Have you got what it takes to be a singer?

There’s a lot of nonsense out there about what it takes to be a singer.



The fact is, you already are one! Let’s unpick some of the myths and misconceptions.

Four powerful ideas guaranteed to help you learn to sing better

People are always asking me how they can learn to sing. Everyone is already a singer of course, but it’s always possible to learn how to sing better.



Here are four simple but powerful ideas that will help you be a better singer, whether you sing in a choir or a band or are a soloist.

Want to develop your voice and sing better? Be silly and play!

Trying to increase your vocal range? Want to develop a richer tone to your voice? Puzzling over voice placement and timbre?

photo by The-Serene-Mage

Before you rush off to find a singing teacher, try being playful with your voice for fun.

How to sing – 10 habits of successful professional singers

In my recent post How to sing – the definitive guide, I pointed out that lots of people Google “How to sing” instead of just getting on and doing it.

Garðar Thor Cortes by David

If you’re serious about singing and want to get on with it, here are 10 habits you can develop which come from successful professional singers.

If not now, when? – start singing NOW!

“It’s a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you’re ready.” Hugh Laurie

photo by Fido

Especially when that day may never come when you truly feel ‘ready’. So start singing now!

How to sing – the definitive guide

“How to sing” is one of the most common requests I get. The answer is simple: open your mouth and let the sound out.

photo by Spekoek

I’m not being facetious, it’s as simple as that. But when someone asks that question, they’re usually hiding a deeper one. Let’s look at what they really want to know and see what the answers are.

What to say if someone asks you if they can sing

A friend asks you to comment on their singing or asks you if you think they can sing at all.



What can you say without hurting their feelings or putting them off singing entirely?

When you sing, forget everything you’ve ever learnt

In your singing lessons and choir warm ups you’re bombarded with exercises and technical advice about posture, breathing, enunciation, pitching, tension, placement and so on.



All good stuff. But when it comes time to sing you need to forget it all. Seems crazy? I’ll show you why it’s important.

The secret to great singing that teachers don’t tell you

There is one vital ingredient to being a good singer.

Photo by Peter Smile

It’s not innate talent or vocal range or ability to read music or quality of voice. And it’s something that most singing teachers won’t tell you about.

Singing is all about listening

I wrote last week about people who think they can’t ‘sing’ because they think they need training or singing lessons first (Your singing voice: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!).

We focus so much on our mouths and what comes out of them, that often we forget one of the most important aspect of singing: listening.

Your singing voice: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

I wrote a post a a few years back called Do you need singing lessons in order to sing?

Photo by Anna Strumillo

My main point was that many people are frightened to sing in public before they’ve had ‘training’ or ‘proper’ singing lessons. But can’t you just sing without any ‘technique’?

“Singing workshop”: a building where songs are repaired?

I was at a business meeting recently and we were asked what we did. I explained as well as I could.

Photo © Copyright Anne Burgess and licensed for reuse
under this Creative Commons Licence

A guy came up to me in the break and asked: “Yes, but what actually happens in one of your sessions? And what is a ‘workshop’ any way?

Putting the hours in – are singers born or made?

I had a girlfriend who believed that we are all capable of anything if we just put enough effort in.

Photo by _foam

She believed that if you fail at something or are not very good at it, then you just don’t want it that much.

Are zombies taking over your choir? How to breathe like a human being

I’m beginning to worry that zombies are taking over my choir! Have you noticed how the living dead always have husky breathing?

Photo by theogeo

Well, the singers I come across seem to be doing the same thing. What’s that all about?

“Everyone can sing” – what the hell does that mean??!!

There is a proverb from Zimbabwe (apparently) that says: “If you can walk, then you can dance. If you can talk, then you can sing.”

Zulu nation by nualabugeye

Exactly! The whole of my work is based on my belief that everyone can sing. But what does that mean in practice?

How to be a confident singer

When I was much younger I used to think that once you knew everything and were vastly experienced, only then would you become confident.

Rock star baby by fmgbain

But one day I was in a singing workshop when I realised that this is not true. You just have to decide to be confident! Behave as if you are and the rest will take care of itself.

