If you can talk, you can sing!
For anyone who says they can't sing.
The gap between anatomy and belief
When I talk about the physical and emotional benefits of singing, the most common response I hear is a variation of ‘I can't sing"‘ ‘I'm completely tone-deaf’, or ‘I would love to, but I really can't.’
It is true that a small percentage of the population has a genuine neurological barrier to processing pitch. Up to 4 per cent of people have congenital amusia, a condition that cannot be explained by hearing loss, brain injury, or other cognitive factors. Yet, in any given room, far more than 4 per cent of people will insist they are permanently and completely unable to carry a tune.
That gap between reality and the stories we tell about ourselves is significant. We accept that playing the piano, the guitar or the violin will require hundreds of hours of practice to master, even though some people seem to have more of a natural affinity for it than others. But because our voices are an inherent part of our anatomy, we tend to believe that singing tunefully is an innate, binary gift: you either have it or you don’t.
Celebrating Neurodiversity
For adults navigating late-diagnosed ADHD, burnout, or sensory overload: how somatic grounding helps when the world isn't built for your brain.
Beyond the language of 'disorder'
It feels more positive, here and now, to be discussing neurodiversity as a term to describe the broad and glorious spectrum of different neurotypes that exist across human populations. The word is celebratory, with ‘diversity’ seen as something to be achieved and delighted in. An acknowledgement of all the different ways that brains can work and that this contributes to the many different skills and traits that make up a well-rounded society. Of course, neurodivergent brains are still described through the language of ‘disorder’ and still, in many cases require support, be it medical or psychoeducational. I’ve been reframing the language of ‘disorder’ for myself by looking at some of the traits and tendencies that can present challenges, and how they often seem to have a ‘mirror’ trait that is an advantage (like the struggle to think clearly through a task in ordered steps, vs. the creative thinking that gave me the edge in those 4am essays). Still, a society that, just like the school system I remember, is not designed with neurodivergent experiences in mind can be an exhausting place to navigate.