Is all singing practice created equal?

What do you think of when you think of practicing your singing?

For me, I always thought of something time-consuming and repetitive (and dare I say boring).

But what if I told you that there were a number of different ways to practice which brought about their own set of benefits?

In a 2009 Australian Journal of Music Education article, Katie Zhukov described 5 types of practice:

Formal - Informal - Deliberate - Structured - Unstructured

Deliberate and formal practice focus on attaining set goals, and may use structured practice to do so. Informal practice comprises of leisurely music making, and unstructured practice has no specific goals.

While deliberate practice is recognised by many researchers as important for the acquisition of new skills and performance achievement, informal practice - such as listening or playing music with others - has been shown to support the learning of music theory and sight-reading and to increase motivation.

Increased motivation can, in turn, increase the amount of formal/deliberate practice, showing that informal or unstructured practice is a vital part of music learning. In fact, listening to performance recordings/demonstrations has been shown to be as effective as formal instrumental practice in improving musical accuracy.

For singers, other informal practice might include: choirs, singing in a band, listening to music, talking about singing, making use of social media pages/forums about singing, aural/sight-singing apps, dancing, or learning another instrument.

Mental Practice

In addition, mental practice has been continually shown by studies in music and sports to enhance performance and be a beneficial substitute for the total absence of practice.

Research suggests that the optimum length of time for mental practice is approximately 20.8 minutes, which can make it seem more achievable for singers who lack time to practice, or for those who have temporarily lost their voice (more practice ideas for when you can’t sing here).

So, while formal and deliberate practice are undeniably important to help when trying to master a tricky phrase or new vocal technique (tips for that here), making sure you are also listening widely, making music with others and visualising performances will also provide huge benefits in your musical journey. (Doesn’t that sound a little more fun?!)

For more singing practice tips you can follow me on social media @TessaSmithMusic, or explore thesingersguide.com where there are resources all about optimising your singing practice.