Authenticity and Vocal Tension

As a vocal teacher, I have many students come to me with the complaint that their voice feels “tight”, or that their throat gets sore when they sing. Yes, it’s that old enemy, tension, but what is the cause, and what is the cure?

As a singer myself, I struggled with vocal tension for years, often feeling like I was fighting against myself to produce the sound that I knew I was capable of. I tried exercises, stretches, and different vocal placements, and while some helped, the tension remained, and more often than not, I was back where I started. Parallel to my struggle with vocal tension was my struggle to find my own voice, my own authentic sound. I loved a variety of different singers, and was struggling to find where I fit in amongst them all. But I never put these two pieces of my voice together.

Fast forward to my vocal teaching career. When I began to work with many singers with these same issues, I began to realize that many of my vocal students, male and female, had not accepted their own voices, and were constantly trying to force their voice to sound how they thought they "should" sound, as opposed to singing with their own voices.

It didn’t take me long to realize a source of their vocal tension; when you are trying to sing like you, but at the same time trying to force your voice to sound like someone else’s, you’re trying to force your voice to do something unnatural, hence a major source of tension.

Most women I teach are trying to achieve a more powerful, darker sound, without developing the diaphragmatic strength first, and using their throats to compensate, causing that tension and throat soreness. Many young men I teach try and adapt a breathy, hoarse vocal sound, which does the same thing; causes tension and limits range and flexibility. It should be noted that this problem is not the only cause of vocal tension by any means. There can be many causes, however, this is one that I have run up against enough to write about.

Working my students through this problematic habit has proven to be one of the most rewarding successes for me as a vocal teacher. Sometimes it can be scary for a vocalist to give up their habits, and work with the natural voice underneath, however there is nothing like discovering the truly beautiful voice under the tension.