Thursday, September 2, 2010

Well, She's No Bryan Adams

When did I first tell myself I couldn't paint?  That I am not a good dancer, lacking any and all rhythm?  That I am not artistic, aesthetics losing the battle?  Exactly when did I relegate myself to a boring life full of greys and browns?  All I remember is when I decided I couldn't sing.

I was 10.  In music class, our teacher would have us line up on these mini-bleachers in the classroom.  While we all sang whichever ditty (most likely, "Everything I Do, I Do it for You" by Bryan Adams.  Teacher had a real hang-up on that song), she would walk down the line and listen to each of us.
As class went on, she would point out the good singers among us, and ask the bad singers to stop and listen.  Most of the people she stopped would be allowed to start up again after hearing the talented choir she'd cultivated.
When she halted my spastic harmonies, she kept it that way.  Sat in silence the rest of the period.
About the 3rd week in, she testily asked me if I wanted to go to the principal's office.  I was so bad at conveying Bryan Adam's melodious sensibilities, she thought I was misbehaving.  She asked me to stop and listen to what singing is meant to sound like, and then proceeded to down some aspirin she had conveniently stored inside her piano bench.

Your father has a nice singing voice, too.  That's what my mum told me, as we drove about town one day.  It's the "too" that's misleading.  The implication being that among my many inherited traits, a vocal acumen was bequeathed.
Looking back, that was awfully kind of her.
Maybe she had a value size of Tylenol stashed away in the glovebox.

5 comments:

The Gain Card said...

in the middle of my english final, sophomore year, there was a "read this and answer questions" bit. The brief paragraph was about how some people think they can sing, and can; some people think they can and cannot.

i CAN, i reassured myself.

All the while i was singing to myself [Candlebox's You, i'm ashamed to admit].

The dirty looks i was getting were, i thought, no doubt due to the fact that i was singing during a test.

It was, but that wasn't the ONLY reason. A young sinatra prolly got them looks too.

Turns out i cannot sing. Not even a little. I'm so bad that if i was tone-deaf i could sing better. oh well.

outoftunepiano said...

You, still, are ever so slightly better than me. So, there's that.

Cindi said...

LOL the picture of Simon Cowell is a nice touch!

outoftunepiano said...

Cindi: Thanks! I did a google image search for "bad singing" and this actually popped up. Seemed about right. That, or a still frame from Bryan Adams' video. Maybe I should have, though. I had such a crush on Kevin Costner back in the day. And by "back in the day", I mean "still."

Sharon Longworth said...

My family will only let me sing when I'm on my own in the car, and even then, they insist that I keep the windows closed....