I'm
doing a little project at the moment and though this would be a good question
to answer....
Why do I Sing?
This could be a really long
and complicated answer! The short answer is for the joy of it but it’s more
intrinsic than that, you may as well ask why I breathe or blink. So for the
long answer...
First, a little history.
I've been singing for as long as I can remember, at home, as a kid, in primary
school, with my family, not so much in my adolescent years, but once
I started to learn guitar I began again and haven't stopped since. I sing in
private and in public, for money and for fun, for myself and anybody who cares
to listen. But I have to admit, it’s mostly a selfish exercise.
When I sing I am, or at
least was, a different person. I was, in my mind anyway,
an awkward teenager, not shy exactly, fairly social but with some
serious self esteem issues. When I started to learn the guitar it was only
natural to want to sing along. Funnily enough, it’s one of the things in my
life that I've never doubted I could do well - don't know why, but that confidence
has always been there. Moving along, when I played the guitar and sang, I
became somebody other than this un-cool 20 year old, I became somebody who had
a talent and was not a boring nerd. Singing helped me to connect to who I am
and because of this I grew to love myself and began to grow in confidence and
self worth.
Singing also helped me to
express emotions that I was feeling that I was just too scared to talk
about. It’s an easy out, saying what you need to say without having to say it,
and I took it! But, again, it’s the connection that’s most important. To be
able to connect to a story, feel what is being felt and then to express it in a
song through singing is quite an uplifting experience, no matter how sad or
depressing the song.
So singing had brought a
real connection for me, and not just to songs, but to my whole life. When I
sing, I feel my voice my body, I feel it resonate in my body cavities, I hear
it change as I move, change as I alter my body shape or manipulate different
muscles, I hear it bouncing of the surrounding environment in a strange echo,
like its answering my voice. The vibrations can be quite soothing when singing
softly, or energizing when really going for it. It induces playful,
light-hearted states of being, a real childlike state at times. It makes me
aware of how I am feeling in that moment, fully bringing me into my present
state.
Singing in groups is
another wonderful experience. When voices are joined, the melding of the
vibrations and tones is such a unique experience, so beautiful, it’s something
I want to do again and again. It creates a connection with yourself and others
which is really what I believe is in human nature to search for. It’s the connection
that drives us to do anything.
So when I sang before I
used to become a different person. Now, not so much. Now I am that person.
Finding my voice through singing, making that connection, has really helped me
learn about myself, has given me the confidence to branch out, be bolder and
discover what it is that makes me tick. It has given me the confidence to say “This
is who I am, take it or leave it!”
Your singing voice is a
product of your 3 selves – your mind, body and spirit. When you start to sing
these three entities may not be in balance. But through finding your voice and
making the connection to life, these three facets of your being will begin to
fall into equilibrium. The more in balance they are, the stronger your voice
becomes and so the positive cycle of growth continues.
Singing is more than just a
sound that comes out of your mouth; it’s a tool to discovering who you are and
connecting to life.
Find your voice
Make the connection
Find yourself
And so I sing…