Do you sing? Or are you very afraid, like me? This past weekend I attended a full-day workshop called “Wild Voice Extravaganza” led by Edwin Coppard (http://realpeoplemusic.com). It was wonderful and awe-inspiring. But let me begin by telling you when my vocal desires first showed up.
As a six year old, I remember watching musicals on tv with some of the top entertainers. I loved the magic they created with their singing, dancing, and acting, and a part of me wanted to be “up” there with them. Yet I kept this desire a secret. No wonder my singing voice was locked up for so long! I was afraid to even express that I wanted it for fear of ridicule!
Around that time, I recall receiving a gift from my parents for my birthday or Christmas perhaps. It was a book of songs!! I was so surprised, curious, and then excited…how could they have known? Right away, I began practising quietly to myself. Well…it turned out to be a mistake. Sigh. They had accidentally bought the ‘wrong’ book, so they exchanged it for the story book intended. While I loved the new book too, I was deeply disappointed to lose my song. Still I did not tell them. So my voice remained small for a long time. And I put away that dream and created new ones.
Funnily enough, in my 20s, while my voice was still not coming out in song, I began to lead public seminars. The largest groups were about 150 people and that was all good. Still no singing though, not even a little tune in the car or shower. The voice, however, remained of interest to me. Could I improve it for my profession? I signed up for an evening course at the BC Institute of Technology. It was part of the broadcasting program and I thought, a perfect way to work on public speaking. Well, we weren’t asked to speak a full sentence until the very last class! The instructor used a book called “Freeing the Natural Voice” by Kristen Linklater, a book designed to help actors free their voice. It was amazing. We played with sounds and breath, no words required. Even though the class was three hours and finished at 10 pm, I’d walk out completely energized and feeling powerful everytime. I knew this was no accident.
Check back on Thursday and I’ll tell you about the journey of last weekend’s singing workshop with Edwin, a master in getting the wild voice to come out through sound and song!
