How to Be a Great Singer: Learning Right-Brain Performance in a Left-Brain World

You know left brain vs. right brain, right?

Left brain:  organized, analytical, judgemental, ego-driven, individual, critical, mathematic, language center, logical, aware of time, tends to rush, tends to live in the past and future, tends to get caught in cycles of thought, likes to classify, sense of personal identity, aware of details, multitasker, tells stories to make sense of our life.

Right brain: creative, holistic, aware of body language and tone of voice, naturally joyful, not aware of time, lives in the present moment, nonjudgemental, noncritical, out-of-the-box thinker, aware of energy dynamics, intuitive, slow-moving, based in the senses, aware of the big picture, singly focused, thinks in images rather than language, open to new possibilities.

We all have both sides of the brain, obviously.  But some of us let the left brain run rampant more than others.  The right brain doesn’t get a chance to express itself very often.

It’s understandable.  Western society rewards left-brain values:  measurable progress, organization, classification, responsibility, science, mathematics, reason, being reliable and on time!  Science and technology jobs generally pay more than creative jobs.  We have grown up focusing on developing our left brain’s dominance.

But the left brain is where these things come from:

• Negative mind chatter
• Nervousness
• Self-criticism
• Fear of failure or fear of being embarrassed
• Fear of behaving outside the box
• Worst-case stories about what did or could happen… such as on stage

(There are lots more, but you get the idea!)

So… in order to give a performance that people actually enjoy, you need to learn to TURN DOWN THE LEFT BRAIN so the creative, nonjudgemental right brain can do what it knows how to do:  Make good music inspired by your Source.

When you turn off the left brain chatter, you let the right brain run your body in a holistic way.  Magical things happen.  Time slows down, things become easy.  You are able to do things you couldn’t do before. 

In a very literal sense, it is a glimpse of nirvana.

I have experienced this feeling both in competitive waterskiing and on stage, and I feel so passionately about its power to change people’s lives that I want you to know about it!  Yes, I am offering a workshop series on Performing in the ZONE (see sidebar), but if you’re not ready, check out my Recommended Books list, pick one, and get started.

(c) 2009 Adrienne Osborn

Adrienne Osborn is a vocalist and performance coach based in Colorado.   For more free articles and tips, visit https://PerformanceHigh.net.