So, when it comes to the psychology of singing, we have the emotionally over-sensitive camp, and the emotionally insensitive camp.
I’ve already highlighted that we need a balance, so where does the balance lie?
Here’s my take:
The problem with the over-sensitive camp is that it takes responsibility away from the singer, and stuff doesn’t get done – right?
And the problem with the insensitive camp is that it’s not respectful of how emotions affect our voices – right?
So here’s my advice and where I think the balance lies:
Be respectful of the fact that your emotions affect your voice… and sing anyway.
If you fall prey to the whole ‘my emotions hold the key, so I gotta solve them’ camp mentality, then you will go round and round and round in circles trying to fix an issue that may not even have an answer! And all the while you’re not actually singing, let alone enjoy singing and getting better at it.
If you fall prey to the whole ‘my emotions are my weakness, gotta ignore them’ you’ll end up just as frustrated… or worse, not even ENJOY singing because you’ve taken the joy out of it! Don’t do either of these things.
Respect and appreciate your emotions are always going to be a part of your voice… AND SING ANYWAY!
How do you do this?
Simple – set aside 20 minutes every other day or even just once a week just to sing through your favourite songs in their entirety.
Don’t second guess yourself while you’re doing it, don’t stop yourself, just keep going. Don’t try to work out whether you sound awful, or better or worse than last time, just do it, and enjoy it.
What?! Why should I do this? Why do you think I should ignore trying to figure out the ‘why’ behind my emotional state?
Because I don’t think worrying about the why will ACTUALLY benefit you in the long wrong (plenty of studies out there on the misapplication of worry). Like my blog article on the Quickest Route to Your Goal, I think there is a far quicker and more practically applied route to enjoying singing and unlocking the clamp that your emotions have on your voice. And I’ve got science to back me up! (that’s right! actual science!).
Scientific studies are plastered all over our newspaper and news sites week after week about the physical benefits of singing on our minds, how it releases endorphins that make us feel good (the same way exercise does), how it reinforces new neural pathways in our brains and can even rewire the brain. This stuff happens whether you want it to or not – it’s a biological response to the act of singing (in particular singing in groups).
So if you’re feeling down, and you start singing, you’ll release endorphins and feel better. If you do this regularly you’ll start to reinforce this behaviour in your mind and body and associate singing with feeling good. Speaking from my own experience, this can really alter your whole outlook on life and result in you being mentally empowered to actually change the circumstances that you earlier believed were holding you back from singing.
Just. Sing.
The take-home message I want you to absorb is this: just sing.
Stop over-analysing why the mess you find yourself in today is affecting your ability to hit that particular high note with power and clarity. Stop second guessing yourself or thinking that you’ve got to fix your life to fix your voice. It’s a tension we all have to live with. If we want to be better singers we need to take control of our voices, and simultaneously have fun with them.