How to Practice - By DVS Instructor Corie Auger

This post has been a bit of a process for me to write. It’s taken me quite awhile, and the reason is that I feel very strongly about what we’re discussing in today’s blog: how to practice. There’s a lot I want to say, pulling from my experiences as a student, performer, and teacher. Distilling all my thoughts into one cohesive blog post has taken time, but I think it’s worth the wait for this one.

It may come as a great shock (or perhaps not) that the greatest vocal growth you’ll experience will most likely not happen in the studio with your teacher in one big light bulb moment. You stand to achieve the greatest amount of growth through your own consistent, diligent practice sessions, developing coordination over time.  The goal of this post is to help you learn what effective, efficient practicing really looks like. I’ll also point out some helpful resources so you can explore more of the
issues we’ll talk about today on your own.

First things first – set aside time to practice. This seems like a no-brainer, but far too many students count warming up in their car as their daily practice time. Set aside time to work on your singing and nothing else. Get to know your instrument – it’s the only one like it on the planet, and it’s entirely yours. To develop the fine-tuned technical skills a singer requires, you need all your wits about you. The important issue here is making sure you have time dedicated to you and your instrument, so
for now we’ll worry less about the specific amount of time, but I’d recommend no more than 20 minutes at a time, three or four times a day.

So now you’ve found 15-20 minutes somewhere in your busy day and you’re ready to spend some quality time with your instrument. Great! Now what? If it’s your first practice session of the day, you might spend most of that time warming up. An athlete preparing to train warms up before the workout to avoid injury and ensure a more successful training session. Right now, YOU are the athlete – a vocal acrobat, intent on performing some amazing feats. Warm up.

But Corie, you say, I’m not sure how to warm up my voice! What sort of exercises should I use? Think back to my last blog post: remember that recording you took of your lesson? Remember those silly vocal exercises your teacher made you do at the start of your lesson? Use those. Teachers use specific exercises to help your voice warm up and often simultaneously face a technical issue head on. Be mindful here: you must learn to listen to your voice with discerning ears. Let’s say, for example, that you sing a particular scale and it doesn’t feel quite right. If your teacher were there, how would they advise you? What tools have they given you to help when something feels tight, under-energized, stuck? Use those tools! Go back and do the scale again.

You must learn to practice mindfully, deliberately. Oftentimes, this means slowly.
There is an awful lot of thought involved in a mindful practice session. Nothing about practicing is accidental. Work to make every sound you make intentional. No more auto pilot!

So you’ve mindfully warmed up, and maybe you have five or six minutes left in your first practice session of the day. How do you spend it? Mindlessly singing through a song until you hear something you think could be better, so you stop to fix it? The idea of deliberate practice helps us reinvigorate our practice sessions – instead of just singing along on autopilot, try choosing a very specific section of one of your pieces. This section is probably so short it’s not even an entire phrase. Perhaps theseare the notes leading up to the big high note at the end. Maybe you’ve chosen the
opening four notes, or a section that feels particularly exposed and vulnerable. Whatever section you’ve chosen, you’re going to spend the next five to six minutes making sure it speaks just as you’d like. Perhaps you’re focusing on having definitive vowels, or feeling the breath move freely, or you’re making sure the soft palate stays raised – whatever the focus for this section, give it all your focus and energy. This is deliberate practice. It is slow, systematic, goal-oriented, highly repetitive, and a very active and thoughtful process. You’ll likely feel a bit fatigued at the end of it.
Congratulations – you’ve completed your first deliberate, mindful practice session!

In your second, third, and fourth sessions, you might spend less time warming up the voice and more time working with specific sections of repertoire, but the mental approach to your work should be similar. These shorter sessions require a lot more focus, but done well, you’ll notice rapid improvements in your technique, and your ability to transfer that technique to your repertoire.

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve tried to distill my thoughts on practicing down to the bare bones. There’s so much more I could say on the subject, but for today, I’ll leave you with the reminder that practice doesn’t make perfect – practice makes
permanent. It’s up to you, not your teacher, to determine what skills you make permanent.

Turn off the autopilot. Happy practicing!




Sources and Resources:
Ericsson, K. Anders. “Deliberate Practice and Acquisition of Expert Performance: A
General Overview.” Academic Emergency Medicine, vol. 15, no. 11, 2008, pp.
988–994.
Harnum, Jonathan. The Practice of Practice: Get Better Faster. Sol Ut Press, 2014.
Horsey, Simon. Practice Makes Perfect: The Keys to Success on Any Musical
Instrument. Lulu Press, Inc., 2011.
Klickstein, Gerald. The Musician's Way: A Guide to Practice, Performance, and
Wellness. Oxford University Press, 2008.
Kageyama, N. (2017, July 24). How Many Hours a Day Should You Practice?
Retrieved October 14, 2017, from https://bulletproofmusician.com/how-
many-hours- a-day- should-you- practice/

10 Simple Ways to Get More Out of Your Voice Lessons

10 Simple Ways to Get More Out of Your Voice Lessons

By Corie Auger 

Want to get more out of your weekly voice lessons? Ever feel like you’re having the same lesson, week after week? Read on for a few simple tips to make sure you’re getting the most out of your time with your teacher.

