“What if you could easily learn the tools to be a
BOLD communicator? - Singing or Speaking...”

Sound is vibration; sound has to vibrate to stay alive, so any tension living in a singer’s instrument (body) interferes with the sound. Unfortunately, we have some pretty strange concepts – that in general we are unaware of – that interfere with the free flow of sound and artistry when we are singing.

Ideally, we want breath and sound to move through the body with freedom, abandon and most of all, energy. The unfortunate concept that I see all the time in my voice clients is that they feel they must use effort to create a great sound instead of energy.

Singers are usually perfectionists – I’m a recovering perfectionist myself. In the pursuit of perfection (which does not exist) you try harder and harder. I say to a client, ‘ that’s it! That’s the easy release of breath and sound you want.’ And you know what s/he usually does? Tries harder to do it more correctly, thus undoing the wonderful release of energy by replacing it with effort.

Effort involves tension in the body. Energy flows through the body. Effort holds, energy moves. Effort strangles creativity; creativity is energy.

If listening to your iPod was all you craved, why go to a live performance? You are seeking the energy that the performer gives to the audience.

The human body is a perfect musical instrument. The human voice is capable of responding to music without conscious thought. An infant can imitate musical sounds on pitch and in rhythm because there is no filter yet that says singing is too difficult or you have to sound like a pop star.

Many people perform great feats of physical effort and mental gymnastics to do what they call singing. A grip of the throat, raising the chin, locking the jaw, holding breath, praying to the voice gods – and all of that occurs within a split second inhale! For some unknown reason a universal concept prevails that singing has to be something other than natural; that one has to do something extraordinary to sing. This concept is absolutely false.

Do you see pop stars singing with effort? Maybe. But believe me the good ones, the ones who are really singing and not lip-syncing to a track, the effort you see is part of the act and not a habit of sound production.

Great singing, great artistry happens when creativity, breath, sound and soul are flowing freely through the body. So forget trying hard, forget effort. Instead, do your best to create a free flow of energy through your instrument. Open the body on inhale, then do your best to keep it open – to let the energy flow through.

Without interference, the vocal folds adjust to pitch by responding to a signal from the brain. Without stopping the energy, the meaning of the song, of your words and the music will flow through you and out to your audience without effort.

This is easier said than done. To leave the body and soul open as you sing is very vulnerable. At first when letting go of the energy you may want to run and hide; you may feel like releasing even one bit more, will kill you but you won’t die – guaranteed. Keep your courage strong and give it a try.

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This entry was posted on Friday, October 9th, 2009 at 10:02 am and is filed under Singing Tips, Speaking Tips, Voice Lessons. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.