singing and dancing are inseparable. It is seen as a community activity, not something that one special, talented person does while the rest of us untalented plebs sit and watch. Even in Western culture, music was part of everyone’s education and daily life up through the late 1800s.

There is immense power in being able to control what comes from your vocal cords – it is indeed a discipline, not just a talent where either you have it or you don’t. Good on you!

You’re right about recorded music – but it’s not just recorded music, it’s processed music.

So, when you compare yourself to some vocal star, you’re comparing yourself to the best person out of billions of people, who has a team of producers and studio wizards that make her voice sound the very best it can. No wonder our own voices come up short.

And then – most of us really get no training at all in singing. I was pleasantly surprised to find that my husband, after joining a choir for a year, went from having a voice that was painful for me to hear, to being, well, just fine. And I don’t mean formal singing, I just mean, singing while doing the dishes type singing. Just some tiny amount of coaching and lessons made a huge difference.

Having some lessons can really make a difference. Enjoy.