The Aligned Singer

If you've ever wondered whether it's actually possible to become a professional singer when you're starting with no money, no connections, and no roadmap... this episode is for you.

If you've ever felt behind because you didn't grow up around professional musicians... because your family doesn't understand your dream... or because it seems like everybody else has connections you don't, I need you to hear this:

Your past is not a prescription for your future. It shaped where you started. It has nothing to do with where you finish.

When I moved to New York City at 22 to pursue my dream of becoming a professional classical singer, I had no idea what I was doing. I literally didn't know one single person in NYC. I had more debt than savings. And I came from a family and a community where my dream of becoming a professional singer seemed like a wild fantasy. Honestly, I was treated like a spotted flying unicorn whenever people realized I actually took it seriously.

Twenty years later, I've been making my living as a professional classical soprano. This is the career I used to dream about, and it's the one that pays my bills.

Not because I had extraordinary advantages.

Not because somebody discovered me.

And not because I followed the traditional path everyone assumes you need.

In this episode, I'm handing you the absolute essentials I had no clue about when I took the leap of faith to pursue a professional singing career. I had to figure it all out by myself. And after nearly twenty years of literally supporting myself through my singing, I want to give you the step-by-step I wish somebody had given me.

We're going to talk about why your relationships are the whole game and available to you no matter where you came from, how to get yourself to the city your career is asking you to move to without the debt I put myself through, how you find your people in a place where you don't know a soul yet, and how to skip the part of your life where you're broke and barely getting by.

I'll be honest with you, this is one of the most personal stories I've ever told publicly. It almost brought me to tears while I was recording it, and I didn't edit a single second of it out. But it's finally time to open up about it, because this is the thing nobody is talking about... and it's absolutely needed.

My hope is that as we have this conversation, something shifts for you. Not just a list of steps to take, but a genuinely new belief about what's possible for your career.

Because here's what I really want you to sit with. I'm not special. I'm not extra talented. There is nothing in me that isn't already in you. I wasn't lucky, I didn't have a safety net, and I didn't have anybody cheering me on at home.

So consider this your permission slip. If you've been doubting yourself, or wondering how in the world this is going to come together for you... it will. You absolutely will.

In this episode you'll learn:

- Why your background does not determine your future as a professional singer

- The first financial step to take before you relocate, and the mistake that cost me years

- Why networking is really just genuine friendship, and how to do it if you're not a natural

Chapters:

0:00 Welcome to The Aligned Singer

3:25 Where I Actually Come From

10:05 Your Starting Line Is Not Your Ceiling

11:07 The Advice Conservatory Never Taught Me

13:34 Step 1: Save Before You Move, Don't Borrow

16:53 Step 2: Networking Is Really Just Friendship

18:45 Lincoln Center With My Mom, Full Circle

24:03 Building Your People Before You Move

27:47 Step 3: Plant Seeds Where You Want to End Up

32:32 Step 4: It's Okay to Be a Freelancer

33:49 Step 5: Skip the Low-Paying Jobs

36:56 Your Skill Set Is Worth More Than You Think

46:01 I'm In Your Corner

Links & Resources:

Website

https://www.sarahhawkeystudio.com

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/voiceteachersarah

TikTok

https://www.tiktok.com/@voiceteachersarah

Subscribe for more episodes of The Aligned Singer. And keep singing!

One of the biggest shifts you can make to reach success faster as a singer has nothing to do with your vocal technique.

It has everything to do with how you show up.

If your dream is to sing professionally, you might think you'll start acting like a professional once you're getting paid to perform consistently. But what if you've got it backwards?

Going pro isn't something someone else gives you when they finally offer you a contract.

It's a way of thinking, working, and showing up that you cultivate over time.

As you consistently treat yourself and your artistry like a professional, that quality begins to be reflected back to you in the way others experience your work, trust you, and invite you into bigger opportunities.

In many cases, becoming the professional comes first. The career simply catches up.

In this episode, you'll learn how to stop waiting until you feel inspired and start showing up for your artistry with the consistency, intention, and professionalism that create lasting momentum. We'll explore how building your life around your artistry, protecting your practice, developing a circle of support, and moving through fear and resistance can help you become the artist you're meant to be.

The muse doesn't show up before you sit down to practice. She shows up because you sat down.

