We all know (or do we?) that the act of singing is created with our physical body, through the breath mostly. A good portion of vocalists and artists tend to bypass the action of warming up the physical body and think that they have to work extensively on conditioning their "minds" only to be ready to get up on stage. A good portion of vocalists and artists tend to warm up extensively but forget to condition the mind. The body and the mind both need to be conditioned and prepared so they can work closely together. If you let your body take care of the work with a mind completely empty of self-restrictions or fears, I can guarantee you that you will create a winning recipe for a healthy voice!
The key to singing freely is to find all the special ingredients that will pull you "into the zone" before practicing or performing in front of an audience. Your zone! This special place where you can feel at ease, confident and authentically yourself. Find those elements that make a difference into your practice and create a balance inside and out!
Here are 5 tips that I use to free my singing;
Create a singing preparatory routine
Have you ever installed yourself to practice after a long and stressful day without allowing your body, mind and soul to relax?
How did that go for you?
Raise your hand if you experienced any of the following;
Tensions, maybe even pain
Voice cracks
A “tight” throat
A limited and weak range
Shortness of breath
Anger, a lack of passion, depression, anxiety, overall disinterest...
If you recognize yourself in any of the statements above, then a preparatory routine is a must to help you connect and ground yourself before any singing takes place.
Having a preparatory singing routine allows one to become aware of the sensations, thoughts and feelings that arise during practice time or before a live performance. Don’t judge yourself. Simply notice, acknowledge and let it go. You will be able to come back to any of these thoughts in the near future if necessary anyways but just at a more appropriate time. This time is precious, this time is yours… It is now!
Creating a “singing ritual” for yourself could include, but is not limited to, breath work, light stretching, intention setting and gentle vocal warmups;
Choose a safe space, where you can be alone. Make sure you have time to commit to this ritual as it is your special time to ground yourself to condition your mind and body before singing. Establish the kind of ambience that will be needed for relaxation to take place.
Install yourself in a comfortable position and start with a couple of breathing exercises. Breathing techniques are amazing to create space in the body before any singing takes place. To stretch the lungs is an incredible feeling. It allows us to be centered and become conscious of our own needs. The breath is great to help with recognizing specific tensions or emotions that will most likely be expressed thus released and perhaps processed during rehearsal time or a live performance.
When noticing the parts of your body that are tensed; stretch them lightly. Breathe in deeply, let your body open, create space. Breathe out, let your muscles and tissues melt with each exhale. Generate a good “mind reset” through the breath, authorizing your body to relax and lengthen.
Focus on the sensations you are feeling. Give your mind permission to let go of what occurred during the day, focusing entirely on your breath and what you are feeling in this moment. Feel the positive energy enter your body by repeating a mantra or positive thoughts in your head.
Set a goal or an intention for your practice. Maybe even occasionally run through a meditation, a hypnosis session or a visualization to help you ground yourself.
When you feel ready and centered, do gentle vocal warmups. This will create warmth within and prepare your instrument; your voice. Respect yourself, refrain from jugging yourself and just ease in it gently. What ever happens, happens!
Your routine is; YOUR'S! You are the only one that knows, deep inside, what you need to reach your zone! Creating a routine is usually a very amusing thing to do so enjoy it. The personal power that can be drawn from choosing and establishing a routine is incredible. Keep at it and continue modifying it until it is perfect for you. Always be honest with yourself on what works for you and what doesn't. The intuition is usually moderately to extremely developed in artists so listen closely …
Here are a few questions that can help you with finding the type of routine that will suit your personal needs;
What allows you to eliminate stress effectively?
What allows you to truly be honest with yourself, to be and stay connected with your sensations, feelings and emotions?
What does your mind need in order to slow down?
What does your body need to eliminate muscular tensions?
Are your physical tensions related to a certain emotional state or an injury?
What location would allow you to feel comfortable while rehearsing?
How much time do you need to get "in your zone"?
I modified my personal routine many times before finding the perfect fit so take your time and try new things.
This is your precious time, take it and shine !
I am available if you need more guidance...
Physical exercise will promote a healthy voice
Through the years and personal experiences, it has become obvious to me, that a good dose of physical activity before singing is always beneficial and helps me with maintaining a good posture, promoting proper vocal hygiene. Moving around and heating up my body allows me to reinforce my voice by creating space for the breath to flow. Personally, I've had a major breakthrough when I started being physically active! My vocal capacities kept on improving day by day. I could feel my range expanding rapidly and I felt relaxed and calmer. Physical activity is great for releasing accumulated tension(s) due to repeated exposure to stress. An active life style boosts pulmonary functions and increases air flow within the body, freeing the mind and oxygenating cells!
