Stretch your creative limits
How extending your range can boost your creative and musical confidence
When I was a kid my brother and I were allowed to roller-skate in the very tiny church hall behind our house.
We’d strap skates to our sneakers and tear around on the wooden floor, bashing into furniture and walls (the only way to stop as far as we knew), and generally having a very good time.
Fast forward to the first time I went to a proper rink and there I was, fingers curled around the barrier because I knew—I just knew!—that were I to let go and skate out in to the middle I would crash and burn.
But I did let go, dear reader.
And while my knees did pay the price, I also remember that feeling of euphoria when I realised I could do an entire loop, and then do it again and again.
A little bit of that feeling and the confidence that came with it stayed with me the next time I skated in the church hall. I felt invincible, like a giant, careening from table to chair to windowsill to doorway.
Music and creativity
When it comes to music and all things creative, it can be very easy to stick with what we know. I see it with some of my singing students who are—until I get my hands on them—too afraid to try singing notes lower or higher than those that match their speaking voice, because what if they can’t do it?
It feels much easier to stick to safe territory instead of pushing the boundaries. Throw in the fact that the first time they do try it doesn’t always sound very good, and it’s a done deal, right?
But as soon as we do start (gently) moving up a bit higher and a bit lower, very soon there’s an incredible transformation. Sure, their range starts to increase, but it’s how it affects their approach to singing and music in general that’s so amazing.
My students feel much more confident in what they can already do because now they know they have a buffer zone, and those few notes they were singing are right in the middle. But not only, because now there are also new notes to play around with, and perhaps even more to come.
They also feel much less afraid of trying something new. It’s so empowering to try something you were afraid of and come out on the other side wanting to do it again, to keep testing the waters without feeling like you’re drowning, and to be open to new possibilities.
Want to practice stretching your creative limits?
Here are a few easy ways for you to experiment with s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g your range. Make sure you do these in the spirit of ‘giving them a go and seeing what happens’.
Because it’s not about being good, it’s about experimenting and moving (just a little) outside your comfort zone.
- Sing (or hum). Find a song you love and know well and sing along. You can try humming first to ease into it. Notice where your voice naturally sits, then gently push yourself to explore higher and lower notes. If you’re up for it, try singing a harmony part above or below the melody.
- Draw or doodle. Grab a pen and doodle something without lifting pen or pencil from the paper. Or try sketching something with your non-dominant hand, or with your eyes closed.
- Move in a new way. Try a few minutes of slow, exaggerated movement. Walk really slowly, don’t move your arms at all, or wave them in an unusual pattern. Balance on one foot and see how far you can lean forwards or backwards.
- Flip the script. Take something routine (a daily task, a habit, a piece of writing) and do it differently. Write a to-do list as a poem. Cook a meal with only three ingredients. Or say yes to something you’d usually dismiss.
And if even in the midst of experimenting with expanding your range, you choose to sometimes only use the notes in the middle (to return to my singing analogy), then remember that this time it’s your choice, and not just because that’s all you can do.
And that’s the most empowering and exciting bit of it all. Just ask younger Kate, who felt invincible when she realised that, yes, she could skate out into the middle of the rink!
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