I have always been a person that goes to extremes. If I were going to practice stretching I would stretch until it hurts. If I were to work out by lifing weights I would lift the heaviest weight possible. Basically any technique, I would take it to the nth degree, because that’s how to do it best, right? Wrong.
Something has changed in the last year, though. I don't know if it's because I'm just getting older, if I'm getting further along in my jiu jitsu practice, if I'm getting older as a father, or what, but I've had a pretty seismic idea, extreme, if you will, of being extreme..
Maybe it occurred to me these past couple weeks as I've been working out almost every day at the Opera Colorado office. It’s not the greatest gym in the world, but, if you just work out with what you have, and keep on the slow and steady grind on this campaign of self-improvement, one begins to see results. If I just come in every day and work and go through the motions and lift the weights do my stretches my injuries heal, my body strengthens, and I feel overall, better.
The same thing can be said regarding our singing. In the beginning of your singing journey, you are building your voice, much the same way as you are building an instrument. You can't play a violin unless it's built, and you cannot sing to your full extent unless the muscles that are directly in control of producing the sounds have been strengthened...
The muscles allow you to sing softly, loudly, to add emotional textures to your voice, to add caricature textures to your voice, singing dark, singing light, singing clear, and have a ringing tone. All of these things are the standard, the baseline, the foundation of what it takes to add artistry to your song, to your band, to your life....
Once again, we come to this idea of extreme. I can't tell you how many students I've seen in the past few years that want a major change in one lesson. It doesn't happen like that. Expecting a change in one lesson… that is extreme. One must recognize that one needs to build the muscles that are directly responsible before producing those sounds over a period of YEARS! it took Arnold Schwarzenegger a long time to get that Mr. Universe body. It's the exact same way with the voice.
Slow and steady. Steady. Steady. Constant and disciplined workouts will get you to your goals.
Oh, and by the way, I can help get you there!
Singing Lessons schedule is a bit wackadu for a little while, but sign up on the Boulder Voice Lessons website for available lesson times.