Music Therapy: Therapeutic Singing
In This Article
Therapeutic Singing
Singing is a natural way to practice breath support, especially when we sing in specific ways. We have to take a breath to get all the words out and take breaths to hit the notes we want to hit. You don't have to be a singer or sound good!
This video goes over vocal warmups and examples of soft/loud therapeutic singing, however you may get the most benefit by applying these principles to your favorite songs once you've gotten the hang of therapeutic singing. The point is to practice breath support to your favorite music.
To do it yourself:
- First, the warmup
- Practice some vocal warmups (do re mi, do sol do, high to low sigh) to get voice moving.
- Soft and Loud Therapeutic Singing
- Soft Therapeutic Singing: Sing as soft as you can for a part of a song.
- Loud Therapeutic Singing: Sing as loud as you can for a part of song.
- Self-rate your volume for the soft and loud part of the song from 0-10.
Therapeutic Listening
If you find yourself unable to sing through a song or part of a song, or needing to stop frequently, you can also practice breathing along to your favorite songs while paying attention to the words/how you feel in the moment. You can do this with the same pursed lip breathing techniques you use when exercising or before physical activity.
Developing a Therapeutic Singing Program
Like all breath support and physical activity practices, you get the most out of therapeutic singing by making it a regular habit.
Use this sheet to track how you feel during therapeutic singing or listening.
