Voice and emotions

It has been and continues to be a fundamental issue in my work, both as a trainer and as an artist

I'm often confronted with the question of therapy, and to what extent vocal work may or may not represent a form of therapy. It's not that I have a clear and concise answer, but in my opinion it all depends on the form or intention with which the connection between the voice and emotions is presented, guided and created

I've helped countless people along the way, whether in singing lessons, Roy Hart or spoken voice, with the most diverse pathologies and difficulties. My clinical experience, both in hospital and in the studio, has allowed me to realise that there are many issues in the voice that go far beyond the anatomical, physiological and acoustic aspects of both singing and the spoken voice.

My studies in psychotherapy have allowed me to delve deeper into many issues, and to realise many others that were not visible to me. What state of presence and awareness should I have when I'm in front of a client, because this simple act (which is not so simple) in itself generates many questions. The relational field and the state of presence is something that fascinates me and, in my opinion, it is in this field that everything operates and transforms.

How many times have we gone to see a show with high sound and visual production that didn't even move us emotionally, and we ended up taking nothing home. Other times, in simpler productions, our emotions run high and for months we carry it in our hearts, feeling the connection between voice and emotions.

How many singers have we heard, extremely well tuned, with immense posture and vocal tessitura, but who don't convey emotion, who don't touch us, who don't make us want to hear more. Is it us who aren't open to hearing it fully? Is it the singer who isn't emotionally connected to what they're singing, and therefore doesn't convey any feeling? Or both?

How can I help a singer or speaker convey more feeling in their voice and create a greater connection between voice and emotions?

There are countless proposals for interpreting exercises, for creating more connection to the text, for feeling and incorporating the words and their meaning more, but are these really enough for this purpose? How can I help someone to feel if I myself am not open to feeling, and when I say feeling, I mean the sensations felt in the body, moment by moment, and their reflection in the emotional and relational field. A more expanded and embodied state of presence can be a more authentic way of feeling and relating to ourselves, others, beings and things... awareness... It requires a lot of training, perseverance and resilience, but its impact is immediate, and in my opinion, it is precisely from here that the clinical or artistic approach is defined.

I'll continue to address this issue in my next post

Vocal greetings,

João Charepe