Recently one of my students requested that I write about what you should do when you are in between bands to keep your voice up to performance standards. This is a very useful topic since most singers don't realize the voice goes through changes when you stop rehearsing several times a week.

When you are not performing regularly you don't have a chance to integrate practice technique into actual experience. You can become so disconnected that you stop working on your voice altogether. Yet the time between bands can sometimes stretch out and it is really in your best interest to keep working on your voice. That way, when new opportunities present themselves, you'll be in shape.

It's easy to understand how singers let their voices go. When you suddenly find yourself on your own, with your band gone, you can easily become depressed. When people are depressed they let go of the discipline of a practice schedule. Or let us say that you feel alright that the band broke up but you just don't know what to do on your own. In my opinion, that presents a wonderful opportunity for you to work on yourself.

When you are rehearsing and/or performing frequently your muscles get a good workout for several hours on a regular basis each week. Let's say that the band practiced three times a week and the rehearsal sessions lasted three hours a piece. That is an average of nine hours of regular singing each week, not including the time you spent warming up and down before and after rehearsal. Since the amount of time spent in actual performance varies so much, let's just stick to the rehearsal schedule for now.

What you should do is simulate those rehearsal sessions. You must first find a place where you can feel free to sing the same way that you did at rehearsals. If you can't do that in your home or apartment, try to rent a space you can use regularly for that purpose. You must have a good environment for practicing and you must have privacy.

Once you have located a place to practice you can begin to work out a schedule of songs. If you have tapes of your former band, sing along with yourself at a loud enough volume to recreate the feel of rehearsal. If you would rather not use those songs, then make a regular practice tape of enough material from albums so you will be giving yourself a good workout. I don't think it really matters what material you use. It is far more important for you to have enough material to cover the time and enough variety to make use of your entire range.

If the place you practice in has mirrors this would be a good time to work on your visual presentation as well. You might even think about taking dancing lessons and incorporating those exercises into your rehearsal session.

That brings us to another important subject -physical workouts. It is very necessary to stay in good physical shape at all times. When you are not rehearsing or performing regularly you miss an enormous amount of exercise. It takes a great deal of strength and stamina to sing and by working regularly with a band you have built up your endurance. In order to keep up to par you must work out. Swimming is best but any strenuous physical exercise will be wonderful.

An important thing to keep in mind is that you must treat these solo practice sessions with as much care and dedication as you would a group session. Set aside your time as if you were still in a band and exercise steadily.

Now, let us say that after a while on your own you find a new band and you have to learn a lot of new material. If you have been singing all along, this won't be too difficult. When you go back to a full rehearsal schedule after a break, you want to prepare for it carefully. Once you get your new songs, begin to incorporate them into your rehearsal schedule. Working new material into your muscles is a strenuous activity and now is when all your solo practicing will pay off. Try to learn your new material in a schedule that will permit you to get the maximum amount of work done and the maximum amount of rest.

The day before your first full rehearsal with your new band should be spent resting. Two days before you can practice very hard if you want, provided you warm down your voice when you finish. This also applies when you haven't performed for a few days and want your voice ready. Always give it a rest the day before whenever that's possible.

So, to wrap it up, if you find yourself in between bands, there are two important things to remember: keep up a regular practice schedule which allows you to sing out, in an environment conducive to creativity and keep your body in shape by following a regular exercise program. See you next month.