That simple idea has shaped the way I approach my own career as a professional singer, and it continues to challenge me today.

We'll also explore one of the most powerful mindset shifts I've ever experienced: treating your singing career like a relationship. If your career were a person, what would it say about the way you show up for it? Would it say you're consistent, dependable, and committed? Or would it say you disappear for weeks at a time and only come back when inspiration strikes? The way you show up for your artistry matters because your career reflects that energy back to you.

The energy you bring to your singing career is the energy your singing career will give back to you. If you approach your artistry with consistency, intention, and professionalism before the opportunities arrive, you'll be prepared to recognize them, create them, and step confidently into them when they do. The opportunities you're hoping for don't create the professional. More often, the professional mindset is what creates the opportunities.

In this episode you'll learn:

• What "going pro" really means for singers
• Why you don't need to wait until you're getting paid to start thinking like a professional
• How showing up consistently creates momentum in your singing career
• Why inspiration follows action, not the other way around

• How treating your career like a relationship transforms the way you approach your artistry
• Why the energy you bring to your career is often the energy that's reflected back to you
• How to build your life around your artistry instead of squeezing it in whenever you have time
• How to create a support system that helps you grow as an artist
• Why fear and resistance are often signs that you're stepping into a new level of artistry

Chapters

0:00 Welcome!

2:34 What it really means to go pro

7:04 Stop waiting for inspiration

13:01 Treat your singing career like a relationship

15:07 Creating boundaries around your artistic practice

17:50 Building your support team

23:37 Creating opportunities by thinking like a professional

33:12 Moving through fear and resistance

40:53 Success is the byproduct of showing up

43:45 Your pep talk in closing

Links & Resources

Voice Studio:

https://www.sarahhawkeystudio.com

Performance Website:

https://www.sarahhawkey.com

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/sarah.hawkey

Voice Studio Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/voiceteachersarah

TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@voiceteachersarah

Subscribe for more episodes of The Aligned Singer, where you'll learn how to develop your vocal technique, strengthen your mindset, and build a singing career that's aligned with the artist you're becoming.

If you want your voice to sound different a year from now than it does today, one practice matters more than almost anything else: vocalizing.Many singers think vocalizing is just something you do before you start singing.A few scales. A few lip trills. Maybe an exercise your teacher gave you during a lesson.Then you move on to your repertoire.But vocalizing isn't simply the thing you do before the real practice begins.

It is the real practice.

If you've ever wondered how to take your voice from where it is today to where you want it to be, vocalizing is the bridge.

Understanding what it is, and why you're doing it, can completely change the way you practice, and can completely reshape, improve, or even rebuild your voice.

In this episode, I explain what vocalizing is actually designed to do, why every exercise should have a purpose, and how understanding that purpose can help you make much faster progress in your singing. Every vocal exercise is teaching your instrument something. It's either reinforcing the habits your voice already has or helping you build new ones. That's why the exercises you sing matter. They aren't random sounds. They're carefully chosen opportunities to move your voice from where it is today toward where you want it to be.

When you sing exercises without understanding their purpose, it's easy to assume that simply repeating them will create change. But every habit you already have comes into those exercises with you. If you want your voice to develop new qualities, you have to intentionally teach it a new way of functioning.

That's what vocalizing is.

In many ways, vocalizing becomes your voice's teacher.I know this because I had to relearn how my own instrument worked. When I moved to New York City in my twenties, I realized the technique I'd built in college wasn't allowing my voice to function the way it was meant to. I began studying with a teacher on the faculty at Juilliard, and together we started rebuilding my instrument from the ground up. As often as I could afford my lessons, I'd make my way to Lincoln Center. Just walking through those halls and being surrounded by singers performing at the very highest level was incredibly inspiring, even though I felt like I was starting over. Between lessons, I'd return home to the little keyboard I had set up in my room in Astoria and work through each vocal exercise with intention. That's where the real transformation happened. Little by little, those vocalises reshaped my technique and taught my voice a completely new way of functioning.

