Sing, Damn It!

No, really. I want you to start singing.

Right off the bat, I am going to call out all the Arts students: There are roughly 45 singers in the SFU choir this semester, the majority of whom are business, science, and math (yes, MATH!) students. Less than a handful of which study in any one of political science, history, criminology, sociology, psychology, communications, etc. I am one of them.

What’s going on? Aren’t Arts students supposed to be the ‘open’ ones? Aren’t we the ones who love to express our opinions and show our emotions? Is my class of Arts students all ‘lit-geeks’ who likes to hide behind their computers and silently yell at people?

Or does it have something to do with the music that we listen to? Are we so dominated by hip-hop, R & B, metal, and emo music that we cease to realize what actual good singing sounds like (for the few Michael Crawford and Pavarotti fans out there, cheers!)?

It has occurred to me that there is a detachment between the good singing we hear on the radio and what ‘ordinary’ people can do. Artists like Beyonce and Michael Buble didn’t become good singers without vigorous training. I happen to believe that anyone can sing, and that there is really no such thing as being ‘tone-deaf’. It is perhaps a ‘nature vs. nurture’ argument, but yes, I think we can all sing.

And plus, you don’t even have to be that good at singing to indulge in it. Bono is not a very good singer at all. But the emotions he puts into every song more than makes up for his sub-par singing skills.

So where is this ‘singing recession’ coming from? Does the bad economy have anything to do with people not opening their mouths and belt a few tunes? Are people in general just so gloomy nowadays that they feel that singing is a waste of time / energy?

Think of it this way: Singing is perhaps the cheapest way to momentarily escape whatever crap of the day you have to deal with. Just pour a glass of water, shut the door to your room (barricade it you want), put in a CD (if you’re old school), or click on whatever sing-able song you have in your downloaded library, and you’re ready to go.

It seems that at some point over the past few decades, singing has become sexualized. Very few people today would associate singing with masculinity. On the other hand, when a guy on TV belts out a beautiful Broadway melody, one might be inclined to think he’s ‘gay’ (yes, I know that Adam Lambert is actually gay, but he’s not the only person I’m referring to). How did we reach a point where people are likening homo/metro sexuality with good singing?

I’d also attribute this singing recession to the fear of embarrassment. It’s become apparent that now more than ever before people are caring more about what others think when they do anything, and the fear of ‘screwing up’ is keeping them from doing the things they want. Many students despise presentations because they are scared of public speaking. But singing is different; when you sing, you can adopt a completely different persona and become an entirely different person.

I guess one can say this is way the alcohol comes in. I’m sure many students have their unique stories of drunk karaoke. You don’t need the alcohol to let go of your shyness! Confidence gaining is a baby-step process, but I believe it is also achievable by everyone.

What happened to the days of Sinatra and Nat King Cole, where these gentlemen-like performers mouth out crooner tunes to serenade the audience? Is that not considered charming, anymore? And has people forgotten about Freddie Mercury, who possessed arguably the greatest rock voice of all time?

With that, I am going to ask everyone (especially you guys, Arts students) to start singing. There are many mediums at school for people to participate. There is the SFU choir, a singing group established in 1992 by a few undergrads and has been going strong since. There is a There is also the Vocal Jazz, which is a student run group. The choir does not require any previous singing experience and provides a relaxing environment to sing and have fun. To the best of my knowledge, the same could be said of the vocal jazz. There are also faculty-specific singing groups, such as Chemistry’s Chemsemble.

Most of these groups meet once a week for an hour or two. Don’t tell me you do not have the time indulge in brief getaway from all the painful things you have to deal with.

What is wrong with singing, anyway? Nothing. It’s fun, distressing. And if you’re good at it, people will adore you.

So, come out from behind your desks, arts students. I look forward to seeing more of you in the Spring!