My Routine

My Practise Routine Term 1

At the start of term 1, I usually started by saying words that require me to properly use my mouth, like 'wow', to relax the muscles in my face, which is really important because you don't want a stiff face while singing. I find that sometimes my breathing isn't as good, so I work on that most days. I breathe in for 4, and say 'ah' for 10, 12, and 14. Once I've done this, I warm up further by singing songs that are low and then songs that are high.

In term 1, I focused more on breathing as I struggled with that while singing. I would breathe in for four and out for eight to just relax, and then start with exercises. These included breathing in for four and singing 'ah' for eight, in for four and out for twelve and so on. Doing these exercises has improved my breathing a lot since I started, but I still include them in my routine so I can further improve.



I have now included pronunciation/phrasing in my warm up routine after receiving feedback from my teachers about proper vowel pronunciation. I work on this by repeating my vowel sounds with a wide mouth, and making 'ee' and 'oo' sounds to ensure that when I'm singing all words are heard. 

At the start of term 1, I was working on 'Defying Gravity' and 'For Good' from Wicked. These were the songs I did in my performance for my Music GCSE, and I received near perfect marks for them. I decided to carry on working on them because I thought they would be two good songs to include in my repertoire as I had previously worked on them with my singing teacher.   

One SMART target I set myself was to work on breathing. I found that while singing, if I wasn't controlling my breathing a lot of my notes came out flat. I had to make sure I was actually warming myself up and ensure the exercises I did were solely for breathing. I knew that I had a performance at an open evening, and had to make sure this was completed by then. I gave myself two weeks for this, and made sure it was implemented in my routine so that I was working on it every day.  

This has been extremely effective for me as now I know what I'm doing wrong when I'm singing flat, and I can easily correct myself by breathing correctly.


I think the technique that has improved the most is my projection and breath control. Before I started this course I made a habit of singing from my chest voice a lot, which  sometimes affected my ability to sing in tune. I now know how to switch from my chest voice to my head voice, and also twang my head voice to make it sound like my chest voice when singing higher notes. I have improved because I have asked what I'm doing wrong, practised, and performed again to receive feedback.