In this episode you'll learn:

• What vocalizing is actually designed to do

• How every vocal exercise is either reinforcing existing habits or building new ones

• Why understanding the purpose behind each vocalise helps you make faster technical progress

• Why vocalizing becomes your voice's teacher between lessons

• The strategy I've used for years to get more value from every voice lesson recording

• The two moments from every lesson that are worth revisiting in your practice

• Why vocalizing should come before repertoire if you want lasting technical growth

Chapters

0:00 Welcome to The Aligned Singer

2:38 What vocalizing actually is

5:02 What vocalizing is designed to do

8:53 Why random exercises don't always create intentional progress

12:39 Relearning my technique in New York City

18:58 Building the voice you're working toward

22:31 Hearing aligned and misaligned singing

29:19 How to use your lesson recordings more effectively

33:34 The second thing to practice after every lesson

40:05 Why singing teaches singing

46:11 Why vocalizing belongs in your daily practice

49:42 Why repertoire comes second

51:04 Closing thoughts

Links & Resources

Voice Studio

⁠https://www.sarahhawkeystudio.com⁠

Performing Website

⁠https://www.sarahhawkey.com

⁠Instagram

⁠https://www.instagram.com/voiceteachersarah

⁠TikTok

⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@voiceteachersarah

Have you ever caught yourself saying something about your voice that actually ends up limiting you?

Like I can't sing high notes. I'm not good at belting. My mix has always been weak. This part is always hard for me.

What if those thoughts aren't just describing your singing, what if they're actually influencing it?

If you've ever felt stuck in the same vocal technique problem, doubted your ability to reach the next level in your goals for your sound, or found yourself thinking: This is just the way my voice is...then this episode is for you.

In this episode of The Aligned Singer, you and I are exploring one of the most overlooked aspects of vocal development: the connection between your mindset and your vocal technique. 

And here's the thing, I am not a froo froo voice teacher.  I'm a serious technical teacher, but I had to admit after seeing students walk into my studio and say something like, "Oh, I can't sing that high" and literally 10 minutes later we've unlocked it, that those stories you might be telling yourself (and not even realizing it!) are just plain wrong, are rooted in limited thinking, and have gottta go if you want to accelorate your progress and reach your dreams & goals.  

In this episode, I share why the stories you tell yourself about your voice can shape the way you approach difficult notes, challenging repertoire, and even your overall growth as a singer.

This conversation brings together two of the core ideas behind The Aligned Singer that I'm crazy passionate about: the inner work and the outer work.

The outer work is the technical training, practice, and skill development that every singer needs.

The inner work is everything happening behind the scenes in your mind: your beliefs, self-talk, expectations (especially about what'll be hard for you), and the stories you've built from your past experiences.

In this episode, I show you how the inner work & outer work link up, especially in what we're talking about today.

Drawing from my own experience rebuilding my voice after years of technical struggles, along with countless lessons helping singers overcome limiting beliefs in real time, I explain how fixed mindsets can keep us stuck, even when we're practicing consistently.

I also share practical ways to recognize these thought patterns, replace them with more empowering ones, and create the mental space for real vocal breakthroughs to happen.

Your thoughts won't replace great vocal technique, but they can either support your progress or stand in its way. Learning the difference can completely change the way you practice, grow, and experience your voice.

In this episode you'll learn:

• Why your thoughts about your voice directly influence the way you sing

• The difference between the inner work and the outer work of becoming a great singer

• How limiting beliefs create physical tension in your voice

• Why saying "I can't" keeps your singing progress stuck

• The difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset in singing

• How past vocal struggles can become stories that continue affecting your technique

• Why removing judgment during practice can accelerate your progress

• A simple mindset shift you can use the next time you practice

Chapters:

2:24 The Inner Work vs. the Outer Work, Explained

4:53 How Your Thoughts Shape Your Singing

8:16 "I Can't Sing That High" (a true story from my studio!)

13:26 Limiting Stories We Tell Ourselves About Our Singing

16:40 Your Voice Is Your Body

22:51 How Negative Experiences Become Technique Patterns

24:53 Practical Ways to Change Your Mindset While Practicing

Links & Resources

Voice Lessons:
https://www.sarahhawkeystudio.com

Performing Website:
https://www.sarahhawkey.com

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/sarah.hawkey

TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@voiceteachersarah

Subscribe for more episodes of The Aligned Singer on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts!

Performance anxiety, audition anxiety, stage fright, whatever name you give it, is one of the most frustrating things a singer can experience.

You work so hard on your voice. You prepare. You practice. You learn the music. You show up ready.

