How to Create a Consistent Vocal Practice Routine Between Voice Lessons

Introduction

Taking private singing lessons is essential to become an accomplished vocalist. During your weekly or bi-weekly lessons, your voice teacher trains you in proper technique, assigns new repertoire, and gives you personalized feedback. But the real progress happens during your at-home practice sessions between lessons. Just like any other skill, improving your voice requires regular practice. Otherwise, you risk losing what you learned in your last lesson.

However, fitting in consistent vocal practice can be difficult. Life gets busy, and it’s easy to deprioritize working on your voice. Many students only sing right before their next lesson to hastily prepare assigned songs. But this last-minute cramming is far from ideal and will severely limit your growth.

So how can you motivate yourself to establish a fruitful daily practice routine? This comprehensive guide will walk you through practical steps to create regular at-home voice sessions that will greatly accelerate your learning.

Why You Need a Consistent Practice Routine

Before diving into the specifics of creating your vocal practice routine, let’s review the critical reasons why consistency is so key when you’re taking voice lessons and trying to improve your singing:

Reinforce Vocal Techniques

During your weekly or bi-weekly singing lessons, so much new information is thrown at you in a short period. Your teacher trains you on important foundational vocal techniques like posture, breath support, placing tone, and more. But unless you drill these techniques through consistent practice, they won’t become muscle memory. Just one lesson every 7-14 days is not enough repetition to engrain new physical skills. You need daily practice.

Retain What You Learn

Think of your brain like a sieve – information quickly falls through the cracks if you don’t reinforce it. By not practicing between voice lessons, everything your teacher covered gets lost. Consistent repetition is key for retaining complex vocal techniques and musicianship skills so they stick.

Steady Improvement Over Time

Just like training for a marathon, the way to improve as a singer is through small, incremental advances over a long period. Sporadic practice yields sporadic results. But short daily practice sessions lead to major changes long term. Progress compounds exponentially the more consistent you are.

Accountability

It’s easy to slack off on practicing if you’re only accountable to yourself. But knowing you’ll have to show your teacher what you accomplished since your last lesson provides crucial motivation to put in the work. Regular practice also shows you’re committed to improving.

Confidence Building

The more you practice complex vocal techniques, the more confidence you’ll have in your abilities. Progress builds belief in yourself. Improved skills reinforce your self-efficacy over time.

Habit Building

Establishing a consistent daily practice routine trains your brain to turn singing into a habit etched into your schedule. Habits eliminate decision fatigue and the temptation to procrastinate or skip practice.

Now that you know just how vital consistency is for vocal improvement between lessons, use the following guide to implement your practice routine.

Step 1: Designate a Practice Area

The first step is to set up a dedicated vocal practice space in your home. Having a consistent place to practice every day makes it much easier to stick to a routine. Not sure where to practice? Here are factors to consider when choosing your space:

Quiet Location

Minimal background noise is crucial. Avoid areas with a lot of foot traffic or distracting sounds. Turn off the TV/radio and silence your phone while practicing. Consider soundproofing your practice room to limit outside noise interference.

Good Acoustics

Hard surfaces amplify sound through echo and reverberation. This makes it hard to accurately hear your voice and assess tone quality. Practice in a room with carpet floors and hang blankets on the walls to absorb excess resonance. Listen to your voice reverberating to test room acoustics.

Private Space

Practicing does involve making strange noises after all! Find a room others don’t often disturb so you can focus without feeling self-conscious. A sense of privacy helps you fully immerse in singing.

Mirror

Use a mirror when practicing so you can check your posture and technique. Stand up straight, keep your shoulders back, have a lifted chest, and make sure your jaw and mouth shape are forming vowels correctly. Watch yourself to ensure you aren’t developing bad vocal habits.

Music Stand

Invest in a sturdy, adjustable music stand to hold your sheet music so you’re not struggling to awkwardly balance pages in your hands. Proper alignment at eye level reduces neck strain.

