Harry Chapin, Mr. Tanner, and Simplicity

If you don't know who Harry Chapin is, you are depriving yourself of some wonderful stories. I was fortunate enough to listen to an old Harry Chapin CD lying around the house, and I've really enjoyed listening to his songs. He's a folk rock singer, which means his songs are based around stories--stories that often provide great food for thought. If you've never heard the song "Mr. Tanner," take a listen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79fkir9alzA

I think the most striking thing about the song is Mr. Tanner's simplicity. As the lyrics say, "He did not know how well he sang, it just made him whole." He's not thinking about if his soft palate is high enough, or if he's taking low breaths. He doesn't try to sing, he just does. Does that come at the expense of technique? Sure. If he really wanted to puruse a career in singing, he could have. He could have worked with a voice teacher, and developed his passagio and larynx placement and feigned voice and resonance until he had the skill to sing professionally. But he doesn't need to, because he doesn't know or care how he sounds. He sings because it brings him joy.

This is funny to me, because in any type of performing art, the mantra is: "Be professional." That is, come to rehearsal on time (and rehearse A LOT), do your practice, be serious, and be comitted to making the show as good as possible. There's nothing wrong with that-- who'd want to see a show where none of the actors bothered to make it any good? More importantly, it keeps you from being selfish. If you're performing simply to strut on stage and enjoy yourself, you should'nt be performing. Being professional forces you to consider the audience's desires instead of your own. But that's not all there is. If you sing, act, or play an instrument, you do it (or should do it) because it brings you joy.

And the fact is, if all singing does is bring joy to the singer, that's ok. Mr. Tanner never sings in front of anyone else after his concert, and that's the way it should be. His voice sounds beautiful, but the wholeness music brings him is far more beautiful. Mr. Tanner is simple enough to understand that his voice is not a talent to be perfected, but a gift to be enjoyed. This simplicity is something we could all use a touch of. Everybody needs things that make them whole, but we don't always pursue our deep joys. We either get stuck pursuing shallow "fun" that distracts us from our true needs, or we take all our talents and ruthlessly maximize them instead of allowing ourselves to be happy. We don't need to be "as good as we can be." We don't need to "live," if by living you mean attempting to squeeze every last possible experience out of life before death claims us. That's a life lived in the shadow of death, and therefore no life at all. But we do need to take time to make ourselves whole--by painting or singing or playing sports or doing whatever you truly love without worrying about how good at it we are. When someone does do that, the result is truly beautiful.