Why singing teaches us to practice self compassion

In all my years of teaching voice, I feel the number one thing I end up teaching is self compassion.

Often learning a new skill, or honing one you already have, our brain strives for immediate success.

We are results driven. But with voice(and as it applies to other areas of life), we must be growth driven instead.

These things take time. Strengthening our voice, learning proper breath control, technique, belting, all of these things are practices that take time to develop.

It doesn’t always result in instant gratification.

I’ve found, when students don’t see the instant result, they feel frustrated and hard on themselves.

Self compassion is required here. Being kind to ourselves helps to nurture our gift. Helps us to put things in perspective.

That even though the results may not be immediate, we are growing.

We get to choose to create an encouraging voice in our head to remind us that we aren’t defined by one wrong note, one loss of breath, one voice crack.

These are all part of the process. It’s about becoming our own best friend, our own cheerleader.

We can’t bully ourselves into singing better. Patience and kindness is the only way. 

-Emma Stuart