Yeah, okay, I already have strong opinions about this, but don't let that stop you from voicing your own, okay?
I tell my singers, and they will testify to the never-ending diatribes that they have to endure from me, that the ego is the enemy of a true artist...that while you're up there thinking...
"Look at me, look, LOOK! See me, hear me, pay attention to me ME ME! Oh God, what's the next line? Should I go for that high note tonight? Do I have the strength? Oh Geez! They're not even listening....BLAH BLAH BLAH"
...you're losing them fast!
How can you connect with anyone with all that chatter going on in your head? That's your ego.
So I tell my students to stay in the present, and just communicate! Tell 'em a story. Pull 'em in. Be more interested than interesting.
What do you think? Do you think your ego is who you are? Is that where you get your individualality? Or does the creative part of you come from some other place?
G'head....talk to me.
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7 comments:
I couldn't agree more. I believe that a singer's ego is their worst enemy. I have been told more than once that a lot of people have a good singing voice, but what really makes a performer is how they connect with their audience. How can you truly connect with your audience if you are consumed by how you sound and look and what people are thinking about you. If you want to be a true artist, then you need to make sure you singing for the right reason, to help the audience to understand the message you are trying to convey with the songs you are singing. Excellent topic!!!
An EGO interfers with who we truly are. When one is "not in the moment", a "big ego" interfers with how we perceive ourselves & how we project our feelings, in a song or life in general... thus being EGOtistical is the result. It's easy to spot, & a good singer becomes masked w/an uninteresting facade.
Interestingly enough I just had this conversation with some musicians that I work with. The subject was the plight of the singer who needs to be seen versus those that need to be in the music.
I have had my foot in both camps. I began singing quite ego-less. I know this because I was never bothered by anything anyone thought or said about my singing,and I was 'outside myself' when I sang. It was through me, not 'me'. Slowly I got more and more in my head worrying about my performances and how to perfect them so people would like me. It is a journey with peaks and valleys. We all get into our ego from time to time. It's just good to know how to step out of it.
It depends on what we define as ego. It may seem like a "safe" answer but a certain level of ego is important for the singer to be confident. But it can be a distraction. I personally see it as luggage. Why not just concentrating on delivering a lyric rather than on how good we are. Certainly in Sinatra's case ego was just over the top destructive. Then you take a guy like Tony Bennett and he connects with the audience in a much closer, warmer way. I would go with less ego but with confidence. When you're good it's in the sound.
Andy's right!
And you should hear him sing. He is...well...just plain d-r-e-a-m-y. I'm putting his new stuff up on both our Parent Site and K-A-B. (karaoke-and-beyond.com)
He is my new poster child for the "It doesn't have to be perfect...just so long as it's authentic" thing. He will melt your "cold cold heart".
Give it a few hours and then I really hope you'll check Andy out at the Featured Singers page on the Sing Your Life website.
I agree with Dean. I need a certain amount of ego or I would not have the nerve to sing in front of people. However, I concentrate on connecting with the audience and if I have done that, I feel as though my performance was successful.
Chrys, who we are is that observer who is seeing what the ego is up to.
And, I agree completely that there is no way to touch your audience while in the thrall of your ego. Won't happen now or ever.
The challenge is to find something for your ego to keep busy with so you can become the music you are seeking to provide.
That's really the nut of it: it's not doing your best, or feeling the music or discovering your inner self through it. It is becoming it for that 3 or 4 minutes. It is disappearing into it in such a way that people are completely disarmed and left vulnerable to, themselves, also becoming the music.
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