Why Does Singing Make Me Cry / Happy? The Effect Of Singing On Your Emotions

why does singing make me cry

You have probably seen some singers cry during their performance. Maybe you have also shed tears while belting out a tune. Do you wonder why singing makes you cry?

When you sing, the song lyrics or melody can remind you of some emotional memories. These memories may create a significant impact on your emotions and make you cry.

There are other possible reasons for your tears while performing a song. Besides, chanting not only makes you cry, but it also makes you happy.

The explanations for these changes in your emotions are available in this post. Let’s explore together!

Why Does Singing Make Me Cry?

When you see someone crying, the first reason you think of is often sadness. But if you shed tears when singing, sadness is not necessarily the cause.

The following reasons can explain why you weep when belting out a tune.

Emotional memories

Another cause for your tears is the emotional memories triggered by the song.

The lyrics or melodies of the song make you remember some sad things, and you cry when you sing it. In this case, the real things that water your eyes are your memories other than the song.

If your crying doesn’t affect the quality of your singing, you can let it happen. In this way, you can improve the emotion for your performance and make it more intimate to the audience.

However, if you can’t stop sobbing, your performance will get interrupted. You should find some ways to control your emotions and prevent them from affecting your voice.

Stage fright

Feeling too nervous about your performance can make you cry when singing.

This situation often occurs with beginning singers as they have never been on the stage before. Besides, many people also get stage fright when they sing in front of others, even their family.

But not everyone experiencing stage fright cries while performing. This state can make some people stand still and not remember the lyrics. For others, stage fright makes them feel so stressed and scared that they burst into tears.

You don’t need to feel ashamed or disappointed if you cry while chanting because of stage fright. Don’t let that fear make you give up singing. You should practice performing in front of others, and you will get through it.

Emotional projection

As we mentioned above, crying can be beneficial for your performance. So, many singers cry when belting out a sad song to project some emotions into it.

However, emotional projection is relatively challenging to do. You should think about the risk of this method for your performance. If you can’t handle it well, you may lose control and cry too much.

So, you need to consider well before projecting emotions into your singing.

Happiness

Tears don’t always go hand in hand with sadness, but they also show happiness. You may have complex feelings when you belt out a tune.

Sometimes, the performance’s pride, joy, and excitement make you overwhelmed and shed some tears. The case could be a show you’ve been waiting for or singing on your dream stage.

It’s understandable when you cry due to happiness, and you can express it naturally.

Facial muscle contraction

In many cases, you still have tears in your eyes even though you don’t want to cry or get emotionally affected. It may be due to the effect of singing on your facial muscles.

When you widen your mouth to reach high notes, you pressure the muscles around the lacrimal gland. As a result, tears will flow, like when you yawn.

You can find the explanation for your watery eyes when you yawn via this video. It analyzes the tear’s composition and the relation between lacrimal glands and face muscles.

If you have good control of your facial muscles, you can manage the operation of your lacrimal gland. That means you can wet your eyes with tears as you desire.

Sing with a hum or closed vowels

Although this situation rarely happens, some people say that they tear up when they do humming. Some others wet their eyes when they sing the nasal sounds like “n” or closed vowels like “e.”

In these cases, you shed tears due to the vibration you create when singing certain sounds. The vibration occurs in the areas around your eyes, making them irritated, so tears flow.

If you get this problem when singing, you can try changing the way you pronounce these sounds. For instance, you can lower your jaw to reduce the vibration produced when holding the vowel “e.”

Besides, separating the back of your tongue from the throat will help avoid irritating your eyes.

How To Avoid Crying When Singing

Shedding a couple of tears can make your performance more impressive. But it would be terrible if you weep uncontrollably. You can try the tips below to avoid being too emotional on the stage.

Try the meditation method

To calm your emotions and control them more easily, you can practice meditation. This relaxation method will help you relieve your stress and pent-up sentiments.

Moreover, through meditation, you will learn how to control your feelings and avoid emotional outbursts. You should practice this relaxation technique every day to get the most out of it.

Take a short break

In case you are singing but feel highly emotional, you can ask for a short break. Sometimes, you only need several seconds to calm down and manage your emotions.

Find a solution for your emotional problems

First, you should define the part of the song that makes you shed tears. Then, find out the reason why you have extreme emotions when performing this part.

Once you are clear about your emotional problems, you can handle them more easily.

If it’s impossible to get through those feelings, you should try to think about other things. Also, you can avoid performing songs that bring you too much sad sentiments.

Breathe deeply

When you think you can’t manage your feelings, try to take a deep breath, then exhale slowly.

This action can help calm you down a bit to complete your performance. Besides, breathing deeply also provides you with more air support to sing.

Practice the song multiple times

Another way to prevent yourself from sobbing when chanting a specific song is by practicing it many times.

You will get used to it and not get extremely emotional as the first time you sing. Performing it, again and again, will help you control your feelings better.

Why Does Singing Make Me Happy?

Belting out a tune can bring you a lot of positive feelings. If you are wondering why you feel happy when you sing a song, check the following reasons.

Reduce stress

Singing will stimulate your body to release more endorphins – a hormone creating good feelings.

In addition to endorphin, crooning your favorite melodies will increase the level of a bonding hormone named oxytocin.  The effect of this hormone is to increase trust and enhance the bond with others.

Besides, when singing, you will focus on music and lyrics and leave all your worries behind. Thus, your emotion will change positively, and you can get rid of stress after chanting.

Express your emotions

Sometimes, you have feelings that you can’t express through words. But music can help the audience understand your true emotions. So, after you sing, you will feel much more comfortable as you have released the contents in your heart.

Enhance breathing and relax your muscles

Singing will help your breathing become more regular and let more air go into your lungs. So, you will have a relaxed and calm feeling.

Moreover, if you sing with the correct techniques, you can relax most of your muscles. Physical relaxation is one of the factors creating your happiness.

Make you more beautiful

When you sing, the blood will circulate better, and your skin becomes more rosy and youthful. Additionally, singing is a workout activity that helps you burn calories and keep your figure.

You will also get a good posture due to this activity. As a result, you will become more beautiful, and of course happier.

Final Words

Above are some reasons why singing makes you cry or happy. It’s normal if you shed tears when performing a song.

Sometimes crying can make your performance better than usual. But it’s necessary to control your emotions to avoid affecting your singing ability. We hope that you will have a perfect emotional performance.

Thank you for following this post!

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