Day 17
The Power of Singing Your Music 🎶
I’m going to let you in on a secret that transformed my playing: I sing. A lot. 🎵
Not in concerts (thankfully for everyone’s sake! 😅), but in my practice room. And I’m going to suggest something today that might make you feel a bit silly at first — but stick with me, because this technique is used by virtually every professional musician I know 🎻🎹🥁.
You should be singing your music.
Even if you play piano, violin, drums, or any other non-wind instrument.
Even if you think you can’t sing.
Especially if you think you can’t sing. 💪
Here’s why:
When you can sing a phrase, you truly understand it — not just intellectually, but in your body, in your breath, and in your musical soul 🌟. You know where the phrase is going, how it should shape, where the tension builds and releases.
I discovered this quite by accident during my time at music college 🎓. I was struggling with a particularly tricky saxophone passage — technically I could play the notes, but musically it felt dead. My teacher asked me to sing it. Just the melody, no words, no fancy technique.
Just sing it. 🎶
I couldn’t do it. I stumbled, forgot notes, lost the shape of the phrase 😬.
That’s when the penny dropped — how could I possibly play it musically on my instrument when I couldn’t even sing it? My fingers might have learned the mechanics, but my brain hadn’t learned the music 🧠.
So I spent a week singing that passage — in the shower 🚿, walking to college 🚶♀️, making dinner 🍳, waiting for the bus 🚌. I sang it until I could do it without thinking, until the shape of the melody was as natural as speaking.
When I picked up my saxophone again 🎷, everything changed. The passage that had felt mechanical suddenly had life, direction, purpose ✨. Because I wasn’t just playing notes anymore — I was singing through my instrument.
🎯 Here’s what singing does for you:
1. It reveals what you don’t actually know 🔍
You might think you know a piece because your fingers can play it. But try singing it — all of it, not just the melody. Can you do it? If not, that’s where your weak spots are. Those bars where you stumble while singing? Those will trip you up in performance.
2. It develops your musical ear 🎧
When you sing, you’re using your internal ear — the voice inside your head that hears music before you play it. With a stronger inner ear, you anticipate phrase shapes, catch wrong notes before playing them, and play with intention rather than hope.
3. It connects you to the breath and flow of music 🌬️
All music breathes — even piano music. Singing reveals natural inhale/exhale points, which become expressive phrasing in your playing.
4. It forces you to simplify and focus on what matters 🎯
Singing removes distractions of technique, leaving only line, shape, and emotion.
5. It helps you memorize faster 🧠⚡
Multiple sensory pathways = faster learning and far better retention. Neuroscience confirms this.
Now, I know what some of you are thinking:
“But Fiona, I really can’t sing. I’m tone-deaf.” 😱
First — true tone-deafness is extremely rare. Most people who think they can’t sing have simply been told so by someone careless or unkind 💔.
Second — this isn’t about sounding good.
This is about internalising the music 💫.
Your voice cracking or being slightly off-pitch doesn’t matter. What matters is that you are hearing and feeling the music from the inside.
🎵 Today’s Task (5–10 minutes):
Today, I want you to practice singing before playing. 🙌
Step 1: 🎼 Choose a phrase from your current piece — 4–8 bars.
Step 2: 🎤 Sing through it while looking at the music.
Step 3: 🔁 Sing it three times. Notice where you hesitate.
Step 4: 🎹 Now play it. Notice what changed.
Step 5: 🔁 Alternate: sing ➜ play ➜ sing ➜ play (at least 5 times)
Tomorrow and the next day, start every practice session by singing first.
⭐ For Advanced Players
1. Sing the inner voices 🧠
2. Sing one line while playing another 🎹🎤
3. Sing your piece in different styles 🎭
4. Sing without the music 📖❌
5. Record yourself singing & listen back 🎙️👂
I once had a student who believed she had no musical expression. Everything sounded mechanical. I asked her to sing “Happy Birthday” 🎂. She sang it beautifully — expressive and full of emotion. I recorded it and played it back:
“You already have musicality. Now bring it to the piano.”
Singing became her secret weapon. Her playing transformed.
You have that same musicality inside you.
Singing is how you unlock it 🔓✨.
🎤 A note about doing this around others 😉
You might worry that family will think you’re odd. My advice: do it anyway!
Practice in the shower, in the car, on walks with headphones on 🚶♂️🎧.
Anyone watching thinks you’re just humming along.
Don’t let self-consciousness block powerful progress 💪.
🎶 Try it today.
I promise — once you feel the difference, singing will become as essential to your practice as your instrument.
Happy singing (and practicing)! 😄
Fiona
P.S. 🤔 Struggling to pitch?
Speak the rhythms (“ta ta ti-ti ta”) while thinking about the melodic shape.
Still hugely beneficial — but try singing first. You might surprise yourself 🌟.