Vocal Practice Diary

This is my vocal practise diary.
It is a log of any vocal sessions that I have practised on my own.

Tuesday 2nd December 2014,
Today I went home after a vocal lesson and practised doing the vocal warm ups for 15 minutes. I started of warming up my muscles by stretching and then moved on to controlled breathing techniques. I then went on to humming, scales, lip trills and finally sirens. After completing this warm out I went to band practise outside of college and worked on making my voice powerful by using my diaphragm. I felt a massive improvement after having done the vocal warm ups for 15 minutes and my band noticed a difference in my voice too. I sang the songs with more volume and control without harming my voice.


Saturday 6th December 2014
In order to practise increasing my vocal range I thought I will practise songs that are slightly uncomfortable or in an awkward pitch for me to sing. As this could damage my voice I made sure to eat well and drink lots of water. I also inhaled steam and went onto youtube to practise singing the slightly higher or lower songs. I also practised in the mirror to look at my positioning and make sure I was stood right. The songs I sang were, 'Love bites' by Halestorm, 'Lithium' by Evanescence and 'Pretty hurts' by Beyonce. I sang each of these songs twice and had noticed that the second time around was a lot easier to sing because my voice had time to adjust so I plan on singing these songs on a daily basis for a week and take notes on how it has been improved.


Wednesday 17th December 2014
 Today I was looking into the larynx. I ran my finger down to my larynx and made different sounds, going higher and lower. Singing with a variety of techniques such as sob, cry, and applied dynamics. This was interesting to me because I wanted to know how my larynx moves and understand how sound will affect the way it moves. I practised the vocal techniques, twang, sob, and cry.


Monday 22nd December 2014
During last week I had experienced some difficulty with a sore throat therefore limiting me to the amount of singing that I could do. Over the weekend I put myself on vocal rest and then experimented with what I eat and drink. For example, I swapped my coffee with milk for a herbal tea and tried to avoid dairy and fatty products. By Monday I was able to head into band practise with a stronger voice. However I asked the band to turn their instruments down as I would sing softly throughout the practise due to the risk of losing my voice or regaining a sore throat again.


3rd January 2015
Over the christmas break I did not really practise many vocal techniques. Today I did a 20 minute warm up session including stretching, massaging face muscles, vocal fry, sirens etc. After doing the vocal warm ups I began to sing songs that I enjoyed and that were in my comfort zone. These songs being by a singer called Banks. Her pitch in the songs match my comfort zone so I didn't apply to much pressure on myself vocally when practising. However, I had noticed that I was gaining more control over my vocals and I would be able to identify which vocal technique I would use for each section of the song.

12th January 2015
Today at college whilst the band was setting up for band practise, I continued to do my vocal warm ups. However, I only did it for five minutes so I included breathing techniques, humming and face massages to relax my mouth when singing. I made sure to drink water consistently as I had suffered from being ill again.



30th January 2015
Today at home I started working on my targets. I wanted to gain knowledge of the diaphragm so I went on the internet and done some research. I also sang a few songs holding onto my stomach in order to feel how the diaphragm moved to the different vocal techniques I did.


19th February
Today before college, I knew I was going to be singing with my band doing a rather challenging genre for me which was pop punk. I decided to inhale steam for 2 minutes in order to soothe my throat and then spent 10 minutes doing vocal warm ups including vocal fry, yawning, stretching muscles and arpeggios. My voice felt rather rested so I was prepared for the day. During the rehearsals I went into a quiet room and repeated my vocal warm up from this morning and then went in to do rehearsals. I found the rehearsal session a lot easier and was able to gain control over my vocals.

23rd February
At home, I decided to challenge my vocal range which was one of my targets. I decided to make a song using the guitar as an accompaniment. I used to band MS MR as an inspiration and then I began to write a song. I deliberately made the chorus at the top of my vocal range so I would have to work hard in projection and vocal control in my higher register. This was a struggle, but I knew that if I practised this song over a period of time, it will be much easier to sing. I then moved on to practise singing 'Lithium' by Evanescence in order to help me gain vocal control.


