Solutions are on the horizon!

Guess who finally got around to practicing? That's right, me! It wasn't anything super intense, but it was something. My intentions were simply to get back into the swing of things without the pain. It's safe to say that I'm making progress there. At the end of the day, I find that my voice is a bit tired. That's to be expected when one doesn't get quite enough sleep and is still mildly stressed continuously. I've really got to do something about that.

Anyways! My practice session really only consisted of some warm ups: lip trills, do-sol, etc. It was all pretty light and I carefully eased into it. It was chill and relaxing and everything that singing should be. All in all, it was a step in the right direction, and I plan to keep walking.

I wanna sing with blood and guts

For those of my fictional readers that don't know, I'm a music education major with a concentration in voice. In other words, I sing a lot. I need to sing in order to graduate.

Enter my dilemma: all of a sudden it hurts to sing. It started last semester and was devastating for me. The entirety of last school year was extremely stressful between classes, and family, and friends, and the explosion that was my life. Then add in the pressure of preparing for and auditioning for a recital, also know as the cherry on top. The more stressed I became about the audition, the more I practiced. However, fifteen minutes into any practice session and I'd find my voice exhausted and sore, and I'd cry. Every time. Without fail. (And I'm not much of a crier.)

Why was this suddenly happening? I'd never had issues with pain when singing. It had always come relatively naturally to me. Why was professional training wreaking such havoc? It just didn't make sense. I was positive I was doing something wrong, but I couldn't figure out what that was. I talked to my voice teacher, but she couldn't help much either. I couldn't quite communicate my problem, so she couldn't quite understand it (makes sense because neither could I).

Over summer break, I didn't sing much. The most singing I partook in was along with the radio. Even worse, I would often wander about the house while others were at work and belt. Now, belting is fine when done correctly. I can belt correctly, but I wasn't. I wanted to push my belt higher and wasn't doing it correctly. I'm fairly certain I caused more damage, but I'm hopeful that it can be corrected with some rest.

I experienced one glorious weekend of singing at the end of July when my sister and I went to the Newport Folk Fest (AWESOME!). I remembered what my voice sounds like when I sing for the simple joy of singing. I remembered that singing is fun. I realized what suits my voice. Guess what, that's not super belting (the term for belting really high, think Idina Menzel). I can belt like most girls can belt, up to about a D. Nothing awe-inspiring, but nothing to laugh at. I am finally embracing my voice instead of trying to make it sound like what I think others want it to be.

On Thursday night, Katy came over and we got to talking about my dilemma. She asked me one simple question, "Have you been stressed?" YES. I couldn't believe my stupidity. She reminded me that when you're stressed you tense muscles and may not realize it. Thus, creating unwanted tension when singing causing pain. Time for some stress management!

Flash forward to today. I sit on my couch at 1:03 AM and think I should go to bed and start my newfound appreciation for my voice and body by treating it better.