Kate Reid <radishes@r...> wrote:
> Very simply put, I fear high
> notes
>>because I execute them terribly for the most part!<<
> I have very good middle and low registers, so perhaps the
> difference between my 'unrefined' and relatively thin top
> notes and the richer more developed lower ones is so
> profound that
>>I have a tendency to want to stick to what I do best. . . .<<
(emphases added by me)
What Kate wrote made me think about something I've had to work hard to overcome
to make
vocal progress: I'm a perfectionist.
One might ask: Why should perfectionism be something to overcome? What's wrong
about
wanting to be perfect?
Here's my tendency: I have such a strong desire to be perfect, that if I think
I can't
attain that goal in the short term, I tie myself into knots and either stop
trying, or
spend so much time worrying about my inadequacies that I either give up, don't
try, or
spend all my energy fretting about my non-perfection that there's no mental
energy left to
make things better.
In order to progress as a singer, I've had to find ways to give up or work
around my
perfectionism. A strategy for dealing with my perfectionism is to identify
many interim,
attainable goals, and force myself to think only about those, and not allow
myself to
think about my ultimate goal of perfectly beautiful singing. That means
sometimes I don't
listen to myself on tape, because that is too discouraging, and instead rely on
my
teacher's encouragement and feedback.
I've been fortunate to have teachers who are very good at articulating
attainable goals,
and making me feel good about achieving them, even though I may have a long way
to go
toward my ultimate goal. The result has been steady improvement every year
I've studied
voice, and progression from a choir alto who couldn't sing much higher than an
octave
above middle C to a soprano who gets paid (sometimes) to sing.
So my prescription for the singer who's afraid to sing the high notes because
he/she
thinks they're not very good - forget about criticizing your own voice - find a
good
teacher and once you're comfortable with the teacher, trust him/her to do
what's best for
you - do what your teacher says and don't worry about whether you're sounding
good or bad
(as long as nothing hurts). If your teacher wants you to sing high notes, sing
them, and
allow them to be ugly. If your teacher wants you to make stupid, crazy sounds,
make them,
and don't care how they sound. When you lose the fear of non-perfection,
you'll be amazed
at what your voice will do for you.
I also recommend that you (or any singer) read "The Inner Game of Tennis" by W.
Timothy
Gallwey (or one of his other "Inner Game" books, though I think the Tennis one
is the
best). Another good book for singers to read is "A Soprano on Her Head:
Right-Side-Up
Reflections on Life and Other Performances" by the late Eloise Ristad. Both
are easily
and inexpensively available on Amazon.com or other on-line book sites.
--
Margaret Harrison, Alexandria, Virginia, USA
"Music for a While Shall All Your Cares Beguile"
mailto:peggyh@i...
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