Embodied Voice Work: Beyond Singing
At The Vocal Studio Singapore, we care very much about applying a holistic approach in understanding the voice, singing, and vocal coaching.
One might ask, ‘After all, it’s just having fun and enjoying yourself, why should we make such a fuss about holistic approach and all that stuff?’.
Yeah exactly! after all, it’s just having fun and enjoying. Isn’t it just like LIFE? We can just have fun and enjoy life, yet we have so much struggle doing it. It takes effort and time for us to try many things in many different dimensions - to reach a point where we can truly live freely.
Voice is like that, it takes time and effort to gain what’s needed and let go of what’s not needed. By working on singing and voice, so many people connect with their deeper selves (whether consciously or not!).
So TVS coaches do take voice quite seriously, yes it’s just singing - but it’s beyond singing. We try to educate ourselves constantly through learning more things.
Good news is that there have already been people who probed the power of voice and singing, and have devoted decades of their lives to impact and change lives through voice work!
Lisa Sokolov is one of these masters in this field of work. Our principal Hanna joined her workshop recently in June 2023, and here is her sharing of the workshop.
Hanna’s Reflection on Embodied Voice Work Training
I had an incredible opportunity to attend Lisa Sokolov's Embodied Voice Work workshop, led by a jazz vocalist, performer, music therapist, and teacher at New York University Tisch School of the Arts. The workshop delved into using voice for psychotherapy and gaining freedom with our voices.
As a vocal coach, I wanted to understand ways of unlocking the potential of singing voice by new methods that go beyond my knowledge and skills. As a music therapist, I wanted to go deeper into the emotional, personal, psychological journey that the voice work can facilitate.
Also, as a singer and simply who loves singing - I wanted to free myself in singing. There were so many moments where I was singing, and somehow feeling not ‘completely connected with my voice’.
Another struggle was the ‘judgemental voice’ that I have had towards myself. As a vocal coach - as a teacher, it’s so easy to fall into the trap of ‘self-judgement’. The ‘not good enough, not correct enough’ syndrome was what I was experiencing all along. I wanted to graduate by learning how to embody the voice.
So, with multiple goals in mind, I joined a diverse group of participants, including psychotherapists, music teachers, leadership trainers, and artists, all eager to explore the potential of their voices. In Munich (Germany)- ZIST. (ZIST is a personal and professional training centre for development of human skills)
Throughout the workshop, we engaged in various experiential "games" that enhanced our listening skills, breathing techniques, emotional expression, and connection with others.
I demonstrated one of the games with TVS coaches at Coach Discussion Session!
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cu9QPgEAErY/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
The experience was nothing short of life-changing, and within four days, I realized that:
I learned to listen to my inner self and express it fully.
I unlocked the full resonance of my voice and myself as an individual.
I felt the physical vibrations and sensations, while harmonizing with others
I embraced self-acceptance and gained trust in myself.
I experienced the true meaning of connecting with others.
I felt a grounded connection between my body, emotions, and mind.
The ability to fully express grants me huge power
I learned staying true to myself in every moment.
I started to feel free to let music flow through me, becoming a true partner with the music.
I can now sing much more freely, breaking through any inhibitions.
One interesting thing about this workshop was that there wasn’t so much language and logic to explain the method/technique. It was mainly experience-based, where we needed to learn by experimenting and feeling it (literally through the body, emotion) and the experience was enough to reveal the effect of the voice and music itself.
It just felt so nice, to be fully with music, fully with my voice. 😊
With the newly shared knowledge and experience, TVS coaches are also implementing upgraded methods in their vocal lessons and we are so excited to see that it is making a difference in students!
Would you like to discover your inner voice, and experience the freedom of unlocking your potential through voice?