Unlocking the Power of the Voice: Tips for Musical Theater Singers
In order to be successful in the pursuit of a career in musical theatre, you need a vocal instrument you can rely on. And if you have ever been in an audition room or performed in a production of a show, you understand the concern of whether it is going to be a “good” vocal day, or a “bad” vocal day. How do we increase the “on” days and decrease the “off” days? How do we unlock the power of the voice so that we can trust that it will reflect the most truthful portrayal of the story we are asked to tell? While there is no objective process a singer can follow to guarantee the functionality of the voice from day to day, there are some things we can consider to give us a good idea of what to expect when we go to sing. Here are topics that I have often discussed with students in their pursuit of unlocking the power of their voices. If you have any questions, or would like to connect with me on these topics further, please contact me here.
"Don't be afraid to take risks and explore new territories with your voice. That's where you'll find the true extent of your potential."
Barbra Streisand
Continued Training and Education
Navigating the art of singing alone can be an arduous task - especially given the demands of the musical theatre industry today. Unlocking the power of your voice begins with finding the right fit of voice teacher that is able to properly assess and guide you based on your individual developmental needs. Check in with yourself, “Can I navigate through my vocal registers with ease and clarity? Does my voice feel flexible and free? Or does it feel limited and restricted? Does my voice repeatedly get tired after singing in a voice lesson or performance?”. Regardless of the answers to these questions, it is essential to continue your education to discover what your voice is capable of. I continue to study regularly and I have been amazed at the things I learn about my own instrument after each lesson.
Note: When looking for a voice teacher, you should be selective in your process. Take the time to read their biographies and learn of their background. There is no standard licensure, or governing entity, that speaks to the qualifications or competency of a vocal technician. This becomes particularly worrisome in the age of social media, where anyone can provide vocal advice and demonstration without being competent in the subjects necessary to guide other’s ethically. Does their biography refer to the accolades of students who have studied with them? Or does it list higher degrees of education in vocal pedagogy? Do they speak of different methodologies, they integrate into their teaching? Once you decide to try lessons with an instructor, be sure to try 2-3 lessons before assessing if it is a good fit - they may do things differently from the teachings of previous teachers and that may take time to adjust.
Develop a Consistent Practice Regimen
A skilled voice teacher will adjust specific components of your singing to develop a new learned vocal coordination. However, your voice teacher is not a magician. If you want to experience a notable shift in the power of your voice, you must expose yourself to the adjustments your voice teacher provided for you beyond the the 45-60 minute lesson you have every week/every 2 weeks/once a month. In order for your body to commit this new coordination to memory, you must utilize motor learning theory. Motor Learning Theory emphasizes that skills are acquired using specific strategies and are refined through a great deal of repetition and the transfer of skills to other tasks (Croce and DePaepe, 1989).
If you are developing a practice regimen, ask your voice teacher how they expect you to practice the adjustments they made in the lesson. I advise students of mine to warm up to the recordings from each of their lessons about 5-6 times a week. If you go longer than 3 days without exposing yourself to the new coordination discovered in your voice lesson, your body begins to forget what it had learned. Therefore, I begin each lesson asking what they observed in their voices from the previous meeting. It is an integral component in the development of your vocal instrument and furthermore, unlocking the power of your voice.
“The more you practice, the better you get. It’s that simple”
-Lea Salonga
Practice a Playful Mindset:
Historically, it has been encouraged that you do exactly as your vocal technician instructs without question and as close to perfection as possible. I think this takes away from a singer’s ability to unlock the power of their voice. It is essential for a singer to feel comfortable exploring their relationship with how to use their instruments freely and without worry of doing exactly as they’re told. Respectfully challenge your voice teachers to explain why they are adjusting you the way they are. If you understand what they are trying to achieve in the studio, you can feel free to be playful in practice. Bring what you discover into your next lesson and see what you unlock together. The studio becomes a more collaborative environment rather than master and pupil and that security will continue to allow the power of your voice to be fully realized.
