TITLE: Be like Willie AUTHOR: Tavia DATE: 7/01/2008 08:31:00 AM ----- BODY:
My husband and I got married on August 22, 2004. We had a fantastic wedding, and after the party ended, we went back to our bed and breakfast, while our good friends went to a karaoke bar. We were utterly exhausted, but late in the night, we decided to drag ourselves to the bar to join our pals. I'm a singer and an actor, and obviously, I love performing. I'm not a fan of karaoke, but that night it seemed appropriately giddy and whimsical. So I thought, "What the heck? I'll sing a little something! You only get married once, right?" (That's the plan, anyway, and so far, so good.) I chose a Willie Nelson song - You Were Always On My Mind. As I began to sing, I heard one of my friends say confidently to one of the drunken bar patrons, "She's a singer. This will be good." Well, sadly, it was not good. Not good at all. I chose to sing a song by Willie because I adore his music, and I know his music, and I'm a singer. Should have been a recipe for success. But what I found was that I could not have chosen a more difficult song. There's nothing particularly complicated in his melody, but Willie's melodic range is expansive, and the man is freaking relaxed. Visit this link, and then come right back. I'll wait. You Were Always on My Mind You can see and hear how absolutely at ease he is. There is no stress or hesitation in his voice (and it's not just the weed talking). He is utterly confident about the gift he is sharing with his listeners. He is loose and easy and unencumbered by anxiety. Willie obviously take pleasure in making his music. He sounds like a happy man. Satisfied. Content. Most importantly, he gets out of the way of his music and lets the spirit of his work course through him. He flows and keeps his music so simple, so gentle, so grounded, that it would be virtually impossible to be unmoved. And he moves me. Both times I've seen Willie perform live, the moment he opens his mouth and begins to sing, I've been overcome by emotion and have listened, rapt, with tears rolling down my cheeks. I think it's because he is so gently offering me something. Not pushing, not anxiously hoping that I'll like him and his music. He's just putting something lovely out there for me, if I want it. It makes it so easy to accept the gift that he's giving. He makes it look and sound so easy, that I thought, in my glowy in love state of mind, "Oh, I can do that." Yea, no. Even though I made a mess of the song, realizing how complicated Willie's signature sound actually is was an important revelation. This memory informs my work. Willie Nelson is the kind of voice artist I aspire to be. I want to achieve Willie Nelson's relaxation and his degree of confidence. I want to chill out and get out of my own way and give the gift of my sound - whether it's a commercial spot, a recording of a Shakespeare monologue, or an audiobook narration. Would it be virtually impossible for potential clients to hire someone else if I simply offered the gift of my signature sound, without a note of pushing, pleading anxiety behind it? I think it would. So, my new mantra? Be like Willie.

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