Recording Device

Record yourself often to objectively hear your progress and what needs improvement. Most phones have a voice memos app but consider getting a dedicated microphone for better sound quality.

Water

Hydrate with room-temperature water during and after singing to keep your vocal cords lubricated. Avoid ice-cold water or drinks that could shock your vocal cords. Herbal teas are also great for singers!

Chair

Use a backless stool to practice good posture. Make sure your feet can lay flat on the floor when seated. Proper spinal alignment is key when singing.

Lighting

Ensure your practice space has bright, even lighting so you can read music. Avoid shadows over your stand or glare from windows that could strain your eyes.

Storage

Use a cabinet, shelves, or binder to neatly organize your sheet music, recorded accompaniment tracks, lesson notes, and other practice materials so they don’t get scattered and lost.

Choose your practice area based on these factors for an optimal environment conducive to daily repetition. Having a consistent designated spot to work makes sticking to a routine much easier. It also signals to your brain that when you are in that space, it’s time to practice!

Step 2: Find Your Best Practice Times

With hectic schedules, finding time to practice each day can be challenging. You want to choose consistent times when you can fully focus without distractions or fatigue getting in the way.

Here are factors to consider when determining your personal best practice times:

Morning vs Evening

Are you a morning lark or a night owl? Pick times when you have the most energy. However, your voice may be groggier first thing in the morning before warming up. Late evenings you might feel more fatigued.

Before/After Meals

Avoid practicing right after big meals when feeling too full or bloated. But also don’t sing on an empty stomach, as low blood sugar can sap your energy. Light snacking is fine. Stay hydrated by drinking room-temperature water as well.

Schedule Consistency

Find set times that integrate smoothly into your routine without conflicts. If you have an inflexible 9-5 work schedule, early morning or post-dinner times likely work best. Use a planner to map out your existing commitments, and then plug in your vocal practice slots.

Account for Other Factors

If you have young kids, practicing during their naptimes could allow you to focus. If you use your commute for listening exercises, determine when you typically drive.

Aim to identify 1-2 30-minute practice times per day that you can stick to consistently. Even just 15 concentrated minutes daily can lead to impressive long-term progress.

Be realistic about your fixed schedule and current lifestyle when choosing times. If early mornings are chaotic getting kids ready for school, perhaps pick a mid-morning time before running errands. Use a calendar, planner, or scheduling app to block off your decided vocal practice times. Treat them as seriously as you would an important meeting or appointment.

Step 3: Set Specific Goals

Simply singing through your repertoire without purpose won’t engrain long-lasting improvement. Each practice session should have concrete goals to focus your efforts and benchmark progress.

Types of weekly practice goals include:

New Technique Drills

• Are there physical exercises or vocal patterns your teacher assigned to improve flexibility and strength? Master these.

Trouble Spots in Music

• Isolate tricky parts of your sheet music and slowly drill these sections that you routinely fumble over.

Memorization

• Building repertoire requires memorizing the lyrics, notes, rhythms, and accompaniment parts for each new song you learn.

Music Literacy

• Can you sight-read a new melody at first glance? Set goals around improving music reading abilities.

Music Theory

• Use ear training apps, play rhythm flashcard games, drill interval recognition, and seek out other supplemental theory training.

Recording Comparison

• Record your practices to critically listen back week-to-week for tangible improvements.

Set 1-3 specific, measurable goals to accomplish each practice session based on your teacher’s feedback and what you notice yourself struggling with. Having defined goals motivates you to stick to a routine when it feels pointless. Checking goals off your list provides a sense of progress.

Step 4: Warm Up Your Voice

Just like stretching before exercise, you must warm up your voice before practicing to avoid strain or injury. Warm-ups lubricate and wake up vocal cords, muscles, and body alignment to prepare you for singing.

Aim to dedicate at least 10 minutes per practice session to these vital voice activation exercises:

Posture Check

Stand tall with an engaged core and centered weight before singing. Roll shoulders back without hunching.

