Trust the Process

Trust the Process

When I decided to transition from opera to musical theatre, I realized that if I wanted to get through the audition process without completely embarrassing or injuring myself, I was going to have to take some dance classes. Over the past four years I have dabbled in jazz, ballet, modern, and a very brief stint in (try not to laugh) hip hop. I still wouldn’t call myself a dancer, but I am able to pick up choreography a little quicker and much safer than before. Surprisingly the dance style that has resonated with me the most has been ballet, in part because the teacher I have been working with (the incomparable Lisa Thorngren of Synapse in Motion) is as nerdy about dance and the body as I am about singing! We’ve actually joined forces on multiple occasions to lead workshops for singers, so stay tuned for more of those in the future. 🙂

It Takes Time to Learn a New Skill

It has now been four years since I started ballet, and sometimes I can’t believe it’s been that long and I have not suddenly transformed into a prima ballerina. I’m still fairly clumsy, and frequently sore after class. It can be frustrating at times, and it’s easy to talk myself out of taking classes.

Thankfully most of the time I am able to appreciate how far I have come in my strength, knowledge, and body awareness. Almost a year ago, I did a pirouette and for the first time I actually LANDED it! If you had told me four years ago that it would take me this long to accomplish this basic ballet move, I probably would have quit on the spot. And in truth, it still wasn’t perfect, but it was a major step forward in my journey of dance. And every week it gets a little bit better… my leg is a little straighter, foot a little more connected, my spot a little more focused, my arms a little rounder… you get the picture.

Not me, but definitely how I felt that day in class

What Does This Have To Do With Singing, Lauren?

I have found that studying something that is so new to me has really been important for my work as a voice teacher. Most of my students in the past few years will tell you that I frequently make references to ballet in my voice teaching. There is so much to draw from: alignment principles, the concept of building strength over time, the importance of regular training and warming up, not to mention the parallels between ballet and other styles of dance to opera and other styles of singing… but that’s a post for another time. 

I am eternally grateful to have stumbled into this movement style and art form. It has reminded me of something that can be easy to forget:

Awareness is a Huge Part of the Learning Process

When we are new to a skill or a kind of training, we don’t really know how little we know. There is a freedom in being a novice, we may not fully understand where our incompetencies lie yet. Furthermore, we may not have the be able to compare ourselves to others in an honest way because we don’t have the knowledge to make these comparisons accurately.

There comes a time during training where we enter the “Conscious Incompetence” part of the learning process. I think this is the most frustrating time of all. You have enough knowledge and understanding of what is required to accomplish a task, but you do not yet have the necessary skill to do it consistently. Oftentimes this can coincide with a “learning plateau” after months of progress which can give students the feeling of being stuck. 

It can be so difficult to quiet the voices in our head that tell us that because we have not achieved our goals quickly, we will never accomplish them. But learning is not linear, and sometimes progress happens behind the scenes.

In the three years before I landed a pirouette, I spent a lot of time building muscle, cross training, working on alignment, and building the foundation for this turn. There have been days where I thought I would just have to accept that I would never be able to accomplish this trademark ballet move. And there have absolutely been days where I just wanted to quit. 

I don’t think that this breakthrough will lead to me donning a tutu and dancing Tchaikovsky any time soon, but I am forever grateful for little reminders that the work is always worth it. Regardless of the outcome. 

I hope that this little anecdote can help those who are feeling “stuck” in their vocal study. If you do feel like you’ve hit a wall and are not improving as quickly as you’d like, there are some things you can try.

Feeling Stuck? Try These Tips!

• Switch it up: our bodies crave novelty. If you’ve been doing the same set of vocal exercises or working on the same repertoire for a long time, try something new! Change the patterns of your vocal exercises, try singing a song in a different key, work on music from a different genre, etc.
  
• Analyze your practice sessions: having a voice teacher you trust is so important, but even with the greatest of voice teachers, most of the work happens independently. Are you practicing consistently outside of lessons? Are you setting a goal for each practice session? Are you focused or on auto-pilot when you work on exercises and repertoire? 
• Journal: writing out your experiences can be wonderfully insightful and cathartic. For some students keeping a practice journal can be especially helpful. By simply writing down your journey you may uncover an obvious solution to a problem you have been trying to solve. It can also be helpful to look back to another time where you felt stuck. What helped you get past it? How long were you stuck in a plateau before your next breakthrough? 
• Look at your daily routine: have you had any sudden lifestyle changes? If singing has become especially difficult, is it possible that your diet, exercise, sleep, or work/life stress are preventing you from singing your best? Our body is our instrument, if we are not taking care of ourselves, we cannot function at the highest level. 
• Celebrate small victories: even if you’re not where you want to be, progress is progress! It is so important to acknowledge and celebrate any improvements we make in this difficult craft. Not just for self esteem, but for making the neural connections that can help with overall motivation!  
• Be kind: so often I find myself saying to students “be nice to yourself!” Make sure that your own inner dialogue is as kind as you would be to a friend who was going through the same struggles. You wouldn’t call someone an idiot for not being able to hit a high note during a practice session, right? So don’t do it to yourself! 
• Be patient and trust the process: if it was easy everyone would do it. Stay diligent, ask questions in voice lessons, take ownership of the process and your voice. In no time you’ll have an “aha moment” that will lead to your next breakthrough!
  

~Lauren