6 Tips for Finding Your Voice.

Something I hear a lot from the singers I work with is, “I want to find my style. My voice. My unique sound.”

They are struggling with developing their authentic creative expression.

Like, “What do I want to say?”

Maybe even more like, “Who am I as a creative being?”

These are BIG questions. Obviously.

And important questions! Ones we all have to ask ourselves along the way in our creative journey.

So much can emerge in our quest for authenticity. That quest, the journey holds answers.

I have a student right now who is working on two songs that are completely different styles.
They require 2 very different approaches.
And she loves singing both songs equally.

Being able to play in both sandboxes has allowed her to grow as a singer and musician without the need to say she is one or the other.

It has influenced her creative sensibility in ways that weren’t possible if she sought to define herself in a more limited scope.

Another singer I work with recently revisited old material that defined who she was as a singer in the earlier part of her life and career, but not anymore.
She’s changed a lot since then.
Not only her voice, but her musical tastes, and most importantly the wisdom she’s gained.
But revisiting the material brought her so much joy and allowed her to bring all the wisdom she’s gained to these old friends.
And reconnect to a part of herself she didn’t know was still there.

And another singer just recently discovered (after a whole career singing and dancing) she DOES like singing in her head voice and maybe she can consider herself as that type as well as a belter.

The possibilities emerge when we stay open.

When we say, “maybe.”

When we don’t make up our minds so quickly.

When we can be flexible, and when we can be brave.

So how can we stay open when we want to know what our one true voice IS?
And how do find the answer to that original question?


1. First and foremost, allow yourself the possibility of playing in different spaces.

Don’t hang on to one identity so tightly that you miss the opportunity to expand the scope of your creativity.
Do the thing your heart has been longing to do but have felt too afraid.
Try out that song that feels a little out of reach.

2. Dabble in other art forms.

Another student recently was feeling stuck in her creative expression as a songwriter, and so decided to pick up a paintbrush.
She allowed herself to make mistakes in this other medium because she doesn’t consider herself to be “an expert” as a visual artist.
She was able to focus on being in the flow, being in joy, and letting go.
It freed her up when she sat down to write her song and it poured out of her.
She had tapped into that part of her brain where creativity and the present moment are the ruling factors and accessed it for the thing where she felt stuck.

Doing this also helps to expand your understanding of your given medium in new ways, helps you to come at it from different angles.
You suddenly have new ideas and inspiration to bring to the table.

So try picking up a paintbrush, or a pen to write, or go ahead make the quilt. :)


3. Don’t learn songs by listening to recordings/ other artists.

We all know the quote, “Comparison is the thief of joy,” (President Theodore Roosevelt).
There is only one of YOU.
That’s the version the world wants to see.

When you learn a song by listening or referring back to a particular recording, it’s in your ear.
No matter what, you will always be comparing your voice to the other and it will always feel like you are wrong.
It feels like you are wrong because you will try and try to make your voice sound like this other person, and that is impossible.

Not only is it impossible but it’s a WASTE OF TIME because the world wants to hear YOUR version.
There is only one of you.
That’s the best version you can do- yours alone. Not a copy.


4. Don’t compare yourself to those said artists and others.

It’s a waste of time & energy to compare. It takes us away from the work of digging deep to bring out our real essence; the stuff that makes us unique, special & truly ourselves.

If you catch yourself comparing, stop. Interrupt that nasty habit.
Take a deep breath.


5. Spend a lot of time being quiet.

In order to do the important work of digging deep to bring out your real essence you need quiet time.
Lots of it.
On a regular basis.
We do this so we can listen for the whisper of wisdom deep within.
In order to hear the whisper, we have to turn down the volume on the chatter to tune into this wiser part of ourselves.

In order to be in an open state of mind, we have to slow down, get centered and tune inwards.

Meditation is an example of a practice that helps this process of quieting the mind.
Sitting quietly with yourself.

Through this practice we get centered.
We connect to the wisest part of ourself.

That wisest part of yourself that has answers.

We can’t receive those answers when it’s noisy up there.

Tune into the whisper. Set up the conditions to hear it.

6. Spend time in safe spaces for exploration.

One of my favorite parts about working with singers is being able to provide a safe space to explore in.

Having a space where decisions are NOT made yet is fertile ground.
This is where we play, where judgements aren’t welcome.
Where discoveries are possible.

A space where we connect to that authentic place within ourselves so that those answers can emerge.

A space to be silly, to be child-like, to not know, to dig in the dirt.

Heidi Moss Erickson, singer, educator, scientist, talks about the importance of making play a part of practice.

She states: “The premise is we ALL are in fact, scientists in the human experience: like the baby in the crib, we can explore our external world through play and create our own inner constructs to make sense of what is happening around us and inside of us as humans and singers.
We then have more to draw from, and we are able to return to where we started: why we sing in the first place.
Not to execute technical minutiae, but rather to tell a story or convey emotion.
The effect in the end will be to make singers better faster. With joy.”

I’m all about joy!

So create that safe space and make play be your TOP priority.

The answers to this question of how to be our fullest, most authentic self emerge when we take the time to dig deep.
This process can’t be hurried.
It can’t be googled.
It can’t be forced.

Insights reveal themselves slowly over time.
Patience is key.


I hope this is helpful in your quest for creative authenticity!
I’d love to hear from you if you feel like sharing your thoughts!