Should I Try Singing?
Post by voice faculty, Claire Plumb.
Watch out! Opinions are flying!
There are a lot of opinions about singing. Watching people sing on reality TV shows has turned us all into critics. On these shows, singers are judged by a panel of “experts” on everything from song choice, to hair style! Fear of making a “mistake” takes on new meaning as we watch contestant after contestant leave in tears. There may be some entertainment value in watching singers volunteer to be raked over the coals, but these shows create an atmosphere of judgement and anxiety about taking risks and being genuine. All this judgement and drama can leave us wondering if we might want to keep our singing to ourselves, lest we be judged unworthy, unfashionable, or just plain bad.
In this climate of judgement, it may seem like only a few lucky ones “make it” but the truth is that the values and the joys of singing are for everyone. Each person has a natural voice that is all their own.
It is my hope that I can clear up a few things for you in this post and motivate you to go in search of your own authentic singing voice.
No matter how hard you try, you will always sound like yourself. Learn to enjoy it!
Who do you want to sound like? If the answer is someone other than you, you could be setting yourself up for disappointment and possible injury to your best asset, your individual vocal fingerprint! As a vocal instructor, it’s my job to teach you to appreciate your own, authentic sound, and to build on that. While trying to sound like others can be a dangerous game, a true understanding of who you are as a vocalist can free you to build on your strengths and minimize your weaknesses, while gaining confidence in who you really are as a singer.
Why strain and hurt your voice when you can train it to become a source of joy and accomplishment?
Even if you have pipes like Adele, you will still need to train your voice.
The human voice is like any instrument; it just happens to be attached to your ever-changing and complex body. Singers work on vocal technique much like athletes work on ab crunches or push-ups. There’s a right way and a wrong way, so it’s important to learn technique to maximize the results and not get hurt in the process.
With singing, your body needs to be relaxed and responsive to the demands of the music. If your body is a tight ball of stress, the tension in the throat and diaphragm can lead to vocal cord nodules and chronic vocal fatigue. So, step one on your vocal journey might very well be to UN-learn any habits you have developed. You may have muscle memory around your breathing or tone or posture. You may even rely on this muscle memory to get you through a song, but the strain it causes creates tension. Let go of old habits. Then you can begin to build true technique, and learn to trust your vocal instrument to do its very best for you.
Proper training can be quite liberating! You learn to keep your voice healthy and become a better breather. You learn about your vocal range, and the best ways to use it. The dynamics of a song become more visible and useful to you as you interpret it.
None of this happens overnight, so patience, consistency and expert guidance are key.
Ease yourself into the process of singing and choose the most comfortable path (for a while!).
You know when you are comfortable, and you know when you aren’t. Choose comfort! Find the teacher and school that “feels right” for you. Your teacher is your partner in developing who you are as a singer, and who you want to become. Chart a course with your teacher that allows you to grow in skill and technique without rushing it. The goal is to become comfortable with your instrument (your voice) so you can develop at your own pace, creating the relaxation and confidence that leads to progress.
Make sure the school you choose provides lots of avenues for exploration and adventure, too. This is where you step a little outside your comfort zone and soar!
Sing in a chorus or quartet, accompany yourself with a guitar or piano, become a more confident public speaker, become the envy of your friends at the local karaoke bar, learn to sing in German or Italian, become a professional vocalist, or just gain more confidence and see where it leads you!
Enjoy yourself!
Sure, you have to practice consistently and work on your technique, because the resonance and tone of your voice will change over time. Also, practice gives you time to work through and extinguish old muscle memory and habits and replace them with solid technique that won’t let you down. But don’t forget to sing in the shower, and a grueling commute is much better when you are singing along with your favorite song!
My greatest joy as a teacher is when I see the light in my students’ eyes as they sing a special passage, reach that one troublesome note, remember ALL the words, or sing in beautiful harmony with others for the first time. Yes, singing is transformative and therapeutic on so many levels for teacher and student alike.
But the most important thing is that singing is SO. MUCH. FUN.