What I got wrong about learning how to Belt
For the longest time I was searching for the magic answer to Belting. I wanted that ONE puzzle piece that would make it all make sense.
After years of helping countless people on their unique journeys, it has become clear to me that improvement and Belting tends to look different than I thought.
Instead of the singular missing puzzle piece, I’ve found the journey of learning to Belt to be more circular.
You go round and around working on clarifying the various components of Belting and the Belt gets easier. As you go around the circle, much of the growth is gradual, but time and again there may be “Pop Goes the Weasel” moments.
You know that song “Pop Goes the Weasel”? You often find it playing on a Jack in the Box. You spin the handle round and around, then all of a sudden it POPS! (I was a nervous child and this game was not fun for me- don't even get me started on the game "Operation"!)
To people on the outside, your discovery may look like the "trick" to Belting or that one missing puzzle piece that you needed all along. In reality, however, the breakthrough was thanks to all of the other explorations you had done up to this point. The timing was exactly right for you to learn what you needed to learn.
My search for the missing puzzle piece was frustrating. I was thinking that Belting was one singular thing, that had one singular "answer." The truth is, Belting is a coordination, there are many strategies, and many "flavors" of Belt.
When I started to think instead about the many components of Belting, the journey felt limitless and was a lot more fun. Here are just a few components we can explore...
I run a group class called “Embodied Belting” several times a year, and also explore these concepts one on one with students in private lessons.
Previous components have included exploring Primal Functions, The Spine, Acoustics, The Tongue/Larynx relationship, Expression, and more.
If this is something that may interest you, happy to chat about your singing journey!