How to enjoy singing and not worry what others think

This post is part of a series of occasional Questions and Answers. Just use the contact form if you want to submit a question.

Here is a very familiar story.

Fred writes:

“I started singing at a very young age, maybe four or five and sang mostly rock stuff like Elvis my mother was listening to in the mid-to late 50's.  I thought I was good and sang my heart out but one day my mother listened and told me how bad I was.

“Then in about the fifth grade I had a music teacher telling me to lip-synch when my class sang a song at Christmas. Wow, did those two things curb my enthusiasm and give me a complex about even trying to sing!

“So ... I've sung to and for myself in my car, in the shower.

“The funny thing is that I think I know when I'm on or off pitch.  I had a good speaking voice as a kid did a lot of that in HS, like radio plays and morning announcing.  And I've taken some basic ear training online to know that I can tell when one note is higher or lower than another very accurately, which surprised me.  I also play guitar and jam with some friends.  Most of them don't sing very well and I can tell (!).

“But I will not try to sing in front of others.  Seems I have a bit of a complex about this.  If only that music teacher had been able to teach instead of just criticize!  Now at 61, I really want so bad to feel confident enough to sing with my guitar.  Please give me some advice, thanks.”

Pretty much all the people who come to my workshops or join my choirs have stories like Fred’s about lip-synching at school or being told to stop singing by someone close to them. Yet there is a need within them to sing and they come back to it 30 or 40 years later. I blame the teachers. How dare they crush a youngster's enthusiasm!

Maybe you’ve had a similar experience. It’s so very common.

Singing for yourself, in the car, in the shower ... why not??!! There's no need to sing for anyone else. And if you’re just singing to your guitar, the guitar won’t mind at all.

Knowing when you’re on or off pitch is an excellent start. As Fred says, LISTENING and ear training are the keys, not the PRODUCTION of the sound. Playing guitar (or any other instrument) is a good start and means that Fred obviously has a good musical sense.

If you’re not even sure whether one note is higher than another, then there is plenty you can do to train your ear on your own. You might want to start off finding out how you know if you’re singing in tune or not. Then check out my series of posts Learn how to sing in tune.

Do you judge your friends when they're a little bit out of tune? Does it bother you that much or are you all just having fun? If it's not a problem for you, why not throw your own voice in the mix, sing out loud, and all have a laugh about it if anyone goes a little 'off'? After all, singing out of tune isn’t always a bad thing.

It’s very easy to get a complex about singing out of tune, especially when (like Fred and many others) important people in your life have told you that you’re a ‘bad’ singer.

But the solution lies within you. You need to get to a point where you just don't care whether you're perfectly accurate or not. Isn't the point to enjoy your voice? You're not in an exam!

I don't feel that you need any outside input. Anything online is a waste of time. Singing teachers are expensive (especially the top ones). You have everything within you to succeed, you just need to build up your confidence.

If not now, when are you going to let rip? Why not join a local community choir (i.e. non-auditioned) who sing just for fun? You can hide in the back for a while as you slowly get more confident. Even when you’re feeling comfortable you'll have a whole bunch of other singers to support you. It's just a matter of time. Be patient!

 

Chris Rowbury's website: chrisrowbury.com

 

Why can’t I sing?

This is an updated version of a post which first appeared as But I can’t sing! in December 2007

“Why can’t I sing?” The short answer is: “You can. Everybody can.”

The whole of my singing work is based on the belief that everyone can sing. All my choirs and workshops are open-access, no auditions, no experience necessary.

Choir of the Munich University of Applied Sciences by Mark Kamin

Yet very often when I say that, I get the response: “But not me – I can’t sing at all.”

Some time ago I came across a blog post which mentioned a guy who seldom hits a wrong note, knows lots about music and how it works, is very keen, but who still thinks he can’t ‘sing’.

It turned out in this instance that the guy believed he couldn’t sing musically. He thought that in order to ‘sing’ it’s not enough to sing on pitch, get the notes in the right order, be exact with your timing, etc. there’s also a need for musicality.

In my book, this guy can sing! He’s pretty advanced compared with many people and clearly wants to go onto the next level. But there are complete beginners who believe they can’t sing and that stops them from even trying in the first place. And that’s a terrible shame.

