Lillalulu says “I’m trying to feminize my voice and everytime I try, I feel my throat hurt or sort of tighten? I can’t really describe it but am I doing something wrong?

There are a few factors that can lead to a feeling of tightness in the throat while feminizing the voice but the most common issue I see is people who are putting in two much activation energy, or more simply, trying too hard.

The voice is one of these tricky things where the point of diminishing returns can sneak up on you quickly. Once you pass it, the more effort you put in, the more tension you create around the instrument.

A question I like to ask my students who are trying really hard to achieve a result is “How would you do this exercise if it were easy?”

The mind is a powerful thing and the stories we tell ourselves have a huge impact on our behaviour. If you approach your exercise with the idea in your mind that it is really hard to do, you will put in an amount of effort that matches that perceived difficulty level.

Try this: breathe for a few seconds before you do your exercise and ask yourself, “how would I approach this exercise if I was sure that it was easy to do?”

Did you get a different result?