Breaking some myths about singing and what it takes to be a singer

If you are involved in music since your early childhood you have definitely heard some of those phrases: "To be a singer is so easy, you just wake up and use your talent..." or "You don't have to practice, because this is your voice, it is part of you, just use it" or "It doesn't take much, right? You were born this way?".... I've heard some of those phrases a lot from people who I don't know and some of them from relatives of mine. People who are not engaged with music think that playing an instrument or singing is just a task we do not put any effort in, because in their opinion we were just born with a talent and expose it. But the truth lays elsewhere.

They just have talent and use it!

Yes, one to be able to play music or sing is born with talent. Talent to hear and reproduce music, rhythm, short and long musical lines, easy or difficult ones, born with the so called "musicality". Is this enough? No!

There are only a few people who are born with extreme talent which I personally call "the genius". Those people just have it. They were just blessed. They also need to practice and put some effort, but not as hard as the rest. The rest are those who have to work hard on their singing technique and interpretation. And if you think that one day you will learn everything and there is no point to study further, I must say that this is not for you.

Singing is a living process, it will continue changing through your whole life. You will experience different sensations with your voice when you are 20, 30, 40 etc. You will have good days at which everything runs smoothly and bad ones.

Once I learn how to breath properly, I can sing.

Yes, there is one proper breathing technique. Are you going to master it to its complete perfection?

No!

One day you will feel it more, the next day not so much. According to your physical and mental condition the sensations of proper breathing technique might vary. It will get easier and more stable with practice. When you feel a little bit off connecting the voice to the breath, try to relax as much as possible and don't do any artificial movements. By this I mean do not push or pull here and there, just listen to your body. If there is tension present, the body is trying to tell us that we are doing something wrong or the body wants to compensate the lack of something else and it is usually the lack of breath support.

Just sing, it is so easy!

Yes, singing should be easy. is it going to be always easy?

No!

Singing should really be easy, at least this is what the specialists say. I think that practice is what makes singing easy. If you are a beginner, singing will definitely not be an easy process for you, because it involves so many muscles, you have to think about breathing properly, tone placement, not open too much, not too less, don't hold the breath... There are a lot of things to think about during singing. During some of your lessons, you will feel more how some of the things should be done and during some of the rest it would be exactly the opposite.

I will just pay my singing teacher and he/she will teach me how to sing!

Yes, a singing teacher will help you improve your voice. Is he/she going to teach you how to sing?

No!

You are the person that should learn yourself how to sing according to what your teacher says is right or wrong. You should examine all the sensations you feel when the teacher says that something is good or bad. That's why you have to be fully concentrated, present during the lesson, listen carefully and trust the teacher. That's why also you should choose wisely your mentor. Listen to your gut feeling. If you feel free with the person that gives the lesson, if you can be yourself with him/her, express yourself freely, feel comfortable and if you hear results in a couple of months, you have chosen rightly. But if you feel that something is wrong, try again.

Only my singing lessons will help me improve my singing technique!

Yes, your singing lessons will definitely show improvement if you have chosen the right person to follow and you have listened carefully during the lessons. Are you going to improve a lot by only singing during the session with you teacher?

No!

If you don't analyse alone at home the things you have experienced with your teacher, the progress is not going to be fast (if there is anything fast in the voice development process). The teacher's goal is to teach you how YOU can use your voice. I definitely recommend singing at least 3-4 times a week alone at home recording yourself, analysing. I know it might be uncomfortable in the beginning, but this is also something you should get used to - listening to your own voice. The more you listen to your voice recorded, the better you will get to know yourself and the voice.

On top of that knowledge you can build up strength and improve your technique.