Ep.73: How to Sing with Confidence – Remove Self-Imposed Limitations

 

This video is about how to sing with confidence by removing self-imposed limitations!

 

Inside this video, I’ll help you identify some self imposed limitations you may have set for yourself and help you remove them so you can sing with confidence and catapult your singing success.

 

A self imposed limitation is something you have told yourself or that you believe about yourself that limits your ability to sing with confidence.

 

Limitations about your voice: I don’t have a good sounding voice. I can’t sing. I’m tone deaf. I can’t carry a tune. I want to sound like Michael or Ariana. I don’t have the gift. I can’t sing high notes. I can’t sing low notes. I don’t have vibrato.

 

Limitations about your personality: I’m shy. I’m quiet. I get embarrassed easily. I have a hard time focusing. I don’t like being in front of people. I’m a better actor than singer. I’m awkward. I have a hard time expressing myself.

 

Limitations about your talents: I can’t read music. I’m not musical. I have a hard time practicing. I wasn’t born with that talent. I don’t have a special ability like everyone else who does it well.

 

Limitations about your appearance: I’m fat, I’m skinny, I’m ugly, my nose is too big, my teeth are crooked, my hair is falling out, my hips are too big, my skin is too greasy etc,etc etc.

 

Limitations about money: I can’t afford lessons. Singing lessons should be free. Singing lessons are a scam.  I’ll pursue singing when I have money.

 

Limitations about time: I don’t have the time to pursue singing. I have too many responsibilities. I’ll get back to singing when my family is raised. I’ll get to singing when my work career is established.

 

There are probably an infinite number of self imposed limitations.

 

It only takes 1 or 2 that you strongly believe about yourself to completely squash your desires and dreams.

 

How do You Eliminate These Self Imposed Limitations to Sing with Confidence?

1. Analyze your self talk. What are you thinking or saying about yourself? Use the above list to check yourself. Make a list of your self imposed limitations. List them all on a sheet of paper. Don’t make a judgement about whether they are right or wrong. Just list them.
2. Accept this truth. Yes you may have every limitation and problem you have described. Or no, these limitations are an exaggeration or are completely false about yourself. The truth is, whether real or imagined, none of these so called limitations can really limit you. ONLY YOU CAN LIMIT YOU. The truth is, WHETHER YOU BELIEVE YOU CAN OR YOU BELIEVE YOU CAN’T, YOU ARE RIGHT.
3. There are hundreds of millions of people who have lived on this earth, who have accomplished impossible things against all odds, in spite of tremendous hardship, lack of talent, with weaknesses and fears. They have persisted and succeeded in accomplishing their dreams. We can take inspiration from them.

 

Young amputee singer from Mexico;  Dejana Backo, an artist without arms;  Erik Weihenmayer, blind man who summited Mt. Everest; Qian Hongyan, a swimmer without legs, Esther Vergeer, wheelchair athlete champion tennis player;  Jami Goldman, amputee runner.

 

4. Since this is about singing, list your singing limitations. It’s very likely many or most of your limitations will be removed by working with the right teacher. Your teacher must be able to help you sing from low chest notes through the bridge of your voice into head voice without any interruption in tone quality and without strain or breathiness. Otherwise, you will always believe you have limitations in your voice.

 

Ask your teacher to demonstrate this. [Demo]. They need to be able to go through the bridge of the voice up into head voice and back down again without any interruption in tone quality. And they have to be able to demonstrate that they can do it and that they can teach you how to do it. That’s the important thing. They may have been born with a gift, but they have to know how to teach you to get through that bridge successfully. Then it will lead to removal of all limitations in your voice.

 

 5. The only REAL limitations are the ones we believe and accept. Those are the chains that bind us.

 

It’s ok to adjust your goals to find the joy and fulfillment you seek. Sometimes there are actual constraints within which we all must work.  For example, suppose my burning desire is to be a world renowned star tenor.

 

However I am a bass. There is nothing I can do to physically change my voice. Even if I’ve never been hired by a major opera company, I can still find a immense joy and fulfillment singing in regional or community venues. I can sing bass instead of tenor opera parts and have the same sense of accomplishment.

 

There are many other ways to sing and perform. Have you explored all of those?

 

I can still bring joy to my audiences. I can make lifelong friends and connect with fans.  

 

There is more joy and fulfillment behind alternative doors than we can imagine. It is true that when one door closes to us other doors open.

 

I’m not saying to abandon your dreams. However often small or large adjustments can bring untold happiness with more opportunities to expand your singing dreams and talents and life pursuits.

 

There are no limitations to your singing voice within reason. None of us can sing to the bottom or the top notes of the piano. But all of us can expand our range.

 

You need to find what is within reason. It’s likely you can reach far beyond the limitations you have imposed on yourself with your thoughts.

 

Before I discovered the principles I’ve been teaching you in these videos, I knew my voice could only sing to the E above middle C. I knew I wasn’t born with vibrato. I believed I wasn’t capable of singing solos.

 

Now I’ve seen my range increase over an octave, with vibrato and many solos in lead singing roles. I had limiting beliefs about my voice that were not true.

 

By eliminating these limiting beliefs I’ve had an amazing time performing and singing on stage. The music has enriched my life immensely. I’ve made so many friends with some deep personal experiences that have brought such joy to me, I want to help you reach your dreams.

 

A great place to start is to discover your vocal type. Your vocal type is what you tend to do when you sing. For example, my vocal type is Pulled Chest-High larynx. This is my tendency when I sing.

 

What about you? To learn your vocal type, visit PowerToSing.com and take the vocal test, which I call the PowerTest. Then take the quiz and discover your vocal type.

 

Visit the Knowledge Center and watch the videos about your vocal type. Download the free exercises and start working on them. These exercises are designed to help you remove vocal limitations and see your true singing potential and ability.

 

I’m Chuck Gilmore with Power To Sing. You can sing higher with beauty, confidence and power.  I know this because it’s happened to me and it’s happening to my students as well.

 

I’ll see you inside the next video.