As I add more voice lessons to my roster, almost every student presents one of two possible issues. The first one being the giggles and the second one being over confidence. Today we are going to talk about those students who giggle.
Do I have your attention now?
So many of my voice students come in and are overwhelming shy and unsure of what they want to sing. The repertoire issue is usually pretty easy to solve. What kind of music do you like to sing? Do you want to sing at church or the school talent show? Do you like broadway or jazz? A few well placed questions will usually get you headed in the right direction.
It’s the shy and giggling group that gets my goat. Voice lessons from the start are going to feel funny. You are going to make odd noises and funny faces. Sometimes sounds that really sound like a chicken are going to come out of your mouth. Let me tell you something… IT’S OK! We’ve all been there. Sometimes, we are still there. Learning new music and new skills always presents funny or slightly awkward issues. The trick is you have to try. If your teacher asks you to turn your head upside down and sing, do it. If you are prompted to look in a mirror and yawn, get out your flash light for a better view. Do you think that note is out of your range, go ahead and try to sing it. If you make odd squawking noises, so what. You have to try. Teachers give you these exercises to help you improve.
If you spend all your time being embarrassed about the exercises you are wasting a lot of time and energy that could be used to work on perfecting those exercises. When working on a song, sing confidently. If I am accompanying you on the piano, it is hard to hear if you sing no louder than a whisper. Sing out! So what if you sing a wrong note or come it at the wrong time. You are there to learn. Let your teacher hear those mistakes loud and clear. Then when your teacher offers you a way to fix your mistake, go ahead and give it your best shot.
Voice lessons aren’t for the wimpy. Sing out, be confident that your teacher can help you. Better a loud mistake in practice than in performance. Give it your best shot.