Genetically Predisposed?

I had a fairly interesting conversation the other day with my voice teacher, regarding the theory/idea that where a person comes from is a factor in determining what kind of singer they will become. It's certainly not something I'd ever really thought of before; I'd always believed if being predisposed to be musical actually existed, it would come from musical talent in the family, regardless of race, ethnicity, etc.

Like a tendency to struggle with eyesight, or poor hearing. Or having slower or faster metabolism. Or acne.

But apparently there are many who believe your ethnic background can have as much of an effect on the kind of voice you'll have as anything else. Sure, there are some people who are more talented than others simply because they are who they are. And yet people are actually able to trace certain characteristics that follow certain groups of people.

For example, the truly dramatic singers (the Pavarottis of the world, if you will) tend to come from Italy, Scandinavia, and Germany. The lyric voices tend to originate more from France and Britain. And he gave several other examples, which at the moment I can't really recall (I'll have to listen again to the recording of that particular lesson to hear it all over again, because I found it absolutely fascinating!).

Fairly intriguing stuff.

At least it is for me. Because while I love music, I'm a scientist at heart too, and I love assimilating that kind of knowledge. Odd though it may sound, if I'd not gone into a world of music, I would have gone on to become a doctor. So I always get a kick out of him explaining the anatomical and biological mechanisms of the voice and how the vocal chords produce sound, etc. Absolutely love it. And on that note, i was loving this discussion regarding genetics and how it can affect not just a singer's overall sound, but their stage presence and approach to music as well.

The idea being, of course, that there are certain things ingrained in our genetic makeup. Instincts, almost, if you will, that drive us to act and be certain ways. Not that we aren't individuals as well...especially those of us in America, who tend to be one big mix of several things...but all these pieces of our genetic makeup really do play a role in determining what we become later.

In my case, my ethnic background can be broken down thus:

1/2 German
1/4 Norwegian
1/4 Jewish

I've always been told I have a very dramatic voice; big and full and rich. And that the same can be said of my stage presence (something I've always found very funny given the fact that off stage I'm usually a pretty unassuming person). And interestingly enough, essentially 75% of my makeup comes from those parts of the world that are characterized as producing the big, dramatic singers. And then Jewish singers tend to always have very sharp, accurate ears, and that's another thing I've always been fortunate enough to possess.

So I definitely found it all interesting.

Will that alone determine what I do and do not choose to do for my career?

Absolutely not.

At the end of the day I'll do what my voice is capable of, and what I love, regardless of genetic predispositions of any kind.

But it's still an interesting concept to think about, to be sure. And at the very least, maybe it'll give me that perfect excuse I've been looking for to tell people I don't like singing French. After all, no genetic predisposition there, right? Haha!