It’s about starting over . com

I want to share an experience with you. This happened at the beginning of the 2007-08 school year and, because of everything I’ve been through and because I am the person I’ve become, I was able to do the right thing. In the past, this same type of experience has caused me to limit myself simply because I trusted and believed in others more than myself.

It was my third year at Rimon, and my second year with this particular voice teacher. I began losing my voice in the higher and lower register after singing for about 45 minutes (just the higher and lower notes disappeared). I told my teacher, and she said she couldn’t hear anything wrong in my technique. She felt that when I practiced at home (i.e., without her guidance), I was probably doing something wrong. A short time later, both the amount of time I could sing before losing my voice became shorter, and the amount of notes that disappeared increased until my vocal range, which had been just slightly over two octaves, decreased to only one after about 20 minutes of singing. I spoke with my voice teacher about this each time we had a lesson. Obviously, something was wrong and it was either physical, technical, or both. She explained to me that it’s very important that I know and accept my limitations and that, obviously, I just don’t have what she referred to as “vocal stamina,” the ability to sing for prolonged periods of time. She also explained that I have a limited vocal range. She told me with patience and in friendship, that I need to accept these limitations and make decisions based on the fact that there are certain things that I just won’t be able to do.

National emergency

Well, you would have thought that a national emergency was taking place according to the amount of red lights and sirens that were going off in my head! I didn’t say a word to her, after all, I wasn’t there to educate her! But later that day, I called one of my ex-teachers, who is an outstanding and very successful musician, and spoke to him about the situation. He explained that loss of voice is always a sign that something is wrong, and that the most important first step is to stop singing and speaking immediately! He explained that my voice is my instrument. If you played flute, you would care for your instrument so, he said, care for your voice. Second step, he explained, is to get to an ENT who works with singers. Third step, is to get to an expert voice teacher. He recommended one who sent me to her ENT and, to make a longish story shorter, I followed his advice. The ENT diagnosed me with a mild reflux problem and made recommendations for diet modification and medication. The new voice teacher taught me new and different techniques for breathing and support while singing. I researched and employed further diet modification and natural remedies and did not take the medication and over time, the reflux disappeared. My vocal range now stands at just over three octaves, and I can sing for hours before I begin to notice signs of vocal fatigue. My progress is both noticeable and fulfilling and I get so much joy out of singing! I love exploring the world of music and I keep discovering new abilities around every bend! And I’m so excited to see what the future holds. But had I taken my voice teacher’s advice, I would have sacrificed it all.

How many times?

How many times has someone told you that you can’t do a certain thing, or that it’s stupid to try? Has someone told you that you’re not smart enough, that you’re too young, or too old, or too tall or short or fat to do something you might love doing? What was your reaction? Has someone told you to accept your limitations? I believe that we can’t know our own limitations until we put them to the test. Because bodies, and that includes our minds, are very flexible and are always developing, the limit on what we can or cannot do, what we can or cannot learn, is always changing. The old saying that, “The more you do, the more you can do” is extremely true, I can tell you that from experience.

Is it enough to want something? No. You have to go after what you want, and sometimes, you have to struggle and sacrifice over a long period of time to get it.

Is it worth it? Speaking for myself, all I can say is *ELL YES!!!

And for you?

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