How Do Face Your Fear & Sing Anyway?
“In strengthening her own voice, she found innumerable ways to both charm and resist.”
Portrait of Josephine Baker by Kristen D. Burton
What has to happen for a person or player to get over their fear of singing in order to do it anyway? Last weekend I watched numerous performances at the online BRIC Jazzfest and it struck me how almost every group and or artist incorporated some use of their voice and singing in their set. Normally when I have played at or gone to Jazz festivals vocalists sing and instrumental groups play instrumental music and if they want a vocalist, then they feature a vocalist. But last weekend it seemed to me that more and more people are wanting to express themselves, their thoughts and their emotions with their own voices regardless of the extent to their “vocal training”. Right now it seems that the message behind the music is almost equal to, if not more important than, the music itself. The message that I heard was a need for healing, the need for space to mourn those who have passed in the last year and a need for justice for Black and BIPOC lives as a whole.
It made me smile to see artists such as Keyon Harold, Mae Sun, Robert Glasper, Roy Ayers and others known for their playing include time to sing. From my perspective their voices were slightly breathy, unsteady at times, quieter than a “singer’s” voice would typically be. So often prospective students, aspiring performers and even professional singers reach out to me seeking tools to improve these aspects of their voice. When I talk to people on the phone I often say that studying vocal technique and practicing on a consistent basis will strengthen your voice, improve your volume, smooth out your “break”, increase your range and help you not to strain when singing high notes.
However, in addition to wanting to find their voices and sing well, pretty much all of the people who call and write to learn about singing lessons say that what they really want is to be able to sing with confidence! Because there are a million reasons people can find, or create, to fear the sound of their own voice, especially in public. Will others like your singing? Will your voice quiver? Will it crack? Will the audience like your music? Will you sound stupid? Is anyone even going to show up?
These lists of reasons not to take the leap to sing can amount like piles of laundry, mail or stacks of dishes. But if you can acknowledge your fear (i.e. face your fear) and then find a holistic practice to support your voice, you will already start noticing a change in your confidence. Dig into this holistic practice and surround yourself with a supportive community (i.e. Tuning In for example:) and you will start to surprise yourself with the risks you are willing to take when it comes to your music. But take things even further and try connecting to the message behind your music and then you can truly find the power of your voice. Just like the artists I saw performing last weekend. Besides the “thousand hours” of performance practice that they have logged, there is always a level of vulnerability when it comes to singing, even for the “professional” musician. The strength in your voice comes from connecting to your personal story, your pleasure, your pain and our collective need for healing and justice.
This year I am going to be launching two new programs that I’m really excited about! One is an introduction to sounding and ways to play with the voice for those who may not consider themselves “singers” and for singers alike. The second program is focused on supporting women of color/non-binary folks in the creation of a new music project/performance grounded in the principles that I have found to be successful for my own music. If you would like to be informed when these offerings are fully cooked, please let us know here. And til then, keep singing!