my vocalizing thus far has been in short sets, working on difficult passages, running entire songs, and then running groups of songs back to back. This has been paired with time on the train spent memorizing and dissecting the music and text. But now that the recital is only three weeks away I need to adjust my practicing to start building up the stamina of an entire program (18 songs with only short breaks in between). So I need to start considering longevity and adjust my daily vocal use accordingly.

If I were strictly a performer and only had to worry about my evening shows, it would be less complicated to manage my vocal energies every day. But in teaching a full load of lessons and classes I need to make sure I am getting sufficient rest as I pace all of my vocal activities. Spending a Saturday screaming (at a football game, at an amusement park, or at a rock concert) is just not an option.

I have had this conversation with many of my students who are in the American Idiot cast. For the next few weeks, they need to pace ALL their vocal activities around their performance requirements. That’s what professionals do and they don’t have to wake up for 8am dance or take a full-time course load. That may mean that each day these students only get in Session 1 vocalization to stretch and warm up the voice and then some silent Session 3 work on learning notes, memorization, and analysis. They can’t afford to go to their shows vocally tired or their performances will suffer. They also can’t afford to skip their daily vocal regimen—that would be like running at a full sprint without any stretching or warming up.

These are just some of the considerations we must keep in mind as vocal athletes. The mental work never needs to take a break but the physical work needs to be carefully paced with all our other daily vocal demands.

How has your singing been going this week?

Now go practice.

Discipline

Welcome (or welcome back)!

I started this blog last year as a way to encourage us all to be regular and disciplined in practicing our voices. We all sing, all the time. But practicing is more than just singing. It is coordinating specific muscle groups, it is heightening our awareness of physical sensations as they relate to singing, it is sometimes tedious repetition in order to get our music completely accurate, and it is drilling the technical elements of singing often enough for them to become so ingrained that we can focus more of our attention on expression and the emotional intent behind our singing.

This summer I read a book called The Yoga of Discipline by Swami Chidvilasananda. It provided some great perspectives on how the everyday choices we make impact the direction of our lives. One paragraph related specifically to singing:

“You have heard great singers. Do you think they could sing the way they do without discipline? Because they have led disciplined lives, now they can go beyond what we think of as the limitations of the human body. They can reach people’s hearts.”

Of course, we all know singers who do not lead disciplined lives and still manage to be effective performers, more or less. When I encounter those people I always wonder how much better they would be if they were serious enough about their craft to work harder at it. That’s our challenge. Anyone can get really fired up about something once in a while. The successful ones, however, make their art a daily discipline.

So, this first blog is about sharing ideas that help you stay disciplined about practicing your voice. What works for you?

Here are some things that help me:

-Scheduling regular time for it. If practice time is not in my calendar at a specific time, it’s too easy not to do it.

-Allowing myself to stop practicing after a certain amount of time. Some days it feels great and I just keep going. Some days are more difficult so after I work for my designated period of time, I stop and do something else.

-Alternating between brain work and voice work so I don’t get too tired or overwhelmed. A lot of your practicing can be done silently.

-Starting simple. Jumping right to the hard parts tends to frustrate me, partly because I try to take on too much before I'm physically warmed up and prepared.

-Having a goal or something specific I'm trying to accomplish. Maybe that’s just getting a certain rhythm down, maybe that’s memorizing a section of music, maybe that’s an ongoing goal like smoothing out the passaggio or getting better dynamic control.

What works for you?

Now go practice.

Hate watching

I read an article in a recent NATS publication about hate watching. We all know the game: watching a performance we expect (or hope) will be bad just so we can make fun of it. American Idol has made a lot of money off the concept. The article made reference to last year's NBC production of Sound of Music with Carrie Underwood as an example and pointed to the social media commentary as proof of all the hate watching.

I think a lot of times we imagine auditions, masterclasses, Dem Lab performances, JURIES, like everyone is hate watching our performance, just waiting for us to make a mistake.

When we find those thoughts creeping into our heads, it may be worth stepping back to consider what kind of audience members we are ourselves. Do we hope the performers we are watching do well or are we secretly rooting for some noticeable failure (as if their failure somehow makes us better)?

It’s one thing to notice imperfections and to have opinions about what we are seeing and hearing and deciding what we might do differently. That’s an important part of developing artistry. And it’s perfectly alright to say that you don’t like a performance.

But what are we looking for? Are we looking for flaws or looking for what works? Are we quick to criticize or quick to compliment?

Now, consider how you evaluate your own performances. Do you look for the flaws first or can you just as easily highlight your areas of excellence?

Did you see this French ad for Dove?
http://www.bustle.com/articles/74573-french-dove-campaign-asks-women-to-write-down-every-negative-thought-about-themselves

We would never let other people get away with saying the negative things to us that we say to ourselves. We all know haters gonna hate and we can't do anything about that. Do we really need to do it to ourselves, as well?

Some of the most gracious performers I know are also the most gracious audience members. They love to perform and they love to watch others do what they love—perform.

I love watching my students perform. Honestly, it’s one of my favorite things to do. I enjoy it even more when I can tell you feel good about your own performance.

That’s what I'd like to see at your juries. Thanks for a great semester!

Now go practice.

Practice like Wynton

One thing I’ve been trying to emphasize differently this year (and the impetus for this blog, really) is just how intentional and methodical practicing needs to be if we are to make the most significant improvements.

Generally, we don't really need much time to warm up our voices. But we DO need specific exercises—used regularly over time—to build the voice in ways that will lead to the most significant improvements in our technical capabilities.

Singing in your car may serve to warm up the voice, but it can't really be considered honest “practice” because the seat tends to compromise posture and singing over the outside noise of the engine and traffic encourages pushing the voice. Plus, if you are really giving your singing the focus it deserves then you aren't paying enough attention to your driving.

Singing through a bunch of songs is one form of practice but it should never be a replacement for daily technical work.

Here is a site I saw recently (thanks, Cecily!) about how professional trumpet player Wynton Marsalis practices:

http://arbanmethod.com/wyntons-twelve-ways-to-practice/

His list of twelve ways to practice emphasizes a lot of elements we have worked on and discussed in lessons but also introduces some concepts that were new to me. I especially like #9 and #12, which I hadn't ever seen spelled out in quite that way before.

Which number(s) on the list work the best for you? Which numbers do you need to emphasize differently?

“I like to say that the time spent practicing is the true sign of virtue in a musician. When you practice, it means you are willing to sacrifice to sound good.” —Wynton Marsalis

Now go practice.