For this first post I’d like to take some time to introduce myself and talk a little bit about why I decided to create this new site and blog, as well as what I hope to accomplish with it. If you have read my bio you’ll know that my passion for music is only matched by my passion for emotional healing and spiritual growth, and the goal of this site and blog is to bring those two passions together. The topics I will focus on will be anything from music to yoga, healing, spirituality and psychology. I love to sing and create music, but I am also equally interested in how sound and music affects us physically, emotionally and not least energetically. On the flip side of that, I also like to explore how yoga, as well as emotional and vibrational healing tools affect our creative expression and in my case, my singing voice.
The latter is something I have personally gained a deeper insight into lately through my own personal experiences. Shortly after I released my first album, I got a major writer’s block that ended up lasting 10 years. Some personal things happened in my life around that time, that forced me to take a step back from music. Although I never felt that I gave it up, as music has always been and continues to be very important to me, I simply was incapable of continuing with it at the time. During those 10 years I would try to write from time to time, but nothing I tried seemed to work. I realized I had to let it go and hope that it would come back to me when the time was right.
Initially, this was a challenging period for me, but it led me to explore other aspects of myself, which has been invaluable. This time of my life helped me heal and grow and go deeper into my own inner essence through the power of Kundalini Yoga and meditation, vibrational healing and chakra work. In fact, I became so passionate about the healing power in these modalities, that I forgot about the music for a while, and dedicated my time to studying and teaching them myself. In the end I accepted the possibility that I might never write songs and create music in the way I used to. This was of course when out of the blue, when I least expected it, the inspiration and creative flow returned. This happened after I moved back to Norway, and I think the fact that I returned to my roots and the healing that it brought about, was an important reason why it happened at that time.
When songs started flowing through me again, I felt the need to shift my focus back to the music. I began to dedicate more time to songwriting and vocal exercises to slowly get my singing voice back in shape. Coming back to the music after that long of a break was both exciting and a little daunting, but I also realized that the time away from it had been important, and that I now see things in a slightly new light. The healing and growth I accomplished during that time has had an impact on what I want to say through my music, as well as how I say it. I now feel that I’m able to follow my own intuition and trust myself more when it comes to my own voice and what I want to express through my music.
What has been really fun to discover over the last month or so, is how elements in yoga can help my singing voice (and my creative expression also) in ways that I hadn’t quite been able to put together before. It has been great to finally feel those elements falling into place. As I have explored various vocal techniques over the years with different teachers, I have also come to realize that not all exercises are good for all types of singers. It is important to find what works for you and your voice. I am working on putting together my own personal vocal practice these days, where I focus on strengthening my voice without losing what is unique about it, but also make sure to include exercises that I specifically need in order to address certain issues in my singing. I have come to realize at an even deeper level than before how many different aspects affect your singing voice. As it is an organic instrument, how you feel both emotionally, physically and spiritually has an impact, and just doing vocal exercises is not enough to reach its fullest potential. (I’ll talk more about this in later blogs!)
I am now getting ready for another semester at university, and I also work full time, so over the next few months I won’t have time to do a lot around music, but I intend to keep working on my voice and write a little when time allows (both music and blog posts). The fall semester this year I have completely off, so my goal is to dedicate that time to work on my new album as much as possible. In the meantime, I aim to write a blog post at least once a month, perhaps more if I find the time and feel inspired to. That way I’ll have some accountability, and also have a place to reflect and keep track of my own experiences and developments.
If you have any thoughts or ideas about anything I write on my blog, I’m always open to hearing other points of view. Comments and observations are always welcome! With that I sign off for now, but look forward to writing more again soon.
Much love & light,
Sweet Annie Sounds 