Belting it out

Have you ever been told to pull on your tongue? I had a singing teacher tell me to do that. When Luke and Kyle were little, Carl and I knew we wanted to play music as a family. I thought it was a good idea to take some singing lessons. Perusing the phone book I found a woman teacher and called. I didn’t know what to ask besides the price at that point. I arrived at her home and an opera student was singing with her. I was feeling insecure and wondered what was in store for me?
After the opera singer received kudos and was shown the door, she called me in. The view from her enormous window was of a creek and birch trees that served to calm my nerves a tad. She asked what I wanted to sing. “Folk music”, I replied.

The next thing I knew I was singing arpeggios: “eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eee, eee, eee, eee, eee, eee, eee, eee, ah, ah, ah, ah, and so on and on and on. I went home feeling alright and returned the following week. But as weeks went by she gave me more and exercises to do. And as weeks went by I had less and less desire to sing. It was a grind and no joy. I taped the exercises and sang along with them at home.

On several occasions she told me I wasn’t doing things right. I cried there and on the way home a few times. I felt like I never wanted to sing again.

The last straw was when she told me to pull on my tongue. So unpleasant! I feel like an idiot now, staying as long as I did.

Now don’t get me wrong. There are many good singing teachers out there. This woman and I were just not on the same musical page.

We parted ways. I kept the tape of the exercises. Luke and Kyle imitated them and we all got some good chuckles. That made it almost worth it.

In time, the desire did come back. The family and I started singing and playing. Over time it’s just fallen into place. If I’m singing and I choose a key that fits my voice for the song, it’s just a matter of listening, singing out and feeling what I’m saying. I’m no “great” singer but this is “people music” and isn’t about being “great”. It’s about playing together and enjoying what you’re doing. If you listen, you will pick up things along your journey that make you a better singer. I am a much better singer then I was back then

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Many folks have been told by someone that they are tone deaf and can’t carry a tune. Sometimes it comes from a parent, partner or sibling. That can be hard to overcome. We just say, “it isn’t true!”. Let’s find a good key for you for a particular song and low and behold, you can sing. It may not be as pretty or good as you want it but that is just a matter of time. Singing is a true joy!