And then the moment arrives.

You get to your audition or performance, and suddenly your heart is racing, your thoughts are spiraling, and your body feels like it's doing things you can't control.

If you've experienced that, you're not alone.

Several years into my professional singing career, I found myself struggling with severe performance anxiety. I had already spent years rebuilding my voice, developing my technique, and working toward my dream of making a living as a singer. I was finally doing the thing I'd worked so hard to do.

And yet I was having panic attacks on stage.

I reached a point where I knew something had to change. I wasn't willing to let fear take away something I had sacrificed so much for. I had two choices: stop performing, or learn how to work with what was happening in my nervous system.

Thankfully, I chose the second option.

In this episode, I'm sharing one of the very first tools I learned when I finally reached out for help. It's called EFT Tapping, or Emotional Freedom Technique, and we're actually going to do it together.

This isn't just a conversation about stage fright. It's a guided tapping meditation that you can follow along with in real time.

Whether you're preparing for an audition, getting ready for a performance, or simply trying to build a healthier relationship with singing, my hope is that this gives you a practical tool you can return to whenever fear starts taking over.

I also want you to know something.

I am completely free of the stage fright that once felt impossible to overcome.

Today, I genuinely love performing. I feel calm, grounded, present, and connected to my artistry when I step on stage. I never thought that would be possible when I was in the middle of struggling with panic attacks.

That's why I wanted to make this episode.

Because if you're dealing with performance anxiety right now, I want you to know that improvement is possible. You do not have to stay stuck where you are today.

And if you've never tried tapping before, this is a wonderful place to start.

In this episode you'll learn:

• Why performance anxiety and stage fright happen to so many singers
• My personal story of struggling with panic attacks on stage
• What EFT Tapping is and how it works
• A guided tapping meditation you can follow along with in real time
• Why fear and excitement often feel surprisingly similar in the body
• How repetition helps create new neural pathways around confidence while performing

Chapters

0:00 Welcome and my story with performance anxiety

5:04 Why I refused to let stage fright take away my dream

6:53 What EFT Tapping is and how it works

7:47 The tapping points explained

13:00 Guided EFT Tapping Meditation for Singers

22:14 The small part of you that's trying to keep you safe

23:01 Why fear and excitement are physiologically so similar

23:43 Neuroplasticity and creating new performance experiences

24:28 My complete recovery from stage fright and performance anxiety

25:20 Final encouragement and connect with me

Get in Touch

Voice Studio Website
https://www.sarahhawkeystudio.com

Performing Website
https://www.sarahhawkey.com

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/voiceteachersarah

TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@voiceteachersarah

YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/@voiceteachersarah

If your high notes feel strained, pushed, stuck, screamy, or like they’ve completely disappeared lately, this episode is going to help you understand what may actually be going on in your voice.

Because most of the time, the high notes themselves are not actually the problem.

And I know that may sound surprising, especially if the top part of your range is currently making you want to throw yourself dramatically onto the floor after singing.

But in almost every case I’ve seen as a voice teacher, issues with high notes are usually coming from something happening somewhere else in the voice.

That’s what we’re unpacking today.

This conversation came directly out of patterns I’ve been seeing lately in my studio, in my online communities, and in singers who feel frustrated because high notes that used to feel easy suddenly feel hard, or singers who have started believing they “just don’t have high notes anymore.”

And I really want you to hear this:

Losing access to part of your range is not permanent.

Your voice can be retrained.

In this episode, we talk about what’s actually happening behind the scenes when singers start straining, pushing, yelling, over-singing, or pressing in other parts of the voice and how those habits can throw your entire instrument out of balance.

We also get into bel canto, what that word actually means, and why bel canto technique applies to every style of singing, not just opera or classical music.

And honestly, this episode became more emotional than I expected while recording it.

Because I know what it feels like to struggle with your voice.

I know what it feels like to avoid high notes, to feel disconnected from your instrument, to wonder what’s wrong, and to worry that maybe your voice just won’t do what you want it to do anymore.

My own voice was in really rough shape when I moved to New York City for my singing career. And now, after years of retraining and studying vocal technique, I genuinely have the voice I used to dream about having.

Because vocal technique is trainable.

