Making a Summer Program: 6-Weeks
So, say you’re at that age where seemingly all of your friends are going to expensive summer programs. For whatever reason (money, time, experience, job security) you cannot take 6-12 weeks off to fly to some far away place and immerse yourself in your art.
Just so you know, this is OK. You are not the only one. These types of programs really are luxuries. I know plenty of people who picked up extra jobs - bartending, teaching, working late nights in restaurants, all in addition to a regular day job - and they still couldn’t make their summer program dreams come true. What is true is this:
You still have the time, unless you choose to give it up.
Just because your summer program plans fell through doesn’t mean you get to take the summer off. When something like this happens, we need to work harder to stay in shape, or we will fall behind in our vocal and artistic development. If there is not a program waiting for you, please try to make one for yourself.
A major summer program can set you back a month or two of rent, 6+k in tuition, and the opportunity cost of not getting paid for that time. That’s a lot of money, especially for a musician. As a young professional, you should aim to create a program that is cost effective and gets your where you need to be.
Let’s plan a 6 week summer “intensive” just for you:
What you need to prepare before you begin:
1) An up-to-date resume
2) A language learning center
Download Duolingo
Rent or Purchase a Language Textbook
Create a language media list (movies, documentaries, operas, etc)
3) Scores/Photocopies (ALL of the music you intend to work on in this period)
4) $$$ (more on that later)
What you need to schedule:
Semi-Weekly Voice Lessons : You should be checking in with your teacher twice a week. Talk to them about your plans to create this intensive for yourself. I’m positive they will be supportive of you through this process! Dramatic Coaching :
You should seek out a coach who works with the opera companies near you. You are not looking for a diction musical coaching, but somebody who will make you delve deep into the drama of your music. If you have friends in the area, see if you can arrange for a longer session, hire a pianist, and develop your own performance seminar. This can help cut some costs, get you singing in front of people, and help you learn more by watching others learn.
Alexander Technique: Seek out an Alexander Technique teacher near you. They can be a bit pricy, but they work best when you have regular sessions. Keep a journal as you go through this process – body alignment is a worthwhile pursuit, especially as a singer.
Language Learning:
This one has a few parts: 1) Duolingo: Set yourself goals on daily usage of Duolingo. Do not slack on this – it is only a six week period, you can prioritize language learning in this time. Challenge your friends if you need motivation!
2) Write sentences. Find the 50 most common verbs in the language you are working on (lists are available on line, or borrow a textbook from the library) and write 3 sentences for each verb. Be creative, look up words you don’t know, and have fun with it. Write about the things around you, daily activities – or let yourself live your fantasy. Language learning works best when we are both translating and generating language.
3) Watch/Listen to Media. Find operas where the title roles are sung by native speakers. Watch some Romantic Comedies. News Clips. Even some video games have options to change the spoken language now. There’s no reason to listen to English all day!
4) If you’re not very good with languages, meet with a language tutor twice a week. This will hold you more accountable for your learning, but adds more time and money commitment to the program.
Musical Coaching:
You should probably redo your audition package. This doesn’t necessarily mean “throw everything away and start over”, but it does mean you need to find something new in the repertoire you are singing. Meet with a coach for the 6 weeks, once a week. See if you can find somebody who coaches (especially diction) at the local opera house, someone who conducts opera, etc. These coachings are for your own benefit, but you are also showing your professional side to a respected individual in the industry. Make it count!
PS: If you are happy with your audition package, why not learn a new role during this time? Or a song cycle you'd like to record?
Daily Yoga/Gym Routine:
Develop a daily yoga practice. Yes, you may need to go to yoga late at night or early in the morning. Many studios offer unlimited 2-week trials for new students, and heavily discounted monthly passes. Most studios charge around $150 for a monthly pass, so even a two-month commitment isn’t so bad. Try some yoga videos online before this process begins to get used to using your body regularly. If you don’t think daily yoga is not possible for you, look at least to purchase a gym membership during this time and devote an hour a day to the gym.
Recital: Show the world what you’ve been working on. Keep active on social media, talk about the process you’re going through, and present that work at the end of the program. Do a full recital if you want. Maybe share the recital with a friend (like a gym buddy, but a practice buddy) and you can each put your audition arias in front of the world. Invite friends, families, and community members. Just, please, end this process with a performance, pat yourself on the back, have a beer, and keep on keeping on!
Do I really have time for this?
We should not ask ourselves “if we have time for this”. We should ask ourselves :
“Will I prioritize these activities in my life?”
There are 168 hours in a week. If you sleep 8 hours a night, that’s 56 hours taken up, giving you 112 waking hours.
These activites come out to around 15 hours of work a week. If you tack on a 30-minute commute to each destination, that’s about 27 hours a week. If you work full time (40 hours), this means that after all is said and done you have 45 hours of “free time” left over. You can make this happen. You have the time. You only need to create priorities.
That could mean you day could be waking up at 6:00 AM to get to the 7:00 yoga class so you can get to your day job a 9:00. Then working with coaches after work from 6:00-9:00, going home, working on duo lingo for 20 minutes, and going to bed. You’re also going to need to use your weekends. But that’s ok – this isn’t an intensive for no reason! You may not have much of a social life during this period (but don’t worry, you’ll be networking plenty) – but if you’re the type who needs social activity, try and schedule that into your routine. The last thing you need is a night out with friends, making you skip a day at the gym, and then having a tired voice in a lesson, so you skip your daily practice session....so on and so forth.
Here's an accountability chart to help keep you on track:
How much will this cost?
So, we all know training doesn't come cheap. But hopefully this program will provide you with a quality program that gets you more involved in your local community, helps you blossom as an artist, and also puts you in a great place to hit the audition circuit next year. I've broken down the expected costs a few ways, estimating prices at the high, middle, and low end. I've also included estimated prices where a tutor has been hired twice a week and as well as estimated prices without the tutor.
Estimated Total Cost (Average - Low - High): 3,090 - 2,110 - 4,070
Estimated Total Cost with Language Tutor (Average - Low - High): 3,870 - 2,590 - 5,150
These prices are based various values found in the Boston Metro Area. Prices may vary where you are from. Here are the values I used, feel free to modify them as needed. Now let's get to work!
