Beginner singers - amateur?

I have a confession to make.

I don’t believe in amateur singers.

This does not mean that I believe beginner singers are inferior to professionally trained singers, but I do not believe in the word ‘amateur’ or the phrase ‘amateur singer’.  Allow me to explain.

If we look at the meaning of ‘amateur’, according to a basic Google search, we see that there are two main definitions:

For both the noun and adjective, the first is someone who engages in an activity that is unpaid rather than as a career for their livelihood.  It refers to a lay person who is not an expert (by society’s definitions) in their chosen activity.  The second definition is quite crude:  you are basically deemed to be unskilled and even 'useless' at doing a particular activity.

When applied to singing and singers, being called an ‘amateur’ can take on another level of meaning, depending on our perspectives, past experience, upbringing, education, family, friends, and social circles.  While in the singing world this word is not usually meant to demean others, but rather to distinguish between trained and untrained singers, it can still have negative connotations.  It can particularly hurt singers who are just beginning to learn.

If you don’t believe me, try this. 

Imagine you are a beginner who is just about to sing in front of a group of people for the first time and you hear someone say: ‘Oh, this one is an amateur’.  How would you feel?  What would be your first reaction or response?  Is there a sense of shrinking or diminishment in your mind? 

Does being called an ‘amateur’ singer evoke something painful in you?  Does it make you feel ‘less than’?  As a society, do we think that having a degree in music or voice and being paid to sing makes a person more competent – or worthy - than another singer who does not have these things?  What does ‘professional singer’ mean to the everyday beginner singer, hobbyist, or volunteer?  Does someone have to be professional to sing in public? 

Sometimes we need to dig a little deeper to find the golden nuggets.  If we look at the origin of ‘amateur’ we may be pleasantly surprised, and the whole world can change for us as singers:

Did you know that ‘amateur’ comes from ‘amour’ which is French for ‘love’ or more accurately ‘love affair’ and in Latin ‘amator’ which is ‘to love’?   

‘Amateur’ singers simply love to sing.  That’s it.  Beginner singers – and all singers, regardless of the labels we apply to them – are people who sing because they are lovers of it.  Whether they have degrees or not, perform on a stage or not, are ‘famous’ or not, are opera divas or not, is completely irrelevant – or should be, in my view.

Does this knowledge change your perspective?  Rather than holding on to a feeling of abasement or inferiority, do things start to feel lighter when looking through a more love-focused lens?

As someone who has been singing all my life and in front of people in public for over twenty years, I’ve sung alongside opera singers, people with music/voice degrees, and so on, but we never discussed our backgrounds or qualifications.  We were only interested in our shared love of singing.  I have definitely had negative experiences of people (usually non-singers) treating me and other singers differently depending on qualifications, performance clout, perceived capabilities, or ‘gig’ experience, but amongst ourselves, genuine singers are kind, encourage each other, and are humble.  The best singers do not brag or raise their qualifications and performance history at all; they never puff themselves up or seek attention, but are enthusiastic about learning and singing the next song to share our gifts and talents together and bring joy to others.

So if you want to learn how to sing and have always felt reluctant to take lessons because you think: ‘I’m just an amateur’, or that your teacher will judge you, then please stop and drop the label!  Start seeing yourself as someone who just loves singing and wants to keep learning.  Find a teacher who will treat you with respect as you are and Be Free To Sing!

If you would like to attend an information session about my Part 1 and Part 2 courses, including a taster lesson, register for Bel Canto Intro today.

Yvonne

P.S. You can also check out my YouTube video about this blog post!