Why do people who stutter, don’t stutter when singing?
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Stuttering/stammering occurs because of a mix of different reasons. Some of this is to do with speech (how our bodies say sounds when we talk). And some of this is to do with expressive language (how our brains put sentences together).
There are particular brain regions that are used to put a sentence together. We call the ‘journey’ of the sentence a pathway, or processing. People who stutter use a longer/less efficient pathway to put sentences together. This means that, while they might have very good language skills, there is more stress on the brain when they put a sentence together. Some people with language disorders also have a stutter, which comes about because it is very hard for them to put sentences together because they struggle to acquire grammatical rules or a wide vocabulary.
Stuttering is also linked to speech patterns. Controlling airflow, reducing tension in the face and throat, slowing speech down, and ‘gliding’ between words are all strategies people can use to have more control over their stutter.
When we sing, we use a different part of our brain, don’t have to process language (create sentences), and also control our airflow better. Putting this all together means that stuttering is much less likely.
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