It got me thinking about what people might mean when they say they can’t ‘sing’.

Here are some persistent myths that keep people believing that they can’t sing:

• ‘real’ singers only have to hear a song once, then they will know the tune perfectly
• I don’t sound like Pavarotti/ Lady Gaga/ Elaine Paige/ Thom Yorke
• I haven’t had any training or singing lessons
• my friends told me once that I sounded awful
• I’m just an amateur, only professionals sing properly
• I can’t hit the really high notes
• ‘real’ singers can learn lyrics in a few minutes – it takes me ages
• I don’t like the sound of my own voice
• I can’t hit the very low notes
• it takes me a long time to learn a new song
• I can’t sing in harmony
• sometimes I make mistakes – I’m not as good as other people I know
• I can’t hold a tune to save my life
• I hate hearing a recording of my voice
• I wouldn’t want to inflict my voice on anyone else!
• I’m scared of singing in public
• my teacher asked me to mime in the school concert
• my husband can’t bear me singing around the house
• I don’t have a beautiful voice
• I can’t read music

All these are, of course, myths. But quite prevalent and persistent myths. It’s quite hard to disabuse some people of these erroneous beliefs.

Here are a few truths:

• Billy Holiday had a very small range of notes she could sing – it’s not what you’ve got, it’s how you use it!
• Thom Yorke/ Lady Gaga, etc. are admired because they sound unique – what’s the point in sounding like them? Use your own voice!
• ‘beauty’ is in the ear of the listener – one friend will like one voice, another will hate it. One teacher can’t bear a kid singing, whilst another simply loves their sound. You may think your favourite singer has a ‘beautiful’ voice, but I might hate it.
• professional singers can take up to six months to really get a new song under their belt, before they feel that they can really perform it
• Pavarotti (and Paul McCartney and LOADS of other professional singers) couldn’t read music
• many of your favourite pop stars and even  musical theatre stars have not had any kind of training
• some people try to shut you up because they are jealous or scared to reveal their own singing voices

One way to help people realise they can sing is to offer workshops to people, but don’t tell them that they’ll be asked to sing. Start off with a few warm-up games, some running around and being silly, being playful with the voice (call and response silly sounds, for example), then quickly teach a very simple three-part round.

Point out afterwards that they’ve just been singing unaccompanied three-part harmony which is a very, very difficult skill. In the process they’ve proved that they’re all excellent singers, so now we’ll learn a song. Always works!

Have you got any handy hints on how to persuade people that they can sing? Do you think you can’t sing? Do you have any more reasons why people might think they can’t sing? Do drop by and leave a comment.

You might also be interested in a discussion on The Mudcat Cafe forum:

Why can’t I sing?

 

Chris Rowbury's website: chrisrowbury.com

 

The pleasures of the untrained voice

I was watching the Culture Show on BBC2 last week. Ben Lewis introduced a piece about Turner Prize nominee Susan Philipsz and referred to her “untrained singing voice”.

The fat lady sings by Lamerie

This got me thinking. Why had he bothered to say it was untrained (it sounded good to me)? What do we mean by ‘untrained’? And why do we need to make the distinction between ‘trained’ and ‘untrained’ singing voices?

Susan Philipsz has made a sound installation called ‘Surround me’, a song cycle for the City of London, 2010. Ben Lewis said that “visitors will chance upon recordings of her untrained voice singing 16^th and 17^th C madrigals.”

Why did he need to say that her voice was ‘untrained’ and what exactly did he mean by that?

Here are some reasons that I can think of why someone would want to refer to a voice as ‘untrained’:

• grudging praise — “her voice is really quite good even though she’s never had any singing lessons”
• politeness — “his singing voice is pretty awful, but it would be rude if I said that directly”
• being a snob — “of course, she’s not a proper singer as she hasn’t been trained”
• real vs. artificial — “his voice sounds authentic, not like those trained opera singers”

But what does it mean when we say that someone has an ‘untrained’ voice? Is it possible to tell by just listening?

