Sing A Simple Song & Other Birthday Wishes
Photo by Aria Isadora
“I think we all don’t realize how much we hold inside our bodies, and how much we carry and how much that affects our sound and our voice and our ability to make sound.”
-Angelina Jolie on playing Maria Callas
Can music really change you? Where’s the proof and how do you do this? First, just try and sing a simple song. Pick something you really love so you can feel all the good and deep feelings right away. Feel the way your body starts to tingle or the way you suddenly feel hopeful or happier or maybe like crying a good cry. Feel how you just HAVE to dance! Sometimes I want to stand at a podium and tell people that if they’re looking for a way to greater self fulfillment, joy and connection, they ought to sample a singing lesson or start a band:). If you’re a music lover and have never tried making music, be ready for a surprise.
Some people have been singing their whole lives and pretty much take it for granted that they have the ability to regularly tap into this fundamentally human power. Some people have been singing their whole lives and never quite make the connection between their soul, or deeper self, and allowing themselves to step into their vulnerability.
My birthday wish, this Thursday, November 14th (the same day as my late great Aunt Marjorie’s birthday, same week as my paternal grandmother Lillian’s birthday and my great grandmother, Gertrude Pierce’s, birthday) is that you give music and art a try. Another way of saying this is I wish that we all would speak our truth and vulnerability to create more healing connections in this world.
Some people need scientists and lab studies to prove that music heals but I’ve seen it my whole life. As a child of the arts, as a teacher, a student, performer, and mentor, I see and feel the power of music all the time. I’ve witnessed students of all levels cry in a voice lesson. Even if you don’t feel ready for that level of heart opening just yet, I want to thank you for being a part of my circle in some way. Thank you for supporting my music, writing, recordings, teaching, and performances for the last two decades (and some people even more than that:). I hope you will join me next month in celebrating the upcoming release of my audiobook. RSVP here. And in the meantime, keep singing!