Singing is risky, isn’t it?

For some, this is cause to lean in, but for others, the prospect and pressure of it all can overwhelm, literally closing our throats. This isn’t just because of a superficial desire to “sound good”, but because, like my friend shifting nervously near the piano, we have a deep knowing that, “This is about more than just singing, isn’t it?”

There are physical functional truths to your head voice and chest voice. There are objective qualities to the sound! But, there are also metaphorical, archetypal truths that are particularly evident when your voice isn’t balanced, and let’s be honest, it never is. There is a yin and yang to your voice.

When I work with people in private voice coaching, it is almost always the case that the ways in which their voice is out of balance corresponds with what I observe about their lives. Too much yin and not enough yang, or vice versa.

There are so many false narratives around singing and the voice that it can be hard to keep up with them all, but one of the most common mythologies is related to what is required of our breath to make a free and beautiful sound. Often singing teachers and voice coaches will spend an exorbitant amount of time on breath, framing it as the source of one’s problem, when truthfully, it is more often a symptom.