One of the things I regularly discuss with clients is how a huge proportion of voice training, is actually ear training.
Sure, we are looking to train our body and voice to operate in more refined and better ways, and in this regard it is undoubtedly a physical/physiological endeavour.
However, we cannot hope to program our body in more refined ways, unless we know what we are aiming for, unless we have a target to shoot for. The more refined and clearly defined that target is, the better we can hit that target.
But there’s a problem with this target.
This target is not visual like an archery target, nor is it numerical like a mathematical or financial goal. The target is aural, and we can’t see it, touch it or measure it in any helpful way.
The only feedback about our accuracy that we get is from our own ears and bodies. Our brains then have to interpret all that data, and decide how accurate we were with hitting the intended target.
Two challenges present themselves
Even before we consider the physiological aptitude that we have, our ability to do great singing is therefore dependent on two main things:
1) What we hold in our heads as the aural target we are aiming for; and…
2) Our ability to accurately interpret what we are doing, and to compare that against the aural target
Without a robust understanding of the precise sound we are aiming for, all the aptitude in the world will only get you so far. This is one of the reasons singers with exceptional instruments derail their voices early in their career. Their aptitude is high, but the aural target in their head they keep aiming for isn’t right, and is unsustainable.
Similarly, if someone’s ability to self-monitor what they are doing is inaccurate, even if they immerse themselves in all the greatest voices to create a robust mental model of that aural target, they will be unable to hear that they are off-target. Practice that is technically consistent with that target is therefore extremely important, otherwise we’ll be improving physical aptitude, but not necessarily achieving a better sound.
About 75% of all sessions with clients is spent doing physical things – exercises, songs, etc. But underneath all of the physical, I am trying to paint a more refined target in their heads, to build an increasingly detailed mental model for them to aim those exercises and songs at. This helps improve the first point.
Each session also forms a practice routine where I keep them on track to achieve that model, and importantly correcting them when they stray from that model (even when they think they are nailing it). This is what improves their ability to self-monitor, which addresses the second point.
All of this is ear training and brain re-wiring
Let me share with you a frequent comment I get from clients after just a few months of training, which tells you what this starts to add up to:
“Mark, I have a bone to pick with you…
This singer I used to love, I now can’t STAND listening to. Their voice sounds so different to what I thought it was, it’s nowhere near as good as I thought it was. And I can hear just how much better this track COULD have sounded”
Everyone says it a little differently, hence this is paraphrased, but this is a very common experience. The track has remained the same, the recordings of their favourite singer haven’t changed, but the singer’s ears and brain are now tuned in to hear so much more nuance and detail in singers and music.
Their favourite track still contains all the same aural information as before. But now they are able to perceive greater depth and nuance in the vocals, where they previously were ignorant of it.
Conclusion: THIS is how voice training changes your brain
The physical training is of course important. We absolutely do not get better without practice, I cannot possibly diminish that. But as people’s voices improve, I wouldn’t just say that the physical training goes hand in hand with ear training, I would say the physical training is led by that ear training. The more you can hear the minutiae, the more informed your ability to work on your voice and use your voice becomes.
That aural target we are aiming for? It’s a mental model we are trying to fill in with ever greater detail. That’s how we create a robust and precise target of what we are aiming for. The ability to hear greater and greater nuance is what fills in that mental model, giving more shape and distinctiveness to the model, and more discernible features by which to orient ourselves around. This in turn improves our ability to self-monitor in our work on our voice, and to create that better quality with our own voice.
In contrast, if that aural target is coarse and unrefined in our heads, lacking clear landmarks for us to orient ourselves against, then our vocal ability will mirror this.
Want to improve your voice?
If this is something you’d like to explore for yourself, and hear your own voice and brain develop in this way, you can book in via my booking form right now.