Neck Stretches

Slowly tilt and turn your head to loosen your neck before vocalizing. Be gentle.

Lip Trills

Buzz lips together lightly while trilling to get air flowing. Slide pitch gradually up and down.

Tongue Trills

Flick your tongue while trilling air focused through your lips to loosen facial muscles. Say “brrr” like it’s cold.

Koo Exercise

Sing “koo” while pitching up and down five notes on different vowel sounds. Stretches range.

Scale Slides

On “oo” vowels, slide voice smoothly up and down scales through your range.

Arpeggios

Sing chord tones in a steady sequence to warm up. Use solfege: do, mi, sol, do.

As you advance, add in more complex warm-ups like siren slides and lip plosives. Be patient while your voice wakes up. End each session by cooling down.

Step 5: Record Your Practice Sessions

Recording devices are vital for tracking your week-to-week vocal progress. Being able to listen back objectively allows you to pinpoint subtle areas needing improvement.

Here are effective ways to use recordings in your practice routine:

Self-Assessment

Critically listen to judge if you achieved the defined goals for that practice session. Did you struggle with a phrase? Make a breakthrough? Recordings don’t lie.

Compare Over Time

Save periodic recordings from months prior side-by-side. This lets you hear improvements in tone, pitch accuracy, breathing, and vocal control.

Share With Your Teacher

Email practice recordings to get your teacher’s feedback. They can diagnose issues and customize lesson plans based on your progress.

Analyze Accompaniment

If practicing with backing tracks, ensure your timing and pitch match the instruments and don’t waver.

Invest in recording equipment beyond just your phone to get high-quality audio capturing the nuances of your voice. Condenser microphones best reproduce vocal detail.

Step 6: Focus on Problem Spots in Music

Resist the urge to simply sing through your songs start-to-finish during practice. This ingrains mistakes rather than fixing them. Instead, use this effective structure per piece:

1. Record Yourself Singing the Full Song
2. Actively Listen Back Critically
3. Identify Problem Spots and Weak Phrases
4. Isolate These Sections
5. Slow Down the Tempo
6. Repeat Over and Over Until Mastered
7. Record Again For Comparison

This targeted practice scrutinizes weaknesses measure-by-measure. Don’t advance until you’ve polished rough sections. Be your vocal coach identifying and improving problem phrases.

Step 7: Incorporate Vocal Cool Downs

Just as crucial as warming up, cooling your voice down at the end of practicing allows muscles to gradually relax. This prevents injury or straining your voice so you can sing healthfully long-term.

Dedicate at least 10 minutes for vocal cooldowns:

Humming

Gently sing neutral syllables like “hmm” to soothe vocal cords without taxing your voice further.

Descending Lip Trills

Use lip trills, sliding voice gently down scales to settle your muscles and naturally lower intensity.

Jaw Massages

Lightly massage cheeks and jaw to alleviate tension after singing.

Water

Stay hydrated by sipping room-temperature water or herbal tea. Avoid anything too hot, cold, or sugary.

Following an efficient practice routine requires properly warming up AND winding down. This keeps your instrument supple day to day.

Step 8: Choose a Well-Rounded Repertoire

In addition to vocal exercises, you need a repertoire “book” of songs to learn and polish. Carefully curate a diverse lineup of pieces that build different skills.

Aim to have 6-8 songs at varying levels of difficulty you’re actively working on. Here are beneficial categories to incorporate:

Language

• English songs
• Italian arias
• German lieder
• French mélodie
• Additional languages

This trains proper diction in each language.

Period

• Baroque era
• Classical period
• Romantic era
• 20th Century
• Contemporary

Exposure to different musical eras develops range.

Tempo

• Slow
• Mid-tempo
• Uptempo
• Changing tempos

Practice keeping a steady rhythm.

Genre

• Musical theater
• Classical
• Jazz standards
• Pop
• Folk

Adapt tone and style.

Subject

• Happy songs
• Sad songs
• Angry songs

Convey different emotions.

