We’re all always striving for improvement in what we do, aren’t we? If you ask my wife, she will tell you that, whether I have a performance coming up, or I’m on vacation, I practice vocal exercises every single day.
There are many reasons for it, but most of all, I’m always looking for ways to make what I do better and easier. It’s also a habit of many years 😉
Perfectionism can be wonderful, but the flipside of it is feeling like we’re never good enough and never ready to perform anything in front of an audience.
Things are made even worse by the easy access we have to recordings of any singers around the world. We listen to them and literally compare ourselves to the best out there. That’s just unfair to ourselves!
My violin teacher once told me that he was staying in a hotel in Moscow and his room was right next to one of the greatest violinists of that time. He stood outside his door eagerly listening to him practice, hoping to learn something valuable. Well, all the great violinist did was play the same chord for a half hour; one chord over and over! And my teacher said that it sounded perfect, so he couldn’t understand why he kept repeating it.
So you see, no matter what level you’re at, there’s always room for improvement, even if it’s obvious to you only.
Wherever you’re at in your singing journey, don’t forget that the whole point is to have fun, being inspired, and inspiring others. A less than perfect performance, from a technical standpoint, can often be life changing to your audience if you’re able to go beyond your concerns for perfection and bravely “dive in” and allow the music to flow through you unimpeded.
When I gave my diploma recital at the Conservatory, I played some of the hardest Capricci by Paganini. I actually got my highest score in that more technical area of my exam. The overall grade, however, wasn’t as high as I hoped. The comment I got from the examiners was, “You have good technique, but you seem hesitant to dive in, to let go.”
Boy were they right! But I think I’ve learned my lesson since then… 😉
Yes, prepare and sing as best as you can, but make sure your singing is also inspired, authentic, and without self-importance.
These qualities will HUGELY make up for whatever technical deficiencies you might still have, while allowing you to have fun and get inspired to continue to do better.
As my wife and I like to remind each other, “Done is better than perfect.”
