Scholars Offer Hope for Those of Us Who Think They Can't Sing Well
by Jeff Lindsay
For
some people, singing is a challenging part of worship. For those who
feel they can't sing well or who fear to sing around others, music
can sometimes be a barrier rather than aid to worship.
This
was a challenge for me in my early days. I think part of the problem
was that toward the end of my second-grade year in Boise, Idaho, my
teacher worked with school officials to get me instantly promoted to
third grade. They told my parents I needed to move up a grade because
I was so smart. Mom and Dad were so proud of me. But there are other
theories.
Perhaps
my sweet second-grade teacher was spared a nervous breakdown by
throwing me into third grade before my time. Whatever the cause, I
skipped most of third grade, and I fully forgive all those involved.
Actually, I think it was good for me and gave me opportunities later
that I am grateful for, but it came at a price.
Parents, if
you have children in third grade, please make sure they attend and
pay great attention. Third grade, from what I can tell, is where some
of life's most important skills are developed. This must be where
kids become athletes, develop social graces, learn how to write
legibly, and also learn how to sing. I pretty much skipped all
that.
Without the benefit of a third-grade education (yes, I
can see this statement being used against me), I soon found myself in
fourth grade. The eager and overly confident little second grader
still dwelling in me, so used to getting straight A's and being
praised for minor accomplishments, was about to face a complete shock
on his report card with a "D" for handwriting and a "D"
for singing.
The
nice fourth-grade teacher I started with took time off to have a baby
and was replaced with a harsh substitute for several very long weeks.
(This is a story I shared
here previously, but it will lead to a new twist with some advice and hope for those
like me.)
One day she announced that we needed to have a
singing test, and that each of us needed to prepare by choosing a
song that we would sing to her. What? This was a total surprise to
me. She reminded us one day that the test would be tomorrow. Yikes.
So
I went home and sought help from my father, who sings beautifully, as
does my mother, neither of whom bothered to pass on any musical genes
to me. I had turned to the one source of vocal music I could find at
home, the LDS hymnbook, and dutifully searched for a really short
song.
My
father had me sing it, tried hard not to chuckle, and spend some time
giving me helpful tips. After another try or two, he gave me some
encouragement and hoped I would do OK.
I tried to imagine how
the test would go. I wondered if she would bring us into her office
or take us out into the hallway or some other remote room for the
individual singing evaluations. When the topic of the test came up
the next day, she announced that each child would stand, one at a
time, and sing in front of the entire class of 30-something children
(my estimate).
This
was to be a very public shaming, and my row was first.
I
suppose that the four or five kids who sang before I did were all
budding Josh Grobans and Whitney Houstons. I could hardly concentrate
on what they were singing, but it sounded better than what I could
do.
When
I finally stood to accept my fate, I tried to sing but felt it was
somewhat worse than how I had sung for my father, but maybe,
hopefully maybe OK. The two verses I sang were over quickly (I seem
to recall she let me finish sooner than I expected, with no
complaints from me) and I sat down, glad that I had survived.
Well,
that wasn't so bad, was it? I felt OK about it somehow, until a few
weeks later when I got the report card with my first ever "D."
Two of them, one for singing and one for handwriting. I don't recall,
but perhaps some kind of writing test was conducted right after the
singing test. Trembling does not make for a steady hand.
After
that, my response to public singing became one of evasion for several
years. I remember in fifth grade, now in Salt Lake City, the teacher
caught me trying to hide behind the piano when it was singing time.
Silly.
I
was a vocal and enthusiastic student for the most part, just not for
vocal music. I recognized that singing was part of worship and wanted
to do better, but didn't spend a lot of time at it and really felt I
just lacked the talent to improve much. I can do better now and
sometimes really enjoy it, but don't give me a public test, please,
at least not a solo.
Fortunately, for those of you who share
my awkwardness about singing, there is new hope from scholars. My
favorite science news service offers this headline based on newly
published research at Northwestern University: "Can't sing? Do
it more often."
The
tagline is "Regular practice may be as crucial to singing on
pitch as it is for learning an instrument." A new study
published in a February volume of the journal Music
Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal
offers new hope for me and others.
The
online information doesn't yet include the February issue, so be
patient. For now, we can rely on the printed version or third-party
commentary such as the report at Eurekalert.org, from which the
following excerpt is taken:
Published
in a special February issue of the journal Music Perception,
the study compared the singing accuracy of three groups:
kindergarteners, sixth graders and college-aged adults. One test
asked the volunteers to listen to four repetitions of a single pitch
and then sing back the sequence. Another asked them to sing back at
intervals.
The three groups were scored using similar
procedures for measuring singing accuracy.
The study showed
considerable improvement in accuracy from kindergarten to late
elementary school, when most children are receiving regular music
instruction. But in the adult group, the gains were reversed —
to the point that college students performed at the level of the
kindergarteners on two of the three tasks, suggesting the "use
it or lose it" effect.
Singing on key is likely easier
for some people than others. "But it's also a skill that can be
taught and developed, and much of it has to do with using the voice
regularly," Demorest said. "Our study suggests that adults
who may have performed better as children lost the ability when they
stopped singing."
Great
news! Science has once again given me something to sing about.
Meanwhile, I would encourage Latter-day Saints and all of us
to be sensitive to the challenges that some people may face when they
are shy about singing. One positive thing parents and teachers can do
is encourage people to practice. All that singing in Primary and
elsewhere can make a difference and help people do better.
One
thing I've noticed about China is that the young people here seem to
have great singing skills. For example, my wife and I were on a bus
loaded with mostly 20-something young people from one of our R&D
teams for a two-day trip to some beautiful parts of China. Like most
buses in truly civilized nations, it naturally had a karaoke system
on board to give the passengers something fun to do during long
drives.
We
were surprised as chemists and engineers one after another took up
the mike and sang beautifully. So many great voices. I asked their
R&D director about it and he explained that karaoke was what many
of these kids do as their social event on the weekends. They get
many hours of practice singing.
Consistent
with the newly published research, all that time spent singing may be
the reason they sing so well. So maybe there's hope for me and others
like me if we just put in some more time practicing. Anyone got a good
karaoke system I can borrow?
Jeff Lindsay has been defending the Church on the Internet since 1994, when he launched his
LDSFAQ website under JeffLindsay.com. He has also long been blogging about LDS matters on
the blog Mormanity (mormanity.blogspot.com). Jeff is a longtime resident of Appleton,
Wisconsin, who recently moved to Shanghai, China, with his wife, Kendra.
He works for an Asian corporation as head of intellectual property. Jeff and Kendra are the parents of 4 boys, 3 married and the the youngest on a mission.
He is a former innovation and IP consultant, a former professor, and former Corporate Patent
Strategist and Senior Research Fellow for a multinational corporation.
Jeff Lindsay, Cheryl Perkins and Mukund Karanjikar are authors of the book Conquering
Innovation Fatigue (John Wiley & Sons, 2009).
Jeff has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Brigham Young University and is a registered US
patent agent. He has more than 100 granted US patents and is author of numerous publications.
Jeff's hobbies include photography, amateur magic, writing, and Mandarin Chinese.