JoshJ25 Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 I'm wondering if I spend enough time working on my voice or too little. I personally do a session of approx. 30 minutes worth of warm ups + exercises for improving my voice once a day 6 days a week. I'm a beginner and I have been doing this for about 4 months with moderate results. I guess I could say I sound better after I do my warmups and stuff but don't know how much overall progress I am making. How long do you guys spend on your voice daily? Should I maybe do 2 of my 30 minute sessions a day? I look forward to many interesting replies. Your input is greatly appreciated. :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 lol...30 mins a week? I try to keep up with the theory and each time I read something new that seems exciting, I usually experiment with that until I physically begin to understand what they're talking about...and then my hypothetical ADHD kicks in (I imagine I'm ADHD). My main weakness in all things in life is obsessing with something that catches my interest until I get an "Aha! Now I see what they're talking about!" moment, at which point I lose interest - in this case, not in singing but in vocalizing ...:/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Fraser Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 lol...30 mins a week? Matt: Read again. He said 30 min a day, 6 times a week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Robert Lunte Posted January 27, 2010 Administrator Share Posted January 27, 2010 Good question, popular question... 30 minutes a day, six times a week... sounds good... but I think this is not enough time per day and too many times per week... Its a personal thing, but when Im asked this question I always say approx. 5-7 hour a week... each session no less then 50 minutes and if you add some singing of songs after your scales, you can go for an hour an a half if you feel healthy. Give yourself 1-2 days of rest. When I was learning to sing, I would sing for about 50 minutes my scales.. then would sing songs for about 30 - 45 minutes... and then rest 1-2 days a week. Hope this helps... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 Matt: Read again. He said 30 min a day, 6 times a week. I meant myself... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chele1000 Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 LOL...Matt...me too right now...but when I was taking lessons I would do the same as Robert. 30 minutes of scales and then sing my favourite songs (that I wanted to learn). They weren't easy ie: Heart! But it gave me the motivation to keep going. It definitely paid off. Drink lots of water while doing all of it and definitely give your voice a chance to rest. Like any other muscles in your body, after a workout they need some rest. If we want our voices to last for a long as possible with all the range we have now and want to keep we need to start back at it and practice more! Michele Rock on.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Fraser Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 LOL...Matt...me too right now...but when I was taking lessons I would do the same as Robert. 30 minutes of scales and then sing my favourite songs (that I wanted to learn). They weren't easy ie: Heart! But it gave me the motivation to keep going. It definitely paid off. Drink lots of water while doing all of it and definitely give your voice a chance to rest. Like any other muscles in your body, after a workout they need some rest. If we want our voices to last for a long as possible with all the range we have now and want to keep we need to start back at it and practice more! Michele Rock on.. Michelle, Matt: My own teacher in grad school told me that about 15 mins a day vocalizing is what is needed for 'maintenance', i.e., to maintain coordination and muscle tone. If actually working on technique or literature, up to about 2 hours actual singing per day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Fraser Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 I meant myself... Matt: Oh, my bad. Sorry I misunderstood you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshJ25 Posted January 27, 2010 Author Share Posted January 27, 2010 Michelle, Matt: My own teacher in grad school told me that about 15 mins a day vocalizing is what is needed for 'maintenance', i.e., to maintain coordination and muscle tone. If actually working on technique or literature, up to about 2 hours actual singing per day. Hey Steve. You mean to say that a student should be doing scales and othee vocal exercises for up to 2 hours? Wow I gotta really change my game plan then! I do like 10 minutes of warm up and about 20 of various scale exercises. I can do more I just want to know if I should. I want to se results dammit! Am I better off doing let's say an hour straight or is it better to do a 30 minute session in the morning and then bang out another later in the day? