This entry is an attempt to explain further one of my musical New Year’s resolutions.
From time to time, there’s been something in my choral life that didn’t work out as I’d have liked. E.g. being dropped from a choir or from a particular concert, never being considered for a solo, or failing an audition. All of these things have happened to me at some point in the last few years; in writing what follows I do not have any one particular incident in mind.
On many occasions it’s not hard to see why. It may have been at a time when I wasn’t singing well, or there may have just been lots of other better singers around. On the other hand, you can’t exclude the possibility of having been accidentally overlooked (which certainly has happened to me) or of favouritism – not unknown! But in between that there is a grey area of instances where I’ve been left wondering why the axe fell (so to speak) on me and not on another, since it’s rare to be given a reason, even though you can hardly fail to notice when one of these things has happened to you.
Part of the reason for having singing lessons is for someone else to identify and iron out the problems I can’t hear for myself. But what about the flaws which only become apparent in a choir? Some are so perennial that there’s no need to make a special resolution; it’s always possible to be a better sight-singer. Others are more insidious. It was reflecting on this that made me decide to make 2006 the year that I really concentrated on how to come off phrases.