Tone Deaf
8 years ago by
I am a terrible, terrible singer. I’m probably the worst you know.
Somewhere along the way I lost all sense of pitch, and now I just sing either at the decibel of a mouse or to the general comedic reaction of others (me: “haha, yeah, my voice is hilarious…”)(secretly, I want to die).
But I was at yoga the other day and the teacher, who was this eccentric but genuine guy, told us all to sing. And asked us to keep singing until we found the joy in it. For the first time in what feels like forever, I was singing. Not quietly, and loving it. And it made me realize how important, even if you’re not musically inclined, it is to enjoy and create a little bit of music because it makes you happy. So, I’m going to start singing again — apologies in advance if you hear me! Maybe I’ll just stick to crooning in the shower for now…
It makes me wonder, do a lot of us feel a little insecure about sharing our voice with the world? Or do you sing to your heart’s content?
I love love singing!!! It’s my happiest self=help therapeutically activity:) But I usually do it when nobody is home. :) There is something magical about it, as it creates a private worry-free zone…
I’m a super terrible singer too (my sister on the other hand has a lovely voice, I guess the gene doesn’t get distributed equally among family:) I’m the dancer of the family, so while she sings I serve as the back-up dancer.
Any way, when I’m feeling good I do bust out some jarring notes here and there to horror of my audience. In reality it’s more like humming lyrics more than anything else. It’s not planned. Which I guess shows there is a connection in our minds between music and happiness. Pure joy for me though is dancing without a single care of who is watching or how I look and truly letting the sound move through my body, uncoordinated as it might end up being. I think this is what the yoga teacher wanted you to embrace that feeling of letting go and not caring about how you looked to others and censoring yourself accordingly. I love that idea of not holding back who we are, whatever that might be, great or beyond great (so much so that mainstream just doesn’t get it:))
I’m with you, Neada. I’m a terrible singer, and I wonder how I got so bad! Cool exercise from your yoga instructor.
I’m with you, Garance! I can’t sing a lick unless we’re talking lullabies. And even then, babies don’t know you can’t sing nor do they care. Still, I’m ready to share my voice with the world be it singing someone’s praises or writing the next best novel.
http://brooklynchateau.blogspot.com/
I definitely sing to my heart’s content. I think I’m decent enough to carry a tune but I just love expressing the way I feel about the music so much that I just got to let it out!
http://www.dressupchowdown.com
Sing your heart out Neada. I sing all the time in my shop. My staff has gotten used to it. I’m not sure if I have that great of a voice but it makes me feel awesome. I sing in the car which when I had the convertible must have been a real treat for surrounding cars. It’s funny but we’ve all belted out a song or two in our yoga classes too. Must be the non-judgement thing.
I think that being very opened to sounds and not scared to experiment helps.
Aïda
https://stylishwishes.wordpress.com
That is me. I can’t hold a note and had the confidence knocked out of me at primary school. I do yoga and do the oms at the end (very quietly) because it feels right. There is only 8 of us so I just have to brave it.
Funnily enough, in my profession I am surrounded by very musical translators. Languages and music seems to go hand-in-hand. Somehow I didn’t get the music gene.
Listen. All you got to do is listen, well and carefully. And then try to imitate. The pitch shall return, one way or another. If it does not, who really cares?
I was in the University choir in my student days and the maestro once said to us: “Your voice is totally unique. It is born with you and shall die with you. No other person in the planet has ever or shall ever own it. So sing as much as you can and enjoy it.”
So, Neada, don’t be shy. Sing your heart out, sing for no reason, sing with a cause. But SING!
Non c’est moi la pire chanteuse du monde ! :-) Pourtant j’ai le rythme mais la voix c’est horrible ! Ce qui est drôle c’est que ma fille est chanteuse et qu’on nous dit tout le temps qu’on a la même voix ! Étonnant !
http://www.mode9.fr
I sing professionally and teach voice. I believe everyone should sing loud and proud. It expresses so much of what makes us human that you shouldn’t deny yourself just because your ear needs more training. Incidentally, most people will just start to sound better when they sing often, no training required. Enjoy!
Neada, I get it! I have OK pitch, but a really small range, so almost every song/singer goes out of my range. My Mr. is very gifted musically, mother is a music teacher, & both parents sang. It was kind of intimidating, even though he encourages me. I don’t sing in public.
When I started singing out loud at home a few years ago (wanted to stop holding stuff in), my little female cat freaked out, loving all over me, purring & marking me. And then her kitty brother would leap on her, biting her frantically, & they’d brawl, yelling & cursing. It felt like he was saying “Ugh! Don’t encourage her!” Yup, my singing started cat fights. Inspiring.
I kept it up, fights & all, & now they both actually love my singing. Sometimes I sing just to get the cuddles! I don’t care if my fan club has fur. It makes me feel really good.
moi j’adore chanter et meme si je suis “tone-deaf as a bell”,comme on dit ici en italie,je m’en fous,je chante sous la douche,quand j’ecoute de la musique,quand je suis triste(ca m’aide bcp) ou heureuse;
This makes total sense that this instruction came from your yoga teacher! Singing is very important for opening your throat chakra (Vishuddha). Your throat chakra is a center of emotion in the body. Not letting go of guilt, keeping your feelings inside can be causes of a blocked throat chakra. If blocked then you cannot speak your truth, say what you mean, could also manifest itself by lying or manipulation towards others. Sing any song, imagine blue light coming out of you, chant OM, and drink lots of water.
I always notice more anxiety in my life when I am not singing or humming a tune. Now I turn the TSwift up! My boyfriend and I love to sing together loud and crazily (ok yes- wine is involved) even though we are definitely not singers.
BTW- Your yoga teacher sounds like a keeper!