Your Brain on Practice

We all know the old adage, "Practice makes perfect," teachers (myself included) expect their students to practice everyday between lessons: 15 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour a day or more but rarely is the "how" of practice discussed.  In my studio we're currently preparing for our spring recital with the expectation that each singer be fully performance prepared and memorized, so needless to say, there have been tears, frustrated shouts of, "This doesn't make sense to my brain," "I can't do this," and my personal favorite, "I hate this song."  (Fyi..each student chose his/her own song to sing).

The conversation following these emotional moments usually goes something like this:

Me: Did you practice?
Student: Yes
Me: How much did you practice?
Student: Probably not as much as I should have.
Me: What did you do when you practiced?
Student: I listened through the song and/or sang along...I've been really busy...I'm always exhausted.

And here in lies the problem, one I take partial responsibility for.  No, the student didn't spend enough time on task, but I also failed to give them clear guidelines in what to do.  What should those guidelines be?  How can we best prepare our brains for practice success?

Well, I'm about to tell you.  You may say "Who are you to tell me how my brain works, you're a vocal coach, it's not like you have one of the leading researchers in cognitive neuroscience in the country in your back pocket," and I would answer politely, yet with feeling, "Oh contraire."

The following information is from The New Science of Learning: How to Learn in Harmony with Your Brain by Terry Doyle (see what I did there) and Todd Zakrajsek.  I'll put a link to the book (and highly recommend purchasing it) at the end of this post, but for now, let me just say that this book was a finalist in the USA Best Book Awards in 2013 in the category of Education/Academics and gives a clear, concise, and student friendly view of learning and the brain.

So here we go....

Establishing a connection is like blazing a train, which is a great deal of work, but every time the trail is used it becomes more established and easier to follow. 

 Neuroresearchers have shown that when you learn something new, there is a physical change in your brain.  You have approximately 86 BILLION brain cells and when you learn something new, some of those brain cells make connections to other brain cells and form new networks of cells, these new networks = learning.  Every time you practice the newly learned information or skill, the connections between the brain cells get stronger and recalling that information becomes easier. 

I should point out here that this idea of "practice" isn't solely about learning new music, it's also (and maybe mainly) about retraining the voice to find its new home base: free of constriction, clear vowels, balanced registers, volume control.  All those tongue stretches, and jaw massages, and wine corks, and straws won't do you ANY GOOD if the only time you use them is during lessons.

 BLAZE THE TRAIL, RINSE, REPEAT.

The important message for all learners is that new learning requires a considerable amount of practice and a meaningful connection to other information in order to become a more permanent part of memory.

The more ways you engage with something that you are learning (and I'll focus these on singing) - listening, watching, reading, repeating the exercises, exploring new exercises - the stronger the connections in your brain become and the more likely the new learning will become a more permanent memory.  Your teacher doesn't know everything.  Now, don't get me wrong, I have a great tool box, but is every single tool in that box?  Nope.  Should you explore other tools on your own?  Always.  Will I be upset if you find something that works better for your voice?  Never.  Will I add it to my tool box? Absolutely.  Take ownership of your goals.

THE ONE WHO DOES THE WORK DOES THE LEARNING. 

Practice typically needs to happen over extended periods.  Think how ridiculous it would be to cram in a long weight lifting session the night before a strength training competition.  Would you expect to be stronger?  Or to start training for a marathon the day before the race.  If you really wanted to become stronger or faster you would practice a little bit each day over a certain period.  To build strong areas of knowledge, distributed practice is important.  

That said, even when you have learned something, if you don't practice what you have learned the information fades.  This REALLY applies to singing.  Singing is athletic: it requires energy and stamina.  You can spend six months building up to belting the end of that hot new Adele tune, and in far less time lose all your progress by not keeping your voice in elite shape.  The muscles fade. 

USE IT OR LOSE IT. 

 

 One of the more important new insights into how the human brain learns is that it needs to be prepped for learning if it is to work at its best.

The human brain uses 25-30% of the body's energy (in the form of glucose) everyday.  This means if you do not eat a healthy, balanced diet and eat before you begin new learning you are STARVING your brain of the energy it needs to function properly and causing your brain to work much less efficiently.  A brain starved of glucose is not a brain ready to learn.

