Practice Space Check-In: How Is Your Room Speaking Back?
Summer often shifts our routines—and with it, our practice spaces. Whether you’re singing in a sunlit living room, a vaulted church, a rehearsal studio, or a quiet corner of your home, the acoustics of the room inevitably shape your experience of your own sound.
This week, we’re inviting you to take stock: Where are you singing right now, and how does that space speak back to you?
Does the room amplify your resonance, giving you helpful feedback? Or does it dampen your sound, leaving you to rely more heavily on internal sensation and muscle memory?
Recent research into singers’ perception of their own sound in different acoustic environments suggests that while seasoned vocalists learn to rely on internal cues, the space still plays a significant role in how we self-monitor and refine our technique.
📸 Share a photo or description of your current practice setup.
🎤 What’s your space teaching you—or making harder to hear—this month?
5 replies
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tonebase singers see my practice space all the time, but I thought I would show you a different angle. To me, an ideal practice space must have a mirror, a piano and a music stand. Beyond that, it's a question of accessibility and preference - in the best case scenario, it will be a space you WANT to spend time in. I LOVE natural light, and I am fortunate enough to have a teaching studio/practice space that was designed to have a real indoor - outdoor feel. When I first moved into my home, this was just a hallway. I practiced in this hall for many years (and even taught lessons in that small space). When I had the ability to do a small remodel, I added a few feet to the space and created a wall that can open up - bringing the outdoors in. I love being in this little room. It's acoustically very live, so it's quite fun to sing in - and I don't tend to over work my instrument. The downside is ... it's VERY loud (or I'm very loud?? - LOL), so my family can hear me across the WHOLE house (lip trills are not the most pleasant sound). So I do have to plan my practice time - don't want to be too annoying with those high notes!
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I don't have a dedicated practice space, but depending on how many people are home, I will either practice in the bedroom, the living room, or garage. I've found the living room/ dining room to be the best acoustically, as the other rooms are totally dampened. But I don't always get to practice there. I'd love to find a dedicated practice space that has more resonance, since it generally makes it easier to sing and I think would feel more similar to how an amplified performance would feel. Practicing in a dampened room, it's harder to hear my own resonance so I might start to push the sound more than is necessary to get that feedback.
What I've actually found to be more challenging than the space itself is the "fear of being seen" or the self-conscious feelings that can dominate my headspace before I've even started to sing. It's hard to accept the idea of others around me hearing my practice, not just because I don't want to be disruptive, but rather I feel like my practice is a sacred, personal time for me that deserves its privacy. Maybe that's too idealistic but it's how I feel. This has been a major mental block for me that's prevented me from having a regular practice for years. It's only recently that I've decided to push through it, even though my voice still isn't totally relaxed when I do. I'm getting better at it, though!