It’s been said that the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.
If you practice and practice but aren’t getting the results you want, you have to take a step back and analyze your actions.
As an example, let’s say that you are struggling with a high note.
Let’s take it back to the beginning of the phrase and explore what you have been doing leading up to that high note.
How did you start the phrase - did your low notes feel free, what did you jaw do, your tongue, how did you take your breath, what happened after you took your breath, what happened when you pronounced your consonants etc.
Finding the solution means going deep, going micro, FEELING it, really developing a mind-muscle connection and staying with the problem until you figure it out.
Maybe you’ll be able to figure it out quickly. Maybe you’ll need your teacher to help guide you through it. Maybe it will take weeks, dare I say years!
Maybe you’ll have to let it go for the time being because you realized that the underlying cause of the problem was something else entirely and you’ll have to work on that first.
Don’t lose patience or faith! Part of mastering something is discovering this cycle of a process; you fail, you learn, you correct, and you repeat!
Develop resilience! As you get better the problems will change but the process will not!
Every artist has to claim autonomy for the development of their instrument, their process, and their artistic vision.
Understanding and constantly evolving your own tools and processes also puts what others might have to teach you into perspective and allows you to evaluate it with a more discerning ear. And that is empowering - and in my opinion, that is one of the cornerstones of true confidence.
So don’t just hammer away at that high note - go on a journey of discovering of so much more than just how to sing it.
Don’t “fake it til’ you make it” - master your craft, be brave, go deep and detailed!