When I was in fifth grade, I was told that the annual Christmas show would be different from that year. As the nativity was over, there were too many congratulations. No baby Jesus, a manger, or a man in a red suit. Instead, we paid homage to the so-called Land of Freedom, the celebration of Americana. The show features Disney melodies, children desperately dancing to the “Toutin” show tunes of country and western routines, and beloved TV show characters. Speculation about the cast list was intense and was discussed in detail at the school playground.
One day, after a short break, I was called to the principal’s office. She told me I was supposed to play an important role in the show. “We have decided that you will play that role,” she stopped dramatically and stared at her glasses, the “Big Bird.” My heart sank. Big bird.I wanted to play the bell beauty and the beastNot a mappet.
Things got even worse when I saw the costume, a homemade felt bodysuit covered with a pointed hood and feathers with a sewn beak.
Besides, I had to sing the alphabet. Big Bird is not a normal alphabet because it has a limited literacy level (after all, he is a bird) and mistakenly speculates that the list of letters makes up one huge word. Through the medium of the song, he wonders what this huge word (pronounced “abca-defgi-jeckle-mi-nop-kwer-stoov-wix-iz”) means.
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Kirsty Blake Knox joins the “Sing Your Failures” choir.Photo: Mark Condren
I remember being nervous to hit the treble during the performance, looking into the audience and seeing the confused and horrifying expression on my father’s face. Since that moment, I have generally avoided singing in public. Until I was invited to a new theater show by performer Louise White and singer and vocal coach Michelle Oruk. Sing your failure.. The origin of the show is to overcome the fear of singing failure and past trauma.
“We want to celebrate failure, overcome fear, and give performance anxiety to the middle finger in an improvised choir,” says White.
White is known for creating theaters that focus on audience involvement and aims to “cultivate a unique and collective experience.” She tells me that this show will create a “magical, unexpected fellowship.”
“So is it basically a big song group therapy session?” “That is, I wouldn’t be offended if you called it that way,” she says.
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Three years ago, White started a vocal lesson because he had to sing as part of another show. She turned to Oruk for help. She made steady progress in her, but soon other larger ones began to foam on the surface. She remembered that White was a tween and she was asked to sing her school rally. She started singing, but there was silence, rather than the voice of her classmates swelling around her. Each time she passed, she became more self-conscious, and eventually the principal of the school stopped the procedure and asked to join others. They participated, but the humiliation of the day lasted a long time. In one of the lessons with Oroke, she shed tears.
“”[Learning to sing] I didn’t think it was really traumatic … because I was having a lot of trouble with myself, “she says. “I thought,’Oh, okay, I tend to be a perfectionist.’ I want to be really good at everything. I want to learn myself, learn in a way, It doesn’t make you feel, “she says. According to O’Rourke, many of her students have these breakthrough moments.
While they are speaking, they put the clipboard on the ground for the 20 participants attending the show. “Singing is a votive offering,” says White. “The show is about trying to take advantage of the emotions that come from self-expression … but let it happen in a safe way in a group, so in the end there is a sense of accomplishment. As we got here, It was all a little crazy. “
Once the clipboard is in place and O’Rourke is on the piano, the audience will begin submitting files. We all stand face-to-face in a circle, perform some noise exercises, and then White begins to sing about the shame of the school rally. Oroke then remembers the moment when she felt terrible humiliation when she left the final stage of getting her PhD. After this, we are invited to write down the moments that felt like embarrassing / complete gombeans.
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Kirsty Blake Knox participating in “Sing Your Failures”.Photo: Mark Condren
I’m writing about Big Bird and felt bodysuits. Others have written about late-night baking blunders or farewells. But most people write about their childhood — playground mockery, first swimming lessons, or forgetting words in the middle of a song.
Much of our singing voice seems to be tied to what happened when we were still kid, but I think that’s very true. Unless you remain musical throughout your life, it’s a stage in your life, and singing as a group or as an individual plays a very lively and important role. In daycares and elementary schools, it is used as a tool for teaching, comforting, entertaining, distracting, talking, and expressing emotions.
According to O’Rourke, many of us begin to become aware of our singing voice between the ages of eight and ten. We begin to compare ourselves with others, which leads to some degree of self-criticism and self-judgment. This may explain why, as teenagers and adults, our own singing voice becomes quieter and is replaced by a kind of voluntary silence.
White tells Oroke the memories we shared, and Oroke courageously sings them — throwing her head back and closing her eyes. She gives her memories the gravity of her voice and asks us to join the chorus, It’s Huuuuuurtssssss..
And strange things happen. My Big Bird story was interesting, but suddenly the piano keys echoed around the hall and I began to feel the hot, tingling sensation behind my eyes. And what the hell am I going to cry? In front of all these strangers? And a photographer? Wait, is he shooting this? He is shooting this! Why do I have all these big emotions? This should be fun for good! Just keep smiling.
I focus on breathing and the familiarity of the rhythm begins to calm me down. The song is nearing the end and we move on to another practice. It’s about singing as a collective. After that, I asked Oruk why he felt that way. It happens to most people and turns out to be more scientific than you think.
First, O’Rourke creates a melody using a pentatonic scale with five notes per octave. It’s a powerful scale and familiar to all of us. At the 2009 World Science Festival, musician Bobby McFerrin used the participation of the audience to show that everyone automatically understands this scale, and we all universally appreciate the music. I proved that I was there.
“The pentatonic scale is inspiring,” says O’Rourke. “And because of the natural tuning system, it happens in wind chimes and Aeolian harps, so you’ll know it naturally. You’re also working on a standard set of rotations included in pop songs. increase- Hey Jude Also Titanium.. They are in culture, embedded and have semiotic meaning. “
She also says that the phrase “it hurts” is loaded and admitting past upsets can be catharsis. Finally, she says it’s always emotional to use your singing voice, regardless of whether you can hit the treble. “There’s a lot of muscle tissue,” she says, gesturing towards her neck. Your voice has layers of life. “
The formative incidents mentioned in the performance can have a lasting impact on your voice’s self-confidence, whether it doesn’t form a school choir or is caught by a hairbrush. .. This manifests itself as feelings of embarrassment and embarrassment, which can fuel the idea that your singing voice and thus your self-expression is not sufficient for public consumption.
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Kirsty Blake Knox of the “Sing Your Failures” choir.Photo: Mark Condren
“Learn to sing can be a very bitter realm,” she says. “So many people came to singing lessons, and in three lessons, they said,” I didn’t think I could achieve it, “or” I never thought of myself that way. I think, and start crying. “
Programs like X factorWhen voice It also incorporates the idea that only selected people can sing in public and should sing. “We are conditioned to think that we shouldn’t sing for fun or fun,” says White. It’s like “it’s”, well, will you be the best? Will you win? Is there a story of sobbing? “
When it comes to singing, we seem to maintain an incredibly high standard. Not everyone will be Usain Bolt, but still can’t stop people from strapping trainers to parkruns on weekends. “You wonder,’What the hell, I can’t be Adele, why try it?'” White says. But Oruk says that anyone who can speak can sing.
There is a big feeling on one side, a delicious level of wobbling Sing your failure.. Avoiding the idea of inspiration may mean that there is a wave of relief when you get over everything. It’s a very playful singing voice, and as an adult, I find that I can forget all that joy, and that roaring in public is actually a very good idea.
“Everyone has the right to sing,” says O’Rourke. “And the right to endorphins it emits, and the right to its joy.”
Sing Your Failures will be held at Fitzgerald’s Park from June 24th to 26th as part of the Cork Midsummer Festival.
