Raise the Bar
RAISE THE BAR
We often talk about "raising the bar," but which bar? The traditional meaning of "raise the bar" is to "raise the standards that need to be met in order to qualify for something." Nonetheless, it seems that when "raise the bar" is mentioned in rehearsal, singers believe it refers to elevating their best peformance.
Let's picture TWO bars - one lower, one higher. The lower bar represents the worst possible performance by a singer. The higher bar represents their best performance. In between the two bars is a range. My contention (and what I message to my singers) is that the range (in a practical sense) will never change. I believe that that the only way to raise peak performance is to raise the lower bar. Then the entire range raises.
What raises the lower bar? The first/easiest way to raise it is to improve habits, saying "no" to certain practices or behaviors that undermine quality singing: bad posture, not tracking music, shallow breathing, lack of facial engagement. The second way is to integrate mastery of fundamental skills: counting rhythms, reading key signatures, practical use of solfege, navigating vocal breaks, etc.
Choir Bites Interactive Slides can enhance online/hybrid lesson plans or be used as supplemental assignments. Your singers’ awareness will rise as they engage with these simple, “sticky” concepts! Click here to learn more!
Raising the lower bar is like building a scaffold, layer by layer. The lower bar is the scaffold on which you stand. Your best performance is as high as you can comfortably reach. The improvement of habits and mastery of skills is like building the next highest scaffold. When that layer is solid, you can climb up and stand firmly on that training. You can't REACH any higher, but the raised scaffolding ELEVATES you higher. Fantastic singers aren't more talented, but have built taller scaffolding. After lots of training, the level of their worst performance is higher than non-trained singers. This ties in with the old addage, "An amateur practices until he gets it right; a professional practices until he can't get it wrong."
And so it goes that the best place to start on your way to the top is at the bottom - by raising the standards of what is acceptable, forming great habits, and integrating skills as you scaffold upward.
