yes, a student of mine really asked me that once. what she meant was, why is it impossible for me to sing more than two songs in a row, or something like that…

did i write something about saving energy already? i think i mentioned it but haven’t really explained yet. so first of all, and the same with every instrument, being relaxed and using as few power/strength/force as possible is the starting point. take a drumstick or a guitar pick for example: you hold it very relaxed and loose, with just enough strength to not let it slip away. if your knuckles turn to a bright white, you’re doing it wrong. with the voice it’s quite similar, you need enough strength to stabilize the tone but not more. that’s a common mistake and an understandable one because for a newbie it’s hard to sing a good, round, stable tone. think about a kid that learns to ride a bicycle. in the beginning he/she will hold on to the handlebar (right word?) as hard as possible but with practice comes competence and the grip will get less firm – less strength is needed. this takes not only practice but also a certain feeling of safety aka losing the fear. and another point is related to this: holding the handlebar too firm will result in some sort of trembling because of the cramped fingers.

back to the voice now: you need a certain amount of strength to sing a stable tone – more in the beginning, less if you’re experienced. so now it’s up to you, try to find out how much strength you really need. just sing a song the way you usually do and then reduce the strength, the energy you spend until it becomes all weird and fluttering, unstable and imprecise. then increase strength until you’re on the safe side again. do that a few times until you know exactly where the ‘tipping point’ is. this is very important! you need to know at all times where this point is and how far you are away. exactly how fast can you go before your car slips off the road? how loud can you crank up your amp before the neighbours call the police? how much beer can you….you get the idea.

i’ll give you a little time to experiment…

have fun