There are some lingering yet still modern notions about joy and happiness, so let’s examine a few of them, and share strategies to gain or increase one’s joy as a singer (in any genre).

First, let’s look at how joy itself has come to be regarded differently in world cultures. In the east, joy has traditionally been associated with family life and the shared love and experiences that family members have as a collective unit. Individual family members may also have their own personal happiness and moments of intense joy that are not based solely upon family, but upon one’s self.

Nowadays a mini-industry seems to have sprung up to address feelings of sadness and self-loathing (which some specialists claim is often disguised from one’s external appearances) suggesting one actually feels confident and grounded in any of these top-five (according to a Medium.com article) indicators:

1. Strong Relationships*
2. Sense of Purpose
3. Positive Mindset and Gratitude
4. Physical and Mental Well-being
5. Balance and Resilience

While some people may disagree with the idea that in western society, joy has had a somewhat less positive connotation (as evinced by recurrent movie themes involving drugs, sex and rock ‘n’ roll music… these are crass generalisations (and this post is not shared to denigrate western society as if beneath eastern), our aim is definitely not to pit east vs. west as if we are rivals, and who’s to say that this or that cultural identity is at its core “superior”. *We all need these!

Our point here is that, given different cultural norms, one’s concepts of joys can arrive from many and varied sources, and any path to achieving joyful times is valid. Whether, by some type of spiritual experience, or simply by the effects of taking recreational drugs or immersing oneself in, say, goth or punk club culture and certain types of music or dance can, for example, be considered joyful to those who choose to take part in them, at their individually preferred levels of involvement (within practical limits) in them.

Such ‘crass earthly indulgences’ are often considered self-destructive in certain circles (especially when self-appointed arbiters of “social acceptability” have their says—e.g., when the experimental tendencies of young people drive them to seek more thrills than character tests, and such behaviour often ends badly—people may lay specific blame wherever they wish).

We are, without stating it explicitly here, by implication giving a nod to the familiar themes of college “spring break” as a social phenomenon in which young students, with pent-up emotions from the school grind, unleash reckless abandon upon various popular destinations in feasts of shameless revelry, perhaps including intoxicating substances, or such ribald activities as rave-dancing or group ‘nudity’ pranks like public mooning, usually as acts of absurdity. Many such “abnormal” or authority-challenging behaviours are associated with youthful defiance or the maturation process, and when such assessments are accurate, they are principally temporary in nature.

This admittedly weak critique (by those who at least feel in a position to look down their noses at others) applies to eastern society as well. It’s similarly arguable that neither east nor west has a lock on degeneracy or antisocial tendencies.

Obviously, not everyone in Indian or any other Asian society practices Hinduism, yoga, or meditation, and far be it from us speculating here to offer any such theory or analysis of the ultimate source of joy for anyone else “here, there or anywhere,” to trope a Beatles song title.

While we may each know what seems to be our own reliable sources of joyful times, there is no hard and fast rule or regimen that ultimately leads one to find and relish her/his most cherished joyful moments. Each of us has her or his unique personality and will respond to events in our/their own ways.

Which of course also means that for some who for whatever reason either choose not to pursue, embrace or accept joyful outcomes where or however they occur, for those people joy may seem elusive, lost, unwanted, or even unattainable.

Others among us may even seem to have found a type of eternal youth by practising some kind of tantric apotheoses via the Panchamakara. My footman insists that I must have a unique secret to abundant joy and eternal youthfulness. I attribute such a notion as having resulted from my wonderful family and upbringing in West Bengal, including the influences of my many teachers, friends and supportive fans and acquaintances.

Again: we are not dabbling in comparative cultures here. The topic of this post is finding joy, and the means to that end are as varied in their form and application as the variety of their practitioners. Among singers, uniqueness is a highly-valued attribute. Among nods to uniqueness are adjectives like “weird” or (usually referring to youthful women) “exuberant” when applied to artists (and can be regarded favourably or less so per the observer’s worldview), however like all descriptions of an opine nature, I tend to reserve judgments or proclamations about myself until I feel full concordance or disagreement, so I’m not super judgmental, lol, just perhaps a bit skeptical as to motives, and my footman Joe obviously delights in triggering my feelings towards joyousness.

To perhaps attack this topic more directly, we see examples of what some describe as joy that others treat with disdain or even contempt. This simply reinforces the fact that each individual has their own unique take on every aspect of life and its joys.

Please forgive us for any lack of clarity above. All hope for joy is thankfully not dictated by how accurately one can analyse how to most advantageously pursue and utilise whatever means and methods we may choose (or have access to them). But, rather than cast fate to the winds, let’s look a bit more closely at a few ways playback singers might find joy in what we do. Like any work/career endeavour, singing can embrace (or emanate) joy in various ways.

