Kinesthesia is the perception of your own body, how it moves, where it moves, and the type of movement. Your kinesthetic sense is an essential skill to mastering singing as it is the awareness of all of the muscles and parts of your body you sing with. With this awareness you can better determine exactly how much energy you require for any given movement and thus create the most efficient and beautiful singing you are able to.
I've stolen an exercise to become aware of your kinesthetic sense from a book I'll reference below. Raise one hand over your head where you cannot see it. Even though you cannot see your hand you know exactly where your hand is located. As you wiggle your fingers, use your kinesthetic sense to notice where your hand/fingers are. You can feel both the location and type of movement. It usually feels like a slight tingling. If you lower your hand and use your eyes your kinesthetic sense will often fade somewhat. If you try this again you should notice the feeling come back. This sense can be improved simply by becoming aware of it and using the sense regularly.
Next, stand in front of a mirror and use your kinesthetic sense to detect small movements. Notice small movements such as the feeling of movement at rest. You may feel small movements of your arms or head. Stand like you are about to sing as see if this movement is still there or if it becomes tense. Sing a few notes and note the small movements or lack thereof. The stiffer your body is the stiffer your sound will be. Allow those small movements to happen and make your body feel free and buoyant. Sing a few notes and you should sound much more relaxed and smooth.
There is more to kinesthesia than this, but you can either sign up for singing lessons with me by clicking here or read the first chapter of the book listed below!
Malde, Melissa, et al. What Every Singer Needs to Know about the Body. San Diego, Ca, Plural Publishing, Inc, 2013.
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