I encounter more and more people who tell me they cannot sing. They do not lack the desire, but they have come to believe they lack the ability. This low self-image is one reason fewer people than ever are participating in congregational singing. But by what standard are they judging themselves?
... I see a parallel between the lack of confidence in singing and the world of visual images in tabloid and fashion magazines. Photoshopped images create unrealistic body expectations. In the modern era of music autotuned recordings give us unrealistically perfect sounds.
The end goal of both processes is the same: the appearance of perfection. Whether we are trying to look as perfect as a picture we've seen or sound as perfect as a recording we've heard, we are destined to fail.
- Excerpted from Technology has convinced us we can't sing
