Am I Singing the Right Songs?

Hello everyone!

I have one question…

Am I singing the right songs?

Perhaps you set yourself some singing goals earlier in January and already feel like they aren’t quite the right fit. Is it time to do some pivoting?

Or perhaps this year’s goal-setting wasn’t your first rodeo and you’ve refined your process. So, this time around you’ve created goals that have just the right amount of difficulty over just the right time period…and you are thriving!

I confess that in the past fortnight I have pivoted from some goals that were too broad and ill defined (yeah, I know, I should read my own blogs) to some bite-sized specifics that are bringing me joy because I’m finally addressing some habits I’ve been ignoring. Yep – teacher, teach thyself!

And in essence, for me, it boiled down to a second question…

Am I feeling stretched or am I feeling comfortable?

What does my voice feel like when it’s over-stretched?

• Tired or strained because the speaking + singing workload every day exceeds the amount of time available for refreshing and de-stressing.
• Inflexible because I created haste around things like warm-ups so that I rushed through everything and attended closely to nothing.
• Bored and unmotivated because my songs aren’t improving, and a bad habit is getting more entrenched.
• Unconfident because I’m reducing my self-trust and boosting the wrong kind of self-talk.

How about when I am too comfortable?

• Bored because I can already achieve what I am practicing and there is no challenge to tick the box that says I practiced today.
• Vocally dull because I tend to choose songs that are similar to something else I’ve done already. They are quick to learn but I don’t feel inspired by them.
• Unprepared for working with other musicians who are operating outside my comfort zone.
• Unmotivated to do my practice because nothing changes from week to week.

I was sitting well inside my comfort zone. It was time to start stretching again.

So, I started to investigate some different ways of practicing (thanks Musical U and your Super Learning course!). Now I am excited again and tapping into just the right balance of stretch and comfort. (No doubt I’ll start chatting about it in lessons and workshops so be warned.) My goals are neither unachievable nor already attained. And that is stimulating and making me want to practice each day.

Singing should bring you joy and a feeling of wellbeing. If it isn’t , I hope you can adjust your course, reset your sails, and find the right type of water to plough through so it’s fun again.