New Year's Resolutions for Singers - It's never too late to move your career forward!

By Audition Oracle – Mon 8 Jan 2024 @ 9:01

New Year's resolutions for singers

The decorations are down and you've eaten all the leftovers, now what? It's the first Monday of the first full week of 2024 - the perfect time to get started with your New Year resolutions! Make today count. Take a step, no matter how small, to move yourself towards your career goals.

1. Learn a new role:

Resolution: Learn a new operatic role.

Action Steps: Choose a role to master, create a schedule and commit to learning it in its entirety. Make 2024 the year you are ready to say ‘yes’ and jump in. 

 

2. Language Proficiency:

Resolution: Improve language skills to enhance communication and expression in different operatic languages.
 
Action Steps: Take language lessons, practice diction exercises, and immerse yourself in the cultural context of the languages used in your repertoire. Download Duolingo – it’s free and always in your pocket.
 

3. Learn to play the piano 

Resolution: Work towards a side career in singing teaching by improving your piano skills.
 
Action Steps: 20 mins of piano practice a day to gradually grow your piano skills.
 

4. Don’t like the term network? Build your community:

Resolution: Expand professional connections and presence within the opera community by contributing to it.
 
Action Steps: Attend industry events in person and online, celebrate friends and colleagues in their artistic projects, and share your enthusiasm and passion for yours. Join professional organisations to stay visible and updated on opera auditions and opportunities.
 

5. Recording and Self-Assessment:

Resolution:  Record yourself at every opportunity, listen back and make friends with your voice.

Action Steps: Review recordings objectively, and seek feedback from trusted mentors or colleagues to refine your skills. Take note of the areas that are working well and expand out from there to bring that same polish and consistency to your whole performance. Be kind to yourself and your voice. Finished is better than perfect.
 

6. Mindfulness and Mental Well-being:

Resolution: Prioritise mental well-being and mindfulness to manage performance anxiety.

Action Steps: Mental health and singing influence each other so much. Never underestimate the powers that meditation, breathing exercises and mindfulness can have on your self-esteem, and alongside that, your singing. Choose one practice to incorporate into your daily life. Do seek support from a mental health professional if needed.