Music is Passion, Singing is...Everything!

By Ellen Robinson

Music is my passion and my mission is to get the world singing — one person at a time. The power of using one's voice to sing is not only for the professional singer, the highly talented vocalist or the American Idol hopeful. It is available to you and to everyone.

Adults who aren't singing on a regular basis generally give one of two reasons:

1. They sang as a child in music class, as a teenager in a high school choir, or as a young adult in a college vocal ensemble. Then came a career or a family and they became too busy doing other things. At some point they remember the joy they experienced long ago when they were singing and realize they miss it. They find their way to one of my choral groups and are reunited with a part of themselves.

2. Adults often carry around negative messages about their singing that they received as a child. I cannot tell you how many times I've heard someone relate the story of how they were told in some grade school class to "stand in the back and hum quietly." Then one day they wake up in adulthood and decide to test out that message. They come to me and find out that they actually CAN sing. They have been toting around a lie all this time and now they are free of that weight. It changes them in a profound way.

Singing with others in a group is a truly joyful experience that enhances the life of every person who participates in so many ways:

1. Helping you to find your own voice in other areas of your life


2. Interacting with people from the big picture of who we are in the moment, experiencing joy and having fun (not just from a job title or financial status)


3. Developing a social network of other singers who understand the power of singing together


4. Using your breath in a conscious way


5. Having a direct experience of being part of something greater than yourself — this is what happens when voices come together in song


6. Opening your heart through the emotion and the story behind the lyrics


7. Learning how to read music while having a great time and keeping your brain active by playing with musical patterns


8. Creating harmony in the world through harmonizing in song

Singing has no age limitations. It's never too late or too early to start.

Just open your mouth and give singing a try. Start small... or dive right in.

Find a group where you feel comfortable to sing or work with a vocal coach who helps you feel safe to grow as a singer at whatever pace works for you. You can learn to sing just for your own satisfaction or you can develop your vocal skills and go a very long way. It doesn't matter — just begin.

I have been singing and performing as a vocalist since high school and teaching people how to sing and directing choruses since 1971. When I started the Anything Goes Chorus in 1980 there was hardly anyone else leading group singing. Now there are many teachers throughout the Bay Area bringing people together to sing with others and there are lots of opportunities to get turned on to the power of using your voice.

You're going to like how singing makes you feel, because singing is...everything. •

© 2009 Ellen Robinson. All rights reserved

One of the San Francisco Bay Areas busiest music directors, jazz singer Ellen Robinson has helped take many a vocalist from the level of simply wanting to sing to the stage. More »

6/16/09