You head to your bedroom or music space to sing your heart out. You’re having fun and think you sound pretty darn great so you record yourself. You listen back and your heart sinks and you think “I SUCK!”
Stop listening to yourself with the expectations of someone else. Listen with your heart. Feel the music with your whole body. Is it making you happy or are you trying to impress someone else? The next time that little gremlin tries to sabotage you by whispering negative thoughts in your brain, tell him you’ve got work to do.
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Never let inexperience get in the way of ambition. —Terry Josephson Recently I signed up to learn more about the voice in depth. At times I feel like I’m barely treading water learning new terminology and understanding anatomy but I love swimming here!
I’m sure many of you would love for there to be a quick and easy path to singing with a successful career, but you have to pay your dues to have a solid foundation. As a great teacher once told me: “slow down so things progress faster.” Instead of singing scales over and over and wondering why you’re not getting better, ask a teacher to explain exactly why it’s not working. If you’re a singer/songwriter and no one is buying your music, it may be time to take a songwriting course. Are you tense or afraid when you sing? A body movement class or therapist might be good for you. Become better and be on the road to greatness by acknowledging that it’s ok to be the rookie in the room. Don't run, stop holding your tongue I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t very good at sports growing up. In fact, I didn’t even like watching sports! While my family was watching a baseball, hockey, or football game, I was usually downstairs at my piano playing and singing my heart out. Don’t let anyone try to make you feel less because you’re a singer. To become great at the art of singing, the amount of passion, dedication and practice is on par with any great athlete. If anyone belittles you for what you do, challenge them to sing solo in front of a crowd. That takes great courage!
I must admit, I do like watching golf now. When I see a pro hitting the ball and the trajectory and arc is beautiful, I relate it to the way the voice travels up and out of our mouths. I wanna see you be brave! I watch you furrow your brow and wring your hands when you can’t sing a phrase that you clearly hear in your head. That self doubt almost has a life of its own. Instead of looking at it as a weakness, think of it as a skill you have not yet learned. We all move forward at different rates. Think back to your schooling. Maybe you were in 4th grade but had a 7th grade reading level. Or perhaps you were in high school and had the math skills of a 3rd grader. Thank goodness the arts don’t work that way! We celebrate your progress in your time without grade labels. So stop looking at those moments as failures and rather as steps you look forward to taking so you can learn and grow. Remember, this is your script and you decide how it all plays out.
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