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QoTD: One Small Light
You can’t make progress until you let yourself sound like you. –Nathan Gunn, baritone singer
I first encountered Nathan Gunn right here on Ricochet, when @marcin posted a video of the musical, Carousel. Mr. Gunn played 
the lead role of Billy Bigelow. He performs opera and musicals, is a university professor in music and is very involved in promoting new programs. Besides having a beautiful baritone voice and his being handsome, I was curious to know more about him and found an interview of him on a program called, The Classical Life (video below). His story is in some ways typically mid-western American: 50 years old, born in Indiana, beautiful wife who is a pianist and five kids. But this quotation he made stopped me cold. It is something he tells his students.
I haven’t been a university student in a very long time, but this statement was one of those that struck me between the eyes and demanded my attention regarding my own writing. It is similar to other statements I’ve heard over the years—“Just be yourself” or “Just keep writing.” But I like the idea of being challenged and pushed beyond my comfort zone, at least some of the time. So his words called to me to parse them carefully as if there were a message hidden within them. Maybe it showed up just when I needed to hear it. Here’s what I learned:
You can’t make progress until you let yourself sound like you.
The pronoun “you” put the responsibility for my growth firmly on my own shoulders. Even at my age, I want to grow, and I can certainly seek help, but ultimately, I need to take the initiative to make that happen. Even if an opportunity just shows up, it’s up to me to actualize the results.
Then I asked myself, “What does it mean to ‘progress’? After all, where is there to go? I’m not interested in having my articles published in fancy publications. I’m not interested in becoming well-known or known for a particular genre. I think I make progress when I stretch myself in my writing; when I write on an unfamiliar topic; when I have to do research to fill in my understanding; when I write on subjects that feel risky or are controversial; when I reveal more of who I am; when I look inside to identify my own beliefs. By writing often, the process becomes more familiar, more organic as I put fingers to keys. All of these efforts stretch me and help me progress in my efforts to write in a way that is transparent, helpful, and encourages people to think through an idea.
And letting myself “sound like me” is an interesting choice of words used by Mr. Gunn. What do I “sound” like when I write? Am I willing to let myself be vulnerable? Do people have an authentic sense of who I am, what I believe, what I think is important in life? From the responses I receive from some of you, I know that I am making a contribution.
So, that’s why this quotation spoke to me. I want to feel as if I’m stretching, maturing, and growing. That people see me as clear and sincere, whether they agree with me or not. That some people believe I have something to offer.
I will continue to “let myself sound like me” as a way to grow and to be one small light in the world.
What does it mean for you to “sound like you”? Do you push yourself to grow?
If you would like to see a short video by Nathan Gunn’s performing—
And his interview—
Published in Group Writing
She’s lovely, @franco . Thanks for sharing her with us. It is a journey, a process. It seems like she found her way early; the rest of us have to follow the path at our own speed. Thanks again.
A little of both.
For Crosby, it was the probably the deepest cultural mixture ever distilled into a single popular entertainer. His youth paralleled the rise of recorded sound. His father bought all sorts of records – from the Irish tenor Frank McCormack to comedic Billy Murray to Jolson. (Young Harry snuck backstage to watch Jolson perform during a visit to Spokane.) Then in the 1920s he met Louis Armstrong.
Crosby carried a little bit of all of them into his days with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, but it was his ability to adapt to the microphone that made him standout. As Art Garfunkel would later say, “We are all children of Bing Crosby.” Sinatra idolized him.
You can hear a lot of Bing in Frank’s early recordings. It wasn’t until he got hired by Tommy Dorsey that he really learned to sing on his own. Because singers never left the bandstand, Sinatra sat behind TD and watched him play. He was probably the greatest trombone player of his generation and Frank would sit there and mimic Dorsey’s breathing, inhaling when Tommy inhaled and then exhaling ever so slowly over long beautiful notes.
When the LP came into vogue in the 1950s Sinatra really found his voice. And he did so by hiring the greatest arrangers that ever lived: Nelson Riddle, Quincy Jones and a guy many have never heard of, Don Costa. (Sinatra would have many of his standards rearranged every couple of years except for one – Costa’s arrangement of Come Rain or Come Shine for Sinatra & Strings is probably the greatest ballad arrangement ever recorded.)
If Michael Bublé has one great failing it’s that too many of his recordings are note for note copies of Sinatra’s. He shines when he expresses himself in newer arrangements.
All musicians start out by mimicking other musicians. It’s how we learn our craft. Mr. Gunn knows that no artist (and that’s a crucial distinction) can reach his/her full potential until they find their own voice, whether as an opera singer, a jazz pianist, or sculptor. The pop music world has always been filled with musicians, bands, and , yes, even songwriters, who are clearly trying to sound like latest hit makers, rather than themselves.
@ejhill, thanks so much!! I’ve learned so much! It explains that trying to “find our own voice” requires all kinds of discipline and talent. Really fascinating. I was also fascinated to learn from Nathan Gunn that it takes many years for an opera singer to mature, because it actually includes the body’s physical development. Most good opera singers don’t begin to shine until at least their 30’s, maybe even later. Sounds like that could apply to any singer. And maybe to other artists, too.
I love the observations from those who really understand music and its creation. Thanks, @songwriter!