14 Dr. Durocher’s AMAZING 15-Minute Singing Practice Guide

If you think of voice class or voice lessons as an independent study you will improve faster. You are expected to do the majority of work yourself each week. The teacher is the expert that you can touch base with once a week to get assistance with anything you couldn’t figure out yourself. If you follow this 15 minute regimen

5 days a week and use intense focus when you practice you will be stunned by your progress!

3-5 min. WARMUP – This is how you build your technique. The goal is for you to learn to warm-up your voice for performance all by yourself! a. Sing along with a recording of a vocal warmup

OR b. Sing a set of exercises created specifically for you by your teacher OR

c. Return to “A PRO-ART” and work through each letter and corrective exercises.

5-7 min. LEARN ASSIGNED SONGS – Work on one of these in a practice session. Repeat a step until it is completely learned, then move on to the next step. a. Rhythm – Macro beat in feet, Micro beat in hands, Melodic rhythm spoken. Use a metronome to entrain a steady beat.

b. Melody - Use Solfege with hand signals if you know the system OR use numbers,

OR play the melody on the piano or guitar OR get an accompanist to make a recording of the melody

OR look up your song on youtube OR listen to the song on the CD that comes with the textbook.

c. Text - Write the text out as a poem and memorize it as a poem. Give a Dramatic Reading of the poem in front of a mirror. If the text is in a foreign language, get a literal translation from www.recmusic.org or from the textbook and write the translation out under the foreign text. Draw pictures of the meaning of the text under that. d. Acting- Spend time in the mirror practicing facial expressions and physical gestures that best express the meaning of the text. Remember: less is more! e. Memorize- Try several techniques to determine which is your sure-fire way to memorize. The more physical you make the process, the more deeply and thoroughly you will be memorized. Write or type out the text. Put different verses and the chorus in different colors. Turn the text into pictures. Physically act out the text using over-exaggerated/funny gestures. LEAST EFFECTIVE and most used method: singing the song over and over in your bedroom always starting at the beginning resulting in a hoarse voice on the day of the performance. MOST EFFECTIVE – testing your memorization by singing the song while someone asks you yes or no questions that you respond to by raising your hands. Keep singing the song as your answer.

15 5-7 min. APPLY TECHNIQUE –“A PRO-ART” - Layer in each element of vocal technique until

it is solid. Audiate- Sing the song in your head. Any fuzzy spots are not solid. This can go at hyper speed. Posture – Using a mirror, sing or lip-synch your song concentrating on your

particular posture issues. Respiration – Make sure you have all breaths clearly marked in your score. Using a mirror, make sure all breaths are as calm and easy as possible. For long or difficult phrases, work backwards to build in endurance. Onsets/Offsets-Sing the song one phrase at a time, paying attention to every onset and offset to make sure they are as clean and gentle as possible. Articulation – The most effective means of working on articulation is to record yourself singing your song, and listen to the vowels and consonants for any that jump out of line or out of resonance or are not clear. Resonance – Again, using a recording device is most effective. Listen for parts of words or phrases that don’t ring, and practice singing that part in

resonance. Technique – Video tape if possible or sing for someone else who can give you feedback on how successfully you maintained your technique. ARTISTRY –The next step is to perform so that the audience is unaware

of your vocal technique because you are acting with such an emotional connection to your text that your technique has gone ‘underground’. When your technique allows you to create the colors of sound and musical phrases relatively effortlessly, you have arrived as an artist!

1-2 min. CREATE AGENDA FOR NEXT LESSON Write down things that worked and things that didn’t work in each area, so your Teacher can help you fix the problems and maximize your progress. Warmup – Which exercises worked, which didn’t? Other difficulties, such as finding a private space to practice. Learn Songs - Be specific here: e.g. “I can’t get the rhythm in measure 20 and I’m having trouble singing these Italian words, etc. Apply Technique: Again, be specific: e.g. “I keep running out of breath in this phrase and I can’t stay in resonance in measure 56.”

16 15-Minute Singing Practice Log NAME:_____________________________ 3-5 min. WARMUP – Which method did you use each day? A. Sing along with a recording of a vocal warmup B. Sing a set of exercises created specifically for you by your teacher

C. Return to “A PRO-ART” and work through each letter and corrective exercises. DATE A, B or C Spots I Need Help With

Assignments from teacher: 5-7 min. LEARN ASSIGNED SONGS – Work on one of these in each practice session. A. Rhythm B. Melody C. Text D. Acting E. Memorize DATE A, B, C, D or E. Song Title Spots I Need Help With

5-7 min. APPLY TECHNIQUE –Layer in each element of vocal technique until it is solid. Audiate Posture Respiration Onsets/Offset Articulation Resonance Technique ARTISTRY Date Song Title Technical element Spots I need help with.