How to practise singing - Part 2

10 Nov

Written By Laura

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

In part 1, we looked at why we should practise and the kind of things we might practice. Now we need to look at how to actually do the practising. Here are some options.

How to practice

Before you begin, ask yourself the following question: What is my intention for this practice? Be focused, not vague. Make sure your goals are small and specific, for example: holding a note for a second longer, learning lyrics for a verse, breaking down a riff… the options are endless
Slow. It. down. Especially useful for things like riffs, or diction work. When you really slow things down, you can take the time to really feel what is going on in your body as well as just listening to what it sounds like. Where are your articulators? What does that pitch feel like? How do the intervals between notes feel - do they feel like a long way apart or do they feel close?
Similar to slowing it down - break it down into smaller chunks. This could be lyric work (see above), learning melodies, intervals, diction work…
Develop your self-awareness. In order to practise effectively, we have to remove distractions and be in a mindful place. This helps you to tune in to the sound of your voice and your interoception (what things feel like in your body), so that you can make adjustments as necessary.
Repeat, repeat, repeat again. Every time you make effective adjustments to make your target sounds, those neural pathways learn to fire a little quicker.
Don’t just trust your ears! Try using a mirror to check what your face and body are doing. You can also use a phone or tablet to record yourself and listen/watch back. Are you communicating what you think you’re communicating? Do you have out-of-control eyebrows? (That’ll be me!) Head to one side? A jaw tense enough to crush diamonds? Habitual movements that aren’t related to your communication? Check in with these and adjust as necessary.
Visualising your practice can be super effective. Something to think about at the bus stop, in the supermarket queue…
After you finish, ask: ‘What are three things I did well?’ and ‘What is one thing I can work on next time?’ A reflective practice journal has been shown to make a positive difference to your learning.

Overcoming pitfalls

Of course, learning isn’t always a linear progression. There are inevitable ups and downs, even more so with the voice as it is so linked to our stress-levels, general health and emotional state. Here are some common pitfalls and how to overcome them:

You don’t know what to practise. Ask your singing teacher/vocal coach! They will help. Set some goals.
Having no structure. Develop a practice routine that works for you. For example, it could start with a mindful moment to bring your body and mind into alignment, followed by a warm-up, some focused technical work, integration of new techniques into your piece (or pieces), and finishing with a cooldown
Expecting to enjoy it. It isn’t always fun. But the feeling of having accomplished something, however small, usually beats the boredom of drilling those lyrics in (or whatever your inside-groan task is)
Mindset issues. A growth mindset really fosters much better progression. Fear of failure, learned helplessness, self-sabotage, there are a number of ways a fixed mindset plays out when it comes down to practising. We all have particular issues, which can be addressed through self-improvement work, therapy, or whatever you need. Make a start by watching Carol Dweck’s TED talk here
Expecting progress to be fast, and linear. It won’t be. Your expectations need to be realistic. Your voice is a part of your body, and making any changes takes time and persistence. There will be times when changes happen fast, but there will be times where it feels like nothing’s happening, good days and bad days, illness and recovery. And usually, there is a phase where we feel like we’re getting worse, just before the real improvements come. Don’t let your day-to-day emotions hold too much sway over how you view your progress when you’re practising. Just stay on the path
Procrastinating. Hands up if you can only practise with a tidy house/kitchen/desk, had a workout, once the dog’s been walked, once you’ve answered all your emails, put a load of laundry on, done the food shop, had lunch, meditated, checked social media, made another to-do list, finished that episode…. You get the idea. Put your singing practice in your calendar. Make it a habit - doing it at the same time each day or days in the week works well, or stack it on to the beginning or end of another habit
Make yourself accountable. Recruit a friend or family member to check in with about your progress. Or use an app like Streaks to help you stay accountable to yourself
Set realistic practice targets. If you aim for 3 hours a day it’s probably not going to happen (and that’s too much for most people anyway). Work out what is realistic for you, and try and stick to it. It might be an hour a day, it might be 15 minutes twice a week. It’s better to do little and often, in general, for the stamina-building aspect of voice work, such as your scales or specific voice exercises you’ve been given by your teacher or coach. For this, 15 minutes several times a week is a good goal. Allocating one longer session a week or fortnight might work better than smaller chunks for focused repertoire work or in-depth lyric/text work. But however long, and however frequently - be realistic!
Practising at the wrong time or in the wrong place. Hungry? Tired? Dehydrated? Low energy? Unwell? Know yourself and choose your practice time wisely. If you’re in a good place physically, mentally and emotionally, you’ll get a lot more out of whatever you choose to do. (And see above for the mindful moment tip).

I hope you find something from these two practice blogs to help you get the most out of the singing you do between your lessons! And if you want some extra guidance, you can book a lesson with me to make a tailored plan.

Now off to practise what I preach…
Laura x