Singing and Stuttering: What We Know

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Nov. 20, 2017) — The passing of Mel Tillis has the country talking about singing and stuttering.

"Understanding what dramatically reduces stuttering during singing may eventually help us understand stuttering better," explains Dr. Barry Guitar of the University of Vermont, author of several Stuttering Foundation publications. He offers the following comments on singing and stuttering:

In singing, we use our vocal chords, lips, and tongue differently than when we talk.
There is no time pressure in singing nor is there any communicative pressure.
The rhythmic pattern of music tends to help regulate a person's breathing.
There is now evidence that the brain functions differently for singing than it does for talking.
When we sing, we generally know the words of the song by heart. Sometimes "word retrieval" or searching for the words plays a role in stuttering.
Carly Simon, B.B. King, Bill Withers, and Nancy Wilson are all famous examples of singers who stutter, according to the Stuttering Foundation, www.StutteringHelp.org, a nonprofit founded in 1947.

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About the Foundation
Malcolm Fraser, a successful businessman who struggled with stuttering, established and endowed the nonprofit Stuttering Foundation in 1947. The Foundation provides free online resources at www.StutteringHelp.org for people who stutter and their families as well as support for research into the causes of stuttering.

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CELEBRITY FOCUS

Alan Rabinowitz

Alan Rabinowitz, Ph.D., who passed away in 2018, was an explorer, wildlife conservationist, and author. He established the Hukawng Valley Tiger Reserve in northern Myanmar, which is about the size of the state of Vermont.

His love for animals began when he was very young.

Mel Tillis

Mel Tillis, born Lonnie Melvin Tillis, was an influential figure in country music, both as a songwriter and a performer. His journey to fame was marked by overcoming personal challenges, including a stutter that he turned into a defining part of his public persona.

James Earl Jones

Actor James Earl Jones, a Broadway, television and movie star, was well-known for his voice as Darth Vader in Star Wars and his book Voices and Silences. Jones spoke some of the most memorable lines in the history of American film, but the man known for his voice was once afflicted with a severe stutter.

Winston Churchill

Seeking to "remove Winston Churchill's stutter by second guessing the diagnosis" indicates neither a truthful retelling of history nor an informed opinion about a complex speech disorder, say experts in the field of speech-language pathology.

Recent news reports that quote Dr. John Mather, a Washington physician, as saying that Churchill's stutter "is a lie" brought adamant critical response from specialists in the field of stuttering and fluency disorders.

Byron Pitts

Byron Pitts has brought much attention to stuttering with his memoir, Step Out on Nothing: How Faith and Family Helped Me Conquer Life’s Challenges, released in September, 2009. The book not only details his speech difficulties, but also his illiteracy until age 12 and his unstable family life. Pitts overcame the odds to become the chief national correspondent with ABC News.