Newsgroups: uk.music.folk
Subject: Re: Does Quality Matter ?
From: Dick Gaughan <dickg (@) dickalba.demon.co.uk>
Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2000 12:35:38 +0100

In <397050ab.5493118 (@) news.demon.nl> on Sat, 15 Jul 2000 12:09:45GMT, dominic (@) MySurname.co.uk (Dom Cronin) wrote:

>In short, we are amateurs, but we should try not to be amateurish.

And there is the whole matter summed up in one wee sentence :)

The chef Albert Roux was once asked the difference between professional and amateur cooks. He replied, "Professionals don't cut their fingers with the knife".

I would suggest the answer in relation to pro/am performers could be, "The professional normally doesn't tell the audience they've forgotten the next verse".

There is a huge difference between singing in an informal singaround and singing to people who have paid hard-earned cash to get in. A paying audience deserves at least a minimum level of preparation - from anyone who is singing, whether amateur or pro - and I'm afraid the excuse, "I have a lousy memory and can't remember words" gets from me the reply, "Then stick to singing at informal sessions until you've learned the basics of being a singer". Having the most wonderful natural voice in the world does not make anyone a singer - being a singer is a craft and like any other craft it has techniques which demand study and practise. If people have parted with money then those performing have a responsibility to not insult them with sloppiness, lack of preparation and indifference.

I don't have a particularly efficient memory but as a pro singer I have had to learn and work hard at the techniques of remember song lyrics. For what it's worth, here's the secret to remembering words for those who think they can't do it.

Forget *how* you're singing and concentrate on *what* you're singing. Most people try too hard to impress the audience with their singing, therefore they become far too self-conscious and that's ultimately why they screw up. They're concentrating on the wrong things. Every song has a story to tell - concentrate on telling that story. Of course, in order to do this you will have to make sure you've studied the song sufficently in order to know what that story actually is, what the sub-texts are, what the relevance to the audience is etc. In other words, do your homework. The vocal techniques, and even the words of the song, are merely the tools used to tell the story and the trick is to concentrate your attention on the job rather than the tools.

Too many amateur singers tend to take themselves far too seriously and do not take what they're doing seriously enough. Those priorities are in the wrong order.

And before anyone says "it's all right for you, you're a pro" it was not always thus. I wasn't born being a pro singer - like everyone else, I started out as an amateur and learned my craft the hard way.

--
Dick Gaughan

 

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