The most powerful gift singing difficult music gives you…isn’t musical.
Singing in a close harmony group – vocal jazz, especially, but any ensemble with complex harmony and intricate interactions among ensemble members – is not for the faint of heart. It’s hard.
And the reason it’s hard, I think, is that it requires utter focus. Singing Puerling or Meader or Edenroth demands total concentration, and immediately punishes the singer who lets their mind wander. That can be frustrating in the moment, but it’s really a long-term gift.
Many of the most successful individuals I know are those who have the ability to laser focus on a task at hand. Not all the time, but when needed. And if you get good at making this kind of music, you get good at that focus.