One of the big downsides of the copycat approach is that beginners (especially singers) think they have failed if they can't replicate their favourite singer and sing their favourite songs in the same key.
I did a taster workshop yesterday and some guy was asking how to access his high tenor voice (he has a beautiful natural baritone vocie). I asked him why he wanted to do that rather than just sing songs in a key that suited him. It turns out he wants to sound like his idols. There are few baritone role models in the pop world, so he felt he HAD to be able to sing in a high tenor voice. So he undervalued his own unique voice.
Even worse, some people don't believe they can sing at all (and would never contemplate joining a choir or singing in front of others) precisely because they don't sound exactly like their favourite singer.
Being a copy cat is a great start (remember David Bowie trying to imitate Anthony Newley?!), only as long as it doesn't put people off.
I pretty much agree with you Liz, but ...
One of the big downsides of the copycat approach is that beginners (especially singers) think they have failed if they can't replicate their favourite singer and sing their favourite songs in the same key.
I did a taster workshop yesterday and some guy was asking how to access his high tenor voice (he has a beautiful natural baritone vocie). I asked him why he wanted to do that rather than just sing songs in a key that suited him. It turns out he wants to sound like his idols. There are few baritone role models in the pop world, so he felt he HAD to be able to sing in a high tenor voice. So he undervalued his own unique voice.
Even worse, some people don't believe they can sing at all (and would never contemplate joining a choir or singing in front of others) precisely because they don't sound exactly like their favourite singer.
Being a copy cat is a great start (remember David Bowie trying to imitate Anthony Newley?!), only as long as it doesn't put people off.
Chris
From the Front of the Choir