Practice. . .Part Deux

The Sistine Chapel...a fitting picture to place at another discussion of the role of PRACTICE in the life of a vocalist. Many of you are thinking "solitary" practice when you read this. But there is the kind of practice that goes on during your own session, the kind that happens (along with GREAT vocal instruction at TROY) in your lesson, and the kind that we do corporately as an ensemble.

Let's pick up with Ms. Tharp on page 167:

"Practice without purpose, however, is nothing more than an exercise. Too many people practice what they're already good at and neglect the skills that need more work. It's pleasant to repeat the things we do well, while it's frustrating to deal with repeated failure. . .the golfer Davis Love III was taught by his father to think of practice as a huge circle, like a clock. You work on a skill until you master it, and then you move on to the next one. When you've mastered that, you move on to the next, and the next, and the next, and eventually you'll come full circle to the task that you began with, which will now need remedial work because of all the time you've spent on other things."

Back to the Sistine Chapel. What does it represent to you? Painstaking detail? Patience? Hard work? Raw talent? Perseverance? Adoration for the artform? Dedication to the church? Sheer beauty? How about all of the above?

Those of you that will be choral directors one day will understand this complex, delicate circular balancing act. Still learning notes in one piece...others that are mostly done but lack finesse, others that are on the cusp of readiness. Balancing them all reminds me of preparing a large meal. Getting everything done at the same time and at the right time is tough.

So is this.

I'm convinced that Choral music making is not for wimps.