just been reading all this (well done btw Lynne, must confess the first time I heard my own voice recorded it had the opposite effect on me and I didn't sing again for ages, glad its been a good experience for you) and its been making me wonder if people think there is ever a place for genuinely constructive criticism?

I am not talking about people making intential snipes under the guise of being 'helpful'.

Just that, if you are a more confident/experienced singer than someone else and you've got an observation of their technique that you think would help them, is it best to keep quiet in case you knock their confidence with an implied criticism? Maybe it depends how well you know the person I guess...

Other side of the coin - if somebody at a singaround or club has a truly painful vocal delivery is it fair if everybody claps enthusiastically and lets them think it was great? I've seen it happen. Always seems to happen to the people who for whatever reason are not progressing very quickly or indeed at all, and there's always a bit of me meanly wondering whether they just don't realise how bad they are and whether a very tactfully worded hint or two might encourage them to work on it a bit more before inflicting it on other people. Or is that just me being heartless? (I never do say anything btw, I'm not THAT mean).

the thing I'm wondering - I truly believe that everybody can sing and should be encouraged to sing and that treating people's confidence with respect is very important, BUT that the voice is an instrument like anything else and to make a pleaseing sound with it you have to work and practice. why therefore do some singers never progress, never learn words, never learn to sing in tune or project their voices succesfully? Is it partly because they do not receive any properly constructive criticism because their nearest and dearest are too afraid to knock their confidence by saying anything?


James