Singing from memory unleashes a surprising super power: you remember the precise key of your earworm:
https://phys.org/news/2024-08-memory-common-musical-superpower.html
@evamarie
I'm not at all surprised to learn this. I've always found this to be the case, even if I couldn't name the key.
@evamarie
One thing not mentioned is that many people who think they "can't sing" may be able to audiate the song in the correct key, but are not able to physically vocalize what they are hearing in their head at the same pitches. That can happen for different reasons.
That would be me 😁
@evamarie
We can rebuild you. We have the technology.
In all seriousness, you aren't broken. You just need the right teacher to help you.
@voltronic @evamarie John Bell used to say that if you hadn't learned to sing as a child, someone had stolen your song. I.e., if you needed help to sing and no one helped you learn, that was a theft of joy.
@JazzCrafter @voltronic @evamarie I did not (and neither did John) intend to imply any standard other than the confidence to sing out.
Sorry if you misunderstood.
@t_heislen @voltronic @evamarie It's OK.. I just wanted to add a different, creative angle to this.. I have met those who, through many other activities, actions, thoughts, art, dance, meditations, quiet kindness and understandings .... "sing."
@JazzCrafter @t_heislen @evamarie
If I may redirect back to the kind of singing most people understand:
The greater harm / trauma I have encountered far too often in my years of teaching music are people who were told at a young age that they cannot or should not sing. Unless there is a physical problem with your vocal tract or you have a rare neurological condition where you cannot differentiate pitch or timbre, you can sing.
@JazzCrafter @t_heislen @evamarie
You just have to be taught how, and the stimuli you were exposed to as your brain was forming the relevant connections may be different from someone else's.
@voltronic @t_heislen @evamarie
Ahhh.. I see where you are coming from.. and I agree, to an extent.
But, I, too.. taught music to many for decades.. and I discovered the joy when I opened previously suppressed ears to the music they heard, enjoyed, and could then create. Many a day, I was blessed with the faces of newfound doors opened to creativity.. it is a natural to respond to art, and learn that it is, indeed.. within you!
@voltronic @t_heislen @evamarie
Here is my story. As a high school music teacher, I was told to adhere to strict standards of repertoire to "correctly teach" singing/playing to students. I immediately got into trouble and was chided as incompetent because I broke those rules from day one. Also, my brown skin and ovaries were also a factor. But, in the end, we prevailed, succeeded, and became famous.
https://youtu.be/QMXFbJ4ArVY
@voltronic @JazzCrafter @evamarie Yup - that's it. By the way Herald Stark, with whom I was privileged to study (and namesake of the Nation Assn of Teachers of Singing Library), believed the very same thing.
@voltronic @JazzCrafter @evamarie Egad, I sound like the worst name-dropper in this thread - just not expecting you to take any of this on my poor authority.
@t_heislen @voltronic @evamarie
Ohhh... drop.. I can REALLY name drop.
I had a 14 year old student.. nicknamed "Foley" who was told he was musically worthless by all the other teachers. He came to me in an awful negative state because the creativity inside of him was simply not recognized. Stepping outside the strict pedagogy of the time, he blossomed into an amazing musician/producer. He toured with MILES DAVIS for years as his "lead bassist.
https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxYXAgqbJHR3-cCzdvR8dxR_DJX85Ewcwn?si=1aw_HU9FhbgEsCXy
@t_heislen @voltronic @evamarie i was actively discouraged from singing by all the adults in my life (except my mom, she was ok with it) teachers, choir directors, etc.
@redenigma @voltronic @evamarie Happens to way too many people! Brother Bell would have said they failed you by being either too lazy or hiding their lack of knowledge.
@t_heislen @voltronic @evamarie somewhere around age 14, i met my friend Miki, who could both sing & play piano. her dad was also a singer. the first time they heard me trying to sing, they stopped me & said "wait!" you're almost perfect pitch for harmony" and they showed me how to do that.
@t_heislen @voltronic @evamarie
That limits singing to a certain pre assigned standard.. we must recognize that singing comes in many forms.