Here’s a thing…

When I first started teaching singing, I called my workshops “Finding Your Voice: Learn to Sing Even if You Think You Can’t Carry a Tune.”

I thought that pretty much said it all — take my workshop and discover your voice. Learn to work with it; learn to love it; learn new skills. All good!

Well, once they made it to the workshop, they loved it; they became enlightened!

But where were all the people I kept meeting everywhere who told me that they couldn’t sing but wished they could? Why weren’t they showing up in droves?

When I’d tell a group of people that I taught singing to “non-singers” it seemed like half of them would say, “Hey, that’s me!” But then they’d say, “But I REALLY can’t sing. You could never teach me, ” They didn’t believe that they could learn.

I thought, “Well gee, I think I have a marketing and communications problem, here. I’m trying to teach people who are totally convinced that they can never learn what I’m teaching, and are sure they shouldn’t even try.” Just saying, “Sure you can sing,” wasn’t enough.

All my teaching experience told me that singing was learnable, and that what was holding them back was fear. There was a voice in their head saying, “If I try to sing I’ll look stupid,” or, “My 4th grade teacher told me to just mouth the words, so I’m not going to make a fool of myself again by trying.”

I thought, and talked, and brainstormed, and in one really interesting conversation with a cousin who is a life coach I realized that the name of my program should directly address this fear that holds people back…
And that’s the story of how I changed the name to, “The Fear of Singing Breakthrough Program.”

People recognized themselves in these words, and got curious to learn more.

Now I just assume that some degree of fear is getting in everyone’s way (it certainly did for me!) I don’t know any musician, experienced or beginner, who doesn’t experience it one form another at least now and then.

For this reason learning to deal with fear is always included in my teaching, right along with other skills like breathing and pitch matching. It’s just another skill. And what’s awesome, is that it is applicable to every other part of our lives as well.
Learn to really give yourself permission to sing and you’ll find you’re giving yourself permission to do and feel other things as well. It’s fabulous therapy, and also really fun!

Join the Fearless Singers Playground online membership program — a supportive and joyous singing community specially designed for beginners! When you join you’ll get access to great online skills & song lessons, as well as live sing-alongs, workshops, and open mics.

Such a great way to grow as a singer!