I assume that we’d all like to become better at what we do. That could be teaching songs, singing, or leading a choir.
Inevitably, to improve, we will need to develop new habits or change existing ones. But that can feel awkward and unfamiliar, even painful at times.
an anecdote about how to stand
I used to do a lot of dance. I was taught to have my weight forward over my toes and to stretch up.
I thought that meant that I was standing straight. But one day I caught a side view of myself in a mirror and realised that I was leaning forward at an angle and had a pronounced curve in my lower back. I was shocked!
Over time, I learnt to develop a more natural posture: weight equally distributed across the whole of my feet, knees slightly bent, tailbone tucked in. A much healthier, balanced way of standing and less tiring with less bodily tension. An excellent way to stand when singing!
In the early days, whenever I tried my new posture, I felt that I was slumped and leaning backwards. This was because it was the opposite feeling to the habitual posture I had developed over many years. I also began to develop slight lower back pain as my musculature adjusted to the new way.
Often, I would catch myself reverting to the old way of standing. I would catch myself and readjust. I guess it must have taken at least a year before my new standing position felt natural and familiar. Now, if I try the old version of standing, it feels seriously odd and uncomfortable.
It’s the same when we’re trying to develop any new habit.
developing new habits as a singer or choir leader
Your new habit might be:
- to stop shallow breathing from high up in your chest
- not to mirror gestures with both hands when conducting
- to remember to relax and drop your shoulders when singing
- to make sure you’re not being overambitious when teaching in a singing workshop and overloading the singers
- to add more breaks in your choir rehearsals
Like my bad standing position, we will often find ourselves on autopilot and revert to our old habits. We need to notice when that happens and gently move to the new habit we’re trying to develop.
Don’t beat yourself up: just notice and change. It will take a long time for the new habit to bed in, and will initially feel unfamiliar and even ‘wrong’.
It might even be literally painful as your muscles adapt to new habits.
Chris Rowbury
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