It’s very tempting, when singing, to want to only show our best side to an audience. Actually, it would probably be more accurate to say “imperative “as far as the ego is concerned.
- Accept fear; welcoming it prevents overwhelm and reduces pre-performance paralysis.
- Let the diaphragm relax; start breath from its center to free tone and release tension.
- Begin from a silent, heart-centered place then act outward; inward first leads to quicker, truer choices.
- Share your whole self, including shadows; authenticity connects with audiences more than polished perfection.
- Use Phil Stutz exercise: breathe right for positives, left for negatives twice, bring both into the heart, then perform.
Making an ass of ourselves is our greatest fear and the tripwire that we’re aware of a lot of the time.
Most often though, it’s the fear of it, rather than the experience, that is the motivating force. When we actually get in front of an audience they usually are welcoming, and want us to do our best. Most people are supportive. But knee jerk reactions from (often) early embarrassments or trauma can run very deep.
Even if we’re fine once we get up on stage, the fear leading up to that moment can be crippling.
First of all, it can help to accept, rather than reject the fear. It becomes overwhelming, and all we can think about, if we’re not careful.
Also, we think that we’re performing for others, when we’re really doing it for ourselves. We spend so much time in our heads, controlling our lives – and, by default, our experiences – that our diaphragms take the brunt of all that effort and tension, often being constricted in many places.
Singing takes the diaphragm out for a canter, letting it relax and play (which only works when we sing with a relaxed diaphragm, and start a breath from the very center of it).
A quick exercise to release the diaphragm:
Imagine you’re falling backwards into a million cushions and laughing at the same time. Really laugh, with joy. Now sing a note and let the diaphragm do the singing for you.
It’s a very different experience, and a very different sounding note.
We often think the energy’s path is out, then in. Energy first, then attention. When we train the body to come from a still, silent place first (the place of silence centered in the heart), this is the stepping-stone to being in tune with spirit. From there, we act.
By letting our selves “be”, we’re then one step ahead of the game, so to speak, and can actually act more quickly funnily enough, and make better choices.
By going in, then out, we keep our confidence and share a true experience with an audience, thus raising the energy of the room, reminding the audience that we all share the same human experience, and creating a sense of community.
Which brings us back to the subject of this article, Good voice, Bad voice. To truly raise the energy of the room, the whole of the human experience has to be shared, warts and all. Which means sharing the shadow self, letting it all hang out m, in fact.
This is the scariest thing to do, but the only way we truly share our whole self. We want to be liked and to put on our best face, but the authentic self is much more interesting.
And this doesn’t have to be a huge, ghastly experience. To share our whole self with an audience, all we have to do is just be, and know that it’s enough. Once again, that we don’t have to be good, merely authentic.
That we don’t have to control the experience, that we can’t control the experience, because intuition and feeling can’t be controlled (so, in essence, all we can control is how we let go) and that, in essence, we’re getting out of our own way so we can raise the energy of a room, and by simply being true to ourselves, we’re also reminding and re-affirming to others that that is all it takes.
The Phil Stutz Exercise
Phil Stutz is a renowned psychiatrist, author and teacher. I heard him share this on a podcast many years ago and think it’s brilliant. It’s a great exercise, that brings you into the energy of your authenticity.
It’s also a wonderful exercise to do just before stepping on stage, or when you’re practicing a song, just before performing it.
1. Breathe into your right side, imagining you’re breathing in all that’s good about you.
2. Then breathe into your left side, imagining you’re breathing in all that’s negative about you.
Do this two more times, right and left, then bring both energies into your heart.
3. Perform the song.
Related articles:
Performing
Learning to like your voice
Let yourself suck!
Overcoming fear and performing truthfully
Dealing with stage fright
Stage fright: my own journey
Understanding your voice
Being in the center of a song
Being authentic on stage
Level 1
Create your own singing lesson
Level 2
Spirit vs. Ego, the Old Battle
Zen qualities of singing