What to Actually Do Instead of "Overthinking™️" (I of III)

Over my past two posts, I’ve stood on a soapbox about why I think the notion of “overthinking” is fundamentally misguided and causes smart students to feel guilty and broken for having thoughts. There’s much, much more I can say about why I think this is thoroughly unhelpful… but that doesn’t solve anything, does it?

In the interest of being part of the solution, my next three posts will share some strategies I’ve used to overcome unhelpful thoughts without guilting myself for “overthinking.” I’ve broken them down into three separate timeframes: Before, during, and after your practice. These tactics will give you a sense of control while singing, help you pinpoint the actual causes of your challenges, and cultivate a healthy mindset while singing. Let’s dive in.

BEFORE PRACTICE: CLARIFY YOUR INTENTIONS.

It’s been theorized that infinite monkeys sitting at infinite typewriters for an infinite amount of time would eventually produce the Complete Works of William Shakespeare. We are not infinite. We do not have that kind of time. In this regard, the monkeys have us beat.

But we’re much, much better at planning than infinite monkeys.

So, what are you actually doing while you practice?

Do you…

Open your book and pick a piece to sing top to bottom?
Pick the passage of music with the high note and hammer it into your voice over and over?
Sit down at the keyboard and dissociate for twenty minutes, then frantically sing scales for ten and log thirty minutes of practice?

I see you, friend. No shame.

We all have those sessions–but the trouble is that all of these practice habits are unproductive at best, anxiety-inducing at worst. Working tirelessly but producing no meaningful results is the bane of any motivation to keep working. And the last thing you want is for your sessions to leave you feeling miserable!

To avoid falling into any of those traps, I use a simple formula to clarify my intentions while practicing.

Here it is:

“I would like to work towards [technical or musical goal] in [passage] for [length of time].”

Your technical/musical goal should be specific and actionable. “I’d like to nail the high C” is a start–but what causes “nailing it”?

You might try:

Finding a balanced registration, or,
Identifying an effective vowel for your desired sound, or,
Relieving excess tension in your articulators, or,
Leveraging dramatic intention towards healthy function, or…

There are infinite “cues” that could bring you towards your desired result, “I want to sing good” is usually not one of them. It is a humbling reality that we can’t always control the outcome; sometimes, voices splat. What we can always do, however, is get more and more specific about the process that creates the sound we want.

To that end, let the passage you work on be no more than what you can sing in a single breath. The narrower your focus, the more likely you are to catch it if you feel tensions begin to creep in, an odd note fall out of resonance, or a wavering in your intonation. If you intend to sing through an entire piece, chances are you’ll let some of those mistakes go (we all do; after all, no performance is perfect), but continued repetition of those kinds of errors can cement them into your voice. Over time, you can start to string passages together, paying close attention to whether you’re slacking on your musical and technical goals once you start to sing consecutive phrases.

Finally, let your length of time be short. Five minutes on a single goal is plenty. Pack four goals into a session, and suddenly you’ve practiced for twenty minutes. Loop through it twice, now it’s forty. It may seem counterintuitive, but one of the reasons our brains trap us into unproductive thought patterns is that we get bored. By switching up your goals over the course of a session, you can work with your brilliant, fast-firing mind rather than against it.

Armed with your clear intentions, you’re ready to take on the music. Next time, we’ll talk about some strategies you can use while practicing or performing to remain fully on-task and keep your thoughts productive.

In the meantime, friends, stay clear, stay honest, stay you.

–Lucas

P.S.: Need someone to help you reach your vocal goals? I’m running a special for the month of January: Get your first three half hour lessons for $20.22 each. That’s a 60% discount. Lock in by January 31st to get the promotional rate. Contact me for more information.