A reader on twitter asked me when I might write a blog about how we own our voice type...a great topic to be sure and thank you for the idea!
What is owning the voice?
Perhaps it begins with acknowledging the truth of it. We cannot accept, acknowledge and own ANYTHING if we do not recognize the reality of it.
I remember a conversation I had with a colleague and friend of mine many moons ago. We were talking about how our bodies had changed after childbirth - the stretchmarks, and all - and she said that she began simply looking at her body at a roadmap of where her life had been - and embraced it as the truth of her life - the good the bad and the ugly.
I never forgot that conversation. It continues to resonate even more poignantly now, as cancer took her body away this last year.
I had often wondered why during my vocal journey, I had to deal with, or seemed to deal with, such difficulties, and ordeals, and hurdles in building and rebuilding my voice. As I see it now, if I hadn't gone through what I had to, I could not teach the way I do, with the knowledge I have, because I had to learn through DOING IT and figure it out.
I offer these as a beginning of how we OWN what we have, not what we wish we had.
We always seem to want what we don't have. Or think it would be better if...if only...I wish...
The focus seems to often be on what isn't instead of what IS.
How do we begin to focus on what IS?
We cannot claim what we do not yet own.
Read that last line again. My brilliant husband uses that and offered it to me. I thank him for it. Over and over again.
First, we must own. We must SEE. We must recognize, warts and all, and NOT PRETEND.
What is actually there? Believe me, it is not all negative!! Acknowledging the REALITY is crucial to owing your voice, your voice type, and CLAIMING IT.
Often we look in the mirror and instead of saying "that works" "I like this about me" - we go negative immediately. We are ALL guilty of that. What is wrong with saying first "I have great eyes" "I have great cheekbones" "I have great teeth" - say OUT LOUD what is great about YOU.
The beginning of claiming our voice, is owning the TRUTH. What is THERE? don't discuss what ISN'T there.
It isn't about good or bad...it is about TRUTH. It is not about right or wrong...it is about TRUTH.
The colors of my voice could be described as...
The timbre of my voice reminds me of...
The reason I love to sing is...
The best technical feature of my voice thus far is...
The role/song/aria/style that FITS me RIGHT NOW is...
When I sing that role/song/aria/style it makes me feel like this...
When no one is around, I love to sing this...
******************
We begin there...
This idea, dear twitter reader, has become a mutiple part blog!
Stay tuned for more this weekend!
What is owning the voice?
Perhaps it begins with acknowledging the truth of it. We cannot accept, acknowledge and own ANYTHING if we do not recognize the reality of it.
I remember a conversation I had with a colleague and friend of mine many moons ago. We were talking about how our bodies had changed after childbirth - the stretchmarks, and all - and she said that she began simply looking at her body at a roadmap of where her life had been - and embraced it as the truth of her life - the good the bad and the ugly.
I never forgot that conversation. It continues to resonate even more poignantly now, as cancer took her body away this last year.
I had often wondered why during my vocal journey, I had to deal with, or seemed to deal with, such difficulties, and ordeals, and hurdles in building and rebuilding my voice. As I see it now, if I hadn't gone through what I had to, I could not teach the way I do, with the knowledge I have, because I had to learn through DOING IT and figure it out.
I offer these as a beginning of how we OWN what we have, not what we wish we had.
We always seem to want what we don't have. Or think it would be better if...if only...I wish...
The focus seems to often be on what isn't instead of what IS.
How do we begin to focus on what IS?
We cannot claim what we do not yet own.
Read that last line again. My brilliant husband uses that and offered it to me. I thank him for it. Over and over again.
First, we must own. We must SEE. We must recognize, warts and all, and NOT PRETEND.
What is actually there? Believe me, it is not all negative!! Acknowledging the REALITY is crucial to owing your voice, your voice type, and CLAIMING IT.
Often we look in the mirror and instead of saying "that works" "I like this about me" - we go negative immediately. We are ALL guilty of that. What is wrong with saying first "I have great eyes" "I have great cheekbones" "I have great teeth" - say OUT LOUD what is great about YOU.
The beginning of claiming our voice, is owning the TRUTH. What is THERE? don't discuss what ISN'T there.
It isn't about good or bad...it is about TRUTH. It is not about right or wrong...it is about TRUTH.
The colors of my voice could be described as...
The timbre of my voice reminds me of...
The reason I love to sing is...
The best technical feature of my voice thus far is...
The role/song/aria/style that FITS me RIGHT NOW is...
When I sing that role/song/aria/style it makes me feel like this...
When no one is around, I love to sing this...
******************
We begin there...
This idea, dear twitter reader, has become a mutiple part blog!
Stay tuned for more this weekend!
Hello Susan,
ReplyDeleteBeautiful and deep as usual. What splendid serendipity. I am presently reading "Loving What Is" by Byron Katie. It is a wonderful complement to the kind of inquiry that you are encouraging here. You get me thinkin'!
cheers,
Brian