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I am one of those people who listens to live music with my mouth open and my head up. Im not singing precisely, but in my imagination I am making the sound that I hear. So when I finally broke out of my shell and started going to open mics a few years ago, all I wanted to do was get up on stage and sing. Until I got to know the hosts, they would ask me whether someone was joining me on stage, or if I would be plugging in (plugging what in I wondered?). Although I thought it was perfectly natural to get up in front of people and sing, I became aware that a double standard exists in the open mic community.
Open mic performers are often referred to as singer-songwriters, a title that conjures up images of Bob Dylan, Ani DeFranco, or John Mayer. A more apt description of these performers, however, would be player-singer-songwriters. Most open mic musicians, like most respected pop stars, concentrate on their writing (or song choice) first, then their playing, and lastly their singing. For some of us, however, voice IS our instrument. If we use it correctly, we can tell stories and communicate emotion with a clarity and intensity rarely achieved by an instrument alone. Here is a good example: I was told by a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame that, although he was familiar with a song I had sung from the radio, it was not until listening to my a cappella performance that he paid attention to the beautiful story the song tells. This type of encouragement is particularly helpful in overcoming my suspicion that, no matter how good I may sound, an audiences attention can only beheld for a few minutes by a single voice. Here is a bad example: I opened for a fiddle player with a set of 5 a cappella songs. Later, during the open mic portion of the evening, I sang a duet with the guitar player / host. Afterward, a singer-songwriter told me that I should forget about all that a cappella, that I should just be accompanying guitar players because, he said, my duet had so much soul. I beg to differ that my setwhich included Aretha Franklin and Elvishad no soul! All that the duet had that my solo singing didnt was the harmony and cadence that any two musicians or instruments can make when they come together. That same connection, I believe, exists between the a cappella singer and their audience, whether solo or group. The message, in the form of melody, rhythm, and word, is being delivered directly to the listener without the intercession of an instrument. Instead of pouring my heart out to the piano keys, I am connecting personally with people. And if they are inspired to join me, they need no other tool than what they were born withtheir hands, their tongues, and their voices. It is this feeling of connection that I anticipate when I decide to learn a song to sing a cappella. I can play a little guitar now, and I can always count on a friend to back me up, but I will never walk away from a cappella performing.
Camille Breeze is a textile conservator, lecturer, and solo a cappella singer
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