SUMMER!!!

Ahhhh it’s finally summer!
 
Summertime offers a fantastic opportunity to get outside, spend time as a family, and enjoy some downtime without the hustle and bustle that comes with a new school year. Often that downtime turns into boredom. Here’s where your dedicated music practice comes in! During the school year if you struggle to practice several times a week, suddenly you have time!  I suggest setting specific days and times to practice and block out the time. Treat it like an appointment that you wouldn’t move: a doctor’s visit, etc. Once you have your time set (30 minutes at least) you need a plan of action. A typical practice session would look like this:
 
Monday-Wednesday-Friday 11-11:45 am
 
11-11:15 warm-up *feel free to use the YouTube tracks or a previous recording of your lesson
Set an intention for your session. Ex. I would like to learn and drill the passage of moving notes and sing it up to tempo with ease OR I would like to learn the melody of my new song
 
11:15-11:30 Sing your song 1 time all the way through being mindful of your breath, resonance, and ease of vocal production. Mark your music for places you’d like to revisit. Spot-check those places and sing through again! Maybe you choose to sing on vowels only, lip trill, etc. What tools can you think of that might help you? What tools have we employed in lessons previously that have worked well?
 
11:30-11:45 Sing something else! Maybe you have another song in your repertoire, or maybe you’re practicing something for fun on your own. You could also use this time to listen to new repertoire or brainstorm a wish-list of future songs to work on. 
*Jot down what you practiced and how you practiced. Write down any questions that may have come up during your independent practice to be asked in a future lesson! 
 
I hope this method works for you! Try it out and see what you discover.