[Vocals and First-Year Students] 13. Daily Routine Every Day

*This content was translated by AI.

Eight hours a day, 40 hours a week. This is the legal standard for working hours.

I suddenly had this thought: To become a professional and build a career, shouldn't one sing for as many hours a day as office workers do when they go to work—eight hours?

Of course, one does not sing for all eight hours straight. In the realm of vocals, there are more tasks to be done than one might think. Vocal exercises, pitch and solfège, rhythm practice, pronunciation practice, ear training and copying, playing an instrument while singing, harmony practice, recording, and microphone usage. Singing is not simply the time spent performing a song; it is the result created by all these elements combined. Ultimately, all these processes must be designed as a single routine. And that design must be optimized by oneself for oneself.

Musicians who play instruments typically spend about two hours a day just warming up their hands as a baseline. On good days, that time can extend up to four hours. However, the atmosphere for vocal training is somewhat different. Perhaps because emotional expression is considered significant, there is often a tendency to wait for one's condition or mood rather than focusing on practice.

I once heard this saying:

Do not go searching for your muse; instead, tell your muse when it should arrive.

When I was a first-year student in practical music, my classmates and I always wanted to know how to improve quickly. We would ask about secrets to hitting high notes, R&B lick practice methods, and ways to perform well. At that time, the professor listened for a while and then said, "Try doing it for three hours every day without missing a single day for three months. Your vocal tone will change." That was not the answer we wanted to hear at the time. We wanted a way to get there quickly. Won Haet-neun-de (Prof.) taught us how to build a solid path that does not develop sinkholes. It seemed the slowest path at the time, but as time passed, it turned out to be the fastest.

In my favorite movie "Billy Elliot," the film ends with a scene of the boy, who loved ballet, leaping onto the stage, hinting that he has already become a professional, with his back muscles firmly developed. It is a moving scene where talent, effort, and time converge.

Singing may begin with talent, but it is sustained through routine. And from the moment a routine is established, singing is no longer a vague realm but a manageable skill.

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*This content was translated by AI.