Two Voices: One Wants to Sing, One Wants You to Stay Small

Here we are again! Thanks for visiting my blog.

This week I will  introduce you to two voices that live inside most of us:

The one that wants to speak.
And the one that says, “Who do you think you are?”

The second voice? That’s your inner critic. And it can be so convincing we think it’s ‘the truth’

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The Inner Critic Is Loud, But It’s Not Right

I meet a lot of people who say they “can’t sing.”
When I ask why, it’s usually something like:

• A music teacher told them to mime in Year 7.
  
  

• A parent or sibling mocked them once.
  
  

• They listened to a recording of themselves and wanted to crawl into a hole.
  
  

These memories become the inner critic’s script.

It’s that voice that pipes up every time you try to do something vulnerable or expressive. Singing. Writing. Speaking your truth. Setting a boundary. Trying something new.

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Here’s the Thing: That’s Not Your Real Voice

Your real voice—the one that wants to connect, express, and create—it’s still in there.

It’s just quieter. Or maybe it’s gone into hiding, waiting for you to make it feel safe again.

In my studio (and in my own life), I’ve seen time and time again that singing can help you separate those two voices.

It doesn’t always happen in the first lesson. But little by little, sound by sound, something shifts. You stop believing everything the critic says. You start recognising, “Oh… that’s just that voice again. The one that wants me to stay small and sit in a corner”

You realise your job isn’t to be perfect.
It’s to be honest. To be present. To make a sound anyway.

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It’s Not About Silencing the Critic—It’s About Not Letting It Take the Wheel

You might never fully get rid of the critic. That’s okay.
It’s just not allowed to sit in the driver’s seat anymore.

Every time you sing, write, speak—even when it’s shaky—you build new pathways in your brain. And that quiet voice insider gets a little louder and you start to trust it a little more.

Give yourself  permission to be human. 

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Want to Reclaim Your Voice?

If this makes sense to you, I invite you to work with me.
I offer private voice lessons (in-person or online), creative coaching, and group classes that are less about “singing perfectly” and more about getting out of your own way.

Let’s help that quieter voice get a little louder.

🔗 Find out more at https://lisarichardsmusic.com/singing-lessons-classes

Lisa
Singer, teacher, and professional survivor of very loud inner critic monologues.