BdwayDiva1@a... wrote:
BdwayDiva1@a... wrote:
> hey yall,
> I just wanted to say that I get SOOO frustrated!!! I mean it seems as
> if no matter how hard I try or how well I sing, I am never good
> enouogh. It sucks. I just finished my jury,and my grades ranged from
> an 88 to two 95's, and everything in between- the two 95's were from
> voice teachers I talk to regularly abput sinigng in general, so yeah
> they like me. It just sucks. I get so sick of comments like "Good
> potential" When I am singing my heart out. Does that mean I am not
> good yet but I might be someday?
Do any of yall feel like I do?
> Like you will alwyas be the girl with the "pretty voice" and nothing
> more. BTW I HATE that comment. I don't want to have a pretty voice,
> I want a vocie that will blow peopel away. So if youa re one of thsoe
> many many voice students who will always be the cute girls
> with "Pretty voices", or are just frustrated in any way, please post.
> thanks yall!
Believe me, we all feel your pain, because we've all been
there. During my 15+ years of voice study (and I'm still
studying and improving, and will continue to do so
indefinitely), there have been times I've been happy about
my singing, and other times I've been depressed about it.
But when I was in school, 88 was a good grade, so don't be
so hard on yourself. Some teachers just grade harder than
others. And also, be truthful with yourself, are you good
enough to sing at the Met, or on a professional opera or
Broadway stage? I doubt it - and nobody expects you to be
at that level. But some people may have an "absolute"
standard in mind and reserve their highest marks for that
ideal, which doesn't mean they don't recognize your vocal
progress.
So you're not perfect? Big deal! Nobody is. Let me tell
you, every top opera singer in the world knows perfectly
well how imperfect they and their colleagues are. If you
read the Opera-list, and see how some of these folks bash,
cruelly, the singing of biggest opera stars, that might put
your situation in a broader, more realistic perspective.
(Check out the Opera-L archives at
<http://listserv.cuny.edu/archives/opera-l.html> and do a
search on Renee Fleming or Jose Cura, and you'll see what I
mean.)
Also, at your level of education, I suspect they are looking
mostly at technical progress in assigning grades, because
that's mostly what you're there to learn. In the real
world, audiences look to be moved, entertained. Your
technique is what will allow you to realize your artistry,
but technique is not artistry in and of itself. And for
almost everyone, true artistry does not come at your age -
it comes after you have more life experience to draw on. So
start to focus on what you want to communicate with your
singing and use the technical means at your disposal to do
so, and know that you will keep improving and growing
throughout your life, but you will never be "there". If you
were "there", your singing would get really boring really
fast.
I don't know if you follow golf or know anything about Tiger
Woods. But if you do, the thing that's striking aobut him,
and the key to his success I think, is there's the guy who's
the best in the world now (and maybe forever) at what he
does, and he still is working really hard to improve, and
works hours and hours, day after day, at it.
So what to do now? Be good to yourself. Listen to music by
artists you like, and listen for the fine details that make
you like them. Read some of the works your songs come
from. Study some poetry. Take some (or more) acting
classes. Watch some videos. Check out "Inside the Actor's
Studio" on Bravo. Listen to chamber music and symphonies
and jazz and blues. Go to lots of live performances.
Exercise your imagination. Learn and grow so you'll have
more to bring to your singing next year and for many years
in the future.
Peggy
--
Margaret Harrison, Alexandria, Virginia, USA
"Music for a While Shall All Your Cares Beguile"
mailto:peggyh@i...
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