Range

• Low songs
• Mid-range songs
• High songs

Expand your vocal capabilities.

Curate a balanced repertoire “book” instead of only learning one style. This trains you to apply proper techniques in diverse songs.

Step 9: Be Your Vocal Coach

The best way to ingrain stellar practice habits is to adopt a coaching mindset. Approach your development like a professional athlete training for the Olympics. Be actively in tune with your abilities – identify weak spots, set goals around these deficiencies, and track progress.

Ways to self-coach during practice include:

Record Often Tape yourself frequently, especially when learning new music. Writing notes on the sheet music helps, but being able to listen back is invaluable.

Diagnose Issues Critically analyze what precisely needs work. Are you struggling with a certain interval, behind the beat, or have tense high notes? Precisely labeling the problem makes it easier to improve.

Research Solutions Once you diagnose issues, seek out tools to fix them just like a vocal coach would. Watch YouTube tutorials breaking down techniques. Dissect why a phrase challenges you theoretically. Study exercises strengthen your exact weakness.

Celebrate Small Wins Progress is often slow in singing. Notice and celebrate even tiny improvements in your voice each week to stay motivated. Measure success by your growth rather than comparing yourself to others.

Adopting a self-coaching mentality where you objectively assess your abilities makes the most of practice time. Be your vocal teacher!

Step 10: Supplement With Listening Exercises

In addition to your actual singing practice times, use small pockets of time during your week to supplement listening exercises. The more you critically analyze professional recordings, the more you train your ear.

Great opportunities to multitask vocal listening include:

Commuting: Play recordings in your car using phone apps or CDs. Absorb nuances.

Chores: Listen while folding laundry, washing dishes, and cleaning your home. Let it play in the background.

Working Out: Make your workout playlist of songs you’re learning or want to analyze. Listen actively even while exercising.

Before Bed: Rather than watching TV to wind down, listen to new music in bed. Pay attention to the details.

Find little pockets of time to insert music listening. This trains your musicality in moments you otherwise can’t practice.

Conclusion

Establishing a consistent vocal practice routine between lessons is essential for singers seeking improvement. By designating a suitable practice space, finding optimal practice times, setting specific goals, and incorporating a variety of exercises and techniques, you can make the most of your time and effort.

remind you to warm up, cool down, and record your sessions to track progress and identify areas for improvement. Curating a diverse repertoire and adopting a self-coaching mindset will further enhance your skills. With dedication, patience, and a well-structured routine, you’ll be on your way to achieving your vocal goals and becoming the singer you aspire to be.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should my daily vocal practice sessions be?

Aim for at least 15-30 concentrated minutes per day. This short daily effort compounds to big results long-term. Even just 5 focused minutes is better than nothing!

How do I find time to practice consistently with a busy schedule?

Realistically assess small pockets of time in your daily routine to plug practice in. Could you wake up 30 minutes earlier? Use a commute for listening? Schedule it like a meeting.

Do I need to practice every single day without breaks?

Rest days are fine occasionally, but consistency is key. Stick to a routine 6 days a week minimum for the best results over time. Daily is ideal for engraining muscle memory.

How do I make sure I’m practicing correctly and not ingraining bad habits?

Record yourself frequently and assess if your technique is improving, or if tension is developing. Share practice tapes with your teacher for feedback. Watch yourself in a mirror!

What should I have in my practice space to optimize it?

Essentials include a music stand, mirror, recording device, bright lighting, a chair, sound absorption, storage, and water. Having a well-equipped space makes practicing easier!

What should I work on during my practice sessions?

Incorporate warm-ups, technical exercises, trouble spots in repertoire, theory training, and listening exercises. Have concrete goals each day. Don’t just mindlessly sing songs.

How do I stay motivated to keep practicing consistently every day?

Celebrate small wins, track tangible progress by recording yourself, and focus on skill-building rather than comparing yourself to other singers. Progress keeps you motivated!