How to Practice Singing When You’re Busy (Even If You Only Have 10 Minutes)

If you’ve ever felt guilty for “not practicing enough” for a voice lesson you’re not alone. Between school, work, family time, caregiving, and the insane pace of modern life, our days are FULL. Without long, uninterrupted blocks of time to sing, it’s easy to assume that you’re not disciplined enough, you lack motivation, or that you’re just too busy to make progress. 

In reality, singing practice should be fun, creative, and relevant to our lives. Finding small, consistent, creative practices that connect us to our voices can add immeasurable joy to our lives. And best of all, even 10 minutes of intentional singing can create real, lasting vocal change.

In this post, you’ll learn how to practice singing when you're busy and leading a full life. We’ll look at what actually counts as practice when time is limited, how to use short windows effectively, and how to stay connected to your voice on the busiest days–without burning out or feeling like you’re falling behind.

Defining What Counts as Singing Practice

If you only have 10 minutes in your day to practice singing, it helps to understand what counts as practice and why so that you can use your time well.

To make a long story short, we practice so that we can build reliable, desirable, repeatable habits. We do this through effective, mindful singing and visualization (more on both of these later).

Though repetition is a key component of practice, mindlessly repeating technical drills is ineffective. It’s the quality of practice that matters most, particularly if you only have 10 minutes. Practice must be directed towards a purpose (goal) in order to move you in the direction you want to go.

Deliberate practice, or practicing with intention, determines the quality of our practice. We don’t need to carve out hours and hours a day in order to improve our singing. In fact, there are probably plenty of times that already exist throughout your week where you can add in a dose of intention and make it count as practice. If you only have 10 minutes, you really can make it count.

Let’s put this into the context of actual, busy lives, using KISS as our guiding principle.

The KISS Principle: Keep It Simple, Singers!

When it comes to singing practice, I can say from firsthand experience that keeping it simple is your golden ticket. Here’s how this works:

1. First, start with what you already have.

Take stock of your musical life as it is right now, and identify times and places where singing already shows up. Do you sing in a chorus? Do you sing in the car or the shower? Do you have rehearsals for a show? Do you get songs stuck in your head? These are prime opportunities for practicing, and they don’t require you to add anything else to your busy schedule.

Driving safety comes first! If you have long commutes, singing with intention in the car counts as practice.

2. Next, choose ONE intention.

Remember, deliberate practice is key. Decide what vocal skill or aspect of the music you want to improve, and use exercises or strategies that support the intention. Make it simple and specific. For example, decide if you want to smooth out your voice breaks OR if you want to expand your vocal range, but avoid trying to accomplish both at once. Allow your attention to rest on one thing at a time, and you’ll get farther faster.

3. Create in the cracks.

I love the expression “creating in the cracks,” coined by oboist, author, and coach Merideth Hite Estevez. It means finding and using the unexpected and imperfect moments throughout your day for creativity. 

For example, can you spend 5 minutes singing your song with full character commitment in the carpool line? Or could you observe the ring in your voice when you sing in the shower, and notice the corresponding engagement in your abdomen?

The inherent creativity (and relevancy to your life) in this approach increases the likelihood that you’ll practice again in the near future, which then boosts your chances of long-term skill retention. 

There’s also scientific backing to creating in the cracks. Lynn Helding summarizes this research in chapter 4 of her book The Musicians’ Mind: practicing for shorter stints of time sprinkled throughout the day (distributed practice) is more effective for lasting learning than practicing for one large block of time once a day (massed practice).

In other words, practicing for three 10-minute increments throughout the day will be more effective than practicing for one 30-minute session.

If you feel concerned that your 5- or 10-minute practice sessions will always be taken up with warming up, I encourage you to check in with your voice teacher about the most effective vocal exercises for you. Not every vocal exercise is a warmup, and we don’t always need to start singing sessions with a traditional warm up.

4. Remember, start simple, and gradually build to complex.

When you only have 10 minutes, don’t start with the hardest part of your song. Instead, identify what feels accessible, comfortable, and consistent in your voice, and then gradually build into more complex tasks. Keep it interesting and varied for yourself. If we can live in the zone of desirable difficulty, we maximize long-term retention of new skills. This means our practicing should feel neither too hard nor too easy, but just right.

