However, singing is different than other musical instruments in that you cannot physically see what your vocal folds are doing when you sing. On top of that, you can’t accurately hear the sounds you’re producing. Have you ever heard yourself talk on a message machine or a recording of some sort and said, “That’s not what I sound like at all!” In reality, you sound more like that recording than you think. Your internal hearing is limited and you are not hearing your true external sound. In other words, you can’t hear what the audience hears.
To make it all the more challenging, your body changes every day. From barometric pressure, to sleep, to the food we eat, our bodies have a slightly different make up every day. The voice (the body) is not like a piano, which has a much more consistent envelope. On a piano, a “high C” can be hit with the flick of the finger, day in and day out. Singers, on the other hand, are constantly challenged to meet their own atmospheric and acoustic conditions.
Patience and learning to accept yourself for where you are in the process is crucial with singing. If you don’t have patience with yourself, you will struggle. Be careful of letting this adventure as a vocal student and as a singer define your self-worth. The students who feel that their singing is unacceptable unless the melody is flawless and the phrasing is impeccable are not likely to grant themselves the freedom to fail that learning requires. These seem to be very narrow rules by which to sing, much less grow as an artist. Why should we make ourselves so small in our efforts to grow?
My experience is that no matter how satisfying your singing becomes, there is often an inner voice nagging that it could be better. It can become a tiring chase to always “out-do” yourself. How do we silence this sometimes present and always aggravating commentator at the end of the day?
This is something that’s been said before, and I’ll say it again. It’s the journey, not the destination. Have fun along the way!
-Cody Qualls |