And there is always a way through.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why high notes are often not the real source of the problem
• How over-singing and pushing in middle voice can affect your entire range
• The difference between chest voice, middle voice, head voice, and whistle tone
• Why singers can temporarily lose access to their high extension
• What “pressing” the voice actually means and how it affects vocal balance
• Why drilling difficult high notes repeatedly can actually make them worse
• How bel canto technique helps rebalance the voice from the inside out
• Why middle voice is the most important part of your instrument
• How I retrained my own voice after major vocal struggles

Chapters

0:00 Welcome to The Aligned Singer

2:53 What bel canto actually means

4:05 Why bel canto technique applies to every style of singing

4:38 My own journey retraining my high extension

6:23 What whistle tone actually is

7:34 Why singers lose access to high notes

8:27 The real reason high notes become strained or stuck

9:15 Chest voice, head voice, and middle voice explained simply

11:05 Why middle voice is the most important part of your voice

13:04 How over-singing throws the whole instrument out of balance

14:19 How bel canto technique helps rebalance the voice

17:43 Why practicing the high note itself often makes things worse

22:28 My emotional story about rebuilding my own voice

28:03 Closing thoughts and encouragement

Voice Studio Website
https://www.sarahhawkeystudio.com

Performing Website
https://www.sarahhawkey.com

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/voiceteachersarah

TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@voiceteachersarah

YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/@voiceteachersarah

Do you ever wonder why some singers seem to keep attracting great opportunities (maybe even the ones YOU want) while other singers seem stuck in the same frustrating cycles no matter how hard they work?

That’s what we’re talking about today: Manifesting.

Manifesting isn't waaay out there. At The Aligned Singer we're approaching this conversation in an extremely grounded and practical way.

At its core, manifesting is about understanding how your inner world affects what you continue to create, notice, allow, expect, and attract in your outer world. And as singers, this matters so much more than most of us realize.

Most singers spend years focused almost entirely on the outer work of their career: vocal technique, auditions, applications, networking, repertoire, performance skills, time management, building resumes, trying to get better, trying to get noticed, trying to make opportunities happen.

But many singers never stop to examine what’s happening underneath all of it.

I call this the inner work.

The subconscious beliefs you carry about yourself. The emotional patterns you’ve been living inside for years. The expectations your nervous system has about what is possible for you. The stories you absorbed growing up about success, visibility, worthiness, creativity, money, rejection, artistry, and being seen.

Once I started understanding that the inner work mattered and figured out how to do it, I finally started attracting my dream singing opportunities. That's what I want for you!

In this episode, I talk about the connection between the inner work and the outer work of building a singing career, and why changing your life often requires more than simply working harder.

I also share personal stories from my own journey, including rebuilding my voice after major vocal struggles, moving to New York City without support or connections, and realizing that some of the opportunities I wanted most required internal transformation, not just more effort.

Because the good news is this:

Your brain can change.

Your patterns can change.

Your expectations can change.

And when those internal shifts begin to happen, the opportunities you notice, pursue, allow, and create can start changing too.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What manifesting actually means in grounded, practical language
• The difference between the inner work and outer work of a singing career
• How subconscious beliefs can shape the opportunities you continue attracting
• Why painful patterns can repeat in singers’ lives and careers
• What the reticular activating system is and how it affects your perception
• How neuroplasticity allows your brain and patterns to change
• Why childhood experiences can still affect your confidence and opportunities as an adult singer
• The inner work tools I personally use, including meditation, visualization, journaling, EFT tapping, hypnosis, and EMDR

Chapters

0:47 What manifesting actually means for singers

3:22 The inner work vs. the outer work of your singing career

8:19 Why manifesting helps singers feel more empowered

16:56 Examples of two singers: one with high self-worth and one who struggled

24:11 How subconscious beliefs affect the opportunities you attract

26:16 Looking at the patterns in your life and career

31:08 How childhood experiences can create hidden blocks in adulthood

35:26 The reticular activating system explained simply

37:46 Neuroplasticity and neuropathways: the magic of your brain explained simply

43:26 The tools I personally use for inner work and manifestation

48:14 How to start changing the patterns that no longer serve you

Get in Touch

Voice Studio Website
https://www.sarahhawkeystudio.com

Performing Website
https://www.sarahhawkey.com

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/voiceteachersarah

TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@voiceteachersarah

YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/@voiceteachersarah

Rejection is one of the hardest parts of being a singer. It comes with the territory of pursuing your career as a performer, but me saying that does not make it easier on your emotions when you’re the one living through it.

