Group helps singers find their voice
If you have ever been told “you can’t sing”, teacher and performer Janet Swain has news for you
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IF you have ever been told "you can't sing", teacher and performer Janet Swain has news for you.
"Don't let what you have been told in the past put you off, everyone can sing and I believe everyone should sing because it's good for you mentally and physically," Ms Swain said.
That is one of the key motivations why she has established a singing group at Kingscliff called Big Sing - Own Your Voice.
The Kingscliff group, which meets every Thursday at the Kingscliff hall between 10.30am and 11.30am, is the latest Big Sing group in the region which she has established after starting off at Brunswick Heads 18 months ago.
She said encouraging people to come together and sing was a way of help those "explore their voice" and not feel afraid to be vocal.
"We all like to sing so it is a matter of giving people confidence, a few simple techniques and having a bit of fun through music," she said.
"To develop your techniques, you need to pretend you are an opera singer - we all have a hidden Pavarotti inside us so it's really just a case of letting 'him' out."
The Kingscliff Big Sing group consists of 15-20 people coming together and Ms Swain said the range of music varies each week to make it interesting.
"I try to focus on songs which can be taught quickly and that may be from old favourites to contemporary numbers," she said.
"We may go over songs covered previously just to get the group together in the same frame of mind and then try something new.
"It is great to see just how, through singing, people gain confidence and interact with each other.
"I don't believe in people saying they are 'tone deaf' - through Big Sing we will help people hold a note and really enjoy themselves.
"Everyone is welcome and there's no need to worry about feeling embarrassed, we make people feel comfortable in song."
Ms Swain, who performs with the group, The Mighty Lovelys, has been involved with community choirs and singing groups in Sydney and in Byron Shire and is looking to expand into the Tweed.
She will be conducting an introductory singing workshop on Friday, January 24 at the Kingscliff Community Hall from 4pm to 6pm and everyone is welcome.
Tickets are $30 pre-booked online at songdynastymusic.com or $40 at the door.
Originally published as Group helps singers find their voice
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