tone deaf musician for God?

[Angel_of_Faith]

Hey all,
I am 20 and feel a strong calling from God to sing for Him. He hasn't revealed to me yet what His plan is, but He has developed my voice so that I can sing better now than I used to. However, I am tone deaf and flunked aural skills my semester of being a music major. I know that it is God's will for me to sing, because He has allowed me to sing many solos at my church and sing them well. I want to do God's calling, but I really feel I need a little help with my voice. Anyone got any advice?

Thanks!

Ashley

 

[pokeyliz14]

God has blessed you with a wonderful and very personal instrument. As in any other instrument practice your instrument and maybe even study with a voice teacher. I feel that god has called me to do music minisitry and i met a wonderful voice teacher who is also a reverend at a methodist church. Just let god guide you and whatever his will is it will all happen just in time.

 

[ZiSunka]

I know that it is God's will for me to sing, because He has allowed me to sing many solos at my church and sing them well.

Singing at church is very different from singing professionally. Professional singing is a lot more demanding, and the record company is not as supportive and willing to overlook flubs as your church family is.

I have a friend in Christian music who told me that every year he gets hundreds of inquiries and audition CDs, and he's lucky if two of them have any real talent at all. He said most of the people who send in "fishing reels." (called that because the people are fishing for an audition and the auditions used to be recorded on tape) think they have great talent because they are on their worship team or have done solos in church.

I have another friend who couldn't accept that he didn't have the professional talent that is needed, even after he majored in worship in college, so he quit his job and moved his family to Nashville, thinking that if he was out there in the producers face more, he'd get a contract. After one year, their savings ran out and they had to move back home in shame.

My point isn't to discourage you from singing, my point is to get you to really seek God's best will for your life, to find the place he has set out for you to serve him. He has fewer people willing to scrub toilets in a homeless shelter, even though that is where the need is greatest and the workers are fewest. It's humble work, though, and few Christians are willing to humble themselves to scrub toilets for the homeless.

I'm not saying that's what you should do, I'm just saying that if you are tone deaf, God might not have built you to be up on stage singing. He might have built you to be a doctor, a lawyer, a pastor or any number of other things.

Serve Him where you are needed, not where you get the most praise.

 

[Angel_of_Faith]

thank you lambslove and pokeyliz14 for your advice. Lambslove, I don't know where God is leading me to sing, but I am not thinking it is singing professionally. I mean if it is then I know God will make a way for it to happen, but my entire reason to sing publicly is to give God all the honor glory and praise. The songs that I sing are songs that He has given me the talent to sing and they were songs that not only I needed to hear but people at the church I sang them at needed to hear. I'm willing to do anything God would have me to do and staying humble is something i seek to do as I feel every Christian should. I just want to praise God, not become rich and famous. Basicly in this post I just wanted people's encouragment, prayer, and advice on whether I should take more voice lessons or not. Thank you all so much for your prayers and your posts.

Love in Jesus,

Ashley

 

[Hands&Feet]

Ashley, I have learned over the years that how well we do something has little to do with how God can use us if we trust Him and obey His leading. I used to drive truck and my co-driver and I were witnessing to another trucker who was very bitter at God. He was Mr Bigrigger and didn't have any time for God.

My co-driver has the worst singing voice I have ever heard, but he was always singing praises to the Lord in spite of it. He started singing to this guy over the CB and the next thing you know, that big old redneck cowboy was crying like a baby.

He stopped at a rest area with us and asked Jesus into his heart.

I've been a musician all my life and have always been self-conscious about my playing. That changed my whole perspective. Now that I just trust God to use whatever I play, I have been able to minister to hundreds, actually thousands of people. It has been very humbling. Sometimes I think my piano or guitar playing is really bad and people will come up to me and tell me how God actually encouraged the m and even healed them through my playing...without any words!!!

One lady confessed that she had struggled with receiveing God's forgiveness over having an abortion before she knew Him. While I was playing, she said God touched her and healed her of that ugly wound and she had at last found peace. That was probably one of the worst performances of my career, but God it didn't matter to God.

So take heart, girl. If it is in your heart to sing, then sing from your heart and sing out of your love for God, not because you think you are a great singer. Some of the greatest musicians are those who really had to struggle with it for a long time.

One of my high school buddies was so tone deaf he couldn't tune his bass guitar, but he was determined that that was what he was supoosed to do with his life. He is 49 and has played the bass professionally all his life and he is phenomenal.

So don't listen to the devil's lies. Know that God has planted something in your heart and never look back.

May God bless you

 

[He Man]

If you're tone deaf then how do you know that you can sing? How do you know that the songs that you sung in church sounded good?

If you can tell if the song sounds good then you can hear pitch and aren't tone deaf.

If you can play a note on the keyboard and sing it, you aren't tone deaf. So, you can learn the aural stuff in your music theory class. You may require more practice than other people, but it can be learned. So, keep practicing and don't give up. It can only help you sing better...