Voice Lesson

How do you make a frog sing like an opera star? That's what my voice teacher must be thinking! I have never had the timbre of a pleasant voice, have always tried to control what comes out of my mouth so that I am at least singing the right pitch. Stems from not being able to match pitch when I was a girl. My music teacher used to give me large posters and props to hold in front of my face to cover up my off pitch singing - and I loved singing so much that I was really LOUD!

If ever I am to be free of such inhibitions, I must let go of the past and of my fears and learn to sing with gusto once again. It is not easy to unlearn a lifetime of habitual control. My teacher is very patient. He designs great exercises to help me free up my voice and connect it to my body.

I spend half my lesson sighing and whooo-ing and nggggg ing and pretending to be on a roller coaster. This week for the first time I was able to get the sound I want. My teacher's jaw dropped and his eyes opened wide and he pointed his finger at me excitedly and kept saying "Wow! Wow! That's it!"

It felt good. I could sense the sound resonating in my head in a way I have never felt before. And it had Power. Strength without being screaming. Solid resonance. As my teacher says, flooded with sound. Its exciting to think that I will be able to learn how to get to that sound right away and sustain it for an entire song.

Of course, as soon as I went to a song and tried to put words on the stream of sound, I lost it. But not to worry. My teacher assures me it will come. Now that we know what my instrument is capable of, we can work on things. Sometimes you CAN teach an old dog a few new things.