Suggestions for successful study of voice:

1. Regular, organized practice is absolutely necessary for successful

improvement of the singing voice. Students should establish a regular schedule
for vocal practice. Initially, one half-hour session carried out five days a week
will be quite helpful for significant improvement of the singing voice within a
number of months. For those students who are serious about developing their
voice, adding on another ½ hour to make a total of one hour of practice is
essential after about six months of lessons.
a. Practice sessions should be divided in the following way:
i. The first half of the lesson should be spent in warming up and
practicing technical exercises assigned by the teacher.
ii. The second half of the lesson should be spent on the songs
assigned, with practice of works in progress constituting the bulk
of the song practice. One-third of the song portion of the practice
session can then be spent in learning any new songs which have
been assigned.
2. Songs should be memorized well before auditions so that nerves won’t get in
the way of words or notes. You should expect to lose about 25% of the
technical expertise already attained in the practice sessions when singing in front
of judges or in public. Therefore, plan to be working with a song at 75% of your
capability or more before attempting to audition with it.
3. Remember that no one ever performs a song perfectly. It’s easy to be
extremely self-critical, but the aim is a regular and steady improvement rather
than perfection. Perfection remains an ideal, but we must all realize that it is
unattainable.
4. Realize that your teacher will always have suggestions for improving your
performance of any song, so don’t get discouraged when he/she will present
you with new challenges even for pieces that are already well learned.
5. You should quickly learn to teach yourself the melody line, with correct
rhythms and notes, at a piano. This independence is absolutely vital for serious
voice students, especially those who intend to study voice at a university or
college.
6. Begin listening to a selection of classical artists who sing art songs or opera
arias. Serious vocal training requires classical techniques, so learning what those
techniques sound like is crucial. Some suggested singers: Elly Ameling, Julianne
Baird, Emma Kirkby, Dawn Upshaw, Rene Fleming, Josh Grobin, Bryn Terfel,
Thomas Hampson, Martin Hill, Christine Brandes. Crossover artists who sing
both classical styles and pop styles are Josh Grobin, Andrea Bocelli, and Mario
Frangoulis. Try to obtain recordings of these singers as soloists rather than
participants in ensembles. A good source for these recordings is Naxos or iTunes.
7. The discipline you develop now will be your advantage later. Developing
good practice habits takes time and determination. However, no matter how
talented a voice student may be, many students succeed or fail according to how
well they develop their practice habits and their discipline in music study.