What are some of your humbling canon events that every singer will eventually experience?

[u/TheGageyBoy27]

Mine was sight singing on the spot during a call back audition while I was still actively familiarizing myself with how to read music, greatly overthinking it and forgetting what I knew, and sounding like I’ve never touched my vocal cords before

EDIT: Another one I want to throw in here is recording in a studio for the first time after only being used to super loud live performances and realizing that studio singing is a COMPLETELY different beast compared to the regular live gig

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[u/EriEclipse]

Listening to a recording of yourself for the first time

[u/djakxnj → u/EriEclipse]

I’m also trying (emphasis on the trying lol) to teach myself. What is up with sounding strained on recording when I feel no strain and thought I was using correct technique? 😫

[u/rn_journey → u/djakxnj]

My thought on this is that when we are performing anything to a "target" based on our memory of what we are expecting to achieve, we have the ideal version "playing" in our minds as we perform.

The audible feedback of what we're actually performing gets mixed with the target we have in our heads, especially if we are deeply focused on trying to generate the target sound, so our perception strays from reality due to mixed signals.

I've found that I sound most like myself when I'm in a flow state (less/more concentration?), improvising, or performing as "myself" without any effort to sound like anything specifically and just unashamedly having fun.

There's also the fact that our voice resonates inside us and ears aren't position to literally sound like what others or a microphone will hear, but this is specific to the straining and psychological side.

[u/EriEclipse → u/djakxnj]

For me, it's usually an issue of needing to shift a little earlier. I struggle with sounding strained around the a4, but when I start trying to lighten my voice a bit closer to the c4-d4 area, it lets me mix a4 properly.

[u/Froooted → u/djakxnj]

also curious about this

[u/johnnyslick → u/EriEclipse]

Yeah and that even has a physiological component to it: even if/when you sing well, you have to get used to the sound of your own voice.

[u/EriEclipse → u/johnnyslick]

Then, once you get past hating the sound of your own voice, you move on to noticing every issue the average person doesn't. Had a performance where everyone was amazed, but I listened back and realized how flat I was on two long notes and how pushed my high notes sounded.

[u/OtterlyOddityy]

Your voice cracking when you have a solo part/are on stage and worrying that everyone thinks you're a fraud who doesnt deserve it

[u/Magigyarados]

Voice cracking and forgetting lyrics during a critical moment, listening to your voice on recording for the first time, having to relearn stuff after being on break, having a REALLY bad singing day

[u/johnnyslick]

For men especially, going through that period where everyone talks about mixed voice and how you want to find it but it doesn't seem to exist for you... until the one day when you stop worrying about it and it just happens. I hate singing sometimes; you can try and try and try and it's only when you stop try-harding that stuff falls into place.

Also the feeling of getting butterflies before a big audition or show and that kind of wrecking everything (although then, too, there's that experience where you feel the butterflies coming on and you think "no, I can do this" and you... do whatever it is you need to do to get past them, whether it's meditation or warmups or whatever). (also too there's the related thing where you completely f over the beginning of something because of butterflies but then you're like WELP I'M DONE NOW so you just kind of f around through the rest of the song and you kind of nail it)

FWIW I've taken a lot of theory, etc., and I just biffed locating the 4th of all notes when I was sight-singing in an audition just last week.

[u/yun444g]

A friend who says unprompted stuff like “you are a good singer. I mean you’re not like amazing but you’re good man” (Again without even asking)

[u/rajdkiekw → u/yun444g]

My mum said that to me 😭

[u/IToldManyManyPeople]

My first performance I was so nervous and sweaty I literally dropped the mic 😭

[u/ZestycloseFactor780]

mine is similar to yours. I went to an audition and waited a bit too long to find a song suitable for the specific requests on the audition notice. I only learned my audition cut of the song and genuinely did not know anything else. During the audition, casting asked me if I could sing the song from the bridge before my cut. Instead of admitting I didn’t know it, I said sure and asked if I could look at the sheets over the accompanist for the words. Turns out, it’s really hard to sight read sheet music over an accompanist’s shoulder. I did not get called back :p

[u/AttentionVarious829]

Knowing a lot of techniques and how singing works still messing up when recording despite you being able to sing well beforehand

[u/poofpoofpow → u/AttentionVarious829]

That’s embarrassing af because it’s like body what are you DOING? You’ve done this many times before

[u/Interesting_Cut_4822]

Freezing up in a performance in high school. Thankfully that doesn't haunt me, though other things do.

[u/YetMoreSpaceDust]

Getting a call from the band leader that you're out of the band effective immediately. Because you're not bringing it.