Practice is not something that comes naturally to most people. It is a combination of discipline and inspiration and rarely are the two in coordination with each other. There are days where inspiration strikes and break through feels incredible and other days where you feel like your practice session, not only didn't fix the problems you were having, but perhaps made you feel hopeless, confused and frustrated.
Yep, that's all part of practicing my friend.
Much like going to the gym, you're not going to hit a PR every time you go. You're not running a 10 miler every time you put on your running shoes. Some days you just take a walk, some days just a yoga flow. Whatever your body can give that day. But the practice of moving your body is the constant that not only becomes a habit - but a desire for your mental and physical health.
Now wouldn't it be cool if practicing our craft could be the same way? Good news, it definitely can be. But the answer is NOT singing your pieces over and over again or filming 100 takes of the same piece. Its showing up every day (or most days at least) and doing something.
My voice teacher, Harolyn Blackwell, a world renowned opera and Broadway performer, told me once that she could count on her hands the number of times she felt truly at the top of her game in performance. Where everything was just clicking. And she's performed thousands of times at an extremely high level to great critical acclaim. So for those performances we don't feel at the tippy top of our game, thats where skill, practice and craft comes into play. We can fall back and rely on our skill that we cultivate, showing up every single day to our work and give whatever we have that day.
And if you need a little inspiration (variety is the spice of life!) give these a try.....
