DDP's Maxims and Singing

 DDP has lots of maxims.  He says them in his workouts.  He says them in his books.  He says them when he's being interviewed.  You can apply DDP’s maxims to any aspect of life, but I feel that there is particularly direct relevance when it comes to singing.  

“Never underestimate the power you give yourself by believing in YOU.”

My belief in myself is directly related to my singing ability.  The second that belief falters and I feel unsure of myself, it is reflected in my voice - weak, timid, shaky.  It’s neither pretty nor powerful, which is what I strive for. Conversely, when I’m feeling relaxed and fearless, it’s evident in the quality of my voice.  The voice is SO personal, much more so than other instruments that I have played.  It feels like a more direct judgement on me personally if my audience likes/dislikes my sound.  Maybe a better/more experienced singer can hide their hesitation when they sing, but I’m not there yet.  Developing technique and strengthening my abilities through daily practice is the key to having unshakable belief in myself. 

"Consistency over time delivers results."

This is 100% the case with any focused musical practice.  I don't have to have faith in this idea because I already have proof that it's true.  Growing up, I became a skilled violinist.  Even though I wasn’t the best, I didn’t doubt my talent, skill, and potential.  So I know that if I put the work in with singing, I can be sure that I will get results even I can't always see the progress from day to day.  However, from week to week I can usually see at least slight progress.  From month to month, the dedication that I have put into practicing shows.  When I think about where I am now versus exactly one year ago when I started my lessons - I'm so proud of what I've accomplished, and I can't wait to see where I'll be this time next year!  

"Own your breath."

Singing is a significant step that I took towards owning my life, long before this challenge started.  I’d been in the dumps due to my job/commute and worried about my lack of inspiration to exercise. If you want to sing, you MUST work on owning your breath.  No wonder it has lead to a cascade of increased motivation and accomplishment in my life including resuming DDPY.

In my most recent lesson, my teacher said “Singing is exhaling.”  All of us who do DDPY understand that there is a more specific method to breathing than just the day to day unconscious in and out, and that we can apply this breathing to ANY difficult situation.  But singing requires an even more focused attention to one’s breathing technique than DDPY.  After a year of voice lessons, my understanding of the specific type of breath control for singing still feels rudimentary.

"Repetition is the mother of learning."

YES.  Especially when it comes to musical practice, you aren't just going to nail it the first time around.  Hell, you might not even understand it the first time around.   I can't count the times that Paige has had to repeat something over the course of several lessons in order to help me to absorb it.  When I'm practicing, I have to do something over and over and over not only until I get it right once, but until I can get it right every time and I understand how it feels.  Even then, I often forget again when I try to incorporate something new because doing two things, three things, 5 things, ten things at once is not easy, and there are a lot of things to remember when you're learning to sing!  It's a layering process that's more like a spiral where you revisit things over and over as you rise up rather than a straight line of progress. 

 

"Don't just think it, ink it."

I'm a huge believer in writing things down too.  Any time I'm trying to learn something, I take copious handwritten notes.  I'm in the middle of an online college-level music theory class – you guessed it – notes for days. 

Taking good notes helps to cement learning into your brain.  When I was a teacher, I insisted that my students take notes.  When I was a kid, and I was having trouble with my parents, I would write these long letters to sort out my feelings. At work, when I’m training new-hires on our patternmaking and product life-cycle software, I insist that they also take notes.  I take notes about what to do with my articulators (lips, teeth, jaw, soft palatte, tongue) in order to correctly vocalize phonemes.  I make notes on how to transition between phonemes.  I write down my long term and short term singing goals.  These blog posts help me to sort out my feelings and ambitions.  It doesn’t hurt that I majored in English and Creative Writing in college. 

This doesn't just apply to words though - I write out melodies (using standard musical notation) and highlight specific phonemes on my lyric sheets.  I have a little rubber piano keyboard stamp that I use to learn piano chords and inversions in order to accompany myself better. 

“If you say you can or you can’t, you’re right!” 

And last but absolutely not least.  The first time I ever heard this was actually from my mom when I was in high school.  She said a friend of hers said it to her.  It’s something I’ve carried with me ever since.  It has helped me through my life to maintain my belief in myself even when other people doubt me.  Now, if I think “I can’t do that”, mental autocorrection is almost inevitable because this phrase is now always somewhere near the forefront of my thinking due to hearing it from DDP all the time.  It makes me think , "Is that really true?  Or is it my attitude that it is holding me back here?" 

It’s like he says, “Repetition is the mother of learning,” and its why he repeats these phases so much.  I know I sound like I’m drinking the kool-aid, and if you were thinking that about me, you’re absolutely right.   Hearing these messages daily propels a mental reset.  I want to be proud of myself and the effort that I've put into owning my life at the start of my 40's.  I want to feel certain that I am doing everything I can to live the life that's worth owning.