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 hey, np, I was unclear ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshJ25 Posted January 27, 2010 Author Share Posted January 27, 2010 Glad you guys sorted that out! :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keoladonaghy Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 I feel like a slacker now doing only 75-90 minutes a day and taking a day off every two weeks or so. Need to step up to the plate Since others have mentioned their practicing repertoire and I've been mostly focusing on exercises, here is a question: I have a number of songs that I've been wanting to learn but have held off because so many of them have melodies that sit right in my passagio or go through it into head. I've found that I still sometimes fall back into bad habits when doing them. Can anyone recommend a strategy for approaching this? Should I pick songs that perhaps touch a bit in the passagio at first, then songs that predominantly sit in that area of the voice, then those that move through into head? Or just go for it and do anything? Since I'm not performing or recording right now I've been soley focusing on the techique aspect. Feel like I'm get to the point where I'd like to apply it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshual Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 I work 30-45 minutes on exercices 5 days a week and immediatly after my exercices, recording myself singing for about 30-45 minutes ( if i'm feeling healthy it can be 1h30). For me the important thing is to immediatly try to aplly on songs what i've learned, and hearing the results and progress into it. My days off are wednesday and saturday (or sunday), i'm a guitar teacher and on those days i really can't do some exercices lol, too tired... But as soon as i come back home i sing one song or two just for the pleasure of it ;-). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 Steve and I almost got into fisticuffs there! I have a number of songs that I've been wanting to learn but have held off because so many of them have melodies that sit right in my passagio or go through it into head. I've found that I still sometimes fall back into bad habits when doing them. Phew! Tell me about it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshual Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 Lol all the good songs are in this area, it's like those singers say to themsleves when they wrote the songs ' nobody will be able to do this hahahahahah' . Anyway give us the list ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 I took a couple of lessons from an opera singer like 20 years ago. I remember her telling me that the voice sounds best just before where it cracks - that could be one reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keoladonaghy Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 Lol all the good songs are in this area, it's like those singers say to themsleves when they wrote the songs ' nobody will be able to do this hahahahahah' . Yes, I've read that a few times here Anyway give us the list ;-) Well, here are a few examples of things I've been working on: If You're Gone (Matchbox 20) - the higher notes in the chorus are right where I start bridging. (this one I'm doing OK with, I think) All I Need (Matchbox 20) - The main hook in the melody is a chromatic bit that goes D-Eb-E - right in the meat of my passagio Shattered (O.A.R.) - Melody in chorus has a large intervalic jump that goes from low in my passagio range into head (forget the note) Stop And Stare (OneRepublic) - verse is at the high end of my chest voice, the pre-chorus sits predominantly into the passagio, then chorus high-passagio into head. Some of the other songs are Hawaian ones that I don't know if anyone here would recognize, others some of my originals. But the above list is kind of representative of some of the challenging ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 I feel like a slacker now doing only 75-90 minutes a day and taking a day off every two weeks or so. Need to step up to the plate Since others have mentioned their practicing repertoire and I've been mostly focusing on exercises, here is a question: I have a number of songs that I've been wanting to learn but have held off because so many of them have melodies that sit right in my passagio or go through it into head. I've found that I still sometimes fall back into bad habits when doing them. Can anyone recommend a strategy for approaching this? Should I pick songs that perhaps touch a bit in the passagio at first, then songs that predominantly sit in that area of the voice, then those that move through into head? Or just go for it and do anything? Since I'm not performing or recording right now I've been soley focusing on the techique aspect. Feel like I'm get to the point where I'd like to apply it. he he.. slacking nothing like me though.. I don't do any of it. When I want to sing, I just sing.. lol.. usually start off with something simple and non-challenging to my voice - which I guess could be a "warm up".. I haven't hurt my voice (throat) yet singing, unless I am performing and can't hear myself -- where as I start to 'yell' and then I get sore --. So, needlesstosay, I guess I have to start doing some scales and exercises if I want to improve my voice .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Fraser Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 Hey Steve. You mean to say that a student should be doing scales and othee vocal exercises for up to 2 hours? Wow I gotta really change my game plan then! I do like 10 minutes of warm up and about 20 of various scale exercises. I can do more I just want to know if I should. I want to se results dammit! Am I better off doing let's say an hour straight or is it better to do a 30 minute session in the morning and then bang out another later in the day? JoshJ25: 2 hours of total singing, mixed between technique and repertoire. Splitting it up into 3 40-minute sessions i think would be optimal, with 90 mins, or 2 hours between. