There is an obnoxious irony that comes with being a singer. All the best of singers are excellent at showing emotion through singing. This is where the money comes from! No one wants to pay someone who stands on the stage and sings with a bland facial expression. Unfortunately, emotion can also be hindering to singers. In fact, I struggle with it all the time.
I am a very emotional person. I cry whenever I experience intense emotion. If I am angry, I start crying. If I am embarrassed, I start crying. If I am sad, I cry. I personally do not think that is a bad thing (even though I was constantly mad fun of for it as a kid), but it becomes a problem when I am singing.
There are a few situations that I often struggle with:
1. Sad pieces
It is really hard not to sing with your feelings in emotional pieces, but there is a line. You have to be acting; you cannot get too invested because as soon as you risk crying, your throat weirds out. Naturally, this messed up your singing voice and you sound like an idiot while singing a gorgeous piece. Thankfully, I have gotten a lot better on this one.
2. Bad days
You know when you have those days where you just feel like crap and want to cry? Those are the hardest days to sing. Not only is it hard to sing because of the whole throat-tweaking-out thing that I mentioned before, but also because you don't have the energy to use proper technique or to sing a happy piece. This one I really struggle with, because the only thing you can do is try to forget about how you are feeling and delve into the piece that you are working on.
3. Angry pieces
Have you ever noticed that you tense up when you are angry? Especially at the neck? SO bad for singing. It is so frustrating because you want to look angry while singing a piece that requires such an emotion, but you cannot allow your body to do things that might alter or harm your voice. The best way to deal with this is to cleverly use dynamics and facial expressions.
So these are my long-term singing challenges! Do you ever struggle with these?
I am a very emotional person. I cry whenever I experience intense emotion. If I am angry, I start crying. If I am embarrassed, I start crying. If I am sad, I cry. I personally do not think that is a bad thing (even though I was constantly mad fun of for it as a kid), but it becomes a problem when I am singing.
There are a few situations that I often struggle with:
1. Sad pieces
It is really hard not to sing with your feelings in emotional pieces, but there is a line. You have to be acting; you cannot get too invested because as soon as you risk crying, your throat weirds out. Naturally, this messed up your singing voice and you sound like an idiot while singing a gorgeous piece. Thankfully, I have gotten a lot better on this one.
2. Bad days
You know when you have those days where you just feel like crap and want to cry? Those are the hardest days to sing. Not only is it hard to sing because of the whole throat-tweaking-out thing that I mentioned before, but also because you don't have the energy to use proper technique or to sing a happy piece. This one I really struggle with, because the only thing you can do is try to forget about how you are feeling and delve into the piece that you are working on.
3. Angry pieces
Have you ever noticed that you tense up when you are angry? Especially at the neck? SO bad for singing. It is so frustrating because you want to look angry while singing a piece that requires such an emotion, but you cannot allow your body to do things that might alter or harm your voice. The best way to deal with this is to cleverly use dynamics and facial expressions.
So these are my long-term singing challenges! Do you ever struggle with these?