Does Practice Really Make Perfect?

How long, how often, where, when….ah!

According to Atomic Habits author James Clear If you were able to improve by 1% each day for an entire year, and those gains compound, you would end up 37 times better at the end of the year Imagine being 30 x better at anything…So the big question is how can you get to that…

I once asked my voice teacher and mentor Seth Riggs ( Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder) how often I should practise. With that he slid his glasses down his nose, glared over the top of them and answered with a sly grin ‘ only on the days that you breathe’.

I don’t believe anyone reading this would actually believe that they could improve any skill set by not doing it?

Singing like many other skills is something that must be repeated over and over. Some say ‘practice makes perfect’, some say ‘perfect practice makes perfect’. I say that ‘ALL practice makes permanent’.

If you commence a task incorrectly and continue to do it, your brain will most likely just accept it and before long you have a new habit that is not serving you. I’ll dispense with commenting about other ares of life and stick to what I know, and that is voice. Here are my tips:

1. Always commence your session with a sensible warm up. This is a link to a free App Mobile App that will get you going

1. Always have frequent breaks and sip some room temperature water

1. Always attempt to practice where you feel comfortable to make sounds ( sometimes some that are going to be a little strange) where you won’t be interrupted or criticised

1. Have a plan for what you want to achieve for you practice session, i.e today I am going to work on my technique getting through my break, or I. need to work on my vibrato, my vocal licks need work etc

1. Set up (where possible) ‘spaced repetition’ sessions, i.e 6 x 5-10 minute burst. Naturally this will need to fit in with your schedule.

1. Practice for as long as you intend to sing. For example you are singing 6 songs at your sisters wedding… You will need to build up to being able to sing those back to back. This is something that you will become accustomed to over time. My musical theatre performers are given a routine by where I play every musical line they sing and put them back to back on a track. As they build up to the show opening I recommend that they sing the show 2 times per day which prepares them to handle the Matinee (daytime show) and the evening performance as well. It is an excellent psychological trick as well as the physical. This will change as they enter the rehearsal period, however it is an excellent method for really knowing the songs and developing the stamina

1. Rest before you get tired. If you can correct what you are doing as you sing it, great. If however you start to go a bit wayward, straining and pushing you really should stop, reassess and then continue

1. Enlist a reputable singing coach and get fast tracked to improve your progress. Click on the word Academy to be informed about a unique way that you can have assessment of what you are doing on a regular basis for a lot less than you may think! Vocal Mastery Academy Online