This year, I have given my students a chart to monitor their progress in practicing themselves. They check off different categories of vocalises, depending on what they did in the practice room. That way, I can monitor what they are doing every week, and so can they. The categories I put on my list are: 1)General Warm-ups 2)Breathing Exercises 3)Focus, or Resonance 4)Range 5)Onset 6)Registration 7)Flexibility 8)Speaking a piece on the text 9)Singing a piece on a neutral vowel sound 10)Singing a piece ONLY on the vowels 11)Working on memory of a piece I know there are probably many other categories I could have put in there, but it was already getting overwhelming to me. I did make sure my students understood that I would never expect them to check ALL of the categories in one session. We'll see if this is effective or not. David Grogan ETBU Music Marshall, Texas |