There are so many things in life that we can care about. There are so many things that we shouldn’t care about. It is an endless list with all kinds of components. There are things we care about that are strictly personal, things that are a concern to our immediate family, things that concern the community, and things that concern the world, or many people in the world. If people are starving, war is raging, there is no healthcare or work, the icesheets are melting, why should anyone care about singing? Really, we can live without singing.
But can we? What would the world be like if there had never been any singing or was none now? What if we collectively forgot how to sing? Wouldn’t that change life everywhere?
And, if we care about singing, there are so many ways that we can care. We can care about certain styles of music, certain practices in certain styles of music. We can care about who is singing, and what they sing, and how it is sung. We can care about the voices of the singer or singers, we can care about how the voice is being used, we can care about what the relationship is between the music and the person singing it…..if indeed there are notes involved (as opposed to rap, which some would say is a form of singing). There are probably lots of other ways that I can’t think of now.
But if we don’t care, now that’s a problem, at least to me. If we are singers and teachers of singing and we don’t bother to really care about the whole process, all of it, that’s NOT good. And if we do care, and care with passion as many of us do, we have to be careful not to get lost in that passion and let it dominant our thinking. We must remain open to all the various possibilities.
I can be over-zealous. I can sometimes care too much. It has taken me a long time to learn how to step back, calm down and back away, seeking objectivity. I am someone for whom singing matters very very much. I stop being effective, however, if I cannot find the calm quiet place deep within which is the clear pool from which music arises. I must remember always that I can care deeply and let go at the same time. This is a tricky balance to strike, but it is always necessary. Life without singing would be bleak indeed, but living as if singing was everything would be foolish.
Wherever you are with your point of view about singing……..take a look at how you care, or IF you care, and what impact or import that may have. It can be very illuminating.