While we do not endorse or specifically recommend any vocal coach(es), we do encourage aspiring singers to check out some online educators and coaches who can help you connect to your own joy through learning best practices and pro techniques that may also empower your singing with enthusiasm and joy—so you can share your own special glow with others—through your inspiring and joyful musical performances! Therefore…

Please keep smiling, Dear Music Lover! The simple act of looking happy has been scientifically proven to actually produce positive results in terms of feelings and even physical wellness!

Let’s take a brief diversion from “finding happiness in singing,” although we are not for an instant abandoning that process. We can explore other activities that have the best potentials for increasing our joy, since singing or listening to music that we love can certainly give us pleasure (hence joy).

Many people find fine art (paintings, sculptures) and architecture sources of pleasure and enjoyment, as well as the performing arts (theatre, film, videos, music and dance). As popular phrases say it, “to each their own” or “whatever floats your boat”. Taste is certainly unique to each of us. Now, back to our favourite subject here…

[from AI Google:] “When you sing, dopamine floods the brain, leading to feelings of joy and satisfaction. This is the same chemical that spikes when we experience something we enjoy—like eating delicious food or achieving a personal goal.”

Insofar as this resembles drug-taking, it’s really not much more complex. Singing itself can be a reliable source of joy for the singer, just as, one hopes, the pleasant sounds one produces in singing can also give joy to listeners (and more specifically in our context, moviegoing audiences). We have mentioned, albeit obliquely or by extension, tantra above, which includes various ways and means to achieve personal growth and joy through diverse activities—hence such ‘creative’ activities as culinary arts and sewing may provide constructive and joyful diversion (and we added an example link of British baker-designer/dentistry student/TV star Sumayah Kazi). Often, creatives have affinities for multiple occupations! (I have some fun creative hobbies myself.)

While there cannot be a sole reason or perfect explanation for exactly why or how the joy is produced or derived from singing, it’s not pseudoscience. It’s quite real and proven repeatable, like the range of emotions typically associated with Bollywood movie features.

Watching a great film repeatedly can obviously induce the same types of feelings that we found it to induce in us the first time. Likewise, as a vocalist, we can also recall or recreate “the magic” of a given genre or musical setting (here meaning venue and/or musical accompaniment and orchestration, plus the context given the story being told on screen) time and again—to “recapture the magic” that has inspired people to go witness great cinema moments themselves in theatres or at home.

While the nature and scope of the means of production and exhibition of films, TV and more recently online streaming of the world of audiovisual entertainment has evolved over the decades, singing itself hasn’t changed much, if at all. (We’re referring to the singing itself, not how it’s recorded, distributed and replayed.)

[Again, via Google:] Some prominent Indian indie pop artists include Prateek Kuhad, Anuv Jain, The Yellow Diary, Ritviz, Nucleya, and Dhruv Visvanath, known for their unique blend of indie and pop sounds. Many other Asian artists are worth a listen. My footman (in addition to his Afro-Caribbean island faves) also likes clarinetist-composer Shankar Tucker, and for that matter (individual diversity), virtually every musician or composer I’ve met and worked with is involved in multiple genres; mainly via some combination of necessity and convenience. While no one artist can be all things to all audiences, some certainly try to cover more than the minimum of one instrument… this used to be called “doubling”, but after the third or fourth instrument, alliteratively speaking, the label loses its lustre!

Some musicologists might contend that singing reached its zenith as a public practice many centuries ago, while others would contend that only in the last century or so has the technology of audio recording given masses of people the opportunity to enjoy the singing of timeless greats like Enrico Caruso in the west and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan in the east, hence they might say singing has reached its peak only recently. Joy will be experienced by audiences if and when it’s produced, especially by great talents!

We’re certainly not looking to compare the arguably quite different genres of Italian grand opera and Indian Sufi Islamic devotional singing here! Nor are we arguing tradition vs. modernity in terms of artistic merit—as if it were even a possibility! It’s inherently part of nearly every musical tradition that listeners will favour and respond to music in their own ways, and that’s part of humanity. It’s not our place to pass judgment over others’ tastes and preferences! We do however, hope that the South Asian film industry is where you turn for family entertainment! If you’re a fan like us, Dear Music Lover, we’re practically family, or good friends already. (This is a huge, warm and welcoming community.)