I can speak from total experience on this one.  A few years ago I was teching a show and also simultaneously trying to lose weight by eating only chicken and fat free Greek yogurt.  You did that one too?  Great, isn't it?  While I managed to pee off two or three pounds I also found myself forgetting my entrances "Was I supposed to be in 2 stage right..or..." Yeah, not great.  It makes sense now that my poor brain was starved of the very thing it needed to work properly: carbs.  And I'm not talking donuts and gummy bears (though they are delicious) I'm talking complex carbs, literally BRAIN FOOD: fruits, whole grains, and veggies. 

Your brain also needs water.  Now, I talk A LOT with my students about the importance of hydration in singing, but it's not just the voice that needs to be hydrated - it's also your brain.  Neurons (brain cells) store water in tiny balloon-like structures called vacuoles (there will be a test at the end of this blog).  Water is essential for optimal brain health and function. Water is needed for the brain's production of hormones and neurotransmitters, the KEY PLAYERS in the brain's communication system which is the HEART of LEARNING.  And no, the sugar free iced hazelnut americano I saw you guzzling pre-lesson doesn't count.  Yes, I saw you.  I have eyes everywhere.

EAT, DRINK, & BE A ROCKSTAR!

Exercise and Sleep may be the most important activities you can take part in to improve your learning. 

These are my final points.  They're so important that my dad and Todd devoted two whole chapters of their book to them.   

SLEEP

 When you're asleep you are shifting memories to more efficient storage regions within the brain.  Consequently, when you wake up, memory tasks can be performed both more quickly and accurately and with less stress and anxiety.  You can't short change your brain of sleep and still learn effectively.  Naps count.  YES!  An excellent way to consolidate memories is to take a brief 20-30 minute nap.  During this nap new learning becomes more stable and will be better available to you in its original form when you go to practice it in the future.  If you come to your lesson exhausted neither your high notes, nor your brain are going to function to their full potential.  Make getting your beauty sleep a priority. 

EXERCISE

Getting exercise is the best thing you can do to improve your learning.  30 minutes of Aerobic exercise five days a week is the gold standard for improving learning.  However, all movement is good for learning.  Walking, sitting on a balance ball instead of a chair (see I don't just think it's funny to watch you sing while bouncing), or pedaling a mini-stationary bike while studying all help learning.  When I'm learning a new show I like to take my script to the gym, get on the treadmill, and talk to myself.  Yes, I may look like a crazy lady, but I get off book faster.   

To get a little science-y on you...exercise causes brain cells to produce a protein called Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor or BDNF.  BDNF is literally, "Miracle-Gro" for your brain. When BDNF is present in your brain in greater amounts, your brain is better able to make connections between brain cells (those networks I talked about earlier) that are the physical representation of what you have learned.  I'll say it again: BDNF makes learning easier.  Did you get that?  

I LIKE TO MOVE IT MOVE IT.

My point is this: you (or your gracious parents) are spending a lot of time and hard earned cash on your voice lessons, so why not maximize your learning potential?  I know you each have goals with your singing, why not reach them faster?  Why not spend less time in your lesson with me plunking melody notes (please sweet baby Jesus lets spend less time doing this) and more time exploring your vocal potential and working on fun, challenging rep?

I know you're busy.  I spent the last 9 months commuting 3+hours a day, going to grad school full time with a GA-ship, teaching 20+ hours a week, and running this here studio, so I get it. But, lets be honest.  How hard is it to eat an apple or a banana or a PB &J before your lesson?  How hard is it to take a water bottle with you throughout the day to make sure you're hydrated?  How hard is it to turn off the Netflix and get to sleep at night...ok I know that's really damn tough.  And, again, if you're going to lay down the money for voice lessons, you owe it to yourself to carve out an hour or so a day to do your exercises, sing your songs, watch youtube videos of the pro's, or check out singing blogs (Somaticvoicework.com and Musicaltheatreresources.com are both great places to start).   It will pay off.  Trust me.

-Jessica


Here's a link to purchase the book, check it out!
http://www.amazon.com/New-Science-Learning-Learn-Harmony/dp/1620360098