So You Think You Can Sing?

For most of my life, I didn’t think I could sing. I didn’t admit it but just accepted it. In high school,  I would even do death metal screams in pep band while unleashing my over-compensated bass skills. It was fun and all, but I’ve definitely toned the screaming since those days. After I stopped hiding behind excuses, I decided to join a choir. In time, I started singing in tune and could background vocals at the very least. Best decision yet.

I no longer do screamo, as I’ve enjoyed hitting all the right notes on my favorite jams. If it wasn’t for those days where I could sing in a large group without being in the spotlight, I may be still embarrassing my self when a banger would come on and attempt falsetto. So. if you’re in college, or just been thinking about joining the community choir, do it. Regardless of if you’ve sung since you could walk, mastered the bathroom acoustics, or just quietly whispered melodies in the car on your way to work, just do it.

Image by Gabriele Ottich from Pixabay

First, you don’t have to buy an instrument. The member fee or class cost is the only thing you’d pay for, but asides from that, just bring yourself, the music, and a pencil. Typically, the group meets for an hour, sometimes two depending on if there’s a concert coming up or not. The music isn’t overly difficult, and if you’re not sure about what to sing, to mouth the words until you start learning to blend your voice in with everyone else. There’s some brain work to do in the midst of rehearsals, but once you start hearing each piece of music come together, you can relish in comfort of knowing you’re helping produce something amazing. Joining a choir is a long term commitment, but when you hear the results, you’ll be glad you joined.

Anyone can sing. Simple as that. It can take a few years of practice, and you have to keep at it until you hear it. But, when that moment hits and you hear yourself matching pitch with your favorite artist, you’ll be glowing for days. So while you may think that the person next to you in a choir sings better, remember that you will one day sing so perfectly, folks will crack a smile when they hear you rockin’ a familiar tune and even join in. The moment could turn into a musical for all I know.

Why not, though, join a band if you want to just play music with others? Singing is on a different level of musicianship. If you sing a song with two or more people, you all share in the tonality of a song, matching pitch, harmony, and rhythm. But most importantly, it’s that natural sound coming from your vocal cords that makes singing so special. You feel it as much as you hear it. Two guitarists doing the same only hear it by extension of their instrument and self-sense of tonality. This, in turn, makes singing a much personal experience, one which you can and should share with others. As a bonus, after you pick up singing, learning another instrument will be ten times easier since you’ll a working knowledge of pitch.

There’s little reason for you to not join in a choir. I’m sure you would love to belt out “don’t stop . . . BELIEVING” when that banger shows up in your Spotify playlist. And why not? It’s a collective moment when everyone stops what they’re doing to sing it. Don’t let your doubts stop you from enjoying the little things in life. Sing. And sing louder and louder. As Sophie Develyn puts it in her interview with  Georgina Jones of Turn Lights On, “if you’re singing Queen every day you’re gonna be happier in work, and if you’re happy you do better work, and if you do better work the company makes more money — it’s easy!” Literally, everyone benefits from your decision to become a singer. But it all needs to start somewhere.

So whaddya say? How about you consider joining a choir this year and let your inner self ring loud.