The #1 Cause Of Vocal Tension + How To Free Your Voice

Have you ever wondered what the main difference is between YOU and the voices of the superstars you admire on YouTube, TV & IG?

What ACTUALLY makes them sound soo good?

What's blocked your voice up until now?

ANSWER: Vocal Tension. Aka: forcing your voice out of you, instead of letting it FLOW out of you!  

Today I've included one of my favorite exercises for eliminating vocal tension, so you can start freeing and sharing your voice--just like the superstars you love. :)  

So what is the #1 cause of vocal tension? 

ANSWER: FEAR!

So often we fear that what we sound like isn't good enough or needs to be better. This stresses us out when we sing and causes unnecessary tension.

But here's the #TRUTH: Singing is for you and you too have EVERYTHING IT TAKES to make it happen. You've just got to be up for it. And this is where it starts:

Focus on what you FEEL, and not what you sound like.

If you live in LA, like me, I recommend this restaurant called Opaque where you actually dine in the dark! You’re served food and wine in a pitch black room.  

Just imagine how delicious chocolate cake would taste if you were blind-folded while eating it!   

When you eliminate one of your senses, you gain super abilities with your other senses! This kind of sensory awareness and isolation is a powerful tool.   

So now imagine what this would do for your singing!

Imagine shutting off your ears--your sense of hearing--and instead focusing only on feeling your voice while singing.   

Now taking it one step further and imagine closing your eyes--your sense of sight--so you can focus entirely on how your voice FEELS.   

It's the movements you make on the inside of your body before you create sound that determine how you actually end up sounding. So focus on how those movements feel first and foremost.

If you want to instantly start FREEING your voice, try this exercise to help you TURN OFF your auditory awareness and your thoughts about what you sound like so you can sing your heart out!  

Headphone Exercise

• Wear headphones + turn up the volume and sing along to your fav song.

• Make sure that you and no one else can hear your singing.

• Keep your eyes closed.

• Focus only on feeling your voice.

Scan your whole body and take note of how you feel.

What new awareness around the movements of breath and vibration do you notice? Start with your abs, then your lungs, rib cage, neck, and in your face.

If at any point you feel that your voice is stuck or blocked, pinpoint the exact location in your body where the tension is occurring.

Identifying the source of the tension is key. 

Singing is not meant to feel uncomfortable on the body! If it does, that lets you know that some bad technique + tension is creeping into your voice!

At the end of the day, no vocal coach or scale can help you free your voice if you aren't able to express exactly what you feel in your body while you sing.  

So do this incredible exercise every day and discover just how possible it is for you to get your voice "unstuck", out of the fear and into the endless possibilities that await you. 

You get what you focus on...don't spend another second focusing on the fear and judging what you sound like!