I have learned the most about my own instrument when I felt empowered by my teachers to explore my voice as I saw fit - and sometimes that entailed practicing the exact opposite concepts of what my voice teachers would say. It is all because of a playful mindset and not marrying myself to one way of achieving a certain task that opened my voice more than I could’ve imagined.
Vocal Health and Maintenance
One of the first things you should do at the beginning of your pursuit of unlocking the power of your voice should be getting a base-line imaging, or laryngoscopy, of your vocal folds. It is a simple procedure where a laryngologist uses either a rigid imaging tool that goes in your mouth, or a flexible imagining tool that travels up your nose, to get a look at your vocal folds at rest as well as in vibration. It is essential to know what your vocal folds look like so any potential pathology can be diagnosed and treated. Every singer should experience a laryngoscopy if they wish to purse musical theatre as a career. The health and wellness of your instrument is of the utmost importance for a long-lasting career and checking in on it, even if nothing feels wrong, should be considered “norma"l” practice.
The biggest contributing factor surrounding vocal health and maintenance is awareness surrounding your lifestyle and behavioral patterns. What are your sleep patterns? Do you feel vocally fatigued often? How often are you drinking alcohol in loud environments? Do you smoke? Do you find yourself cheering at concerts or sporting events? Are you excessively loud with your friends and family? Do you clear your throat often? Do you experience heartburn? Are you eating excessively late often? Do you do a lot of movement, like dancing or running, directly after eating? These are just a few questions to ask yourself if you’re noticing your voice become more inconsistent, or “stuck” without understanding potential reasons as to why. To unlock the full power of your voice, you must perceive yourself as a “professional vocal athlete” and lead a life as such. Professional sports athletes adjust their lifestyle and behavioral tendencies to optimize their consistency in performance and a singer must do the same. I will be writing many blogs about this topic - this is just the beginning. So stay tuned if you are interested in learning more on this topic.
Acting Through Song:
The final, and the largest contributing factor, to unlocking the power in your voice is your ability to live truthfully through the lyrics you are singing. You meet with a voice teacher, you have developed a practice regiment so that the technique is ingrained in your body, you are playful with the sounds and choices you make with your voice, and you have an understanding of your vocal health and maintenance. It is now time to trust that you have invested hard and long hours in preparing for the task of acting through song. You must put all the technical knowledge to the side and prepare yourself for vulnerability.
The collection of people behind the table at an audition are listening more to the truthfulness of your storytelling than the quality of your voice. It is difficult to be present in the emotional circumstances of the lyric if singing doesn’t feel free and easy. It is essential that you practice singing through your pieces, as an actor, so that you understand how your voice functions when shifting your focus. Do you tend to increase the vocal dynamic as a response to acting through the emotional circumstance? Do you tend to hold back the release of airflow because you feel more vulnerable? Try recording yourself while practicing a piece from a vocal tech perspective and record yourself when you’re acting the song. Compare and contrast - what do you notice? Try altering the preparation of who you are singing to, what you want from them, or the environment where you are saying these words to see if that changes how your voice functions. Be sure to act through your singing with your voice teacher so they can guide you to a more consistent sound. The storytelling is the most important factor when booking work because that is when the full potential and power of your voice is realized.
"When you sing, you have to convey the emotional truth of the character. It's not just about sounding pretty; it's about connecting with the audience."
-Audra McDonald
If you have made it this far in the post, I appreciate the time you have taken to learn more information on how to unlock the power of your voice through the genre of musical theatre. Of course, this is scratching the surface with what I have to say on these topics. My biggest hope is that these thoughts have caused you to think of some things in your practice of singing a bit differently and ultimately get you one step closer to unlocking the power in your voice. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please don’t hesitate to go to the “CONTACT” page and send an email. I would love to work with you to discover what unlocking the power of your voice means for YOU!
- Mackenzie Bykowski
M.M, Adv. Cert