When You Can Do It In The Exercise But Not In The Song
You nail it in the vocal exercise. Everything feels smooth, easy, and connected. But then you jump into the song… and it all disappears.
Sound familiar?
This is one of the most frustrating things singers experience—and you're not alone. That disconnect between exercises and songs happens all the time, even for advanced singers. So we sat down as a full team—me (Lara) with Coach Emily, Coach Juliana, Coach Bri, and Coach Kate—to break down exactly why this happens and what to do about it.
If you're someone who feels great in warm ups and exercises but struggles to carry those improvements into your actual music, this one's for you.
Why This Translation Is Hard
If you’ve ever nailed a vocal exercise, only to struggle with the exact same skill in a song… you’re not alone. That doesn’t mean the exercise didn’t work—it just means the transition isn’t complete yet.
Here’s what’s going on:
Exercises are simplified and specific. You’re working with one vowel, a predictable rhythm, and no lyrics or emotion.
Songs are complex. Suddenly there are words, phrasing, dynamics, range jumps, and feelings to manage.
All of that extra information can distract your brain and pull your focus away from the thing you just trained. So no—you didn’t “lose” the technique. You’re just adding layers before the foundation is fully locked in.
That’s why you need to build a bridge between your warm-ups and your songs—on purpose.
How to Bridge That Gap
This is where most singers get stuck. You feel it in the exercise, but you don’t know how to get it into the music.
Here’s what we recommend:
1. Isolate the technique inside the song
Take the exact part that’s giving you trouble and replace the lyrics with the vowel or syllable you used in your warm-up. For example, if you did “gee” or “mum” in the exercise, sing that on the melody line in your song.
2. Add Lyrics To Your Exercises
Just like you can take the sound of the exercise and add it into the song, you can take the lyrics of your song and create a vocal exercise out of it! This helps getting all the vowels and consonants out!
3. Simplify the phrase
Strip it back. Try slowing it down, removing vibrato, or speaking the rhythm. Make it so simple your brain doesn’t have to think twice.
4. Gradually re-add complexity
Once the technique feels stable, add back the lyrics or tempo piece by piece. Build it up layer by layer so you don’t lose the coordination.
“Think of it like training wheels—you don’t ditch them all at once. You take them off one at a time until the skill sticks.” – Coach Bri
These Exercises Automatically Bridge The Gap
When I first created Pop Song Exercises I made them to make practicing more fun for myself and for our students - that was the main objective. But not only are they more fun to practice, they are also designed to bridge the gap between vocal exercises and songs more easily! I took melodies and lyrics from an actual song and intertwined them with vocal exercises to create these Pop Song Exercises.
At this point, I’ve created almost 100 of these pop song exercises. If you want to check them out and exercise specific parts of your voice, you can find the playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLu-AX9181fPJ2V7cut_LFMqaW_NWil9QK
Please note: Because Pop Song Exercises are more complex than traditional piano exercises they are harder to get right at first - especially for beginner singers. When you’re learning a new Pop Song Exercise, please be patient with yourself!
Key Takeaways
If you can do it in the warm-up but not the song, you're not broken. Your brain just needs more chances to apply that technique in context.
Start by simplifying the phrase, keeping the vowel or the shape from the exercise, and gradually layering complexity back in. That’s how you build the bridge.
It’s not about trying harder—it’s about making smaller, smarter steps.
🎧 Want to hear the full coaching chat (and all four coaches’ tricks)?
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