“You could have shattered my confidence”
Meet Jess.
Jess is professional dancer who avoids auditions for ‘singer/dancer’ roles as she feels her voice isn’t good enough. She lacks the confidence to perform a song in public but would like to surprise her mother when she visits her next month, so she asked for a private singing lesson.
Consultation Stage – I ask Jess to speak to me about her singing goals.
Jess; “I’m what you’d call a bedroom singer, I’m so used to dancing with my body, I know if I move my muscle in that way it’s gonna do that, but with singing it’s completely different – I have no idea what’s going to come out of my mouth. I’m not saying I’m ever going to be a proper singer but, as a dancer, if I could go to an audition and just sing in tune and sound good that’s all I needed. It was a lack of confidence that stopped me doing singing lessons, stopped me doing auditions, and I think it’s time I face my fear.
Jess after 15 Minutes
“The fact that I’ve just got up here and sang for you is a big step for me. It’s made me feel more confident. You’re just easy to sing for and, after the first time, it was just easy to do again and again and again. We’ve only had 15 minutes and already I’d say I feel about 100 times more confident. I would probably now be able to say ok, this person can come in and I’ll sing in front of them too and that’s only after 15 minutes.”
Jess after 30 minutes
“When I first walked in I’d say I was 10% confident, ‘cause I knew the words of the song and nothing else and, when I got up and sang, I had sweaty palms. What was nice was, you were like, ‘right I’m not gonna look at you the first time you sing.’ That really helped me. I thought, right, she’s not gonna look at me, I’ll just look over there and get on with it.”
Jess by the end of the 1 hour session
“I really liked it when you gave me notes and said ‘right this is what we’re going to work on.’ You didn’t say, ‘right this is what you’re doing wrong.’ I’ve had that before, so it made me think, well maybe I’m not that bad. You gave me the confidence because you said, ‘right we’re gonna work on this bit, were gonna nail that bit,’ so I was like ‘right ok, yeah I can do that!’
‘I think someone like you has got such responsibility, in that if you said it to me in the wrong way, you could have shattered my confidence. I really feel like now, after another hour with you, I’d be able to get up and sing this song! I really noticed as well, like with the breathing, I would normally just sing along, but you don’t think about things like that and, even just singing the chorus, just using my breath made me feel more in control. I really want to do more lessons and keep going. The lesson was excellent! you’ve got a natural way of building people’s confidence”
What happened next
Jess came for one more session and then performed for her mother and an audience of approximately 200 people. This was her first ever public performance. She was great, it was a pleasure to watch, I felt like a proud big sis. Her mum cried with pride!
How can I support YOU?
If any part of Jess story is familiar to you, fancy a session? Click here for more info on my 1- off Performance Masterclass sessions, currently £25. Let me help you ‘Thrive at Live’ performance like I helped Jess.
https://ScarletGabrielCoaching.as.me/thriveatlive
Case study and testimonial from 2014. Prices correct at time of print (June 21) and subject to change. Full Thrive programme available, please discuss at time of booking.
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