What to Do When You Have to Learn a Role FAST

Here's what I do - in order.

Apr 15, 2025

1. Organize Your Score

I follow a very specific order for this.

First, I grab a coffee and a highlighter. My favorite? The erasable Frixion highlighters. Yes—erasable highlighters exist, and they will absolutely change your life.

Start by turning to the index and highlighting all the scenes you sing in. This gives you a visual of how much music you’re dealing with.
No index? No problem. I’ll explain what to do in a sec.
Next, highlight all of your lines in the whole opera. I usually do this while playing a YouTube recording of the opera in the background—it gets me in the vibe and makes the monotony a bit more enjoyable.
If your score doesn’t have an index, go ahead and create your own. Note the scenes and large sections organized by acts and page numbers.

Having a clear index is absolutely essential for what I call the Check and X System (more on that later). It's how I track where I am in the learning and memorization process.

2. Get Into the Text

Now it’s time to get completely familiar with the text.

The text has multiple aspects:

Emotional meaning
Contextual meaning

Both are supported by how we technically deliver it—through clarity of diction and affect (how we say it).

Don’t forget: always keep the purpose of the text in mind.

Some people translate the whole role in one go. Personally, I find that overwhelming—and overwhelm is the number one cause of my procrastination.

Instead, I go in sections of 2–3 pages. It’s motivating to finish a session with a sense of progress. In fact, this is super helpful if you’re feeling overwhelmed. Don’t think about learning the whole role—just learn 1–2 pages a day in a structured way. You’ll be surprised how fast you get to the end.

Here’s what that process looks like:

Step 1: Translate the text into your native language. (Even if it’s a language you’re comfortable with!)
Step 2: Mark in any important diction notes (I use IPA).
I like to mark things like double consonants, open/closed vowels, and whether the R is rolled or flipped.
I do all of this in erasable pen—my scores tend to look chaotic otherwise.

Then:

Step 3: Speak the text without rhythm.
Break it into phrases and write each phrase down several times.
Research shows writing helps memory retention—and I’ve seen this work for me and for colleagues.
After writing, get up and move—do your dishes, walk around, speak the text aloud. This is how you start internalizing it. Memorization needs time-space-repetition.

3. Add Rhythm

Once you’ve internalized the text, it’s time to add rhythm.

If the rhythm is straightforward, go ahead and layer it on.
If it’s complex, isolate and work on rhythm alone.

My method for tricky contemporary rhythms:

Use colored erasable pens to mark meter changes (squares for 4, triangles for 3, etc.)
Above each beat, draw horizontal lines. Subdivide where needed.
I speak the rhythms on an unvoiced “tss” sound with a metronome. This keeps my support engaged without using my vocal cords.

I also conduct myself during this step. It builds rhythmic awareness and conductor coordination from the start. If you don’t know how to conduct basic patterns, this is your sign to learn NOW.

Once you can “tss” in tempo, slow down the metronome and start speaking the actual text in rhythm.

If you’re working on an ensemble piece, sorry—but you need to know your colleagues’ lines rhythmically too. You don’t always need to learn their pitches, but you do need to know where you are at all times.

4. Learn the Notes

Unlike text, I don’t always learn pitches chronologically. Some sections need more love than others.

How I approach this depends heavily on the composer and style.

For Classical or Baroque (minus Rameau...)

If the music is relatively straightforward:

Listen to a solid recording or play through your line once or twice.
Try learning it in your imagination first with light humming.

Avoid hammering things into your voice. Your brain is the stronger muscle here. Learn to imagine a melody before you sing it.

For Contemporary or Challenging Music

What you’ll need: patience, breaks, and good sleep.

Work in tiny sections—sometimes 1–2 measures at a time.
Start by finding 2–3 places in the accompaniment where you can orient your starting pitch.
Ignore the accompaniment temporarily and write in a “ghost chord” to center your melody.

My trick:

Identify an anchor pitch—either the first tone or tonic of your ghost chord.
Then, start at the end of a phrase and work backward, singing interval by interval.

5. Add the Voice

By now, you should be able to imagine singing the entire role. Adding the voice is about fine-tuning—connecting your vocal technique to what’s already built in your brain.

This is where technical training meets imagination.

There will be sections that need more attention (endurance, high notes, passaggio nightmares, coloratura, patter, etc.). Only repeat full-voice passages when you really need to. Rely on your imagination and technical tools first.

If possible, add the voice with a coach or accompanist. It makes a difference mentally to hear your ideas come alive.

For me, this is always a milestone. You’re not at the finish line (spoiler: there isn’t one!), but at this point, you can be confident you’ll make it to the stage.

Now Add the Drama

You’re not learning a role just to sing correct notes and rhythms. You are telling a story.

Once the basics are learned, start adding clarity and intention to your work.

Here are a few prompts to get you thinking dramaturgically:

What lines move the plot forward vs. express emotion?
When do you say your name or another character’s?
Where is there irony?
Are you laughing?
Are you hiding something?
What are the composer’s stage directions?
Any poetic devices (alliteration, rhyme, etc.)?

Think about how to express all of this with your body and voice.

If You’re Not Memorized Yet, Try This

Keep writing the text in a notebook. Let the melody and rhythm join in mentally.
Take a walk. Speak your lines. Movement and oxygen are your friends.
Use spaced repetition. Do 10–15 minute sessions, then take 30–45 minute breaks.
Eat carbs. Sleep well. Memory needs fuel and rest.

On Recordings (Yes, I Use Them)

There’s a massive stigma in our industry about using recordings to prep a role.

I once made an Instagram post about this and got some critical DMs—mostly from dudes who, I’m pretty sure, have never pulled a 50+ performance season.

Rant over. But it’s relevant.

Recordings are a tool. Use them—but build your skills too:

Work from the score.
Practice your sight-reading, music theory, score-reading, and conducting.
But also: don’t let anyone shame you for doing what it takes to get the job done.

Sometimes the only way to prep for a jump-in is blasting a recording during a 6-hour drive.

We don’t live in an industry where everyone gets two years of supported preparation for a debut.

Also: for roles with a deep recording history (Lucia, Violetta, Rosina, Gilda…), you need to know what came before you. Listen to discover hidden tricks—cadenzas, modified vowels, ornaments. These are the singer secrets no coach or conductor will teach you.

The X System and the Shit List

It’s easy to lose track of where you are in the process when you’re building a new role. I use two simple systems:

✔️ The Check-and-X System

When I can sing through a page correctly with notes, words, and rhythm, it gets a check mark in the upper page corner.
When it’s memorized? I strike through the check to make an X.
Now I can flip through and instantly see where I’m at.

💩 The Shit List

A running list in my practice journal or on sticky notes.
List page and measure numbers that still need work.
Once you’re in production, this system saves you.

More on this in my Practice Journal Method (you can download it here).

Long-Term Skills That Will Help You Get Faster

These next tools won’t help you today, but they’ll pay dividends in thr future:

Build language fluency
Targeted vocal exercises (trills, coloratura shapes, etc.)- I discuss this a lot in my Practice Journal Method
During your down time- work on roles in your fach. This way, when they come for you, you already have the foundation built.
Practice visualization—use your imagination like a muscle

Learning is like strength training. You’ll feel resistance. That’s normal. When you’re worn out, rest. Then get back in and do another rep.

There Are No Shortcuts

Here’s the truth: there aren’t any shortcuts. But there are systems that make the work smoother and faster.

Get out of the planning spiral and start doing the work. Many of the tools here are the same strategies singers have used for generations. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel.

Experiment, but use this guide as a starting place.

Rehearsal Notes

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