3 Surprising Ways to Ditch the Panic and Sing Confidently in a Mask
It’s not what you think.
When I put on the N95 mask for my first indoor singing activity since the shutdown, I was terrified.
One might think my anxiety was rising because I had been hired as a last-minute replacement for a Master’s conducting recital, with only three hours to learn an entire program well enough to sing it that night.
But sight-reading the middle part in a six-voice ensemble for seven a cappella works in two languages seemed like the manageable part of the job.
I was frightened because I had never sung in a mask before, and I had absolutely no idea what the experience was going to be like. And I was imagining the worst.
All the other singers were already masked, and most of them even had their own singer-specific masks. I glanced at the singer to my left.
“Any tips? This is my first time.”
He adjusted his own mask, making sure his glasses were over the nose bridge. “You’ll be heard very well, so don’t worry about that. Just be aware that when you open your mouth wide, it’ll shift the mask down.”
I nodded, and willed myself to relax as we began to sing.