Which ever physical activity makes you feel good and balanced, is the way to go! The tiniest of movement is good if you usually never move! So BE PROUD of what ever you do to become physically active, even if it's just talking THE walk you've been trying to push back all day. If you HATE sports, then go out with your closest friends and dance the night away if that makes you happy. It will make your heart beat and elevate your spirits!
Here are a couple of exercises that I enjoy particularly and that I have found paired amazingly with the art of singing;
Swimming
Hiking
Walking/Jogging
Yoga
Cardio HIIT Boxing
Interval training
Dancing
I found out that adding weights to interval training promoted core strength, pelvic and leg muscle growth as well as drastically improving cardio functions. Which is THE most important thing ever for singers! Those exercises all really helped me in achieving a fuller range. The hardest notes got easier to hit each and every single time my overall health improved. That when the entire process of the act of singing became way more enjoyable. I noticed my worries decreasing because I felt physically supported.
This beautiful journey of integrating movement in my life allowed me to discover that being active helps me in reaching some levels of confidence I had never experienced before. If just feels good to kick all of the stress out of my temple!
Let the FUN begin...
Create space within your body
By now, you will have noticed that stretching is in my opinion, an important component to a good voice. Stretch, stretch, stretch! Let your body expand, create space! Surrender and let go of this need you have to control all the notes you sing!
Allow your breath to "sit" on your diaphragm or solar plexus, relax, open your heart and your mouth and notice what happens. Have you observed a change in the tone of your voice? Did it feel good? Let them notes float on your steady, calm, breath! That's usually when all the right muscles get involved anyways. Creating space in the body drastically helps in turning the action of singing into a pleasant adventure absent of strains.
Yes, vocal exercises will help in reinforcing those natural movements that emotions create when expressing something, but keeping a relaxed and open body helps us with feeling and identifying where each sound bounces in our chests, hearts, throats, noses, mouths, heads… Relax your jaw, your scalp, your eyes, your throat, your tongue, your shoulders, your upper chest and back, your belly... Let the notes be "free" and bounce where they bounce and resonate where they resonate naturally. Let your “gut” support that action and guide you.
Know your aNATOMY
Do you know how your instrument works? Do you know how we speak, sing or create sounds? Acquiring this type of knowledge is essential. It will put things in perspective and will help create a healthy relationship of trust with the body.
This is one of the important key component of my teachings if ever your are curious.
Carve your own path!
I feel like having goals is an important part of creating a healthy singing practice. Having something you can visualize and wish for is always empowering. It helps with noticing what one has accomplished thus far and helps with remaining consistent. It allows one to work on the right things at the right moment to fuel growth. A nice reminder of all the hard work can truly be stimulating in darker times.
It is so easy to get lost in the practice so set a timeline for yourself with a long term goal at the end. Then, dress it up with the shorter term goals in between now and the long term goal. Create the plan that you dream of, the plan that will bring you where you want to be. What are the steps that are needed? If you can envision it and dream it, you can achieve it!
Create a clear vision and carve a solid path to walk on. Now don't get me wrong! You will still come across obstacles but at least, instead of getting overwhelmed you will know exactly what your next move will be…
Always, be gentle and patient with yourself
A very dear friend of mine once told me to always, always be gentle with myself! Being vulnerable is not a crime and is something beautiful. Our humanity is the main reason why we want to learn and grow. We want to become the best versions of ourselves and guess what? It's completely possible, If you keep patient, honest, positive and clear of self-judgement while singing!
For example, if you have done everything right, you start singing and you notice you really don't feel it... then be honest with yourself! These days can happen and it’s fine. Is it because your are sick? Is it because you are going through some hard ordeals? Or are all those excuses and you are unsure how to let go at the moment? Everyone is afraid, just remember that fear is an indicator that there is an opportunity to grow that is thrown at you and it needs to be grasped! If not today, that’s fine. Just make sure you get back at it and keep consistent.
Listen, if this was easy, everyone would be doing it. BUT, if it was as hard as you currently think it is, maybe sometimes impossible... Just remind yourself that most successful vocalists would not be living the dream right now if they continued entertaining thoughts like these. Yes, I’m sure they too entertained thoughts of failure from time to time.
To conclude, I would like to say that I fiercely think that in the end, singing is really about learning to love yourself, accept and honor where you once were and where you are now. Always remember that every single thing is possible when you believe in it and work for it.
Keeping Pushing hard my friends and let your voices be hear!
