It’s midnight, and most students at the University of Illinois have just started their Friday evening activities. A little bar-hopping. A frat party or two. Heck, the night is young. But then there’s the vocal student, already asleep and dreaming of whole-tone scales. Pathetic? Maybe to an Econ major. But the smart singer knows that vocal rest is one of the ingredients necessary to perform at your best. As Ronald Hedlund, chair of the vocal department at the University of Illinois, once said, “as a singer you have to become a hermit.”
OK, so you love singing so much, you’re willing to give up a few late Friday nights. But to give up a practice session? Unthinkable. Even a sore throat and a temperature of 102 degrees can’t stand in your way. But whether you’re sick, or your voice is tired from a four-hour opera rehearsal the night before, sometimes the worst thing you can do for your voice is use it.
Linda Ogden, professor of voice at North Central College in Naperville, Ill., says there are four typical circumstances that lead to a need for rehearsing without singing: fatigue, time (not being able to find a space to practice), illness, and location (traveling, waiting for an appointment).
So how is the dedicated singer going to practice? Here are 10 ways to rehearse and improve without actually singing.
1. Language
As singers, it’s important to tell a story through music. Sometimes German, French, and Italian can get in the way. Spend time translating the words in arias and art songs. Get out your language dictionary and look up each word, then write the meanings of the words into the score. Sometimes, relying on publisher translations isn’t enough. Listen to a practice recording with the words to your song being spoken. Internalize the meanings as well as the pronunciations.
2. Writing
After you’ve done the language translations, think about the bigger picture. Instead of thinking word for word, think about the story you’re telling, and write it in your own words on paper.
3. Listening
Listen to a tape of your voice lesson. Remember things you need to work on, then find good recordings of the pieces you are working on and listen to the professionals sing. Notice things you like about their interpretations, and things you don’t. Listening to your music will help you memorize it, as well.
4. Breathing
Work on breathing exercises. Breathe in and exhale on an “s.” Try more staccato exercises using “Ho. Ho. Ho.” Take the pieces you are working on and whistle the melodies. This will help determine natural breathing places in your piece—mark those.
5. Accompaniment
If you’re a decent enough pianist, play your accompaniment. Notice rhythmic and tonal changes and think about how they affect the story and vocal line. If you have a recording of the accompaniment, listen to it while you think about your vocal line and how it works in conjunction with the accompaniment. Is it a question and answer relationship? When is your line more important? When is the accompaniment’s?
6. Playing
Use the piano or another instrument to play the vocal line. Think about the phrasing and dynamics, and then experiment with them.
7. Rhythm
Singers sometimes get a bad rep among musicians for their lack of rhythm. It’s time to put a stop to that. Take your music and tap out the rhythms of your vocal line. Make sure to count the rests. Try singing the text mentally. This can also help reinforce rhythmic lines.
8. Research
What is the history of your piece? Where does it fit into the scheme of things? Who is the composer? If it’s an aria, who is the character? Where does the piece fit into the plot of the opera or song cycle? How does all of this affect the way you will perform the piece?
9. Visualization
Go through your piece and listen silently for vowel purity and consonant endings. Inwardly hear the breath connection of these vowels and consonants. Strive to make a pretty sound—in your head. Then visualize yourself standing before a crowd or judge and putting it all into motion.
10. Posture and Relaxation Techniques
Take a course in the Alexander Technique or a course in performance anxiety. As Janet Hickey, voice and piano instructor with studios in Chicago and Naperville, Ill., says, “proper posture while practicing and performing is critical.”
Besides these techniques, limiting the amount of singing in rehearsals, as well as limiting the amount of speaking (turn off the cell phone), will help you avoid having a fatigued voice in the first place. Also, never forget to sleep. Professor Ogden once had a student who didn’t sleep for 36 hours straight and then wondered why her voice was not responding as usual. People in other professions can get away with little sleep and sit at their desks with a cough, but singers are a different breed. And the sacrifices we make for our vocal health just make us even that much more worthy of those standing ovations.
