Kev Minney tells the story behind his latest song, It Doesn’t Bother Me…
For as long as I can remember I’ve had a stutter. My mum said it started around age four and before that I was speaking normally; I have never known what it’s like to not have a stutter.
A lot of people tell me my stutter doesn’t bother them and that I should take no notice of it, but for someone who stutters it’s a whole lot more than that. The feeling that you can’t ever say what you want to say in time before someone else finished your sentence leaves you with constant frustration and a sense that there’s no point in saying anything at all.
Every time you stutter you feel like you’re under the spotlight and people are pitying you.
When I was 30, I realised I desperately wanted to learn to sing so I could write songs. I’d played the guitar for years professionally, but without noticing it I was in awe of people who were able to write their own songs – to be able to say exactly what they thought and felt without interruption. But it wasn’t easy for me. Because of my stutter my vocal technique was poor, my tuning was totally off and my diction and tone were appalling. I had to train hard to overcome this, and I had to go on stage before I was ready to become ready. I wasn’t ignorant of my problems I just knew that singing and performing was the way out for me.
The scariest bit was talking in between my songs. When I was singing, I was in a flow, but then you are using a different part of the brain when you sing. It took me many years to get to the point where I could show everybody who was on stage and for my voice to be the first thing that people complimented me on, instead of my guitar playing. But readers, that is exactly what has happened. It’s a constant work in progress, but I’m fully confident in my voice, my songs and my stage presence.
I’ve released two albums and now I am about to release my third, which was written during lockdown. The first song I wrote for the album was a song about my journey as a stutterer, titled “It Doesn’t Bother Me”. It refers to my stutter and I’m glad to say that most days this is true. International Stammering Day is on October 22nd and that’s when I’m releasing the video single for the song. It was filmed with members from the Brighton and Hove Stammering support group, and will be out on all platforms for sharing. So please give it a listen and if you stumble across a stutterer remember to not finish their sentences. 🙂
So, it’s not as easy as just taking no notice of it. International Stammering Awareness Day is this October 22nd.
Read more about Kev and the single here.
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