Singing Lesson

I really like to sing.   The amount I like to sing may only be matched by the amount people wish I’d stop singing when I’m around them.   But since people are too polite to tell me to please stop singing I keep at it.   I mostly sing in the car or when a song is on that I like.   I like to sing along to songs and have the volume up because I can’t really tell if I’m missing the notes or sound terrible.

Something I’ve wanted to do for years and years is take singing lessons.   I looked into it once and couldn’t find anything or anyone that fit what I was looking for.   There were a lot of voice teachers but a surprisingly large amount of their web sites indicated they didn’t do casual singing lessons, only serious, committed, “I want to make a career out of this,” kind of people.   I put it on my “someday” list and planned to investigate further at a later date.

My daughter has a music therapist that my daughter enjoys and we like because there are multiple benefits we see from having her own activity that isn’t impeded by her vision impairment as well as helping her learn skills and get out some of her feelings through music.   After one lesson I asked her teacher if she knew of anyone who taught singing lessons for adults that I’d like to find someone.   She told me it wasn’t her specialty but she might know some people who could help.   I explained I wanted to be able to just sing and hold a tune, nothing fancy, I just wanted to learn how to improve my casual, untrained singing skills.   She said, “oh, you mean ‘functional singing’, that I can help you with.”

I didn’t know the term but it was self-explanatory and it was exactly what I was looking for.    We made a plan to have a lesson for me after my daughter’s lesson a few weeks later and today was that lesson.

I won’t go over all the specifics but I can tell you I had a fun time and I learned a lot.   We started with a simple song and I tried my best to sing and she said shortly afterwards, “you sound like you’re a little scared of me.”   I laughed because I was trying very hard, but I agreed it did sound strained and forced.  

From there we practiced some drills and then she taught me a few basic things that completely changed everything in my singing.   It turned what I’d been doing upside down and made me rethink how I was moving air through my lungs and where the sounds were coming from when they came out of my mouth.   I loved every minute of the lesson.

So much great information—I have a lot of practice before my next lesson.  

The Big Boy Update:  Did I mention my son figured out how to purchase a song on Amazon by talking to Alexa?   It was a song I wanted to buy.   I’d never bought a song from Alexa and I didn’t know how to do it.   I tried a couple of phrases but they didn’t work.   Then I went upstairs to get something and when I came back down the full version of the song was playing.   I asked my son (the only one in the room) if he bought the song.   He told me he did.   I asked him to tell me what he said and how it happened and he just told me he bought it.    They play “Raining Tacos” all the time, so I’m going to write it up as a reasonable use of a dollar.    If only I knew how he did it…

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  I was eating something in the living room while watching a television show earlier today.   My children know they are only allowed to have food in the kitchen and dining room.   My daughter came by and said, “why are only grownups allowed to eat in here?”   I told her because grownups don’t make as much of a mess as children.   She said, “oh” and walked off.