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Fraser Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 So, needlesstosay, I guess I have to start doing some scales and exercises if I want to improve my voice .. David: practice smart, not long. There is an old adage... 'Practice makes perfect'. when it comes to singing, its not quite right. Perfect Practice makes Perfect Habit. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gno Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 In college - two hours or more per day was normal. Currently I can afford only about 45 min per day during the week. JoshJ25: It sounds like you are not happy with your results after 4 months. I'm just wondering what kind of feedback you are getting? Periodically getting feedback from a teacher is invaluable because they can give you course corrections and help you work on specific areas. Maybe you are already getting this kind of feedback. Another way to get feedback and track progress is by recording yourself. I've got a decent vocal recording setup in my basement. I'll work on a song during the week and record the song on the weekend. I'll do this for maybe 2 or 3 weeks on a single song. With critical listening of your recording and practicing you will make progress from week to week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshJ25 Posted January 28, 2010 Author Share Posted January 28, 2010 JoshJ25: 2 hours of total singing, mixed between technique and repertoire. Splitting it up into 3 40-minute sessions i think would be optimal, with 90 mins, or 2 hours between. Thanks for the reply Steve. I honestly wish my schedule gave me that freedom. Ill definitely try to fit that in! Wow are you making me feel like a slacker! I guess my half hour a day isn't all that much. The thing is I have a routine I created by borrowing some beginner exercises from some programs I purchased. They can give me about 45 minutes worth of material tops not to mention that the first 8-10 minutes are warm ups. How would I best split up my practice time? How much on repertoire? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Robert Lunte Posted January 28, 2010 Administrator Share Posted January 28, 2010 Hi Keola, I look forward to working with you again. First off, dont feel like a slaker because of your current practice schedule. I think the time your putting in is good. People are very busy these days. Make time as much as you can and that is an A effort. Lets jump right into singing one of your songs next time we see each other. If you have any ballads or slower tempos whereby we can work on phrasing, legato and lyrical lines, that would be grand. Be assured, all your colleagues here on TMV forum have the same challenge one way or another in regards to many of the songs and melodies we want to sing have low head resonance placements, requiring particularly well balanced twang configurations to induce vocal fold closure and frequency amplification. Totally normal, very hard... I know. Ill teach you the secret in your lesson. Your doing great. The next time you practice, worry less about the technique... I think you understand it and concern yourself more with making it sound aesthetically pleasing and artistic. Bro... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshJ25 Posted January 28, 2010 Author Share Posted January 28, 2010 In college - two hours or more per day was normal. Currently I can afford only about 45 min per day during the week. JoshJ25: It sounds like you are not happy with your results after 4 months. I'm just wondering what kind of feedback you are getting? Periodically getting feedback from a teacher is invaluable because they can give you course corrections and help you work on specific areas. Maybe you are already getting this kind of feedback. Another way to get feedback and track progress is by recording yourself. I've got a decent vocal recording setup in my basement. I'll work on a song during the week and record the song on the weekend. I'll do this for maybe 2 or 3 weeks on a single song. With critical listening of your recording and practicing you will make progress from week to week. Well I don't currently go for lessons I work from programs I bought. I'm still working through beginner exercises and once I master that Ill go further. Maybe I should take lessons. Its just that the prices of quality lessons are a bit much and it doesn't pay to not follow through for the long haul so I'm still undecided. Maybe ill book a lesson and see how it goes. As for recording myself, I do have the Olympus LS-10 so I can record myself in high quality but I wouldn't know what I'm doing wrong so what's the use? Or maybe that's the proper way to understand how to use your own instrument by hearing it wrong and keeping on making adjustments until you get it right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Robert Lunte Posted January 28, 2010 Administrator Share Posted January 28, 2010 LOL...Matt...me too right now...but when I was taking lessons I would do the same as Robert. 30 minutes of scales and then sing my favourite songs (that I wanted to learn). They weren't easy ie: Heart! But it gave me the motivation to keep going. It definitely paid off. Drink lots of water while doing all of it and definitely give your voice a chance to rest. Like any other muscles in your body, after a workout they need some rest. If we want our voices to last for a long as possible with all the range we have now and want to keep we need to start back at it and practice more! Michele Rock on.. Thats a good response. Rep. Point ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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