•  Practice every day for at least 30 minutes.

When you practice, you reinforce techniques you work on with your teacher in your lesson. Practicing consistently allows you to gain coordination and improve upon your abilities each week. Without consistent practice, you’ll likely end up having the same lesson you had last week.

• Arrive already warmed up.

Coming into your lesson already having sung and warmed the voice up allows you and your teacher to dive right in to any technical exercises and repertoire without wasting any time.

• If you don’t already know how, learn to read music.

Reading music can feel like learning a new language. It takes time, patience, and lots of practice, but once you begin to read music, you will learn new repertoire much more quickly and accurately. Ask your teacher to help you learn how!

• Have new music learned before you go to your lesson.

While your teacher might help you break down a passage you are having difficulty with if the rhythm is tricky or the pitches are seemingly disjointed, having them teach you the melody is not an efficient use of your lesson time. Only after you have put in the initial time to learn your music can your teacher help you explore paths to vocal freedom. If you’re still shaky on words, pitches, or rhythms, you will be too focused on those things to be able to find vocal freedom.

• Record your lesson.

Have a smart phone? Start up the voice recorder app! If you don’t have one, you might look into obtaining a cheap, portable recording device to record your lessons with. If you record your lessons, you can listen to it over the next week to not only remember exercises you worked on, but to hear the different sounds you made to help you recreate them in your own practice.

• Keep a lesson & practice journal.

As you listen to your lesson on your recording device, take notes! What exercises did you do? What differences in sound did you hear? What did you like? Then as you practice, you can re-visit these exercises. When you practice, write down anything you find that is particularly helpful or difficult – these are the things to share with your teacher during lesson!

• Have a goal.

Go into your lesson with an idea of what you’d like to accomplish that day. For example: “My tone always gets really breathy when I sing this particular passage of my repertoire, so today I’d like to work on making the tone a little clearer.” Your goal could also cover a broad spectrum: “Today I’d like to sing with energy.” Don’t have a goal in mind? Ask your teacher! This goal will help give your lesson focus.

• Be organized with your materials.

Have your music hole punched in a 3-ring binder. Bring a pencil so you can mark your music. Have a water bottle handy. These may seem like small details, but I can’t tell you how many minutes students waste during their lessons fishing to get the pages of their music in the right order or looking for a pencil.

• Keep a spirit of adventure about you.

Your teacher might ask you to try new things, make unfamiliar sounds, and expand your comfort zone. Embrace these new, different sounds and experiences with enthusiasm, and understand that only by stretching our boundaries are we capable of growth.

• See #1.

Spotlight on Success: Dr. Mary Jo Lodge, Lafayette College

Welcome to the second post in my "Spotlight of Success" series!  I received overwhelming encouragement with the first post on singer/songwriter Leslie Powell and am so excited to be able to offer another interview with an entertainment professional.

I met Dr. Mary Jo Lodge when she was the head of the musical theatre program at Central Michigan University and I had the pleasure of being one of her students.  I wanted to interview Dr. Lodge to provide my students (and readers) with expertise from an academic standpoint.  Musical Theatre BFA programs are popular and acceptance is competitive so I was thrilled to get the opinion of someone who is truly, 'in the room where it happens' when it comes to college & university auditions.  

JD: Tell a little about yourself: name, age, current city of residence, current occupation.

     ML: Dr. Mary Jo Lodge, Easton PA, professor at Lafayette College and Director of Professional and College musicals and plays. 

JD: You are currently an Associate Professor of Theatre at Lafayette College specializing in musical theatre, when did you decide on a career path in teaching in higher education?  Why musical theatre?

Dr. Mary Jo Lodge

     ML:  I wanted to be a performer initially, and got a Bachelor of Music in Musical Theater in College.  I tried NYC for a bit, but kept getting told I looked young for roles.  I had directed a little in College, too.  I went to grad school really because I wanted to get a little more training and experience (and look older), but I found I really liked academia, especially in programs where there was also an active production program.  My MA in Theater from Villanova convinced me to try for PhD in Theater.  I liked that I could have the stability of a steady paycheck and doing what I love, and college teaching also leaves room for professional work outside of the college (and it’s typically encouraged), and the steady paycheck also helps see me through times when outside gigs are scarce.  As an added bonus, I found I LOVE teaching, and really enjoy the research and writing part of my life (especially because it is all about musical theater)!  Musicals have been my passion since I was a child and I am glad I have found a way to make them my life’s work.

