On singing

I was once one of those people who would say, "oh, I can't sing." Even though in my heart of hearts I >think< more like Will Farrell's character in "Elf": it's just like talking, except longer and louder, and you move your voice up and down. But I was so convinced that I was vocally tone-deaf, that on the occasions that mom and dad could drag me to church, I'd silently mouth the words when the congregation would sing, rather than make a bunch of noise. I know, I could be rather ridiculously sensitive in my youth, but there you have it.

After I got my guitar for Christmas some years ago, I took a few guitar classes at Gryphon (an excellent stringed instrument store in Palo Alto). I liked the teacher's style so much, that even though I knew I needed to practice to get down what I had been taught before taking another guitar class, I drew up my courage and signed up for one of her "intro singing" classes. What the hell? I couldn't possibly be worse off after, and I just might get better, with a little instruction.

That was a rather awesome experience. It was reassuring to hear that for most of us mortals, with all the variables that go into hitting proper pitch, it's no surprise that one finds one's self off-note. I learned that practicing scales isn't only good for a warm-up, but it also helps instill a kind of muscle memory in the voicebox for where notes are relative to one another, so that it makes it easier to move vocally around. And, miraculously almost, it is possible that with a little practice and gentle instruction for the shy, to improve dramatically. I learned the right way to position one's hand around the ear (hint: it's not about using a finger to close the ear off) so that you can hear yourself better - especially useful when you're next to someone with whom you're harmonizing (or who is singing or playing off-key!).

I still remember in that intro class when we had a brief introduction to harmony singing - to "Michael Row the Boat" - simple, yes, but it was my first time to sing something in harmony and it was totally exhilarating. Who knew us bunch of noobs could make that kind of beautiful sound?

Emboldened by my newfound ability to sing fairly reliably on-key, I took 1 or 2 more singing classes to beef myself up before striking out into new territory: harmony singing. I've always thought that sounded like the most awesome thing to be able to do, and it's always been something of a mystery to me how, when there are so >many< other notes outside the one being done by the melody, a person can find the right one to complement it. Within the nuts and bolts of music theory I understand there's an explanation that lies within chord structure and intervals and majors and minors and the kind of mood you're trying to communicate. That's all way over my head.

But I think that, with practice and continued classes, I've come to have a better feel for where a harmonizing interval is. Before, when I would sing along with music in the car, I could of course hear that the singers were harmonizing, but where those other notes were located was all really just a hazy muddle. But with increased training, I can hear better what the harmony is doing and where it's moving relative to the melody, and that makes it easier to practice singing harmony along in the car.

Yet that's still akin to singing in the shower. Perhaps equally importantly, with practice I've gained the confidence when singing with other people, to strike out from the melody and hit a different note and stick it. Even if it doesn't end up being a good note, well that's something to work from anyway: "okay, that was a wreck! I need to be higher or lower; let's sing it again and I'll try something different." Sometimes it comes really easy; it's as though I can hear the harmony in my mind as though it is the melody, and singing it isn't any trouble at all. Other times, it's a total crap shoot. I don't know why.

But at bottom, singing is just SO much fun. I still get all kinds of excitedly flustered when I do it in public. It's an instrument we all have that we carry with us at all times. And for any of you who might like I once did think "Oh, I'm not able to do that," I'd say, give yourself more credit. Give yourself more practice. Give yourself an intro singing class like I did and get some pointers. And give yourself some of that joy, and make some music love with your friends.