Most of us have to deal with that little voice that asks, am I good enough? Hopefully it’s not all the time, hopefully it’s not about everything. But most of us will, at least sometimes, question whether or not we’re good enough to do what we want to do.

I’ve been singing with Vivamus for over three years now, after over a decade of doing no choral singing at all. I still question whether I’m good enough: My sight-singing is so bad! I keep going flat on that note! Did I count that bar wrong? I try to remind myself I’m not alone. Many singers, or hopeful singers, wonder the same things about their own singing.

The question of whether we’re “good enough” is basically a lack of confidence. We don’t believe in our skills or abilities enough to feel confident and relaxed when using them. Hence, the dreaded question resounds in our heads. Am I good enough?

The answer is never as simple as yes, I’m good enough or no, I’m not good enough. There’s much more going on.

Finding the right space

The good news is, we are all good enough to sing. It doesn’t matter if you’re tone deaf or can’t count to save your life – if you enjoy singing, you can always find a space to sing. It’s about finding the right space to match your skills, where you can feel comfortable.

First of all, there’s never anything stopping you from singing in your own private space. One of my favourite things to do is put on a playlist of beloved songs and just belt them out at home, without worrying what anyone else may think. We’re all good enough for that!

If you don’t have much singing experience but want to sing in a choir, then there’s often local community and non-audition choirs who welcome singers of any ability. London is especially lucky for having lots of these groups, but if there aren’t any in your area, it’s worth posting on local social media groups to see if there’s interest. There’ll almost certainly be some neighbours who’d like to join a new community choir, no audition necessary.

For more experienced singers, you can start to look at audition-only choirs like Vivamus. There are choirs at all sorts of levels, from more relaxed performers through to highly professional choirs who record. It’s generally necessary across all of these to have a grasp of sheet music, part singing and harmonies – the level of proficiency needed will depend on the choir. Often, singers will have gained this experience from school and university choirs.

So yes, in these cases, there is such a thing as “good enough”. This is what the audition is for, and is necessary to maintain a particular standard of music-making that the choir is committed to.

Nobody is perfect!

Even those of us who’ve passed auditions can still ask ourselves whether we’re good enough. The truth is, every single one of us can improve. I don’t think there’s any such thing as a “perfect” singer. It’s human to make mistakes!

The reason choirs rehearse is to get to know music better, to iron out errors and become more confident. I’m still not the greatest sight-singer by any means, but I’m much better at it than I was before joining Vivamus. Though I still question whether I’m good enough, I don’t do it as often as I used to. Hopefully I will continue to improve, as does any singer with more practice. And the more confident I become, the less that question will bother me.

Everyone is good enough to sing in a choir

Don’t be disheartened if you’re not at the standard to pass an audition. You can always find a choir that suits your abilities. The more you sing with any choir, the more you improve. This is a journey that never ends for any singer – there is always more music to learn, more techniques to improve, more approaches to understand.

Don’t feel good enough? That’s normal. Make sure you’re in a space that suits your abilities, and keep practising. You’ll get better and better, and feel more confident.

Feel good enough? That’s great! You deserve to feel confident in your singing. Just don’t forget, there’s always something to improve.

Singing with Vivamus

We’re especially on the hunt for tenors and basses. If you want to find out whether Vivamus could be the right choir for you, come to our next concert.

Post written by Swéta Rana.