Creative activity:

In this essay, I will be reflecting on my vocal practice as a contemporary singer. As a singer/songwriter I perform my own setlists of original material. Therefore, the creative activity I will ruminate on, will be my vocal practice routine, aimed at preparing a 30-minute set for a selection of performances, intended to promote my artistry.

My original sound is inspired by ‘Kate Bush’, ‘Alanis Morsette’, ‘Tori Amos’, and ‘The Last Dinner Party’. After analyzing the vocal similarities in timbre and technique between these artists, I was able to derive key learning notes to help guide me in achieving my goals. For example, these artists utilize controlled register flips, breathy/ vocal fry onsets and offsets as well as perform big open throat belting with expressive vibratos. All these techniques add character to the voice which is exactly what I strive to include in my singing for my original songs to set apart my sound as a theatrical artist.

Subsequently, over the last 3 months, I have set 3 key interlocking learning goals:

1. Improve dynamic control across registers so that quieter phrases are still resonant and theatrical climaxes remain healthy.
2. Integrate expressive phrasing with grounded technique so that emotional intent doesn’t compete with vocal mechanics. 
3. Achieve consistent breath support in order to sustain phrases without physical or audible strain.

My practice sessions consist of technical work (scales, breathing and registration exercises explored through a warm up), repertoire practice (focusing on phrasing, emotive intentions and contextual choices), recording and self-review. I will then repeat the final three step introducing me accompanying myself on the piano to see how my shared focus affects my singing. I try to apply this practice to my live performances; I will warm up with a ‘stretch and release’ sequence then record my whole set and review it.

 I have chosen Kolb’s Experimental Learning Cycle for my model of reflective practice (Mcleod. S, 2025) because singing is a highly practical and expressive skill. It’s all about actively ‘doing’ (singing) to stop and reflect whether you felt you did it right within yourself, as there is only so much you can learn through the visual elements of singing unlike if you were to play an instrument. For singing, you must make sense of your practice through theory and feedback and then experiment in the next iteration.

Kolb’s four stages:

1. Concrete Experience
2. Reflective Observation,
3. Abstract Conceptualization
4. Active Experimentation

Concrete Experience – The Doing

On average my creative practice lasts 70 – 80 mins. This is broken down into:

• Warm up and technique (aprox 20 minutes)
• Repertoire rehearsal (aprox 30 minutes)
• Documentation (aprox 15 minutes)

Warm-ups begin with a ‘stretch and release’ which involves standing with feet hip width apart, body relaxed. I then move my shoulders round in the biggest circle I can, noticing any points of tension and going over those bits. Then I do neck stretches, stretching one arm downwards and leaning my head in the opposite direction to the stretched arm while dropping the jaw like a zombie. I do this for both sides then pretend I’m chewing small and large toffees to exercise the jaw before rolling my tongue over every section of my teeth in a circle till I get tired. These are just a few examples of how I prepare my body to sing so that I am released of tension. This is because, I don’t want to waste energy on the parts of my body which are tense, when I could be redirecting it to help with breath control in my intercostal muscles. I then lie on the floor, hands on belly and feel where the air is being directed when I breath. When I know that it’s going to my diaphragm I start to make low ‘vvvh’ ‘thh’ ‘pfff’ and ‘zzz’ sounds on the exhale to slow exhalation counts to train rib expansion and breathing capacity. After, I progress to semi -occluded vocal tract exercises (lip trills and straw phonation) on a comfortable pitch range for 6-8 minuets, conducting through gentle slides to smooth my onsets and balance the airflow and phonation. I use descending fifths patterns on pure vowels to check passaggio transitions and to avoid sudden breaks. I will then sing vocal phrases using different voices and techniques to expand the versatility of my voice. For example, I will sing the same phrase in my:

• Head voice (with reduced density)
• clean chest voice (with fuller density)
• curbing voice (my favourite vocal mode)
• crooning voice (a preferred jazz technique)
• with vibrato, without vibrato

I will try to vary the dynamics also, challenging myself to sing loudly in my head voice (where I am naturally quieter because the sound is breathier) and quietly in my chest voice (where I naturally sing louder because of the stronger breath support from the stomach). (BBC Maestro, 2025)

After I will rehearse repertoire, approaching every phrase individually to consider the intention behind the lyrical context of the line, the breath placement and the type of voice and techniques I will be singing to capture the correct tone and depth which compliments the song.

