Can anyone learn how to sing?

[_butterflies]

I can't sing at all! When I try to sing in a high note, nothing but air comes out, not a sound though!
Is it at all possible to be trained how to sing really well?

I don't want to sing anywhere, not sure if I'd ever want to in public. I would NOT have trouble in front of an instructor though of course!
I just kind of want to learn how-- just to do it for the heck of it, a skill in life to have learned and accomplished.

Is it harder work than I think? Could I risk hurting my tonsils or something too?

Would a sound that sounds GOOD ever come out of that high note I try to hit? That would be wild to learn how to do that! (I think it would be anyway)

[bagnshoofetish]

anyone can learn how to use their voice as an instrument, however, being really really good at it takes a natural born talent. not everyone has that. take singing lessons. you can at least learn how to control your pitch and other technical stuff. if you are just doing it for your own pleasure, go for it!

p.s. you can't hurt your tonsils but you can damage your vocal chords if you don't do it right so take some lessons! it will be fun.

[Jayne1]

I thought it was a muscle and you can train that muscle. I remember Kathy Rigby, who was a gymnast, learned how to sing for Peter Pan. I was astonished that although not good, she had power and could hold a note because of her lessons.

[bagnshoofetish]

^^^I think being an athlete and knowing how to control her breathing helped a lot. the power comes from your diaphragm so yeah, all those developed muscles worked in her favor.

[Jayne1]

^^ She said something like that... you're right.

[sarasmith3269]

I ALWAYS say singing is the one thing that you can practice all the time (in your car, at home everywhere) and still not get any better.

[shanam]

Originally Posted by sarasmith3269

I ALWAYS say singing is the one thing that you can practice all the time (in your car, at home everywhere) and still not get any better.

i am living proff of that statement

[stacmck]

As a former choir nerd (part of the reason that Glee is one of my new favorite shows, but I digress ) you can definitely train yourself to sing. I remember my choir director in middle and high school going through vocal exercises and breathing exercises prior to our actually practicing songs, and they do help you hit the notes better (and without cracking). But I have found that without singing regularly (other than to the radio in my car, lol) I can't hit high notes like I used to. I used to be a soprano in high school, but now...not so much.

[ShimmaPuff]

No. While almost anybody can learn, as bagnshoo kindly puts it "how to use their voice as an instrument," and the majority of people can even, given enough dedication and professional help, can learn to either harmonize or carry a reasonable enough amount of a tune so as not to be too big of an embarrassment to loved ones at festive occasions where group singing is customary, such as birthdays, some faith-based services, celebrations of new years, new equinoxes, harvests, extreme drunkenness, etc.

However, "using your voice as an instrument," is an extremely wide term, and some areas of its width may have a very wide divergence with the secret yearnings of people who can't sing, a group to which I happen to belong.

You should, if you are able, seek help from a professional, who will tell you just how bad it is, but you should be prepared for the possibility that you may not ever be able to use your voice as the kind of instrument you have always wished that you could.

Not everybody can "learn to sing" the way they wish they could, even people who sing actual notes and even carry tunes naturally. (I have never personally hit a note, but few people have such a perfect record).

While you may never be one of those people who can just casually burst out into your favorite song or aria and not only avoid accusations of human rights violations, worried people rushing in to see what sort of animal is suffering and announce that 911 has been called, but actually have others recognize the tune you were singing, the picture is not completely bleak.

Here's the good news: Not being able to sing a single note does not mean that you cannot become a very successful and popular recording artist!

The technology of today can transform absolutely any sound, from air in a rusty old plumbing pipe to the indignant cries of an outraged billy goat, into a standard commercial processed pop music product that, with the right marketing, can scoot up the charts and get so much airplay that the public is sick of it within a month - and make lots and lots of money for everyone involved.

So don't be Tardy to the Party - Get yourself an honest evaluation from a vocal professional today, and depending on how high you dream of soaring on those wings of song, start thinking about just what kind of standard Hollywood skankwear you'll want to wear for the cover of your 1st album!

[Necromancer]

Plenty of people have made a career out of singing and they're not good singers, so there's hope for you. If you enjoy singing and want to take lessons to sing better, then I say go for it.

