More on Practicing

In Volume Two of "A Voice For a Lifetime in 30 Days", I discuss the inner critic and the things we must do to silence him or her. You may recall that I use analogies from different disciplines to demonstrate how to accomplish what we are after with our singing.

So, let me take the example of Tennis, (a favorite activity of mine), to show you how to practice so that it isn't tedious or boring enough to cause you to quit doing it. For the sake of demonstration, let's call the performance "playing the game".

When a tennis player, whether NCAA amateur or professional player making several million dollars a year isn't "playing the game", he or she is practicing.

It's important to note here that when a tennis player practices, he/she is NOT "playing the game". In a clear example, let's say during an actual game, the player noticed that his serve was off. After he has cooled down from the game, usually several hours later, or maybe even a day or two, he will go out to the practice court and practice his serve. He may spend several hours on just this - practicing his serve.

NOTE - he is NOT PLAYING A GAME! He is practicing a single element of it.

The Single Element

He leaves the practice court and heads for the showers. The next day his coach says "Let's have a scrimmage!" A scrimmage is a PRACTICE GAME. In the PRACTICE GAME, the player and coach observe the results of the practice session in which the player worked on his serve alone. The coach may perceive that the serve has improved, or not and will give the player pointers on how to fix whatever is wrong. The player will then use the pointers in his next practice session, BUT NOT IN A GAME. The GAME is not a place to practice! The GAME is a place to PLAY!

Similarly, if you've ever been to baseball game, and you get there early enough, you see the players out on the field engaged in the activity of "Batting Practice". They are not playing a game, but merely working on elements of it like hitting, throwing, catching, running, etc. This is true in any sport! Players work on elements and then OBSERVE with their coaches the results of the workout.

Okay, so where am I going with all this sports talk?

Let's pull all this practice discussion into our own activity of singing and performing. As I have written before in the article entitled "What is Practicing", which by the way, you will find on the Readers Corner Page of Sing Your Life!, I say that Practicing is NOT singing! And it isn't!

More on Practicing Here

So what IS it?

If you sing all day long with your Karaoke Machine or the radio, and you haven't practiced single elements, than no matter how long you sing, you're DOING IT WRONG! And you won't improve. Here are the steps for how to make your practice sessions work!

What is your main issue?

Let's say it's pulling the voice into your throat when you go for a high note. Okay! Here's what to do.

Stop singing!

Create a time and place for practicing diaphragm control. Spend 5 to 10 minutes breathing in through the nose, filling the body with air and then exhaling as if blowing out the candles on a cake.

NOTICE that the diapragm drops when you do this.

Do it again and again for 5-10 minutes

STOP!

You have just practiced a single element of correct vocal production especially when going for a high note with power. Now go about your day and don't sing another note for at least 2 hours.

...

Now get out a song that you enjoy singing that contains the element your were working on 2 hours ago.

Sing!

NOTICE whether or not your practice session has made any improvements in your ability to use the diaphragm to hit the high note without pulling it up into your throat.

Mentally record a "YES" or a "NO".

DO NOT TRY TO FIX ANYTHING WHEN YOU ARE SINGING!
FIXING BELONGS IN THE EXCLUSIVE DOMAIN OF THE PRACTICE SESSION

JUST NOTICE! OBSERVE!

Use the information for your next practice session.

Sensory Awareness

Sensory awareness and non-judgmental observation is vital to your improvement as a performer, and stopping your performance to work on stuff will only carry over into a real performance, so you NEVER want to do that. Just Notice and Observe with total objectivity - as if you were the coach! Then the next time you PRACTICE, single out elements of concern to work on. The more you practice this way, by choosing a specific time and place for it, away from the time you sing and perform, the more you will begin to notice substantial changes in what you are doing.

And when you isolate elements to work on, they become more manageable and less overwhelming, do you see? Now a word on how often and long to practice single elements. Take 5 - 10 minutes to work on a single aspect of your singing and pick a good time that's convenient and private so you can stick to it every day. Let's say you will work on your breathing at 8:00 AM every day for a week. Now what if you need to work on other elements as well? Fine, but not at 8:00 AM every day because you've chosen that time for practicing breathing. So let's say you will single out another element to work on at 8PM every day for a week. The rest of time between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM, if you sing, you should be ONLY NOTICING AND OBSERVING, NOT PRACTICING!

If there are multiple elements that need to be addressed, why not map out a month's worth of practice sessions that will accommodate them all, but not take up hours at a time that may interfere with your regular schedule. If you are tackling 2 single elements at specific times on a weekly basis, you should be able to fit 8 elements in a month's time.

This is practicing, folks!
If you practice this way, you WILL NOTICE serious changes!
So give it a go, and let me know!