During this process, I will be recording myself with my full body in frame to capture posture and jaw movement.

Reflective Observation – Reviewing

I will analyze my practice sessions in 2 parts: primary reflection (right after a run through) and secondary reflection (end of week review with recordings and feedback).  (Marcel, 2025)

Primary reflection is quick and sensation based in that moment. After a phrase or run through, I note whether I felt any tension in my body and if that was distracting from my singing. For instance, tension in my shoulders can lead to shallower breaths and harder exhales as tension travels from the shoulders to the chest to the throat, if not targeted and delt with. I also note any repertoire I didn’t execute well. It could be that I didn’t open my mouth wide enough, enabling for there to be more space in the back of my throat, which is essential for achieving higher notes which require greater breath control. Taking these little notes helps me to plan interventions: slower diaphragmatic breath before an exposed phrase, or a small grounding exercise to settle adrenaline and tension.

Secondary reflection is more deliberate. I listen back to recorded run throughs and annotate timestamps. I look for patterns of where I consistently lost support, or which phrases would sound better sung with a different voicing (curbed voice, head voice ect). I also watch to spot any posture deviations and tension changes within the body. I compare my performances from across the week to see if I am improving and if my alternations add to the song.

Talking to others is also important. I have a weekly singing lesson with a tutor. When I see him, I ask specific questions tailored to my reflection of myself that week. For example, I was struggling to get a pure, pleasant sound on the climatic high note of ‘Song A’. He instructed that I use my mix voice through applying twang and widening the space in the back of my throat on a ‘Hey’ shout. I would shout the ‘Hey’ to the pitch I was struggling with, then wobble the sound and finally sing the ‘Hey’ by holding the note.

Peer feedback is different. My friend once said that the trademark sound of my voice is made through my consistent use of vibrato. He said it made my voice stand out and enhanced the emotion in my songs. The language my peers use reveals how my choices land emotionally. Whereas my own feedback is more aimed at how I feel within my own anatomy.

Overall reflective observation allows improvements to come in small achievable steps rather than big leaps.

Abstract Conceptualisation – interpreting events and integrating theory

This is where I apply vocal and learning theories to points of focus. Several theoretical theories shape my vocal understanding. (Complete Vocal Institute, 2025)

• The concept of breath support through maintaining the appoggio.
• Vocal health – using necessary twang through narrowing the epiglottic funnel
• The Source Filter Theory; the concept of using an altering vocal tract to change tone, depth and resonance of the voice. Eg. Small vocal tract = lighter sound. Large vocal tract = darker sound
• The four vocal modes – Neutral, Curbing, Overdrive and Edge
• Applying Metal (Bright resonance, mix voice) and Density (chest & head voices)

From a technical standpoint, breath support isn’t just ‘more air’, it is the balance of diaphragmatic expansion and intercostal engagement to maintain controlled exhalation (your appoggio).  When I watched myself back and noticed breathy offsets, the likely explanation was my unversed appoggio (maintained breath pressure). To improve, I rehearsed breathing exercises, inhaling for 4 and exhaling for 8, then 16, then 24 then 32. This exercise helped to improve my breath capacity as well as experience tension release on the exhale rather than tension increase.

If I found my voice becoming strained for a climax section which falls on the boundary of my passaggio, I will add twang to relieve the pressure on my vocal cords. As someone who automatically sings in their fuller density chest voice, I struggle to find ‘twang’, therefore, I will apply my best baby voice and speak ‘mumma’ while holding the bridge of my noise. If my noise doesn’t vibrate under my fingers, I know I am applying ‘twang’ to the sound and not just using my nasal voice. This is a trick that my vocal tutor taught me. Once I’ve found the ‘twang’ I will practise singing with it administered within the repertoire.

