After recieving my copy of the new Woodbine & Ivy Band cd (which is amazing) it's really interesting to contemplate ones voice in relation to others. It's taken me a long time to get used my voice and also to get to love it. Especially during my teenage years and early 20's i completely hated my voice just as i hated my body and everything else at that time in typical teenage fashion! The hardest point was when i was in my local church choir and my voice began to break. I left for over a year because the breaking of my voice was such a dramatic change, i remember feeling like a freak compared to my my friends whose vocal transition was nowhere near as noticible as mine. Later on I particularly longed to have a higher voice so i could sing all my favourite pop songs in their correct octave. Also because i was very much shyer back then i found it hard to be heard in noisy social situations having a vocal range that was lower than your average spaniel could pick-up on! My voice has been compared to other male folk singers during these few years, mostly based on the fact that it's male and singing traditional song although i suppose i annoy folks by being largely influenced by female singers and haven't really listened to men anywhere near as much as i have women. I suppose a bit like a violinist being influenced by a trombonist, people don't like that, square peg etc! I think i sound like me, i also think i sound a lot like my Dad physically and my Mum emotionally. I think I've slowly learnt the value of individuality, I've accepted that i'm never going to be Justin Trousersnake and that my voice is kinda how it is for a reason. Often people are quite against self-love, veiwing it as a self indulgent quality but i think self-hated is far worse. I have learnt to love my voice and accept it for what it is but also i think I've now gone further than that by enjoying exploring what else it can do. I feel really blessed to have it (exactly how i feel about my accordion...   another blog) and i look forward to seeing what it comes-up with next!