Vocalist.org archive


From:  "John Cheshire" <vocalist@c...>
Date:  Sun Oct 20, 2002  11:05 am
Subject:  Re: [vocalist] New to group and need advice

Dear "borntosing" Mary

> I used to love singing but now I'm not so sure I want to do it, if
> I'm going to sound bad - singing it in the way I am supposed to.

If you feel in your heart you were born to sing, then you were born to sing.

It is an extremely difficult thing to try to allow oneself to sound different
to the way one has become to know oneself. Your voice is part of your
self-identity, and your voice as you know it is being challenged. It is
natural that you should feel uncertain at this point of your vocal development.
However, this is a very, very important part of your vocal development.

It sounds as though your teacher is hoping to bring some balance in to
your vocal registers - a smooth, resonant, musical sound from your
highest pitch to your lowest pitch. If your singing has been dominated by
your high pitch register it will naturally feel strange and perhaps "bad"
when you first try to sing the way you are "supposed to".

More than anything you need the courage to have an open mind and
open ears so that you can explore the voice inside you that you have not
even heard yet. You have embarked on a journey of exploration to find
out what Mary's beautiful singing voice really sounds like. It is of course
scary to realise that on this journey you need to let go of what you think
your voice 'should sound like'. It is also scary to start working on a
weak part of your voice - it makes you feel like a beginner again.
Give it a little time though and your new technique will not feel like
hard work, and I am certain it will not feel "bad".

Keep singing!
John






emusic.com