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Everyone has the same amount of time each day, yet some individuals use it more effectively. In terms of practice, some vocalists seem to get more out of their sessions than most. Today, I will provide you with ten singing tips to make a significant difference in your practice. These tips will help you get the most out of every minute you spend. This information is provided by Dr Dean Southern in A Dictionary for the Modern Singer, and I hope you’ll keep reading to learn more.
Schedule Your Practice Time
Dr Dean Southern’s first tip is to schedule your practice time. I find that I work best when I schedule tasks in my diary. If you don’t allocate time to your day, other priorities are likely to crowd out the opportunity to practice. Additionally, Dr Southern recommends scheduling your practice at an optimal time when you won’t be too tired to work. When you schedule the time, make the practice room your sacred space.
Create a Distraction-Free Zone
Nowadays, we are consistently subjected to diversions such as emails, text messages, and social media. These distractions tend to encourage procrastination. To concentrate and absorb what you are learning, it’s essential to have an area where you can practice with little to no interference. Make this space your sanctuary for focused, uninterrupted practice.
Set Clear Goals
Setting goals for your practice time is crucial. Singing goals fall into two categories: objective and subjective. Objective goals are extensive and may include singing with less strain or better understanding the story. In contrast, subjective goals are more definitive and might involve regulating tongue root tension, for example. Always seek to resist the inclination to rehearse without a clear set of objectives. If you struggle to come up with objectives, use your lesson as a template for your rehearsing.
Start Fresh Every Day
Every morning offers a chance for a new start. It’s essential not to let yesterday’s disappointments or achievements shape what happens today. Begin your practice sessions anew each time. Starting with the tonal and physical memory of the previous day can lead to vocal fatigue and frustration. Warm up your voice for at least five to ten minutes before diving into your tunes. This ensures vocal health over the long run.
Respect Your Physical Boundaries
Even with sufficient warm-up, each voice has its own physical boundaries that must be respected. You can’t belt out songs for hours on end. Begin with 20 minutes every other day, then add five minutes every week until you can practice for around 60 minutes. Dr Southern states that a maximum of two hours of singing in one day is generally accepted. Beyond this, the muscles of the vocal apparatus fail to function efficiently, risking your vocal health.
Divide and Conquer
It’s tempting to sing a whole tune without breaking it down. However, it’s better to divide the music into sections. Focus on specific phrases, paying attention to dynamics, articulation, and breathing. By breaking the song into smaller pieces, you can pinpoint details that may have been missed when singing it from start to finish.
Find Alternative Vocal Exercises
On days when you have a sore throat or feel fatigued, find alternative methods of exercising your vocal folds that don’t involve singing. For modern tunes, look up the song online and watch different covers of it on YouTube, including the original one. This can give you ideas on how others have interpreted the song without straining your voice.
Commit to Memory
Consciously and quickly, commit your music to memory and review it regularly. Effective memorisation is not accidental; it takes conscious effort. The sooner you memorise the lyrics to your song, the sooner you can develop a sense of connection to the narrative. This connection is, in my humble opinion, the higher goal.
I’m Dr Dan, sing well.
REFERENCE
Southern, D. (2014). Practicing 101: Ten tips for making the most of your time between lessons. In M. Hock (Ed.), A dictionary for the modern singer (pp. 219–221). Lanham, ML: Rowman and Littlefield.
For more about maximising your singing practice, check out this video…
Disclaimer: This blog post was generated by ChatGPT-4o, an AI language model, based on Dr Dan’s video script (original work). For a comprehensive understanding of the topic, we suggest watching the original video above.
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