Open Your Mouth and Sing
  • About us
  • Podcasts
  • Training
  • Backing Tracks
  • Blog
  • Sing it!
  • Musical Improv Games
  • Choirs
  • list of musical improv games

Decantophobia?

2/8/2014

1 Comment

 
Decantophobia, Adophobia, Psallophobia or even karaokephobia!  Whatever you want to call it, fear of singing in public regularly comes up as humankind's worst nightmare.  Why on Earth should this be the case?  Singing is one of our most fundamental and ancient activities, surely pre-dating our evolution to Homo Sapiens some 30,000 years ago.  Our history used to be handed down orally through folk song and wandering troupes would spread local news and recount heroic fables through song.  Were they as afraid of singing as we are now? Did villagers and tribes-people look on with admiration and awe as they were sung to thinking "I could NEVER do that"? 


​

Picture
Perhaps as we have developed more anonymous means of communication, news feeds, social media etc. we have forgotten our ancient connection to our own voices.  It would certainly help to explain the enormous adrenaline surge and feeling of accomplishment that I have witnessed from singing workshop attendees who have entered the room with the fear in their eyes and then transformed it into zeal.  Clearly those who attend choirs and regular singing groups have reconnected to their past?  Well often not, single out a member of a choir at random and ask them to make up a couple of lines of a song from a subject and that fear returns with a vengeance.

Our eyes may be the window to our souls but the voice seems to contain a version of ourselves that is raw and vulnerable and that we want to protect from scrutiny.  It is this vulnerability that provides such a rich and challenging environment for people when they are allowed to practise and perform singing in front of other people.  The applause that comes from those watching is half appreciation and half respect, perhaps with a smattering of relief that it was not them up there.  It is the ultimate risk-taking in action without the need for a physical safety net.  ​
1 Comment
Roberta Fox
7/12/2017 03:17:18 am

Hi Heather, I found this article really interesting. I came across the term decantophobia yesterday for the first time. Although I am an actress and a singer, I have a huge fear of singing in public and particularly in front of other musicians. I did a one woman show 18 years ago, and would love to do another one, but not to backing tracks, but with a small band. World music. Terror. I am in Cape Town.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Heather Urquhart and Joe Samuel are professional musical comedy improvisers.  Find out more at themaydays.co.uk

    Archives

    May 2017
    June 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    August 2013
    July 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    June 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011

    Categories

    All
    Genres
    Heather Urquhart
    Impro
    Improv
    Improv Comedy
    Improvisation
    Joe
    Longform
    Maydays
    Musical Improv
    Musical Improv Comedy
    Podcasts
    Singing

    RSS Feed