Stepping into 2022
STEPPING INTO 2022
Can you believe we are about to wrap up 2021? In many ways it was just a blur. Now we look forward to a new year and hopefully a good one.
If you are like me, you may have made the same or similar new year’s resolutions every year. Lose weight. Make more money. Get organized. Stop procrastinating. Those are a few of mine. Now I just say, “Ditto” every year. Lol.
2021 may not have been much improvement over 2020, but maybe for some of you it was better. I know I didn’t get to the end of the year without the loss of loved-ones, and a few other disappointments. When it comes to our singing, I think it’s a good idea to take a step back and review our year and make some intentions for the next year. But looking ahead I want to have a positive outlook and embrace the new adventure that is 2022.
So here is my encouragement for you for 2022. I always like rhymes and catchy sayings and they are usually cheesy. Here it is for the upcoming year:
BE YOU IN TWENTY TWO
This is a singing blog, so what does that mean for singers?
As we go along in our singing journey, we continue to learn techniques and do exercises to improve our voices in one way or another. We admire great singers and strive to sound like them and try to figure out what the heck they are doing to get that awesome sound. Sometimes we end up feeling not as good, not worthy of singing at all and maybe even consider quitting.
It’s one thing to study the greats and learn from them. I’m all for that. But think for a minute. Maybe they sound that way because they sound that way. Not that they didn’t work on their voices, but they worked and experimented and discovered what their voices did best. Make that your goal for 2022. Be the best you.
The over-riding message I want to encourage you with is to MAKE A DECISION TO BE A JOYFUL SINGER NO MATTER WHAT. We all got into this singing thing because it gave us joy at the beginning. We love to sing. Don’t forget that. So how do we keep the joy and make progress and really be ourselves? Here are three ideas:
1. Take a look back. I’m sure I say this every year but that’s ok. Realize singing will be a never-ending journey. There is always something new to learn. If we base our happiness on reaching a certain skill set and keep moving the line of what that is, we will never be happy. It’s like deciding to walk to the horizon and you walk all day and get exhausted and never reach it. This will keep you unhappy. But stop and turn around and look and measure where you came from at your starting point. You will see all the progress and realize you have gained so much great skill and experience. Take time to appreciate that and count those blessings. Even the so-called failures. We always learn more when we fail because there really is no failure. It’s just feed- back.
2. Envision what you want for your singing experience. Go ahead and make some goals for your voice. Maybe they are technical goals like expanding range or learning to belt or even learning a genre you have never sung. Maybe it’s more how you want to experience your voice. Maybe join a choir for the first time, or book a coffee house and do a set or surprise someone with a Valentine song or even audition for a musical. Visualize it, feel it and work toward it. If you are realistic about your voice, (knowing what limits you do have…we all have them) you can sing just about anything you desire. You will be singing your way, with your voice.
3. Commit to steps and actions in order to achieve your goals. It’s the small consistent steps we take that create the habits we need to achieve our goals. So steps could be, regularly scheduling practice times, learn a new song every week, set regular time aside to write songs, take care of your physical health, invest in voice lessons or whatever you need to do to get going. Make a list and write it down.
My overall theme for this year for me is to decide be a joyful singer always. I strongly recommend that for you too. There is a misconception that if we are happy with our voice, we won’t make any progress with it. We feel we must be unhappy with it so we will work harder. Actually that is a very negative approach and you will actually make faster progress if you enjoy and love your own voice. Remember, I say this all the time: We take care of things we love. So love your voice enjoy it, and take care of it and it will respond in ways you never imagined.
If you’d like some help with your singing journey, I would love to work with you. Having a singing coach can speed up your progress. A coach can show you in 20 minutes what it took them 20 years to learn. Contact me for a free discovery call to see if we make a good match.
I do wish you all the best for the New Year. May you stay safe and healthy and be abundantly blessed!
Stay brilliant and sing on,
love, Rita