ON SOME LEVEL, most singers are aware that there exists two realities when we sing: The INTERNAL experience we feel and hear when we create the sound, and the EXTERNAL experience that our audience hears.
It is this duality that can cause frustration and hesitation for the beginning singer, as they learn to cope with the fact that how the audience hears their voice can be vastly different than how the singer hears his or her own voice.
Usually, a singers first “wake-up” moment is when they hear themselves for the first-time on an audio or video recording. “What the heck…?!” is quite literally an expression I’ve heard in some voice lessons when I’ve recorded a singer I’m working with, and it’s their first time listening to the playback.
But, this can be a GREAT thing to know and accept.
Because, especially in Contemporary Voice Teaching, it is common to use “non-musical” sounds to develop aspects of the voice that actually improve how it functions, and enhances how it sounds EXTERNALLY. Use of vocal fry, or pharyngeal sounds can really make the INTERNAL experience one where a new singer, only judging what he hears inside his or her own head, recoil and pray to the Singing Gods that no one else hears them sing that way.
Like, ever.
Even if those instructions correct an imbalance in the voice, and causes an increase of range or ease of transition or “it just FEELS better”, the sound of it is often so unfamiliar to the singer that it can be jarring!
This can cause a singer to not fully embrace the technique they’re learning, and that is a mistake.
Luckily, the cure is a simple one: The singer must listen to their recorded voice over and over and over again. At the least, a singer must learn to accept the way they sound, but the hope and goal is to always FALL IN LOVE with their own voice!
Everything about it: How it feels, how it sounds; all of the cool textures that are uniquely their own, including the perceived imperfections.
Learning to sing is a very kinesthetic way of learning, and being able to connect the dots between what is heard on a recording - especially when vocalizing scales - and remembering how it felt and sounded INTERNALLY is a critical step in gaining mastery over the voice as an instrument!
So, as an encouragement, record EVERYTHING! From the karaoke parties, to your lessons with your voice teacher, to your at-home vocal regimen.
Listen without judgment. Listen to learn. Listen, because, as a singer your relationship with your voice is EVERYTHING, and the best relationships are built on trust. So, listen to start trusting your voice and your own abilities!
Have fun and sing ON!