Stammering and singing
Posted on 12th September 2024 at 18:01
Photo: Richie Luego, Unsplash
Singing is an activity enjoyed by people around the world, and here at the Music Workshop Company we see every day the different ways that it can benefit people. But one little-known benefit occurs for people who stammer – with many people affected finding that singing can help to reduce their stammer.
We take a look at some of the people with a stammer who have made their names as singers, and explore the potential reasons singing can have such a dramatic impact for people who stammer.
What is stammering?
Stammering – also known as stuttering – is a communication disorder that causes a person’s flow of speech to be broken. A person who stammers may repeat or prolong words or sounds, or they may get stuck without any sound. It’s estimated that least 1% of adults are affected, and about 8% of children will stammer at some point.
Stammering can often first occur when children are starting to develop their speech, between the ages of two and five. As we learn to speak, different parts of the brain responsible for breathing and talking need to communicate with each other, allowing us to say words in the right order and control our rhythm, pauses and emphasis. If different parts of the brain are not co-ordinated, for example while the brain is still developing, we may stammer.
You might expect, then, that someone with a stammer would struggle when it comes to singing. But in fact, many people affected find that singing can dramatically reduce their stammer or eliminate it altogether.
Famous singers who stammer
There are many examples of people with a stammer who have had incredibly successful careers as singers – from Carly Simon to Ed Sheeran and Scatman John, whose hit ‘Scatman’ famously made a feature of his stammer. Other examples include:
Elvis Presley
Elvis’ stammer certainly didn’t stop him from being labelled ‘the King of Rock and Roll’. The singer, who also acted in many films, opened up about his stammer in an article for his fan club magazine in 1956, describing an early screen test:
“Whenever I get excited, I stutter a little bit. I have a hard time saying 'when' or 'where' or any words that start with 'w' or 'i’. …. Well, I can tell you I really had a hard time with the 'w's and 'i's that day.”
In fact, the film’s execs felt his stammer made his performance more natural, and his acting career took off alongside his music.
You can hear Elvis’ stammer in this video as he introduces the song ‘Maybelline’.
Gareth Gates
“I just want to say first, I have a stammer, so I’m finding it hard,” said Gareth Gates as he stood in front of the Pop Idol judges for his audition. But when Gates opened his mouth to sing, his words flowed perfectly, and the judges were immediately impressed.
Gates was the eventual runner-up of the contest, and went on to sell millions of records as well as finding success in musical theatre. In 2005 he also qualified as a speech coach, enabling him to support other people who stammer.
Kendrick Lamar
Rapper Kendrick Lamar talked about his childhood stammer in an interview with the New York Times, saying: “As a kid, I used to stutter. I think that’s why I put my energy into making music …. That’s how I get my thoughts out.”
Today, he is considered one of the most important hip hop artists of his generation, and he was awarded the Pullitzer Prize for Music in 2018.
Megan Washington
In her 2014 TEDx Talk, the musician Megan Washington opened up about the impact her stammer has on her, and how it led to her becoming a singer.
"Singing for me is sweet relief. It is the only time when I feel fluent," she said in her talk. The songwriter has won multiple awards for her work, including the Australian Jazz Bell Award for Best Australian Jazz Vocal Album, and Best Female Artist at the 2010 ARIA Music Awards.
How does singing help people with a stammer?
Although it’s not clear exactly why singing helps reduce people’s stammers, a number of possible reasons have been suggested.
1. Singing is different to talking
Of course, both singing and speaking involve forming words – but there are also big differences between them. The way we use our vocal chords, our lips and our tongue to produce sound when we’re singing is very different to what we do when we’re talking, and it’s thought that this may play a role in the difference for people who stammer.
2. People may feel less anxious
Sadly, people with a stammer are often met with impatience when they try to communicate. The tendency for people to interrupt or finish their sentences adds pressure to conversations. However, in singing, this dynamic is removed, and some believe that reducing this element of pressure may also help to reduce a stammer.
3. Singing helps us breathe
Of course, we all need to breathe all the time! But the way we breathe is important for the way we produce sound, and it’s particularly important for singing. Some research has suggested that the way singing helps to regulate people’s breathing may also have an impact on their stammer.
4. Singing can involve familiar words
When we speak, we are often searching for words as we form our sentences. It’s been suggested that this process of real-time ‘word retrieval’ can play a role in a person’s stammer. In contrast, often when we sing a song we already know the words well.
5. Singing uses different parts of the brain
Research has shown that there is some overlap between the areas of the brain that are involved in speech and singing, with the left side of the brain being used to produce language. But singing also relies on the right side of the brain to produce rhythm and melody, and it’s been suggested that by activating this part of the brain, singing may help people who stammer.
Ultimately, researchers are yet to pinpoint the exact reasons that people tend not to stammer while singing – it may be due to a combination of these things, or another reason entirely.
But what is clear is that singing does help people who stammer – and as an activity that releases feel-good chemicals into the brain, singing can be hugely enjoyable for anyone, whether you stammer or not. So we’d encourage everyone to try singing to see what it does for you – check out our top tips for singing to help you get started.
Further reading
You can find the charity STAMMA’s guide to stammering, including downloadable resources for teachers at: https://stamma.org/about-stammering/stammering-facts/what-is-stammering
Tagged as: BENEFITS OF MUSIC, SINGING
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