The Source Filter Theory (30 Day Singer, 2025) is a theory I have only just come to know.  Although I use it all the time to change the tone in my voice, I never knew it was through changing the shape of my vocal tract. Being aware of how tones are created helps me monitor sensations I feel in my larynx while I’m altering the depth in my voice. As someone who likes to sing like Kate Bush, I like to experiment with many vocal timbres so being aware of this vocal theory has helped renew my understanding of my stylistic choices. It has also supported my understanding of the vocal modes and the specific anatomical alterations required for the ultimate modal sound.

Furthermore, knowing about metal and density vocal formats has expanded my head and chest voice knowledge. To sing in my head voice, I apply a reduced density (less supportive energy) creating a quiet restrained sound. However, my chest voice has a fuller density (with more support and dynamic intensity). The metal voicing is like a mix voice sound. It’s bright with added twang and resonance.

Active Experimentation – How to apply the learning

Active experimentation is turning my insights into a concrete plan.

6-week plan:

• Warm up (15 mins) -, 10 min stretch and release, 5 min twang experimentation (‘Hey’ exercise), 5 mins revising all the vocal modes, not just picking my favourites as I know I can already to those.
• Specific technique (10 mins) – Week 1 breath mobility, appoggio exercises (mentioned above) Week 2 vocal density experimentation (especially with reduced density as I struggle singing low in my head voice).  Week 3 singing scales in my ‘Neutral’ voice. Week 4 singing scales in my ‘Overdrive’ voice. Week 5 singing scales in my ‘Curbing’ voice. Week 6 singing scales in my ‘Edge’ voice.
• Repertoire (30 mins) Broken into phrase work and run-throughs. Phrase work uses varied contexts: slow tempo, fast tempo, different vowels and vocal expansion, sat down, stood up, accompanying myself on piano and not. I will do one full set run through twice per week, once with me playing the piano as well as singing.
• Documentation and reflection 10 mins – Record a quick audio clip, annotate one technical achievement and one expressive or technical choice to keep or change. Add one question for the next session.  

Targets

1. Stabilise breath support: sustain a chosen 16-bar phrase at both pianissimo and forte with less than 10% energy loss across three consecutive sessions.
2. Achieve modal proficiency: Sing a phrase while easily switching between the four modal voicings, understanding the different shapes of the larynx required to achieve the separate modes
3. Perfect my mix voice: Be able to easily add ‘Twang’ to a note at any pitch in my range.

 Conclusion

Through applying Kolb’s learning cycle to my singing practice, the invisible was made visible.

Concrete experience = Surfaced points I needed to target eg. Subtle tension

Reflective observation = Helped me to find physical patterns in my singing and use peer feedback and recordings to contextualise my voice from a third-party perspective and identify where problems lived.

Abstract Conceptualisation = Provided new knowledge and frameworks to work towards. Eg. Breath support, Vocal modes ect.

Active Experimentation = Provided a concrete plan with measurable targets.

Bibliography:

BBC Maestro, 2025, ‘Head voice vs chest voice: What’s the difference?’  BBC Studios Distribution

https://www.bbcmaestro.com/blog/head-voice-vs-chest-voice

Complete Vocal Institute, 2025, ‘Complete Vocal Technique’, Complete Vocal Institute

https://share.google/FtqUrZT0O6Rkl9O2q

30 Day Singer, 2025, ‘We studied vocal ANATOMY, what’s happening in there’,

Marcel. G, 2025, ‘Primary and Secondary Reflection’, Quizlet

https://quizlet.com/study-guides/primary-and-secondary-reflection-by-gabriel-marcel-f0601b88-cc5a-4afb-8c66-5f8e6971a768

Mcleod. S, 2025, ‘Kolb’s Learning Styles And Experimental Learning Cycle’ Simply Psychology

Kolb’s Learning Styles and Experiential Learning Cycle