Singing Sens(less)ation!!!

I love music and I love singing…I always have. As a child I always believed that I sing really well and so, used to do it quite ritually throughout our short trips. However, this misconception of mine was broken by my music teacher when I was in 7^th or 8^th I guess. We had to audition for some group song and he asked me to step out from the group!! Me??!! Well, he said my voice was different than the group..So I contested – isn’t it a good thing that my voice stands out from the group..even Md. Rafi was discovered like that!!! He said, no, by stand out I mean, not in the right scale..Aah..I remember how furious I was then and how bad I felt after reaching home….How can he call me “besura”…..Something happens to our voice during that age..a sweet little voice suddenly sounds as if coming out of out of order gramophone..It happens to most of us and so I believed I was just a victim of time…nothing else.

I was good with lyrics as a kid (I believe I am still). So, it was natural that someone who knows his songs so well should sing well also :(…I used to be the trump card for all the uncles during our “antakshari” sessions coz I could dig out songs from any movie and starting with any letters. It has also lead to quarrels at times as well as to which team will I belong…Aah..what footage, what demand!! And my music teacher came out and told me outright to stay out of the group song???!! How could’ve the song been complete without me??!!! So I kept wondering as to why couldn’t I sing songs in the proper scale, pitch and blah blah…Then, finally one day, after observing a lot of good singers, I reached to a conclusion. I concentrate more on the lyrics, their timing and the pronunciation than the above mentioned high quality stuff that good singers concentrate on.

I was also good at singing in different voices. I used to sing in the way Kumar Sanu, Udit Narayan, S.P.B (there weren’t many singers that time as it is now). Different cassette manufacturers’ output quality would be imitated by me depending who is on top on my list at that moment. Usually I used to screw up Venus’ audio quality, coz, as per my observation (as a kid ofcourse), its cassettes had a very short life. Then I realized, all this entertaining people has cost me my lovely voice..I won’t be able to sing well now like I used to and so, I continued doing what people said I was good at (unlike my music teacher)!! Same thing happened with my guitar teacher. He asked us if anyone knew an old hindi song…and obviously me being me was the only one who knew the song..I started the song and he went bonkers and asked me to stop the next moment..:( now I tell you what happens with all these artists…they concentrate too much on the singer and play the instrument accordingly…Guys!!! Take the lead!!! Even you can become leaders..let the singers follow you…let them stick to your scale that you are playing..Not my fault…

Fortunately, I have always been surrounded by people who sing well. First it was my mom and sister, then it was a very good friend of mine and now it’s my wife. She sings very well and what could be better for a person who loves music to have a partner who loves to sing for him? So this friend of mine used to teach my some parts of a song and I would “try” singing them. Finally, I gave up. But, I designed another strategy this time….:P I observed him singing a particular song more than a couple of times and I did what we Indians are best at...I started imitating him…Lol…To my surprise I started singing that song (yes, only that song) pretty well (based on people’s opinion). The song's also my personal all time favorite, so just an incentive to sing just fine atleast sometimes. I have dared myself in doing karaoke (I have successfully sang “Hotel California” and  “Nothing else matters” :O ) as well, and I sing at some of our parties at home too. But all this can happen only under two circumstances – either when I am drunk or when everyone else around me is..:P

Lot of people have told me about my "singing skills" at different stages of my life..teachers, friends, relatives etc. But I haven’t got disheartened or discouraged at all and I keep looking for that perfect scale in the songs I sing (Yeah right!!!). Actually, I get bored trying to sing properly. It’s too much of an effort, too much concentration and hardly any results. As in, you put in everything in the song and by the end of it someone comes up and asks “What’s wrong with you today?”…So why put in the effort at all? (J)..and being a Virgo, I am happy with pointing out mistakes and correcting people with their lyrics than their “sur”…However, I can make out if a singer's screwing up the song but can’t point it out for my own singing (Sigh!!!!)…So, the child in me still believes that a day will come when I get up one morning and start singing perfectly, in the right scale, right pitch, and right tune just like the great Kishore Kumar (no formal training)…LOL