That’s how I view great singing. Or is it miraculously ordinary?
Whenever I hear an amazing singer for the first time, or hear a singer I know do something incredible, I think, “Isn’t it miraculous? That a human can master all the skills necessary to do what they just did.”
Even more miraculous to hear a seventeen-year-old singer do something amazing, as I’ve been lucky to do many times from my own students.
But at the same time: I have heard so many people – professional and amateur, trained, untrained, and somewhere in between – do so many miraculous things that I increasingly think, it’s ordinary to sing amazingly well.
It is, I think. It’s ordinary and it’s miraculous. When I think it ordinary, it doesn’t mean I’m not moved by the miracle. When I think it miraculous, it doesn’t mean I don’t think it’s attainable for a great number of people.
Knowing that miraculous singing is so common does inform my thinking about my students’ career aspirations, though. Great voices are too common to be the key to success.
It is not enough to have an amazing voice, or perfect high B-flats, or a healthy and powerful belt. There are too many others with exactly those things.
More important, I think, is to have a positive attitude, a commitment to growth, a curiosity about the world and a kind word for everyone. Those traits are rarer, harder to maintain, and will serve you better on the journey.
Give an amazing vocal performance and I’ll be impressed. Be a great person and I’ll think you have what it takes to succeed.