HOW TO RAISE YOUR VOICE
Did anyone ever tell you to be quiet growing up? Not just in that normal ”Kids quiet down!” way or “Shhh, this is a library” but more in that “you” specifically “need to turn down!”. Like your voice was too loud or off key or ugly or just not good enough. Maybe you’ve made yourself into a person of few words who only uses them when they are “perfectly” strung together. Who or what circumstance told you to be quiet?
Whether you are a beginner or advanced voice explorer/singer, you still might have fears about raising your voice and being heard. Perhaps raising your voice makes you feel naked in front of others or fearful of making a mistake. Sometimes letting yourself be heard can mean risking that your voice will not give you what you want or that you might sound strange and therefore not fit in.
In other ways you might feel confident in the power of your voice and opinions but the thought of singing makes you scared that your voice will be quiet, frail or weak. That your voice will squeak and shake. Or maybe you know you can make the sounds you want when you are alone in the shower but when other people turn up, even one person, you choke.
To sing is to be vulnerable. To sing is also to invite the unexpected and the unexpected is scary...even if it’s good! (We often forget that good things come from the unexpected too:). Even if you have been singing all your life, even if you are an extrovert, it’s still intimidating to many people to let their voices fully shine. The thing many people forget is that singing is also a gift. Not just for you but for others as well. Your imperfection is a much of a gift as your perfection. And you taking the time to strengthen and refine your voice is greatly needed and frankly, invaluable right now!
Your mind may try to distract you with “What if my shine isn’t like her shine or his shine?” But we need the multitude of our voices. We need them to be clear, strong and thoughtful. We need them to create the change our world so desperately needs. So what is the next step for you to raise your voice? Email here for some suggestions .