It’s true. We’re all busy and distracted. We know we need to do the work to meet our singing goals. We fully intend to do the work but life gets in the way and before we know it, another week or month goes by without any progress.
Here are some ways to maximise your progress in minimum time:
Create the right environment.
If you are exploring new vocal sounds and ranges, chances are you won’t sound amazing all the time. Find a space in which you are comfortable making some weird noises in. This doesn’t mean that you need to use the same space every time or the same time every day (see below in ‘Change it up’)
Eliminate distractions.
Yes, this probably means your phone. If this all sounds too hard, start by putting your phone on airplane mode or do not disturb for 5 or 10 minutes. Do some concentrated work for that period of time, then gradually increase it.
Record your practice.
Recording your practice sessions are a great way to get instant feedback. Record just a section of the song, listen back to it and decide what you want to keep doing and what you want to change. Don’t be over-critical because that doesn’t lead to improvement. Imagine you are listening to a good friend who has asked for feedback: you want to be helpful so you are honest but you’re also not going to tear them to shreds. The recordings you make are only for you and your practice. They aren’t for anyone else to hear. Delete them after if you want. That being said, though, it’s great to listen to them in a year’s time to see how much you’ve improved!
Make a laundry list and stick to it.
At the end of a practice session, make a quick note (it can be a voice memo on your phone) of what you plan to achieve next practice session. Make the list specific and doable. e.g. two or three exercises that will take a total of 7 minutes to complete.
Work smarter, not longer.
One of the keys to progress is little and often. Completing your specific list will lead to improvement which will then motivate you to get practicing more often. Also, don’t forget that practice can involve simply listening to new repertoire. You can do this while you’re in the train, car, wherever you can take your phone. When you do this, your ‘actual’ singing time is best spent on relevant vocal exercises, rather than learning new songs. You’ll already know them!
Change it up!
Don’t do the same old warm ups the same old way. Change your vowel, change the order, go up rather than down, use a different space, stand on one foot – anything to create variety! It is in this variety that repeatability of a skill is developed. The same goes for your repertoire. Change things up often. Don’t always go for better – try just going for different and see what happens.
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