Practice is so important - even for me
Wednesday, October 6, 2021 by Dianne Stewart | Blog
We all know practice is important. Practice makes perfect, practice is how we get better at things, it takes 10,000 hours of doing something to become a master of it. These are all pieces of information that are often referred to when we talk about practice, but what is practice?
Here is what I recommend for my singers (and for myself)
- REGULAR - practice needs to be regular, daily if you can manage it but definitely a few times a week - schedule it in like a lesson with yourself
- PURPOSEFUL - know what you are practicing to improve - have a focus - review your singing goals
- learning the notes? listen to the learning track - play it on the piano if you can - recognise the notes you are having trouble with - bring that to your lesson to work more
- memorising the lyrics - putting the music down, testing your memory, writing out the lyrics, working out the patters or story or other way to remember it
- working in a skill - dynamics, soft and loud or singing in your light high voice and so many more - you may have a list to work on
- working on a difficult passage of a song - using techniques like slow it down, tap the beat or rhythm out
- REVIEW - what did you achieve? in your practice - what do you need to focus on next time - having a practice journal can help you stay focussed and see what you have achieved - and celebrate it.
Even 10 minutes where you practice a few little voice exercises, work on your posture or breathing, or just have time to look at one small passage or entry - every little bit adds up and puts us a step further along the path of learning and achieving our goals.
So - start with review - what are your practice goals for this week?
And don't forget you can track your practice in the student portal - you can even send me a video or recording of your practice so I can see how you are going at home.
So have fun singing and keep on practicing - we all like singing so we should all like practicing too
Dianne