Do You Have “The Gift”?

If you love to sing you’ve probably had someone say to you at some point “You have such a gift” or the ever more popular, “Dude! You can SING!” Well as my students have all been working hard to prepare their holiday numbers for performances, special events and family gatherings, I’ve been asking them to think a bit differently about their gift.

See, the real gift in singing is not sounding better than someone else, or even in wowing the crowd. The gift of music is not something you ‘have’. It’s something you receive. For example, if you’ve ever been momentarily transported by watching someone sing you have witnessed the gift. Rock, rap, broadway, classics, whatever. It has nothing to do with the style or even the singer. The gift is what you get when you put everything aside and simply enjoy what you’re a part of.

After all the rehearsal, preparation and nit picking, we get the unique chance to just soak it in and become a part of it. Spend your time on stage worrying about the set list, the sound guy or your perfectly timed holiday cold and you’ll miss it. But decide instead to get lost in the moment and something more magical than a fat man fitting down a chimney happens; the gift that comes to you flows out and touches everyone who hears. That’s the difference between hearing a good singer and hearing something you become a part of and want to come back for.

No matter what goes right or wrong in a performance, this is the one thing you have absolute control over; whether, or not, to share the gift.

This Christmas, and every time you hit that stage, don’t pass up the gift. It’s your reward for working hard. Besides, it’s the one gift that really keeps giving, never requires a gift receipt and never goes out of style.

Merry Christmas from all of us at The Voice Club. Here’s to spreading the gift!