There is an interesting exercise in which you ask yourself "What do I want". Then you take that answer (for instance, "to win a talent contest"). Then you ask yourself "what do I want" with that? In other words, what do I want that I could get by winning a talent contest? Then you take that answer (for instance, "to be noticed") and ask yourself, "What do I want out of being noticed?". Then you take that answer (which could be "so people will respect me") and ask ,"What do I want from the respect of other people?" At the end of this string of questions, you find yourself wanting a basic human need... to be loved, to be safe, to be free from hunger, etc.

Ok, so lets take the question, "Why do you want to sing?". Lets change that question slightly to "What do you want from singing?". Here are some possible answers:

• to be famous
• to be rich
• to be loved
• to be respected
• to make my "significant other" appreciate me
• to make someone wish they hadn't broken up with me
• to make people worship me and think I'm the best
• to have a platform from which to share my views
• to have a platform from which to benefit a charity
• to know I have a voice that is valid and is heard
• to make a living with music I believe in
• to get a musical rush- to feel the passion of my own voice
• to sing as background vocalist for someone's recording project or live show and they are trusting me to give my best vocal efforts
• to voice my truth for anyone who will hear
• to expose something I'm angry about
• to express that I'm in love
• to entertain and make people happy (and it's really about them)
• to make people think
• to share some insight on love/faith/justice/forgiveness/freedom/mercy/integrity/faithfulness/life/etc.
• because I have a song that needs to be heard
• to make great music that will have lasting impact

If you stop and answer honestly, you will find out some interesting things about yourself. You will find out your level of maturity, your need for approval, your levels of other-directedness and self-centeredness. You'll also notice some deep fears in the evidence of your answers -- fears of not being valid or important, of not making enough money to survive, of others being chosen instead of you. If your answers show that you honestly want to sing to make great music, to influence others positively, to bring happiness to others, then you may find much more satisfaction in the end results of your singing.

Looking deeply at your answers will also help you decide how much you are willing to sacrifice to sing. Such sacrifices include the time and money you would be willing to devote tfor such things as vocal lessons, learning songs, perfecting style, researching music, recording tracks and vocals, working with performance coaches and image consultants, sigining contracts with managers and other entities in the music business. You will also have to decide how much web music marketing you are willing to research and learn to put into practice. There are all kinds of possibilities for creation, marketing and distribution of music these days, but you have to spend loads of time to learn and apply the strategies available.

Another thing you may have to sacrifice is your privacy. Today's social media networks demand that you connect one-on-one like never before with fans and industry contacts. The live concerts you do will require interaction with your audience to grow your fan base. Public figures are hunted by paparazzi and stories, both true and untrue, crop up in grocery store magazines that would boggle your mind. How much of this are you willing to take?

You may, in your answers for why you want to sing, discover that you need to start songwriting. I believe and encourage the voice to come not just from the larynx, but from the heart. Who are you? What do you know that could benefit someone else? Can you write that? You may need to study songwriting books, go to seminars and workshops, find professional writers willing to co-write with you.

Or, your answers may suggest to you that you turn on some karaoke tracks and sing in your bathrobe, and have a ball entertaining your dog and your cat. It all comes back to the answer to the question, "Why do you want to sing?" The only wrong answer is a dishonest one. Remember what Shakespeare suggested through Hamlet, "To thine own self be true!"

Judy Rodman -singer/songwriter/producer/vocal instructor, developer of... Power, Path & Performance vocal training -Discover, Heal, Maximize YOUR Voice!
Endorsed by The Great Voice Company of New York, Scene One Acting School website and blog: http://www.judyrodman.com
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email: judyrodman@comcast.net
phone: 615-834-4747
office: 492 Huntington Ridge Drive, Nashville, Tn 37211

Judy Rodman has over 30 years of professional experience as a session singer, award-winning recording artist, stage and television performer, a multi-genre hit songwriter, a studio producer and vocal consultant, and a highly sought-after voice teacher. She has developed and trademarked her own vocal teaching method "Power, Path & Performance". She considers her student's vocal advances and successes the authentic testimony of the effectiveness of her teaching method.

AP - Oh, what a difference a bath can make.