Could your Self-Image be the key to a Better Belt?
As a voice teacher, I work with a lot of singers looking to learn how to Belt. Oftentimes they come to me a bit confused and frustrated.
“I’m just not a Belter” they say.
They have the vocal performance degree, they’ve tried all the “right” exercises, and yet their voice just doesn’t seem to do the thing. They feel broken.
The good news is that they are NOT broken. Oftentimes, they are merely looking in the wrong place for answers. Where might they look next?
One idea, brings me to a famous quote from Moshé Feldenkrais:
“We act in accordance with our self-image” and I suppose you could also say “We Belt in accordance with our self-image” as well.
If I identify as “Someone who CANNOT Belt” I will sing in a way that confirms this to be true. I may feel scared to make Belty sounds. I may avoid sensing the sound in certain parts of my body. I may only move in reliably familiar ways.
“According to the theory of self-consistency, we seek those experiences which support our values and avoid, resist, or if necessary forcibly reject those which are inconsistent with them”
-Prescott Lecky, Self-Consistency: A Theory of Personality
So how do we update our Self-Image to include being a Belter?
This answer lies in the full Feldenkrais quote:
“We act in accordance with our self-image, which consists of Sensing, Feeling, Thinking, and Moving."
In lessons, I often work with singers on improving these 4 components:
Thinking- We can reframe the thoughts and stories we tell ourselves
Feeling- We unpack and explore the emotional baggage we hold around Belting(Play is key here!)
Sensing- We improve our sensory awareness to better sense what feels good
Moving- We explore new ways of moving- both the local movements of the vocal tract, and the global movements of the skeleton
The coolest thing is, when you work to improve one of these components, it affects the other 3.
Witnessing someone’s Self-Image expand to include all of what’s possible, is a truly beautiful thing. On a more practical note, Belting becomes less stressful, all of those “right” exercises seem to make a lot more sense, and singing is a lot more fun.
Looking to explore your voice? Happy to chat about voice lessons and classes.