You know the drill: auditions that you prepared like crazy for, even paid to have coached, self tapes that took hours of preparation only to hear silence after submitting, callbacks where you know you're headed to the next round just to see the cast list come out without your name on it, applications, grants, programs, and opportunities you hoped would work out that you poured your time and energy into preparing for. It hurts.

And we're gonna talk about it today, because learning how to navigate the emotional sting, or even grief, of rejection is incredibly important if you want a sustainable way to pursue your dreams.

But what hurts even more is when rejection starts meaning something about you.

Maybe you start questioning your talent. Maybe you start wondering if you’re behind. Maybe you start wondering if you’re actually cut out for this after all.

So let’s talk about it.

Because rejection is innate to pursuing your craft. If you’re putting yourself out there as a singer, you’re going to hear no. A lot.

In this episode, we’re going to do something about how that feels. I may not be able to change the no for you or lessen the amount of rejection you face, but I am here to help you navigate it in a way that allows you to stay connected to the joy and delight of pursuing what you love to do.

I also share a story about an interview I heard years ago that completely changed the way I think about rejection.

We also talk about:

• the danger of internalizing rejection as meaning something inherently about your worth or ability to succeed

• completing the stress cycle around rejection instead of suppressing or avoiding it

• building a rich life outside of performing so rejection doesn’t become emotionally devastating

• and creating your own work so you can keep moving forward even while hearing no in other parts of your singing life

Because your voice has to be out in the world.

And you can’t let a mountain of no stop you from getting there.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why hearing no is a normal part of putting yourself out there as a singer
• How to stop transferring rejection into a story about your identity and your ability
• The story that completely reframed rejection for me
• How to use the “track it and tweak it” method to find patterns and get strategic
• Why completing the stress cycle around rejection matters for singers
• The personal toolbox I use to stay grounded, refill my well, and keep going
• How creating your own work can keep you inspired and moving forward, even while hearing no elsewhere

Chapters:

0:00 Welcome to The Aligned Singer

2:39 The inner and outer work of handling rejection

5:24 The danger of internalizing rejection as meaning something about your worth or ability to succeed

7:43 Reframing no: redirection, neutrality, and "not yet"

9:21 My favorite reframe: no means you put yourself out there

12:00 The audition log story that completely changed my perspective

16:31 The "track it and tweak it" method

21:03 Completing the stress cycle around rejection instead of suppressing it

22:29 Finding your people: building a circle that understands what this feels like

27:35 Refilling your well so rejection doesn't drain your creativity and confidence

29:39 Reconnecting with inspiration through art, theater, and creativity outside your own field

34:52 Why creating your own work can keep you moving forward while you're hearing no elsewhere

37:43 Closing, pep talk, and connect with me

Get in Touch:

Voice Studio Website
https://www.sarahhawkeystudio.com

Performing Website
https://www.sarahhawkey.com

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/voiceteachersarah

TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@voiceteachersarah

Have you ever walked off stage after a performance or audition and immediately started tearing yourself apart?

Fixating on the one note you didn’t like? Replaying every tiny mistake? Convincing yourself the whole thing was terrible, even when everyone else loved it?

This episode is about that spiral.

And if you’ve experienced it, you are SO not alone.

Today we’re talking about something singers are especially prone to after performances, auditions, juries, competitions, or really any moment where we stand up in front of people and share our voice.

The funhouse mirror effect.

We (meaning singers) are especially prone to this because, as singers, we never have a true feedback loop with our instrument. We can’t hear our voices the way other people hear them. And when vulnerability, perfectionism, insecurity, or emotion enter the picture, our perception can become completely distorted.

In this episode, I share what (shockingly, TBH) happened to me immediately after my most recent solo recital, when I found myself fixating on two tiny mistakes in a two-hour performance and started spiraling into ridiculously harsh self-talk that honestly had no connection to reality.

We’ve gotta talk about it because I see this happen to singers constantly. It comes up in my studio all the time, and I’d honestly lost touch with just how awful it feels to experience.

I also share the exact practical exercises I used to pull myself out of it and get back into a grounded growth mindset instead of staying trapped in the spiral.

