Instructions to "Just Sing Naturally" Make Sense, Right?

You can probably tell that there are times when there's a little bitterness to me tone.

I wish I could take what I know now and send it back in a time machine to my 24-year old self, when I didn't get the instruction that I needed.

Until that's possible, I'll share my thoughts with you in hopes that I can help you learn what I didn't learn back then.

The lesson in this video is meant to be thought-provoking. I do get what coaches are after when they say things like, "just breathe naturally", or "just sing naturally", or "just sing like you speak".

There is a problem with this, though.

If you have singing problems you almost certainly have problems with the way you speak.

Worse yet, all of these problems feel natural.

When you follow instructions to sing naturally, you'll sing with what feels most natural, which is with all of your problems in tact.

You end up unknowingly clinging to the very problems you need most to eliminate.

Over time, you grow frustrated and begin to feel dejected. You might think, "I'm singing as naturally as I can and it still sounds bad".

Don't worry. You're not alone.

Take a Risk and Pursue the Unnatural Feeling of Good Singing Technique

Something so strange happens in almost all of my private lessons.

Once my coach fine-tunes my technique over the first 30 minutes of the lesson, everything just feels weird. In a wonderful way.

I begin to sound better. Making sound becomes much easier. I'm using my breathing very differently from when the lesson began. My tongue is behaving better.

What gives?

Well, she's helped me sort out some flaws in my technique. My voice is placed so well that I feel and hear almost nothing in my throat and mouth. For this to happen I'm inhaling better, onsetting my phrases better, and driving the voice with a type of air pressure I don't generate when speaking.

Good technique feels unnatural. I'm not accustomed to feeling as if my voice is coming from two inches in front of my forehead, but there it is.

So when you're learning to sing, bad technique feels natural and good technique feels unnatural.

Over time, yes, the idea is to replace your bad muscle habits with good muscle habits. In time, good technique will finally feel natural. You'll have an entirely new sound.

Be willing to let go of your old voice forever. Don't cling to those old habits that have always felt so natural.

Embrace your new and authentic voice and allow it to surprise you!