“Practice makes perfect.” Practicing is the only way in which someone can improve their craft. Drummers, percussionists, and horn-players alike will tell you that shedding or practicing for hours at a time make them feel physically and mentally great. Though singers really shouldn’t be singing for 8 or 9 hours like a drummer does, the concept of practicing is still the same for a vocalist.
Where you practice is just as important as how you practice and the length of which you practice. Here is a list of things that you should be conscious of and have in your practice space when singing.
1. Make sure you have some type of mirror. You want to be able to check your posture, your body when you’re practicing breathing technique, mouth shape when you’re producing vowels shapes or singing in different languages, and practicing performance technique. The best way to check this is to see yourself doing this. A floor-length mirror would be a good size so you can see how your whole body reacts when you sing, including your feet and legs.
2. Try to practice with a piano or keyboard. If you’re anything like me, it is very hard to pull a pitch out of thin air. It is always best to practice with a piano so you can gauge your pitch with an actual instrument.
3. Have a recording device. Either audio, visual, or both. This is another way to check your progress in warm-ups and run-throughs of songs. You can check any nervous ticks you might have in your hands or face, intonation issues, and even mispronunciation of words or lack of inflection in a phrase.
4. Get a music stand. This is for any papers with lyrics and/or sheet music so that you can have your hands free when singing. It is always better to practice how you will sing onstage in the practice room–without sheet music in your hands.
5. Make sure the space is somewhere where you can make a lot of noise. I know this one sounds weird, but you don’t want to be worried about neighbors when you’re trying to hit that high note or belt that long note in a song. You should be worry free so that you can be free to work out weird notes, difficult melodies, and figure out the dynamics of a song for your voice.
Most importantly, don’t worry about making mistakes. Your practice space is your space and your time to improve and learn more about your instrument: your voice. You can never improve unless you make mistakes at least once in awhile so why not make them while practicing?
Do you guys have any other tips for finding a good practice space or any other essentials for practicing? Let us know in the comments below!