 New Jersey Stage magazine. To read it in its original format, click here |
As a man soweth so shall he reap. What a person holds in his deeper mind powerfully influences his musical expression. In that subconscious storehouse lives fodder for melody and harmony, color and form; impressions based on everything you've experienced with your five senses as far back as the womb. From impressions come feelings--the ingredients of symphonies, hit songs, and great performances.
The voice is the original, organic instrument to deliver music. It's vulnerable on many levels because it's played with the mind. It can be impaired by self-doubt and fear, as in the case of my 52 year-old student Sherry, with a voice to die for. She suppressed her desire to sing all her life.
Sherry's mother was a frustrated singer who never realized her dream and couldn't tolerate her talented daughter's singing at home. Sherry grew up believing her mother: "You sound terrible and shouldn't sing!" That was echoed by an older cousin whom Sherry idolized, and who grew jealous of Sherry's talent. The cruel critique of those whom Sherry trusted as a child formed the belief she carried around all her life and extended beyond singing. Sherry believed she couldn't do anything.
Sherry's self-esteem suffered from the abuse of her mentally ill mother and others. The computer analogy is good to explain how Sherry's software and hardware had been damaged. She was obese and had difficulty breathing. The constant stress of fear and lack of confidence disrupted Sherry's immune system and she grew allergic to animals. Inhalants gummed up her throat with mucous and further inhibited breathing so she couldn't sing. Interestingly, the part of her that craved expression -- her vocal apparatus, is the part that became ill.
Sherry's case illustrates a universal truth: As above, so below. In other words, whasotever a man thinketh, so shall he be...and...what goes around comes around. The body is always listening to your mind. What you put out you get back like planting seeds.
Art is expressed in the human trinity. We are mind, body and spirit (soul). Whatever happens on our emotional and mental levels resonates and eventually manifests in our physical being. What we experience on any of the three levels creates or reinforces beliefs...and in life, belief is everything!
As a child, Sherry experienced emotional pain, then actual abandonment by her parents. Her fear of judgment kept the adult Sherry from venturing into the spotlight to sing. I coached Sherry for a few years as she developed her beautiful voice and was able to sing in public. As I was part therapist and part voice coach, Sherry benefitted from healing at the unconscious level which resounded in her body. In computer terms, Sherry made significant repairs to her corrupted operating system. Her singing grew better and brought her joy. She and her husband had even discussed opening a coffeehouse where she could do the two things she loved most...make pastries and sing!
When Sherry worked on her problems at the emotional level, where the seeds of doubt and fear had been growing, her physical world improved. She went back to school and earned a Masters Degree in Clinical Social Work. She was a fine therapist to victims of abuse. But then, she developed an aggressive cancer and died too young. However, not with the music still inside her.
I'm grateful for what she taught me. Our thoughts, beliefs and expectations do become our lives, and we can change our lives by changing all the above. Plant the seeds of the crop you want. Let's keep that in mind as we raise and teach our little Streisands, Springsteens, and Stravinskys.
