Back in the day, I was abnormally sensitive to any wrong note that would come out of my blabbermouth.
It made me sweat, blush and extremely furious.
So, to avoid that, I did everything possible to gain more control over my pipes.
Like...
Working on my breathing technique…
Dedicating 10 minutes every day to training my ears…
And only picking songs that were safely within my range.
All things that helped me to continuously get better at the craft...and all things I’d highly recommend to every aspiring singer who wants to get his voice together.
The only problem though…
If you're paranoid about singing off-key...then you’re doomed to a lifetime of anxiety.Simply because, there will always be times in your life where your voice derails...no matter how perfectly you’ve set it up.
Times like…
Illness…
Emotional turbulence…
Or fatigue.
The sooner you cure yourself from this paranoia, the better.
My own cure came in the person of a funny bloke from Stoke-on-Trent, UK.
Mr. Robbie Williams.
When Robbie came out with his monumental “Live at Knebworth” DVD in 2003 I could witness how contemporary singing should be done to draw a crowd of around 375,000 people to a 3-day period concert series.
And there was a reason to it...
Robbie was in the shape of his life.
For 99% of the gig he was spot-on and a pleasure to watch.
However, after he performed one of his greatest hits “Feel” the crowd couldn’t stop singing.
So, already moo-ved to tears and without any supporting music, Robbie joined in again….and messed it up completely.
He was so off-key...he sounded like a terrible karaoke singer.
Robbie’s reaction? He didn’t care at all.
No comment, no strange look, nothing.
It was completely irrelevant to him, if his encore sucked.
On with the show he went.
And that, my little whimp, is not only how the pros do it, but also how the pros think it.
Giving yourself the freedom to f*#k it up once in a while...also gives you the freedom to reely shine at it.
On the other hand…
If you are a ‘helicopter singer’...meaning you watch every note worried like a mom who follows her kidz around on the playground... you will begin to keep your voice under control.
And that’s the worst thing you can do. Your voice needs space and freedom to develop.
Here’s the good news...
The better you get at singing, the less often you will sound shitty.
But if it happens...face it with a smile...and move on.
Cheers Felix
The Underground Singer