Based on the works of Jeannie Deva

On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you actually love singing right now? If you’re at a 10, keep crushing it—whatever you’re doing is working. But if that number has started to slip, it might be time to stop “working” at your voice and start finding the spark again.

Why the Joy Fades

Sometimes, singing stops being about the music and starts being about the “grind.” It’s easy to lose your way when you’re:

  • Stressing over what the audience (or your critics) might think. When we perform, we often internalize the “gaze” of others, turning a creative act into a judged trial. This introversion puts your attention on you instead of your audience, where it should be. The resulting anxiety creates physical tension in the throat and chest, making singing more difficult. Now you are even more introverted and we have a dwindling spiral. What started as expression of the soul becomes a high-stakes test that you may fail.
  • Fighting against vocal techniques that just aren’t clicking. Technical mastery should be a bridge to freedom, but sometimes it feels like a wall. If you are constantly over-analyzing your placement or breath support mid-song, you lose the emotional thread of the music. Resolve your vocal technical issues during practice or with a vocal coach, so you don’t have attention on your voice during performance.
  • Battling bad monitors, deafening bandmates, or low-pay gigs in empty rooms. The “logistics” of being a singer can be grueling. When you can’t hear yourself over a loud drummer or you’re performing for a handful of people after a long drive, the physical and financial exhaustion can quickly overshadow the reasons you chose this path in the first place.

When the logistics get loud, the passion gets quiet.

Wisdom from a Heavyweight

Grammy-winning producer and Blue Note Records president Don Was shared a powerful reminder at a Berklee College of Music alumni event. His take? True success comes from creating from the heart. Music is meant to touch people and help them navigate their lives; if you aren’t feeling that connection, your audience won’t either.

How to Get Your Groove Back

  • Recall Your “Why”

    • Take a moment to strip away the career goals and technical hurdles. Reflect on the specific moment or feeling that first drew you to music. By reconnecting with that initial spark—whether it was the solace a song gave you during a hard time or the pure adrenaline of your first performance—you can realign your current work with your original purpose.

  • Redefine Success

    • Success doesn’t always have to be defined by fame or a paycheck. If your current trajectory feels stagnant, pivot your definition of “winning” to something more real and present. If you always compare your current performances against “the Pop Star you never became,” you’ll never enjoy what you are creating right here and now.

    A “win” is intending to do something and then doing it or intending not to do something and not doing it. Intend things you can do like hitting a note with ease that used to be a struggle, or feeling a profound sense of satisfaction for a song well performed.

  • Create for the Sake of Communicating

    • There is a massive, intrinsic reward in simple communication. When you create art without the intent to sell it, post it, or be judged for it, you remove the pressure of “production.” This allows you to explore your vocal performance as a means of making an emotional connection with your audience.

The Vocalist’s “Joy Reset” Checklist

  • The Nostalgia Session

    • Find the very first song that made you want to be a singer and perform it just for yourself. During this session, make a conscious pact to ignore your technique entirely. The goal isn’t to sing it well; it’s to remember how it felt to be a fan of music before you became a “student” of it.

  • The “Inner Critic” Muzzle

    • We all have a voice in our heads that points out every flat note or cracked tone. For one practice session, commit to focusing entirely on the “story” or the message of the lyrics. By prioritizing the narrative over the mechanics, you often find that the technique takes care of itself because your body is reacting naturally to the emotion.

  • The Environment Audit

    • Sometimes eliminating environmental annoyance can restore your enjoyment. Take an objective look at your practice or performance space and identify one recurring annoyance—perhaps your monitor is too quiet, your mic stand is wobbly, or your room is too cold. Fixing even one small technical friction point can significantly lower your stress levels and make singing feel more inviting.

  • The Goal Refresher

    • If the “Rock Star” dream is starting to feel more like a burden than an inspiration, it’s time to pivot. You are not a failure if you re-evaluate and set new goals. Shifting your focus to how your vocal performance serves others can provide a much-needed sense of fulfillment. You can derive tremendous satisfaction from touching your audience with an emotional performance regardless of the venue. Rock stars sometimes do unannounced “incognito” performances at small local bars or nightclubs just to reexperience that intimate connection to their audience.

  • The “Heart-First” Test

    • Perform a mental audit of your repertoire and ask: “If I were never paid or praised for singing these words again, would I still want to say them?” If the answer is no, it’s a sign you’ve drifted too far into “performance for others.” Reclaim your joy by choosing material that resonates with your core values and personal truths.

For more vocal performance know-how, buy, download and use Jeannie Deva’s “Singer’s Guide to Powerful Performances” available on this website.