Now back to finding and cultivating joy… while, for some who have a passion for any creative endeavour may train their focus on a narrow scope of music in only one language, dialect or style/genre, one aspect of playback singing that attracted me and is a source of continual joy is the variety of songs and also dances that find their way into the movies. Again, to each their own!

Indian culture has no shortage of variety and range of musical traditions that inform it. From the ancient Vedic and other chants that continue to inspire practices like yoga and meditation, to others more closely associated with modern urban life (like pop and dance styles that developed around nightlife and festivals), as well as various forms of “serious” music typically called classical music, whether part of some ancient dance traditions or simply concert pieces, ragas and the like (sometimes categorised as “art” or “religious” music), many people have reported feeling that they have experienced something utterly transformative simply by having listened to the work of great instrumental musicians and singers.

My own dear manservant, Footman Joe, says that he was deeply inspired to look more intently into Hindustani classical Indian music and its drumming after having a nearly out-of-body experience witnessing the virtuosic playing of tabla maestro Nikhil Ghosh in a chamber music concert given in Joe’s Midwestern USA home town in 1975!

That event inspired Joe to become more familiar with Indian drumming, and he has pursued his interest in it and those of us who specialise in it ever since. Eventually, Joe’s love of Indian music led him to my family and specifically to me, because it was my tone and vocal ability that first attracted him. More than three decades later, Joe remains among my most ardent admirers. I tolerate his near-obsession with me, and he tolerates and even supports and embraces my fungible moods and outsized dreams of a more peaceful and productive planet.

This little WordPress blog-site represents some of our combined efforts toward creating a better future for each other to share and enjoy with you. We hope that it has some potential to help you find and experience your own preferred sources of joy and happiness.

Perhaps, Dear Music Lover, if you have read this far into this blog post, perhaps you’re still curious about how to actually go through the process of creating or capturing some bits or full measures of joy in your singing life. Thank you for maintaining the interest level you will most likely need to get to “the promised land” via singing. Let’s explore this more in depth with our quick list, and detail each:

Singers can find joy in music by: 1) exploring different genres and styles, 2) collaborating with other musicians, 3) writing their own songs, 4) practicing vocal techniques to improve their skills, 5) performing for an audience, 6) engaging with the lyrics on a personal level, 7) singing for personal enjoyment, 8) participating in a choir, 9) learning from musical influences, and 10) celebrating achievements in their musical journey. 

Here are 10 specific ways to find joy in music as a singer:

• Embrace diverse genres:
  Experiment with different musical styles to discover new sounds and expressions that resonate with you. (This is definitely one of my personal favourites! I love singing in any language and it’s fun to learn the myriad ways that each tongue or dialect sounds and relates to the song, lyrically and musically. You may also notice that this blog-site is available in nearly every language; that’s quite intentional, as it reflects my own embracing of the multicultural reality of modern life!)
• Collaborate with others:
  Singing with other musicians can create a sense of community and allow for creative exploration. It’s most certainly inspired us, and we hope you, too.
• Songwriting:
  Write your own lyrics and melodies to express your personal experiences and emotions authentically. While writing songs hasn’t been an interest of mine, I’m glad that it’s a passion for others who seem to have remarkable gifts for it, like my mentor Pritam Chakraborty, et al.
• Vocal practice:
  Focus on improving your technique by practicing scales, exercises, and breath control, which can bring satisfaction in mastering your instrument. We hasten to add that it can also pay dividends in terms of JOY to your audiences!
• Performance experience:
  Sharing your music with an audience can bring a feeling of accomplishment and connection. Deepening and enriching your personal wealth of experience and knowledge is never a negative choice.
• Connect with lyrics:
  Find songs with lyrics that resonate deeply with your life and emotions, allowing you to sing with genuine feeling. In a perfect world you may be fortunate to have such great compositions written for and/or exclusively offered to you like I have. My gratitude for such moments is endless!
• Casual singing:
  Sing for pleasure without pressure, whether in the shower, car, or just for yourself. If you find yourself avoiding the chance to sing on short notice, you may need to reconsider any decision to go more deeply into a career in performing arts!
• Join a choir:
  Singing in a group can foster a sense of belonging and provide opportunities to learn from others. This is exactly where MANY famous musicians and especially singers began in music—hence it’s been PROVEN as a place to begin to cultivate and hone your skills.
• Study musical influences:
  Learn from artists you admire, incorporating their techniques and styles into your own singing. There are many ways to express this. However you would do so is okay with us.
• Celebrate small wins:
  Acknowledge and appreciate progress, even small improvements in your singing ability. While recognition and accolades may lag behind what you would assert is your best work, trust us: if you consistently sing well, you’ll never go unnoticed!