I laughed, I cried, I laughed, and now I’m crying again. I relate to this so much. I started taking guitar lessons at 36 from a jazz guitar player who was my same age and looked like a young Paul Newman. The insecurities and terror that man brought up in me even though he was so present and kind and honest! Thank you so much for this, Heather. You really capture what it’s like to be someone trying to find joy and authenticity in a world where it seems most people are content with so much less.
"It takes a strong will, to be a pig and know you’re a pig and put on a Dorothy outfit in spite of everything."
THIS right here, for so many things. But as a much poorer singer who also went through A JOURNEY while taking singing lessons, I raise my little trotter in salute (wearing Julie Andrews dirndl) 😉
I love this. I'm wondering if you can think of an analogous type of coach for writing? I suppose having an editor is one way to be coached, but editors seem too connected to actual publishing; your voice coach doesn't just come in at the end when you think something is ready to perform. I'd want someone like that, someone who'll read my practice writing, or my writing that is nowhere near done, and give me feedback. You know?
I also love this and am grateful for a universe that uses such delights to put my personalized lessons and reminders in my path. I have felt so flat for what seems such a long time... yet, I can feel the itching inside. I know who I am, but I have zero faith in myself. So, I'm the pig who *won't* put on the Dorothy costume despite being given (over and over) a yellow brick road, ruby slippers, and all the rest of this metaphor. The idea that I could thrive and maybe even prosper by my own creative efforts is so far removed from what I believe I get to have in this life that when I start to think about it, I weep. But still, the itching inside. The itching. I, too, took voice lessons for a time, mostly because I had been told as a child I that I couldn't carry a tune. 1. This was cruel of my mother to say this, but I believe she was probably told the same thing. 2. A person who actually tone-deaf is rare. We are simply untrained. 3. It wasn't true of me. Oh, pardon the digression, I am going to start taking this stuff to my own newsletter. Thank you, Heather. Thank you.
I loved this essay, and passed it along to one of my daughters who, like me, is also a "strong emotions cryer." Or rather "intense motherfuckers" as Heather would say. Thanks for this and congrats on the developing pipes.
"The expert in anything was once a beginner." Your journey is representative of these words that I try to keep in my mind at all times! It gives me the courage to try new things. Which, admittedly, I haven't done in some time, but hey, it's a good mindset. Thank you for your words, and now apparently, your voice! PS - congrats on the book's Best Ofs. Well-deserved!
Dare to be humiliated....sad and great at the same time!!
On a completely weird and different note,have you ever started the Wizard of Oz movie and the Pink Floyd album Dark Side of the Moon at the same time? No? Neither have I !!!!! Now that's funny!!!
I hope your daughters know this about you--even if they’re age-appropriately «you’re so weird, mom, singing to yourself»-- I think it is something they might hold in their hearts forever.
I cry when I sing, too. It feels like a mystery about my inner world that I don't want to solve. I like not feeling any need to understand it. It’s good and weird and confusing and oddly enjoyable. I truly enjoyed reading about your experience and I hope you continue to share your vocal journey with us.
as someone who tends to avoid any circumstance where i feel inept or inadequate, this was like medicine. there simply are not enough stories of the process of learning, of stumbling, of pigs putting on a dorothy outfit. it's as though we prefer to think that every talent is innate, comes naturally, effortlessly, and if you don't have "it" you just don't have it. so many stories simply gloss over that part or avoid it entirely. thank you for sharing this!
I laughed, I cried, I laughed, and now I’m crying again. I relate to this so much. I started taking guitar lessons at 36 from a jazz guitar player who was my same age and looked like a young Paul Newman. The insecurities and terror that man brought up in me even though he was so present and kind and honest! Thank you so much for this, Heather. You really capture what it’s like to be someone trying to find joy and authenticity in a world where it seems most people are content with so much less.
"It takes a strong will, to be a pig and know you’re a pig and put on a Dorothy outfit in spite of everything."
THIS right here, for so many things. But as a much poorer singer who also went through A JOURNEY while taking singing lessons, I raise my little trotter in salute (wearing Julie Andrews dirndl) 😉
You are endlessly a surprise, Heather! And now I am gonna suggest you turn Foreverland into a MUSICAL, woman!
"You’re at the starting line again every day, wondering who will show up: Judy Garland, or a farm animal?"
Oh, hello, excuse me while I read this whole piece over and over again.
I love this. I'm wondering if you can think of an analogous type of coach for writing? I suppose having an editor is one way to be coached, but editors seem too connected to actual publishing; your voice coach doesn't just come in at the end when you think something is ready to perform. I'd want someone like that, someone who'll read my practice writing, or my writing that is nowhere near done, and give me feedback. You know?
I also love this and am grateful for a universe that uses such delights to put my personalized lessons and reminders in my path. I have felt so flat for what seems such a long time... yet, I can feel the itching inside. I know who I am, but I have zero faith in myself. So, I'm the pig who *won't* put on the Dorothy costume despite being given (over and over) a yellow brick road, ruby slippers, and all the rest of this metaphor. The idea that I could thrive and maybe even prosper by my own creative efforts is so far removed from what I believe I get to have in this life that when I start to think about it, I weep. But still, the itching inside. The itching. I, too, took voice lessons for a time, mostly because I had been told as a child I that I couldn't carry a tune. 1. This was cruel of my mother to say this, but I believe she was probably told the same thing. 2. A person who actually tone-deaf is rare. We are simply untrained. 3. It wasn't true of me. Oh, pardon the digression, I am going to start taking this stuff to my own newsletter. Thank you, Heather. Thank you.
I loved this essay, and passed it along to one of my daughters who, like me, is also a "strong emotions cryer." Or rather "intense motherfuckers" as Heather would say. Thanks for this and congrats on the developing pipes.
"The expert in anything was once a beginner." Your journey is representative of these words that I try to keep in my mind at all times! It gives me the courage to try new things. Which, admittedly, I haven't done in some time, but hey, it's a good mindset. Thank you for your words, and now apparently, your voice! PS - congrats on the book's Best Ofs. Well-deserved!
Dare to be humiliated....sad and great at the same time!!
On a completely weird and different note,have you ever started the Wizard of Oz movie and the Pink Floyd album Dark Side of the Moon at the same time? No? Neither have I !!!!! Now that's funny!!!
I hope your daughters know this about you--even if they’re age-appropriately «you’re so weird, mom, singing to yourself»-- I think it is something they might hold in their hearts forever.
I cry when I sing, too. It feels like a mystery about my inner world that I don't want to solve. I like not feeling any need to understand it. It’s good and weird and confusing and oddly enjoyable. I truly enjoyed reading about your experience and I hope you continue to share your vocal journey with us.
This is wonderful.
as someone who tends to avoid any circumstance where i feel inept or inadequate, this was like medicine. there simply are not enough stories of the process of learning, of stumbling, of pigs putting on a dorothy outfit. it's as though we prefer to think that every talent is innate, comes naturally, effortlessly, and if you don't have "it" you just don't have it. so many stories simply gloss over that part or avoid it entirely. thank you for sharing this!