#closeharmony

When I was 12 I wanted to be a pop star. Reality set in fairly quickly though (with a dad who was a careers advisor encouraging me to choose a sensible and respectable career for my future). I chose engineering, worked hard in my maths and physics classes and that is what I went on to study.

Deep down there was always a nagging feeling that I wanted to sing. Travel forwards 20 years in time. I met another mum in the playground and it transpired that she was a professional singer and actor. I was about to start the pop choir I’d always dreamed of setting up and she was very encouraging. When the Local Vocals were approaching their first ‘proper’ concert we’d just lost my husband’s grandad so I had the idea that it might be nice to sing something in his memory. Alison was up for singing a duet with me so we sang ‘For Good’ from Wicked.

We had a good reaction and both enjoyed it but I’d never sung like that before so I was a little out of my comfort zone. So now I listen to Alison and she corrects my terrible posture and over time I’ve improved a little. We came up with the name Perfect Measure, sang at a community event at Christmas and now we want to do more!

Last night we sang our first ‘proper’ gig. What a night! I loved every minute of it, and am now totally hooked. We performed two sets at the after show party of a charity gala concert at Theatre Royal Wakefield. We have five children between us and both work in the evenings and weekends teaching piano and singing so we had to work really hard to prepare these songs. We’ve had rehearsals with children squabbling at our feet, rehearsals late into the night, heart to hearts, forgotten lyrics, impossible to find notes and lots of laughs along the way.

I’ve learnt how I learn lyrics best and I have a huge new-found respect for people who remember scores for entire musicals. My poor two year old now knows the words to ‘Waterloo’ and ‘A Million Dreams’ and when he’s had enough of me rehearsing while we play with Duplo or play catch he tells me to stop!

I’ve learnt that it takes an awful lot of concentration to sing a song which has lots of verses or sections which sound similar and that if I get distracted at all (child wants snack, child sneezes and requires a tissue, child fills nappy etc) then I might as well just start again.

I’ve learnt that this is what I love to do and I’ve had so much fun on the way. I’ve learnt about how it works at a theatre on a busy show night and I loved the rush and the organised chaos.

Most importantly of all, I’ve learnt that to sing in front of people you have to open up and show a little of your heart. You have to let go and share. And you might even improve someone’s day by singing a song they love, or singing about how they are feeling at the moment. Our highlight of the night last night was having couples take to the dance floor to slow dance to some of the songs we sang.

Number one lesson learnt: do what you love.