Opening your voice to sing in cases of trauma and emotional blockages goes beyond doing vocal exercises and requires a holistic view.
In this post, I recommend eight books to help improve your singing voice that address important aspects in overcoming the fear of singing.
My Book Recommendations for Opening Your Voice
The links are affiliated. I own these books and apply what I have learned from them in my routine, and I think you will also enjoy them.
- Great Singers – An Endangered Species
- Head First – The Language of the Head Voice: A Concise Study of Learning to Sing in the Head Voice
- Anatomy of Voice – How to Enhance and Project Your Best Voice
- The Polyvagal Theory – Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, Self-Regulation
- Fear of Life – The Wisdom of Failure
- Waking the Tiger – Healing Trauma
- Hands Of Light – A Guide to Healing Through the Human Energy Field
- The Healing Forces of Music – History, Theory, and Practice
1. Great Singers – An Endangered Species
His view matches my opinion of how you should approach singing. Instead of focusing on muscles and medical jargon, listen to Mother Nature and connect to your body, because great singing is a process of self-discovery and alignment. Although this a classical singing book, it’s worth reading even if you sing in another style.
2. Head First – The Language of the Head Voice: A Concise Study of Learning to Sing in the Head Voice
This is a great book about the old-school classical singing vocal technique and was written by the same author of the previous book, Great Singers. ‘Head First’ also discusses the relationship with teachers, an essential aspect regarding creating a safe environment.
3. Anatomy of Voice – How to Enhance and Project Your Best Voice
In my opinion, you don’t need to know the muscle names and placements to be able to sing, and many times it can be a distraction. However, this book presents human voice production from a dynamic perspective, showing the vocal structures and functions in relation to the entire body and its movements. I consider this a great approach.
4. The Polyvagal Theory – Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, Self-Regulation
This book is a milestone in the area of neuropsychology and presents the Polyvagal Theory which explains how mechanisms involving automatic responses from our Nervous System impact the way we respond to everyday situations. This includes the human voice. The language is academic, so if you are used to it or prefer to research topics at the source, go ahead.
5. Fear of Life – The Wisdom of Failure
The book explains how the body is affected by psychological and emotional defenses that arise in the person’s early developmental stages. He also explains the role of emotional defenses in keeping the body tensions, which includes breathing and voice.
6. Waking the Tiger – Healing Trauma
The book explains how the body keeps traumatic memories and shares an approach to release trauma. It helps us let go of shame for having traumatic reactions and gracefully trace a parallel with the animals’ reactions, remembering the wisdom of our own Nervous System.
7. Hands Of Light – A Guide to Healing Through the Human Energy Field
This is an Energy Healing book. It explains how to identify and heal energetic imbalances in the human aura. It is based on the knowledge that chronic blockage of energy at a subtle level is what ends up materializing as a disease.
This understanding helps us to perceive the body and vocal functioning from a broader perspective.
8. The Healing Forces of Music – History, Theory, and Practice
One of the greatest ways to expand your relationship with your voice and vocal work is to understand the use of music for healing purposes. In my opinion, this book is a reliable choice in the area of Voice and Sound Healing. It inspires you to see your own voice as a tool for self-healing.
Overcome trauma and emotional blocks to sing with a gentle and wise approach by enrolling in ‘Open Your Singing Voice: Practices to Overcome Trauma and Emotional Blocks‘. This workshop-style course offers a structured path to facilitate the opening of your singing voice. Visit the course page and learn more.
I hope you found this content useful. Share your thoughts in a comment below!
Take care! ❤️
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