I decided to finally move forward with this one. I have begun taking vocal lessons. It’s really a strange thing—to sing for someone else. Save for karaoke, I’ve only really sung for myself, by myself. So to have to sing in front of someone else is such a bizarre feeling. You feel vulnerable, really. I have a newfound respect for people who sing for a living, who perform. It really takes courage and confidence to sing out at full volume and not shy away from it when someone is listening to your every sour note and mistake.
That is one good thing about taking lessons, though—I am getting more comfortable with the idea of singing in front of my teacher.
Besides taking lessons, I am to practice at least 30 minutes every day. Like the Japanese lessons I’ve started taking, I’ve been slipping on this one over the holidays (not as far as attending the lessons, but as far as practicing at home), but prior to that I was doing okay.
It’s quite a challenge—I’ve never really thought of the voice as an instrument that can be improved. Trying to change the way you’ve sung all your life is hard. And you can’t really avoid sounding like you.
I love singing, and I so want to improve. It’s sometimes frustrating because, whatever improvements I can make, I’m sure it’s going to take a lot of deliberate practice. This isn’t the piano, a language, something external. I just wonder… how much can I improve?
If I do want to improve though, the only way is to practice consistently. So let’s see how I do with that!