24th March
After some time of being ill I changed my diet for the better to see if this would help me progress as a vocalist. I had noticed a lot of change and it became easier for me to sing higher. I practised singing the song I had created and the chorus was very comfortable for me to sing. I also practised with Lithium and that was getting easier to sing also. I decided that changing my lifestyle for the better was making it easier for me to project higher notes and made me feel more comfortable when singing which then made me a more confident performer.

7th April
At band practise I did my vocal warm ups and stretches for 15 minutes. The band wanted me to try belting some lyrics that needed that extra push. I decided to do another vocal warm up for another 15 minutes as this is something I have not yet tried to do. We started of with practising the songs that were in my lower vocal register and in my comfort zone, to the ones that were slightly higher. About 20 minutes into the band practise I managed to successfully belt a few of the lyrics but only attempted to do this a couple of times due to fear of my damaging my voice. However, after belting these lines I felt no discomfort in my throat or the back of my neck so I had assumed that I had managed to successfully belt in a safe manner.


16th April
Today I took it easy, as I had been using my voice a lot over the week. My voice was beginning to get croaky so I was aware that I may need to place myself on vocal rest for short period of time in order to keep maintaining my voice. I drank a lot of water and spoke as minimal as possible in order to reduce stress on my vocal chords. If I needed to sing, I would use the technique of talking singing. This is where my singing voice is in the same register as my talking voice which requires minimal effort and does not apply too much pressure on the vocal chords. By the end of the day my voice made significant progress but I decided to continue doing this for the next couple of days.

1st May
After a massive change in my lifestyle including working out and being more active, I have noticed my vocals changing slowly. My vocal range has extended which I have only recently noticed when performing with my new band at college. The two songs chosen, show off my abilities as a vocalist. For example one song is in the lower register which I may have considered to be too low but am able to sing it with control and projection. The second song very high and I am able to control my vocals and sustain the higher notes which is something I would not have been able to do at the beginning of the year.

5th May
I have continued to practise two songs at home. I do a 5 minute warm up and then I practised singing scales which is needed to identify my range as well as warm my vocals up for the two songs which are on either ends of the spectrum. I practised both of these songs for 15 minutes drinking warm water in order to prevent minor damage to my vocal chords as the second song was a struggle as it is a high song.

7th May
The band had a longer practise therefore I did another 5 minute warm up in the morning and then before rehearsals, I did another 10 minute vocal warm up before singing the songs. I managed to rest my voice today as it was more of an instrumental rehearsal however, I still did my best in singing both of the songs to the best of my ability.

8th May
After the rehearsals we had chosen a third song to do. This was in the middle of my vocal range however, I would struggle with the articulation as the lyrics were sung at a fast pace so that was something I had to work on over the weekend. Today, I listened to the song at home and practised singing tongue twisters in order to relax my lips and sing the fast paced lyrics clearly.

9th May
Today I did a 15 minute warm up and practised all three of the songs that the band had given me to learn. I noticed that I was no longer struggling with the second song which was originally slightly too high for me but I had been able to sing through the song without having to clear my throat or drink loads of water in between the breaks.

10th May
Again I did another 15 minute warm up and practised all three of the songs. The third song I was struggling with in terms of learning the lyrics as it was too fast. So I just read over the lyrics and practised saying them rather than singing them which started helping me.

11th May
Today we had to perform in front of the class therefore I made sure I drank a lot of water and over the weekend I had found that the second song was becoming a lot easier to sing as I had consistently practised and sang songs in a higher range which had helped my vocals become accustomed to the effort I had to put into the songs. I managed to perform both songs comfortably without damaging my vocals.

13th May
Today I had chosen the song I wished to be recorded of me singing for my instrumental studies. After doing some browsing, I had decided to stick to the same artist but a different song as it would be more effective for me as I would be able to compare the changes to my singing. After a 5 minute warm up I practised singing warm water and had decided to do it without any music.

19th May