@just.iammaria
She/her
As I continue my academic and creative journey, I find myself increasingly drawn to exploring greater freedom and authenticity through my singing voice.
I often wonder how I might access my natural, untrained voice , as distinct from my trained, classical one. To do so, I must consciously undo certain habits and expectations instilled through years of classical training, and learn to accept sounds that, to me, once seemed ugly or foreign. Yet these sounds are undeniably me , part of my vocal identity. My voice, my sounds, they carry my energy, my soul, and my story.
This process of creative and vocal exploration feels thrilling, yet I’ve long sensed that such experimentation seems more permissible for contemporary singers than for classical ones. When a classically trained singer ventures beyond the expected boundaries, it often seems to “not work” sonically or at least, that’s what we’ve been told.
Then, something exciting happened. A contemporary singer whose career I’ve followed for the past eight years, Rosalía, an artist with flamenco roots released a new album that beautifully merges classical and contemporary sound worlds. On it, she explores her own classical tone and technique, and it is utterly captivating.
In her New York Times interview, Rosalía says:
“Everything is in constant movement… why shouldn’t my sound change with me?”
Isn’t that the truth? Why shouldn’t our voices evolve as we do? Why are we so attached to definition, to labels, to the boxes we build around ourselves?
Throughout my life as a classical singer, I’ve heard the same cautions repeated:
“Don’t sing contemporary music, you’ll damage your voice.”
“You’ll undo your classical technique.”
Has anyone else heard these reasonings?
Now, I feel even more determined to continue down this path of vocal and creative exploration to find out what else lives inside my voice, my body, my imagination.
More colours, more possibility, more storytelling await when I open myself to the next chapter of my sound.
This reflection is part of my ongoing creative research journey, I am Maria! An exploration of voice, identity, and transformation. Through song, story, and self-inquiry, I continue to listen for the voice that remembers, heals, and creates – Marina