[Tangerine]

Originally Posted by Necromancer

Plenty of people have made a career out of singing and they're not good singers, so there's hope for you. If you enjoy singing and want to take lessons to sing better, then I say go for it.

Yeah thats def true. You dont have to sound like Dusty SPringfield, Amy Winehouse, Bobby Womack etc etc to make something of it... If your aim is not to make a career of it, but to be able to genuinely and honestly carry a tune with confidence.. it can be done.


If you really want to do something, ANYTHING, you really owe it to yourself to try. Don't worry about the result just yet, just go for it. The rest is just details. Who cares what people say about technically learning to sing... that doesn't matter. Just start and keep trying.


I wish I could sing too. I know I am not a natural born singer, that would have been evident by now. But if I really think about it, I've never given it an honest go. I should take my own advice. Fear stops people from really learning anything.

Good luck.

[plain jane doe]

OP, I think you are asking if you can learn to sing reasonably well even if you don't have a naturally brilliant voice and are not looking to be a superstar? If so, then I would say yes, you can. My dad learned to sing in his 50s, and while he's not great he is good enough to impress the average person. He didn't have any particular vocal talents before he started lessons, though he could always carry a tune just fine.

[bellafleur]

Here's a good example: Madonna. She became famous because of personality, but she's not a technically good signer. If you listen to some of her earlier albums, and even occasionally on her newer ones, you can audibly hear her breaths. Her natural voice is very nasal. She took lots of voice lessons to prepare for the movie "Evita", and while her voice improved, she's still limited by her natural ability. Paula Abdul is another example. She can "sing", but technically she's pretty awful.

To answer your question, almost anyone can learn to "sing". I say almost, because some people are tone deaf (like my grandmother, lord!!), and some ears are untrainable. Meaning some people don't have the physical capability of using their vocal chords and their ears to match the note that comes out of their mouths to the proper pitch of the music. But training will improve your range, your tone, and lots of other qualities of your voice. Similar to athletics, exercises and drills really do improve your ability. But that certain "something" that makes a voice great rather than good cannot be learned, you either have it or you don't. Then again, you don't know if you have it until you try, so try, it will be fun!:)

[Jayne1]

Originally Posted by bellafleur

Here's a good example: Madonna. She became famous because of personality, but she's not a technically good signer. If you listen to some of her earlier albums, and even occasionally on her newer ones, you can audibly hear her breaths. Her natural voice is very nasal. She took lots of voice lessons to prepare for the movie "Evita", and while her voice improved, she's still limited by her natural ability. Paula Abdul is another example. She can "sing", but technically she's pretty awful.

Madonna is a great example, you're right. She took lessons to learn how to sing for Evita and is so much better!! Listening to her early work, it always shocked me that she had a career, even if she could dance a little.

Paula Abdul could never really sing, ever, but Madonna can stand on stage and make a reasonable noise now. Not pretty or anything, but she can perform.

[Jayne1]

Originally Posted by bellafleur

Here's a good example: Madonna. She became famous because of personality, but she's not a technically good signer. If you listen to some of her earlier albums, and even occasionally on her newer ones, you can audibly hear her breaths. Her natural voice is very nasal. She took lots of voice lessons to prepare for the movie "Evita", and while her voice improved, she's still limited by her natural ability. Paula Abdul is another example. She can "sing", but technically she's pretty awful. To answer your question, almost anyone can learn to "sing". I say almost, because some people are tone deaf (like my grandmother, lord!!), and some ears are untrainable. Meaning some people don't have the physical capability of using their vocal chords and their ears to match the note that comes out of their mouths to the proper pitch of the music. But training will improve your range, your tone, and lots of other qualities of your voice. Similar to athletics, exercises and drills really do improve your ability. But that certain "something" that makes a voice great rather than good cannot be learned, you either have it or you don't. Then again, you don't know if you have it until you try, so try, it will be fun!:)

That Atlanta Housewife - Kim? She can't stay in tune and can't hold a note and yet she thinks she is a singer. Is that what you mean? She shocks me in her inability to hear herself.

At least I can hear how bad I am.