“Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones.” – PHILLIP BROOKS
Performances by eloquent speakers and accomplished singers seem effortless. More often than not, the apparent ease is the result of hours of preparation. Practice is often seen as a necessary chore, something endured in order to get to the more pleasurable art of performing. I have noticed it is most powerful when practice is also embraced as an art in and of itself.
Painters have exhibits, but painting is their art. Singers have performances and speakers have engagements, but the creation of sound is vocal art. The transformational art of voice is practicing with such concentration and passion that it feels like the personality yields to some profound creative inspiration that is singing or speaking us.
Here are some suggestions I think make for more joyful, inspired practice:
- Practicing as exploration and learning.
Mastery takes time so if we practice to get things right we often end up frustrated, disappointed and feeling hopeless. If we are playfully trying new things and allow ourselves to celebrate what we are learning, at some point we will notice that the voice and expression are better and easier.
- Practicing for limited time periods.
If we overwork the voice it becomes tired and unresponsive. Concentration dwindles in long practice sessions and we can end up reinforcing limitations rather than developing new capacities. It is also useful to change what we are practicing every few minutes. Frequent, short practice builds the kind of endurance and flexibility that sustains a career.
- Start with what works.
Too often we go straight to vocal problems with an intention of fixing them. It can be more efficient to take what works and make it grow. It also builds confidence and hope. For example, if the “ee” sound works well for you, but the “oh” doesn’t, start with “ee” and move to “oh” changing as little as possible. When the two sounds are equally good you will have solved the problem by reinforcing what is right about your voice.
Of course there are other ideas, but my final suggestion today is to limit what you try to incorporate or master at any given time.
Thank you Jocelyn. This is helpful. Practicing voice work is still something that I need to assign myself in order for it to get done. However, having your basic vocal warm up exercises to do is very helpful and allows me to have that variety of practice you mention. Once I start, I am always glad that I dd!