[HANASHIR:16465] Re: Ah... the double-edged sword

[Sheri Pacitto <jspac...>]

Bravo Roz! 
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ros Schwartz" <ros (at) hn(dot)dancinginthewind(dot)ca>
To: <hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org>
Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2004 3:06 PM
Subject: [HANASHIR:16442] Re: Ah... the double-edged sword


> Let me give my *strong vote against discouragement*.  (With all due 
> respect to Fran, with whom I have had many wonderful - and supportive - 
> conversations.)  When I started on this road, there were many who 
> discouraged me.  "You write songs, you can't sing, why try to learn at 
> this point in your life, when you already have a perfectly good career?" 
>   Because:  ***if I don't try, I'll never know if I could***.  A singing 
> teacher told me:  "You _can_ reach the soprano range, it's there in your 
> voice, you just have to learn how to do it".  She was right:  with 
> training, my range has increased from high C to high G.  I'm not "there" 
> yet, but I can hold a steady tone for much longer than I could, and my 
> sound gets better month by month.
> 
> I learned little from those who pointed out my faults.  (And yes, there 
> were many.)  I was - and am - fully aware of the flaws and weaknesses in 
> my voice, and my performance, and etc., etc., etc.  It doesn't help to 
> be "informed" of what I already know.  What has helped, and sometimes 
> stunned me, were the teachers who said:  "Yes, you _can_ do this". 
> Me???  Perhaps someday, on my hopefully-soon-to-be-website, I will write 
> a letter of public appreciation to the many people whose compliments and 
> encouragement supported me when I was sure I could _not_ do this.  A 
> small example:  Rick Calvert said, "My fingers used to freeze too, when 
> I started out playing guitar publicly".  Rick??? who now plays as though 
> he was born with a guitar in his hands???  If he too had incapacitating 
> stage fright way-back-when, well then maybe there was hope for me.  (And 
> there was.)
> 
> And - even if I had never been able to improve - in my home 
> congregation, I am one of the very few people who is willing to 
> songlead, and to sing in public.  Even a songleader with a poor-quality 
> voice can keep the group singing together in rhythm, and on the same 
> note at the same time, which is better than having no leader at all.  In 
> contrast, I have been to services where the operatic intricacies sung by 
> a cantor with a beautiful voice discouraged anyone from trying to sing 
> along with her.
> 
> The key question is:  What are you trying to do, and what is needed to 
> accomplish it?  If you are asking people to pay $100 a ticket to see you 
> sing solos, you'd better have an absolutely beautiful voice or a 
> stunning performance.  If, on the other hand, you are trying to help 
> people experience a spiritual connection at a service, the emotional 
> expression you communicate may be more important than the technical 
> quality of your sound.
> 
> If someone wants to do something they are not very good at, I would say: 
>   try it and see.  Even if it turns out that your goals outreach the 
> physical capacities of the body and mind you were given ... you will 
> learn, you will grow, nothing in life is ever wasted.
> 
> - Ros
> 
> 

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