[HANASHIR:4009] Re: nervous singer

[David & Susan Esterman <estermans...>]

Hi carol
sounds as though you did really well! I remember well how nerve-wracking it
is to get up and lead from the bimah - but you do get used to it, and as
others have said, slowly but surely, you become more confident.

for what it;s worth, I figure that those of us who are untrained amateurs
offer a great deal simply by being willing to get up and lead, and that our
congregations and rabbis are generally really pleased with whatever we do. I
also frequently use the sheet music - just in case! and because I have on
occasion sung an entirely different melody than the one I'd rehearsed,
through nerves, or occasionally through being on auto-pilot, when I thought
I knew exactly how it went! However our congregation is very forgiving, and
the worst that can happen is that you stop, apologise and start again.
Believe me, the world will not stop if you do!  (been there, done that, got
the t-shirt!)

Good luck.
Sue from New Zealand
----- Original Message -----
From: Carol Anderson <caanders (at) netusa1(dot)net>
To: <hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org>
Sent: Saturday, September 25, 1999 7:24 AM
Subject: [HANASHIR:3998] nervous singer


> Shalom and shana tova to all my friends and singers,
> Well I guess I got my wish. I am suppose to lead singing for shabbat
> services and I am so nervous.  our first service was August 27th. I was
> asked to teach a few songs before services started. I did . It went well.
> Then with out warning, I was asked to lead l'ha dodi. I messed up and led
> one that no one knew. I felt so dumb. I have so many melodies in my head I
> don't know how to start a specific one. I was also asked to stand on the
> bima durring the service and I feel nervous about that. Do you feel that
> way and how do you get over it?
> I plan to teach Craigs L'ha dodi at the next service Oct 1st. I played the
> CD in the kitchen while we cleaned up after we broke the fast yomkippur.
> the 3 people who heard it really liked it. I let our president borrow the
> CD and she likes it too. yea!
>
> I have been taking guitar lessons for 5 weeks.  I am having a real hard
> time holding down some of the strings to make chords. my finger usually
> touches the string next to it that is suppose to be open. like when I play
> a C chord the bottom e string makes a thud sound. I am having a hard time
> curving my fingers.  having some patience would help. I want to be able to
> play now!!!! ok I will calm down now. If any of you travel and would
> consider coming to Kokomo, Indiana to help lead sometime please contact
me.
> I miss you all alot.
> Carol
>
>
>
>

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