At the end of 2022 I was thinking about various vocal habits that I acquired over the years: some good, some not so good.
In this newsletter I’d like to go through some bad vocal habits that are detrimental to good singing and that I recommend letting go, if possible.
1. “Pushing” the voice
This is a very common habits When things get hard, when the voice doesn’t respond the way we want, when we’re nervous (like during a performance), or when we have to sing high notes without knowing the correct technique for doing so, the most common tendency is to tighten our throat and push the voice out, hoping for the best
The sad reality, though, is that the more we push, the more we need to push! And if we’re not careful, pushing can become a chronic habit. So even if we improve our technique later on, and we no longer need to push the voice, we still have to work on getting rid of the habit of doing it.
Once you’ve developed a good technique, you’ll be amazed at how little effort it takes to sing! The voice will project out loud and clear without effort on your part, whereas pushing the voice will make it actually softer and less able to project far from you. (Ironic, isn’t it!)
2. Singing/performing without warming up
Don’t underestimate the importance of warming up your voice before singing. It may seem like you can do without it when you’re young (just like you can run without first stretching your muscles), but even so, warming up will ensure longevity of your vocal instrument, no matter your age. The voice is the only instrument that’s part of your body and you carry it with you everywhere. You don’t get to store it in a protective case and put it away until the next usage! So do your best to take care of it.
You should warm up 10-15 minutes at the very least before every performance; better still 20-30 minutes. If you don’t know any warm ups and want to learn some, you can sign up for my free monthly warm up sessions.
3. Singing absentmindedly
Singing on autopilot, without any awareness of what you’re doing, is a great disservice to your audience, the music you sing, and to yourself as well. It can turn even the most beautiful song into a kind of a dirge! Music is alive and fresh. Every performance is a new experience, and your job as a singer is to infuse the music you sing with new inspiration every time you sing it.
If you’ve sung a song many times and you feel bored by it, don’t sing it! But if it’s a meaningful song, I suspect that the reason why you’re bored is not because of the song, but because you haven’t gone deep enough in it. Ever-deepening attunement with a song keeps the inspiration alive and fresh.
I hope you find these suggestions useful.
I wish you all the best in 2023. Happy New Year!