Here's a 50-second snapshot of my vocal warmup earlier this month. Notice how simple and gentle these exercises are.

A Simple 10-Minute Singing Practice

Looking for a specific map? Here’s a sample practice with suggested exercises you can adapt to your voice and life.*

1. Mind-Body Arrival (1-3 mins)

   1. Massage and/or stretch

   2. Dance to your favorite song

2. Simple, buzzy sounds (1-2 mins)

   1. Hum, lip trill, glides, etc.

   2. Start to sense into your instrument, using touch & visualization

   3. Keep it slow & simple

   4. How is your body?

3. Favorite vocal exercise (2-4 mins)

   1. Scales, triads, sirens, etc.

   2. Find a way to vary it (ex. range, tone quality, emotion, rhythm, etc.)

4. Song (4-5 mins)

   1. Speak the lyrics

   2. Use different voices or emotions

   3. Full character commitment

   4. Draw the phrases

You can (and should!) incorporate strategies from your voice lessons, as well as combine almost any portion of the ideas above to suit your needs. Hum to your favorite song, dance while singing scales, sky’s the limit! The more creative you are, the more meaningful your practice will be.

If you’re looking for more ideas, Jenevora Williams has a wonderful article on how to practice and a whole YouTube channel with videos related to effective singing practice.

*Curious to create a practice routine tailored specifically to YOU? Snag 10% off a Drop-In Lesson using the code BLOG at checkout!

How To Stay Connected To Your Voice On Busy Days

We all have those days where we have back-to-back meetings, the kids are sick, we end up on hold with the health insurance company for an hour, or we’re simply exhausted. There’s no perfect formula for staying connected to your voice on busy days, but here are 5 ideas to keep in mind:

1. Return to your body.

Your whole body is your instrument, which means that energy and exhaustion show up in your singing. If you’re feeling especially tired, take extra time with your physical warmup, breath work, or movement practice. It’s tempting to want to skip the body work when you’re super busy, but spending extra time with your body will translate to more freedom in your voice.

2. Not everything needs to be Hard Work.

The neuroscience is clear: learning through play creates neural connections much faster than repetitive, boring drills. I’ve seen this time and time again in the voice studio: if students are laughing, they’re learning. Your singing practice is allowed to be joyful!

Similarly, artistry and expression ARE technique. From the moment we’re born, our voices communicate something to the world–and this never changes. The more you can infuse your singing with expression (character, subtext, mood, color, etc.), the more likely your voice is to coordinate efficiently, the more you’ll maximize long-term skill retention, and the more likely you’ll be to practice again (because it was fun!). 

This post has 5 easy and FUN ways to bring whole-body singing into your next 10 minutes of practice.

3. Speaking can serve as practice.

Your speaking voice and your singing voice are the same voice, which means that what shows up in one will show up in the other. On those extra busy days, speaking can serve as another opportunity for practice. Check in with your breath, your physical habits, or your resonance as you speak throughout the day.

4. Listen to music & visualize yourself singing.

Actively listen to music throughout your day, whether on your commute, in the carpool pickup line, or while folding laundry. Mentally sing along with the recording, breathing exactly where you would if you were singing out loud. Listen for nuances in the singer’s vocal expression or surprising moments in the instrumentation. When we imagine the physical act of singing, it fires the same neural networks as when we actually sing out loud (albeit with a lower voltage). All of this will add richness to your next out-loud practice session.

5. Most importantly, YOU ARE ALLOWED TO REST!

There are some days where singing practice just isn’t going to happen, and that’s ok! Rest is a critical component of learning, so without it, all the singing in the world isn’t going to help. Rest aids in muscle and tissue repair, memory consolidation, and cognitive development. You may find that your singing feels easier after stepping away from it for a bit.

Just as the busy seasons of our lives ebb and flow, so will our singing. And singing will always be there for you when you’re ready.

10 Minutes Is More Than Enough

Busy singers, take heart: small, consistent vocal practice creates real, lasting vocal change. When you show up and lead with intention, you can get a lot done in only 10 minutes! 

If you’re ready to make singing an integral part of your life–or if you’re ready to flip the script on practicing–Susan Davies Voice Studio can support you. Check out our FREE online workshop, The Art of Practicing, on Thursday, February 5, 2026, or email susan@susandaviesvoice.com to begin your singing journey.