Singing Guidance
It is better to promote a kindly attitude and an unjudgemental attitude towards ourselves when we are in the
act of singing instead of constantly berating ourselves. Compassion for oneself
and others is always a wonderful quality and gives greater energy and freedom
anyway. Practically speaking if we judge ourselves as we sing, listening, we will
be with the effect not the cause. It will mean that any changes we make will be
too late and this will be frustrating to say the least. To put it another way the
act of singing goes by very fast. If you are in the a racing car and going
round the track you need to make the decision as to what to do before you get
to the corner and trust it – what gear, how are you going to place yourself on
the track and how fast should you go - and on to the next thing. You have to
think ahead. The advantage of this attitude is that it focuses the mind on what
we are doing and makes us more fully conscious of each moment.
You cannot change the sound when it is already
airwaves but you can learn technique to become more and more fully conscious of
the manner in which it gets there, i.e. the manner in which you sing yourself. Singing
teachers have the huge responsibility of communicating the skilled use of the
correct, trustworthy tools to each individual singer in a way that helps, that is
practical, makes sense to them and does not throw obstacles in the path of the
singer.
Great harm can befall a singer when they are impeded
by being treated in a judgemental fashion. Teachers and coaches do not always realize
that graceful care and concern for ones self, each other and the singer can
improve the quality of a singer’s performance just on its own. It should not be
forgotten that singing is very largely psychological and a balanced outlook
makes finding a consciousness of balance in the ringing body of the sound a
whole lot easier.
Cathy Pope
Email cathy@cathypope.com