Jennifer Turnbull Vocal Coach

Why Singers are like Athletes

What would you need to do to become an elite athlete?

If you asked someone this question, you’d probably get responses like:

  • Years of regular structured training 
  • A skilled coach
  • Constant analysis of previous performance
  • Mental discipline
  • Healthy lifestyle

But if you swap the word athlete for singer, would you get the same responses? 

Or would it be more like ‘it’s all about luck’ and ‘it’s a talent you’re born with’? 

Dr Reena Gupta is an LA based Laryngologist. She looks after many and high profile and professional voice users (actors and vocalists).  

Her talks at the recent ANATS Conference in Melbourne really resonated with me. She believes that, just as athletes require more of their bodies than the average person, singers require more of their voices.

Singers require more strength, stamina, agility and flexibility than the average voice user. So it stands to reason that we can adopt the mindset and behaviours of an athlete to achieve our goals.

An elite athlete doesn’t start training for an event the week before. Preparation starts months, even years beforehand. 

So, if we really want to give ourselves the best chance at singing success (and maintaining that success), we need to think long term. It’s a marathon not a sprint 🙂

For more info on Dr Gupta, click here: https://www.centerforvocalhealth.com/

Written By

Jen Turnbull

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