What you aren’t good at makes you stronger

‘What you aren’t good at makes you stronger.’ – New Idioms Inc. (that may or may not be invented for this column)

How fascinating is it to witness someone do something they are good at? There are those things that come easily, that feel built-in, natural, that we ease into – there are people who can knit in their sleep, who play hockey like they’re just breathing – and then there are those who have just plain old had their ten thousand hours of experience that mean that whether or not they’re good at something, they can perform the task at hand with the ease that comes with time and experience.

I think that everyone has something or several things that they are really good at.

I love to sing. I’ve been a lifelong learner of lyrics and music, probably mostly the music of the 80s, but I certainly dabble well into the 50s, 60s and 70s, as well as the 90s and the years that have followed since.

For many years (how long was it now – 10? 15 years?) I sang with the Canata choir in Richmond – an annual gathering of community folks who loved to sing, who were led by the amazing Diane Duguay. I learned that I could learn. I learned that I could sort of hear my part, and distinguish it from the others. I could stand with an alto, a tenor, a bass, a soprano, and hear the parts, and hear my own part and stick to it. That repetition would put the sounds into my head and I would know them.

This came in handy in the fall of 2018 when I auditioned for the Knowlton Players’ production of the ABBA musical Mamma Mia. I landed the part and had the time of my life with the cast and crew for months and months of singing, dancing and acting, and then nine performances I believe it was. I got that lead role because of the years of practice with the Canata gang. That experience gave me courage to do something I had never done….and I did.

I’m still definitely not what would be referred to as a great singer. I can manage it, I can lend something to a cluster of voices, I have got harmony pretty well figured out, but I’m still not someone who has any illusions of any big future singing beyond being part of the gang. I love that opportunity – and I learn every time we work on something.

Last year, several of the KP peeps put together an amazing show, prompted by Jessica Brown’s love of Paul Simon. A Simon and Garfunkel inspired show was put together, and what a fun time it was – with a wide range of experience within the performers – from folks like me to award-winning musicians.

The idea of a second annual show of this nature was launched several months ago, and showtime approaches once again - with June 1st, 7:00 p.m. at St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Knowlton as the showtime and venue – and again the same interesting collection of talent and determination are collecting – practicing on their own and preparing to go on stage, with the theme All You Need is Love this time.

When the theme was launched, I had an idea for a song that I wanted to sing. It’s big. It’s a bit of a stretch thematically, but still works. I’m not that great at singing it.

But, I really feel like I’m supposed to. It was the first thing that I expressed to the organizers that I would like to offer.

As the weeks have passed though, I can feel a tiny chicken inside. A chick. It’s peeping away and it’s saying, ‘PEEP! You really don’t sing this that well, Sheila! PEEEEP!’ I think it’s got a point.

I almost bailed on that track, cutting my losses and avoiding public humiliation by sticking with the duet I am participating in that I know will be fun, singing with a seasoned professional who toured Europe for Pete’s sake.

Something is sucking me back in to that other track though. I have decided that I will still do it.

I’m not entirely sure why. I have great support on the song, that’s a definite. The song is a banger! It’s fun to sing. It’s loud and the lyrics represent an awful lot about how I feel about life. All of that feels good. I still self-sabotaged by pressuring my boyfriend into admitting that I should probably just sing the other one.

But there it was again, in my open tabs on my laptop, from where I had been listening to it and practicing it, the other song, pushing me to do something with it, to not give up on it, even though I’m 99% certain that it is likely to sound slightly bad.

It’s a Queen song. I think that Queen’s late singer, Freddie Mercury, might be the one divinely intervening and telling me to sing it anyway. I think we would have gotten along.

It’s a Queen song. I think that Queen’s late singer, Freddie Mercury, might be the one divinely intervening and telling me to sing it anyway. I think we would

have gotten along.

I’m going to do it. I might have to finagle some fail-safes to bolster some of what I know might not work. I might have to practice it a lot and ask for some professional advice. I might have to arrange this in such a way that it isn’t just me blasting my face off for a few minutes, but that there is another element to entertain the crowd aside from my vocal offerings.

Sometimes, what we aren’t good at we can still explore. Sometimes what we aren’t good at we can get better at. Sometimes what we get better at is good enough. Most of the time we aren’t going to achieve a level of ease and perfection – it will be more like charisma, enthusiasm and maybe a little stage presence that will sell it.

We could cut and run…..that is always an option, and there is joy in it. But there are times that we should probably just do the things.

Let’s sing the song.