SINGING: FINDING MY VOICE AGAIN

Dear Savvy Reader,

I've always loved to sing. When I was very young, I was belting out "Old MacDonald" and serenading my dolls, fully enjoying the experience. But when my mother started taking voice lessons, I stopped singing. She would practice all the time and her overly loud, high-pitched sounds made me cringe. This made me self-conscious about my own singing, and I worried that it might have a negative effect on others. My sister and I would make concerted efforts to distract our mother when she practiced her songs in the car. The thought of being stopped at a traffic light and having other people hear her singing embarrassed me to no end.

Although singing had become equated with embarrassment, I did love family sing-a-longs as we drove eight hours to our annual vacation spot. The hours whizzed by as we sang from my stepfather's repertoire of old favorites such as "How much is that doggie in the window?" or "Don't sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me." Being on the highway, I knew that nobody else could hear us, so I didn't worry about being embarrassed.

I never thought about taking voice lessons or singing outside of my home until recently. After not singing for over forty years, I signed up for a voice class offered through our local adult education program. I wanted to literally find my voice again. I loved the class, even though we didn't do too much singing. Most of the class time focused on breathing, and as I learned the techniques, I remembered that I could sing. I rediscovered the delight it brings to me. I memorized the lyrics to "The Nearness of You" for our class recital, singing for my granddaughter who frequently asked me to sing what she calls "the pale moon song," after the lyric in the first line.

Fortunately, I found kindred spirits in the class, and a few of us have been getting together to jam. One newfound friend who plays the guitar practiced accompanying me, and we performed recently at an Open Mike venue. My voice wavered during the performance, signaling that I'm not quite ready for prime time. However, I continue to sing, learn new songs, improve my technique and increase my repertoire. It's pure enjoyment.

Yours with a song,

Simone


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