Including:

• the somatic “star shape” exercise I use with my students who struggle with this
• a simple way to name positive things about your performance without deflecting
• the journaling exercise that immediately shrunk my mistakes back down to their actual size and helped me get back into a growth mindset

Real Talk: If you stay stuck in that funhouse mirror mental spiral, it can slowly erode your confidence, your joy, your growth, and even your relationship with singing itself.

This is serious stuff. And as your bel canto bestie, I’m not gonna let that happen to you if I can help it.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why singers are especially vulnerable to funhouse mirror-like self-perception after performing
• Why singers never have a true feedback loop with their own instrument
• What the “funhouse mirror effect” actually is and how it distorts your thinking
• The body-based star shape exercise to interrupt the spiral in the moment
• How to name positive things about your performance without deflecting or minimizing
• The simple list-making journaling exercise that helps shrink mistakes back down to their actual size
• How to flip post-performance spiraling into grounded growth for the future
• Why staying stuck in negative self-talk can slowly damage your relationship with singing

Chapters

0:00 Welcome to The Aligned Singer

0:59 Why singers are especially vulnerable to post-performance negative spirals and self-criticism

4:02 The funhouse mirror effect: the negative spiral that erases everything you did well

6:47 My shocking reconnection with this terrible feeling after a recent solo recital

13:52 Practical tools: what to do when the spiral starts

19:17 The star shape exercise: naming three positive things about your performance

21:23 Taking it deeper with this simple list-making journaling exercise

25:55 How to use the negative spiral and flip it for growth in your future

31:15 Real talk about the danger of staying stuck in the spiral

34:19 Closing, pep talk, and connect with me

Get in Touch

Voice Studio Website
https://www.sarahhawkeystudio.com

Performing Website
https://www.sarahhawkey.com

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/voiceteachersarah

TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@voiceteachersarah

YouTube
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Have you ever felt like you were stuck in one gear in your singing?

Pushing. Pressing. Forcing the sound out.

And wondering why it’s not working?

Today I’m sharing a concept I’ve been waiting to teach on this podcast. It comes from bel canto, a vocal tradition that goes back to the 1800s, and it applies to every genre of singing, not just classical.

My greatest bel canto teacher gave it to me in one sentence:

Great oak trees from little acorns do come.

When I moved to New York City with a voice that was wrecked, I had exactly one gear. Loud. I was pushing and forcing every sound out, and the harder I pushed, the further back my technique moved.

What I didn’t understand then is this.

The tiniest sounds in your voice are the seed of your biggest sounds.

Not the quietest. The smallest. The most connected. The most free.

When you learn to access them, they begin to move through your entire range and unlock a fullness and richness that forcing your sound can never create.

I also want to speak directly to something I’ve been hearing from singers.

There is a troubling amount of voice teaching right now that encourages singers to push out more, sing bigger, project harder. If something doesn’t feel right about what you’re being told, please listen to this episode.

Strong does not mean loud.

And pushing your sound out is not the path forward.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What bel canto is and why its principles apply to every genre of singing• Why pushing and forcing your sound moves your technique backwards• What “great oak trees from little acorns do come” means for your voice in practice• Two practical ways to start connecting to smaller, more efficient sound• What to do if you feel like you’re stuck in one gear

Chapters:

0:00 Welcome to The Aligned Singer

2:32 What bel canto is and why it matters for all singers

3:49 The problem with over-singing, pushing, and forcing

5:42 My greatest bel canto teacher and the phrase that changed everything

7:01 Great oak trees from little acorns do come

7:57 My story: moving to New York with a wrecked voice

9:54 One gear: what over-singing actually feels like

12:39 The tiniest sounds create the biggest sounds

13:39 Two ways to find your "acorn" sound

15:54 A lesson that changed how I understood sound

16:50 Working with your softest dynamic levels

20:25 The acorn visual

22:53 A message from a singer that made me speak up

25:30 If your voice teacher is asking you to push and force

28:20 Closing: great oak trees from little acorns do come

Get in Touch

Voice Studio Website⁠⁠https://www.sarahhawkeystudio.com⁠⁠

Performing Website⁠⁠https://www.sarahhawkey.com⁠⁠

Instagram⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/voiceteachersarah⁠⁠

TikTok⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@voiceteachersarah⁠⁠