I am a great fan of rehearsing music while sitting down.

However, I am a great believer in the benefits of standing and moving around while rehearsing music as well.

Sitting down, you can concentrate on the actual notes in front of you.  Your body and your brain are not otherwise occupied trying to keep you upright.  The only thing you have to concern yourself with is getting the notes (and rhythm) right.

However, no matter how great your sitting posture is, you are not going to have any true idea of where the music sits in your voice because you can’t power up that diaphragm and your lungs are still going to be a little under-inflated.  (Insert big boobs joke here.)

People would ask me why they had trouble singing songs that they had rehearsed and rehearsed.  First thing I’d ask – did you practice it in the car?  Almost always the answer was, “yes.”  Well, once you’re out of the car and standing up, it’s a whole new can of worms.  Also the acoustics out of the car are going to be way different.  It’s not going to sound the same – even to you.

Sitting is fine for the actual learning the words and notes, but to truly put it together, you have to put it on its feet; or more accurately – put you on your feet. 

The times you get to perform a song while sitting are few and far between. 

Okay, unless you are playing Gordon in A New Brain.  That’s an example where almost everything is sung, laying in bed, sitting in bed, sitting in a wheelchair, or laying on the floor!  You must admit that it’s not your usual leading man role.  (In case you don’t know the show, check it out.  It’s terrific and I was spectacular (as Gordon’s mother) in it.

You need to get all the parts of your body used to standing and moving while you are singing.  You need to get your brain accustomed to this particular kind of multi-tasking.  And you need to do it enough so that when you perform, it feels natural. 

It’s harder than you think. 

But you can prove it to yourself by observing your performance of a song at the first rehearsal and the performance by the last rehearsal.  Practice may not make perfect, but it does make better.