A few months ago, at one of my gigs, I had a profound experience while singing. So much so, it has changed the way I perform and even see music.
I was singing the standard ‘I wished on the Moon’ made famous by the wizard Billie Holiday when I felt as though I entered the inner world of the song.
Leading up to the gig, I was spending a lot of time with Billie. I watched the new BBC documentary about her and listened to her on repeat.
When I first heard this particular song, I didn’t think much of it, to be honest. But then, on my second listen, it was like an anvil dropped on my head with a pleasant sucker punch to the gut.
I strongly suggest listening to it with the lyrics in front of you to experience its wisdom. But in essence, the protagonist sees the moon as a universal power that grants wishes.
She does not wish for material possessions, but instead for “a sweeter rose, a softer sky… an April day that would not dance away.” She goes on, “I looked for all the lovely things, they all came true, I wished on the Moon for you.”
Perhaps it was knowing Billie’s tragic story or the way she even sings it with her magical phrasing and sage-like delivery, but I started to feel the song on a much deeper level.
And then, when the band started the intro on the gig, suddenly I slipped into another world. However, I could still see and feel the audience. But more acutely than ever.
I was in what psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi coined ‘flow state,’ but I like to think of it as more of a magical realm. It felt like I was in a bubble of warm, liquid silk.
At that moment, I felt connected to Billie. I could feel what this song meant to her. And my sincere wish is that the audience felt this connection to her, too, perhaps on a subtle level.
The truth is all of the great jazz singers were innately magical. They made the world better with their voices, insane musicality, and profound knowledge of how life works.
They could tell a story. And tell the same story differently every single performance.
The Take-Aways
- Spend time with the song you are learning by making a point of listening to it every day.
- Learn more about its singer. If more than one singer performs it, choose the one who resonates the most with you.
- Find a deeper connection with the song. Fall in love with it.
Since discovering this, I don’t want to go back to being in my head or going through the motions of performing. It’s boring. Now I’m always looking to dive deeper.
My Big News…
I have resigned from my school teaching job. I will teach until the end of the year, and then I plan to keep growing Fearless Singer. I’m sad to be leaving my beautiful school community, but I am excited to have more time to do one-on-one lessons and build more online courses for you.
I’m here to help people redefine fear one song at a time. The world needs more singers!
Lots of Love
Mel Xx
