Recently I led a local singing day open to everyone and, as always, we ended up making a great sound.
But talking to people in the breaks, many of those who came claimed that they couldn’t really sing. What’s going on here?
Most singing workshops attract a mix of familiar faces and strangers, experienced choir members and people who’ve not sung in a group before. Whatever the mix, there’s always a certain amount of trepidation.
Most people think that everyone else is better than them. Or even that they’re not ‘singers’. See You are not alone – most people in your choir think they can’t sing well and Can I call myself a ‘singer’?
In my introduction I always point this out. I say something like “Everyone in the room probably thinks they’re not a good singer and the person next to them is better. And yet, we always end up making a wonderful sound.”
Pretty much everybody is nervous and under-confident. Plus the songs are usually not familiar and will need to be learnt from scratch.
On the face of it, this combination of nerves and lack of confidence (or experience) could result in disaster. And yet, despite all this, the group always ends up making a great sound.
How is this possible? Here is what I think is happening:
perfection is impossible – because songs are being learnt in such a short time, singers let go of the idea that they will be perfect and error-free. The result is that people’s inner critic doesn’t get in the way, freeing them up to be perfect after all! See Why be perfect when you can be great?
attitude of the song leader – if the person teaching the songs behaves as if the learning is easy, that will carry over to the singers. “Oh, if she thinks it’s easy, it must be.”
swept along by enthusiasm of others – there will always be reasonable number of singers who catch on fairly quickly. This will give confidence to any new singers present. See Raising the bar: singing with people who are more experienced than you.
not enough time to worry – again, because the songs are being learnt quickly, there is no time to really think and worry. Unlike in choirs who meet weekly. When they come back to a song the following week they’ll have had time to think: “How does that second line go?”, “Does it go up here or not?”, “Am I getting it right?”. In a one-off singing session you only get one go at the song so there’s no time for all these doubts to kick in. See First choir rehearsal is great, then it’s all down hill! and Why too much rehearsal can be a bad thing.
the proof is in the room – if you start out with a fairly easy song, the whole room will soon be singing in harmony. People will then have the practical experience of singing together so can no longer think they aren’t ‘singers’. See Why singing together is magical and unique.
it’s all very informal – one-off singing sessions tend to be more relaxed than regular rehearsals or if there’s a concert at the end. Workshops like this are also often at weekends. So singers are usually far more relaxed. If you maintain a sense of fun, it’s amazing what people can achieve. See What’s the opposite of a “Singing for fun” choir?
Chris Rowbury
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