JD: Did you study musical theatre performance in college?  If so, how did that prepare you for your current career?  If not, what did you study?  How did that help prepare you?

     ML: I did - in the highly rated musical theater program at Catholic University in DC.  It made me a well rounded, triple threat performer, which helps me to be a generalist in my current job.  I also minored in English, and wound up getting tenured through an English Department!  

JD: What do you think it takes to “make it" in musical theatre today? 

    ML: I think solid training, particularly in voice and dance, are needed.  While I think actors make the best performers (even if they aren’t the best singers!), I think developing the technique for voice and dance takes much longer.  I also think you need to be driven, but still a nice person.  (As a professional director, I won’t hire people who don’t bring a positive energy into the room.)  I also think you need a VERY thick skin because there is a lot of rejection.  Direct a bit, if you can, because you will discover very quickly that decisions where you didn’t get the job weren’t because you weren’t talented, but were because of some minor thing that made you not right for the role, which a director might agonize over!  

JD: Rank the musical theatre "triple threat" elements in order of importance in terms of 1) a high school student being accepted into a musical theatre program 2) a graduating college student booking jobs.  Why did you choose the order your chose?

    ML: I used to run a  BFA musical theater program, and there, we wanted students who could sing, first, then act, then dance.  Dance is great and makes you valuable, but definitely ranked third.  When you graduate, you want two of your skills to be VERY good and the third to be at least adequate.  The people I know who work the most are true triple threats, but if you are a great singer/actor who moves well, I think you can still get roles.  (Also, KNOW your type.)  If you are a great dancer, but have a quirky character look or body, you probably won’t use that dance skill as often.  

JD: Talk a little bit about the importance of "type" and "brand" in the musical theatre industry today.  How important is it for a new performer to fit an established type? 

     ML:I think that, as I said above, type IS important, but people are breaking barriers all the time in terms of type on Broadway.  I think talent, drive and good attitude are more important than type, but understanding your type will save you a lot of disappointment.  I’m 5’3 - I was never going to be a Rockette, and it made sense to come to terms with that sooner rather than later.  I think if you can’t imagine any roles you would be right for, a director will have a hard time doing that too.  Still, if you play a convincing but unconventional character from a classic show in your audition song, it would make me take note.  I think brand because important once you get more established.  Having enough Twitter followers, etc. today really is a thing in the industry, but it won’t matter for your first job.

JD: Talk a little bit about the importance of professionalism and networking in the musical theatre industry today.  How have the relationships you’ve made benefited your career path? 

    ML: Professionalism is KEY.  I can’t tell you how many people I haven’t hired (or have fired) because of a lack of professionalism - even in school productions.  Also, the theater community is VERY small - don’t burn any bridges, because you may need those people in the future.  Any directing I’ve done in NYC has been entirely because of who I knew and networking - those jobs were never advertised.  Also, I like to work with people who are talented and professional and that I connect with on many productions - I bring back people again and again because I know I will get good, consistent work, and we’ll have a good time doing it.

JD: For you, as a director and choreographer, what makes a great audition?  As a college professor looking for new MT majors? 

     ML: A great audition shows me right away what you can do.  I only need to see 30 seconds.  I want to trust you’ll be able to sing anything - and that you can act while doing it.  (And you won’t go to pieces if the accompanist plays a wrong note.)  I, of course, look for charisma, but I want people who are pleasant and interesting.  Theater actors are ALWAYS replaceable - I want to WANT to work with you.  The same is really true for MT majors, but I judge them more on potential.  In a professional audition, I want to know what you can do right now, not four years from now.  

JD: There is a shift, particularly in the vocal world, from only teaching "legit/classical" singing in MT programs to teaching contemporary vocal styles, including Pop/Rock.  What are your thoughts on this?  Do you think the shift is necessary?  (I do. ;) 

    ML: There simply isn’t enough legit material being doing in musical theater.  This current Broadway season has far more pop, rock, country and rap than classical singing.  While legit training provides a good foundation (AND EVERYONE MUST READ MUSIC!!!!), it’s not enough to master the stylistic demands of modern musical theater.

JD: What advice would you give aspiring MT performers and/or high school students debating studying musical theatre in college?

     ML: This is a GREAT time to be studying musical theater.  To quote “Hamilton" - “how lucky we are to be alive right now!”.  I think we might be coming in to another golden age!  Learn all you can, push yourself to grow, and get ready for a great career.

I would have to agree.  Thank you!!