Practice Analysis

As we kick off another semester and are establishing new routines based on our schedules this spring, it’s a good time to analyze our approach to practicing.

This article presents some thought-worthy ideas on the subject:

http://snip.ly/KSjJ#http://www.artoffreedom.me/how-long-should-you-practice-every-day/

One concept that particularly struck me was "quality over quantity.” It’s good to remember that while we have to practice often, it is more important to practice well than it is to practice a lot (the quality of the minutes spent practicing are more important than the number of minutes spent practicing).

I also appreciate the notion that we should consider how our musical practice fits in with our life priorities. Does your singing make you a better human being? Does it contribute to society? How? Practicing those elements of our singing are just as necessary (arguably MORE necessary) than the elements of our singing that make us “marketable.”

What perspectives do you take from the article? What might you adjust or give more focus to in your own practice routine based on what you read?

Now go practice. 

Homework

You may have heard that Dame Julie Andrews is scheduled to direct the 60th anniversary production of My Fair Lady this summer at the Sydney Opera House in Australia. You can watch an interview about it here:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-10/julie-andrews-offers-advice-to-aspiring-actors/6929054

In the interview she gave some good advice to artists:

"The underpinning of discipline is the foundation that leaves me free to then fly. If I know that I've done my homework, which is what I suggest to all young talent these days, then I've got something there that I can spring from. But if you haven't learned it well, paid your dues or put in the hours, you don't have as much to pull from.”

The end of the semester is really when we find out if we’ve been doing our “homework.” In other words, has the process you’ve been following this semester prepared you and helped you grow?

As indicated in your class syllabus, I firmly believe that your final grade in Studio Voice should be a reflection of the work you have been doing all year. If you have been disciplined and on task, the jury performance is almost always solid. If, however, you have an outstanding jury performance but you were not disciplined in meeting your other responsibilities throughout the semester then you will not receive a high grade just because you "aced your final.”

I adhere to this policy to emphasize exactly what Dame Andrews indicates: if you have done your homework, you have more to pull from as an artist. There may be shortcuts to throwing together a performance, but creating something artistic and powerful takes time, discipline, and practice.

When the semester is finally over and you have moved on to your happy holidays, I hope you all take some time to go back and honestly reflect on the last five months. Though this is not an exercise that will be graded, it may be the most important assignment of the year.

Work hard in your last week of class. I’m looking forward to your juries!

Now go practice.

Systematic practice

The November issue of Classical Singer magazine (I have extra copies in my office if you would like one) has an article by Laura Portune called “Practicing Efficiently.” In the article she suggests an order for how to practice a song, once all of the notes and rhythms are learned:

1. Warm up your body.
2. Warm up your voice.
3. Speak through the text in rhythm.
4. Sing through the piece on lip trills, humming, alternating vowels. Focus on easy production through phrasing and breathing.
5. Sing through the piece with words, focusing on technique.
6. Sing through the piece with words, focusing on expression/acting.
7. Sing through the piece putting together technique and expression/acting.
8. End with “performance.”
9. Warm down.

A lot has been written about “The Myth of Multitasking” and how trying to do too many things at once actually wastes more time than it saves. This can be true in our singing as well, which is what I like about the process above. By intentionally focusing on a single element of performance we can fine tune that aspect before moving on. 

Of course, we tend to want to jump right to the expressive elements of singing. After all, that’s why we sing in the first place. But if we haven’t solidified technical elements, or haven’t learned the song properly, then we may be distracted when performing because we haven’t ironed out those deficiencies yet. 

Following a systematic approach can ensure that we aren’t skipping steps in the process and getting ahead of ourselves. It takes time and can be tedious. But the learning that occurs is ingrained more thoroughly, which always saves time down the road.

Think about your own process for practicing and learning a song. How is it the same as the process above? How is it different? Which element(s) on the list above would improve your practicing? 

Now go practice. 

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.