Friday, September 17, 2010

Practice Makes Permanent

Recently I began my second junior level semester in voice here at UTT. After a VERY disappointing first week wrought with sickness and a touch of "over-doing" it, I finally had the lesson I've been waiting for my entire musical life. Yesterday I was finally able to understand many of the mechanical changes (or subtractions, rather) that needed to take hold for me to go from "good to even better" as my teacher said. Proper classical singing really is all about gearing down and relaxing while letting the breath do most of the work. Something else I've started doing this semester is recording my practice sessions and then reviewing them later in day. While I listen for tone, I also watch for bad habits in my posture that I've picked up over the years such as tense shoulders and a lowered head. During the review process I jot down every small thing that my eyes and ears can catch in a practice log, to eliminate making the same mistakes later on down the road like I have so far.

The voice feels strong, the breath is getting confident, and best of all I'm finally learning what the best way for ME to practice is. My junior recital, which will be on December 2nd alongside another fabulous UT Tyler vocalist, could not have come at a better time. Not only will I be learning difficult and more challenging, professional level pieces, but I'm truly gearing up to be the musician I hope to be in my career.

"The difference between an amateur and a profession is that an amateur will practice until he gets it right. A professional will practice until he cannot get it wrong."

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