Organization: Plainview-Rover Public Schools
To: vocalist
Date sent: Mon, 6 Dec 1999 09:33:33 -600
Subject: RE: No talent .. no hope... argh! re: Peggy
Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>

Bravo.....well said. Not everyone who is a voice major has the
career of a professional singer in mind. I am by no means a terrific
singer. I never planned on a big solo career. I wanted to direct
choir and sing when I can with my feeble talent of singing. I
distinctly remember being told my high school choir teacher that I
would never be a soloist ( funny coming from someone who the
music dept. chair wanted kicked out of school for the lack of vocal
ability, and from the same person who used me over and over for
tenor solos for Regional and State ACDA and MENC conference
performances. I must admit, she has a darn good high school
choral program and is a terrific choral director.) I guess what I'm
trying to say is do what you want. Don't worry about the "nay"
sayers. I was a slow and late maturer. Even though I still will
never be a concert artist, I do perform locally and regionally as
tenor soloist and am content. Good luck!

From: "Jennifer"
To: "VOCALIST" <vocalist>
Subject: RE: No talent .. no hope... argh! re: Peggy
Date sent: Mon, 6 Dec 1999 07:30:05 -0800
Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>

> > This email from Peggy is an inspiration to me because I believe
> > that I can
> > get anyone to sing well and even sound decent if they just are
> > committed to
> > the process and the "music making" as Peggy says. Not everyone is, it IS
> > frustrating, especially for adults who are plagued by those "you're not
> > talented, or you can't sing" demons.
>
>
> I was told, when I auditioned to get into a university transfer program at
> college, that no matter how hard I practiced, I would never be good enough
> to get into university and had no hope of getting a music degree. According
> to the jurors, if my voice was so undeveloped at 23 (I didn't start lessons
> until I was 22), it would never get much better. Not only did I manage to
> get my degree, but I'm now about to embark on a career in music. Yes, I had
> a lot of vocal problems to overcome, but I had faith in my potential. A good
> teacher and lots of practice and perseverance made all the difference. Now I
> have people constantly telling me how much they enjoy hearing my voice and
> asking when my next performance will be.
>
> In my opinion (and experience :o), if you really want to learn to sing and
> believe that you can, there isn't any reason you can't learn to produce a
> good tone - it may take a while, but in the end the rewards are definitely
> worth it! "It" being the frustration when you can't get it to sound right,
> and the nay-sayers who should learn to keep their mouths shut!
>
> Jennifer
>


John Peoples
Music
Plainview-Rover School
Plainview, AR
jpeoples-at-prhs.afsc.k12.ar.us