Or dance, play an instrument, write, draw or paint, play a sport, but do not let anybody dissuade you because you "don't have any talent." You are not born with the diatonic scale in your head you are not born with the ability to write a complete sentence; you are not born with ability to draw with perspective; and you are not born with all the rules and strategy of any particular sport in your head.
I just proved this again to myself with a solo in church. I sang "Where have all the flowers gone?" and was amazed by the number of people who congratulated me after the service. I've done a couple of solos before at church but they were somewhat more tentative. I filled the room with my voice today!
I made a few mistakes in notes and timing, but the overall tone was resonant and spirited. If we look for perfection in performance, we will never do anything. A friend noticed that a violin soloist at the symphony made a few mistakes early in her performance. This soloist is a professor of music and the concert-mistress of the symphony!
Six years ago lot of people didn't want to sing near me. At one concert, the whole bass section shifted to the right as the others tried to get away from me. But with the express invitation of the church choir director and her encouragement, with the help of six years of voice lessons, and with the patience of my excellent singer wife, I've slowly improved.
I wonder if my voice teacher still thinks I would embarrass myself performing at an open mike night. I know I still have a long way to go on timing and consistent pitch.
For more of my thoughts on our ability to sing, see my article Why Don't Men Sing? and an earlier blog entry Why don't men sing?
