WE ARE ALL BEGINNERS
by Diana Grasselli
I’ve heard singers of all ages, levels and backgrounds expressing remorse that they are not further along than they are or that they are ashamed to let anyone hear them, or that they are too old to achieve what they dream of achieving, that they are too late to the game of singing or that only some lucky people ever get to really get good at it.
And in so hearing, I often ask them to consider some of these things:
Everyday we are ALL beginning, no matter where we are on our vocal journey, no matter how advanced or experienced we are, no matter how much talent we were or weren’t born with and no matter how much training we were fortunate or not fortunate enough to have – we are, ALL OF US working, visiting, revisiting and building on the foundations of our singing structures.
We are ALL refining, deepening, sharpening and exploring our techniques. We are ALL expanding our relationships with our breath and encouraging more release in our laryngeal areas. We are always seeking more access to our resonators, creating more width in our bodies, more length in the postures and more symmetry in all of our voice systems. We are all seeking a leaner and more efficient approximation of our cords, more efficient flow of air to the apparatus, more balance in the phonation. And we are all striving for deeper connection to our lyrics, more understanding of the musical language, stronger intellectual, emotional and visceral courage and more authentic intentions for the pieces that choose us.
Therefore, we are ALL starting at virtually the same place each day – at the precipice of something new, something meaningful, something holy – at the birth and rebirth of understanding, of wisdom, of discovery. And because each day is new, our voices each day are unique, our experiences of our songs each time momentous, it is in these ways that each musical moment is a beginning for us all.
So don’t wait, don’t hesitate, don’t refuse the invitation to begin. The work doesn’t get easier, less crucial or more important. But with a little luck, we may all be fortunate enough to recognize ourselves a little more – in each beginning.