Many people think they can’t ‘sing’ unless they’ve had singing lessons. The idea that someone can just open their mouth and sing is beyond them. Even though the vast majority of the world’s ‘singers’ are from traditions and cultures where the idea of training the voice just doesn’t exist. People sing from an early age and just get on with it.

Yes, it’s possible to get into some bad habits (especially if you try to copy somebody else’s singing voice), but generally speaking, there’s not much point in having singing lessons (in my opinion). See Do you need singing lessons in order to sing?

The inherent danger in having any kind of voice training is that you end up sounding like everyone else who has had similar training. Not only that, but a voice can become somewhat ‘artificial’ if a person lets the technique get in the way of their expression.

Personally, give me an ‘untrained’ voice any time! There’s something about those old villagers sitting around late one evening bursting into spontaneous song that sends shivers up my spine (in a good way!) whereas a highly-trained singer can leave me stone cold.

I will be writing more on what a person’s ‘natural voice’ might be in a later post. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, what do you think of untrained voices? Does the one-size-fits-all, shiny, auto-tuned, could-be-anyone voice move you in any way? Do you consider your voice to be ‘untrained’? Drop by and leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you – as always.

 

Chris Rowbury's website: chrisrowbury.com

 

Men and singing 3: seven ideas to get more men involved

A few weeks ago I started a discussion here on Why men won’t sing. Next I debunked 15 myths about men and singing and last week I shared your collective wisdom on how we might get more men singing.

haka, WOMAD 2009 by Matthieu A.

This week I want to wrap up this subject by outlining seven ideas that you might use to get more men in your choirs and singing workshops.

1. it takes time and effort
   Getting more men involved doesn’t happen overnight. You will need to create a critical mass before new men will feel comfortable. How many this is really depends on the overall size of your group if it’s mixed.
   
   Finding the men in the first place will also take a while. Peter pointed out last time that his choir did a 35,000 leaflet drop, spent £3,000 and demanded a lot of choir members’ time just to recruit 60 – 70 men for a one-off event. If they’re really lucky up to 35 men might stay on to join the choir which means each new member cost around £100!
   
   If you’re serious about recruiting more men, you will need a proper long-term strategy. Just hoping and asking is not enough, you really have to sell the idea.

2. take singing to where the men are
   It’s not enough to just send out tantalising publicity. Most people are creatures of habit and allow inertia and lethargy to get the better of them. It will take a huge effort to drag someone away from the TV in their warm, comfortable living room after a hard day’s work to try something new, risky and unknown.
   
   Men will be put off by the fact that they think they can’t sing, the use of the word ‘choir’, having to commit to weekly sessions, not wanting to make a fool of themselves – and plenty of other excuses.
   
   But I believe that if they try it, many men will love singing in a group. Just don’t expect them to come to you. Take the singing to where the men are: working men’s club, Rotary or Lions meeting, football match, the local gym, canteen at the local factory. Drop in unexpectedly and run an amazing, fun, light-hearted workshop and have them singing in harmony in a short while. Get them hooked and they will want more.

3. emphasise training
   Many men think they can’t sing or won’t be as good as the others or don’t like their voice or are afraid of trying something new or are reluctant to attempt a new skill in front of others or think they need to understand music. So let’s embrace all those fears and doubts and make it clear that we’re offering to train men up.
   
   Offer a set number of training sessions (limited commitment!) and detail what the men will get from it. Emphasise that everyone will be a beginner, that nobody will need any musical experience or knowledge, and that nobody will be asked to sing solo. Make it men-only. Once they get comfortable singing, then introduce them to the women. Perhaps have a one-off concert with the local women’s choir?
   
   If you’re already running a choir, perhaps have a one-off training session for men or an introductory workshop that they must attend before joining. Rather like a foundation course. This might well make joining the choir more attractive since they have a challenge/ obstacle before they’re good enough to join the ‘proper’ singers. It also makes your community choir look more professional!
   
   Even if your choir is well-established with fairly experienced singers, it’s worth pointing out that there’s an element of voice training each week in the warm up which will help men learn to sing better.

4. involve competition, challenge and non-commitment
   Men like these things (apparently!). If you emphasise the rational, practical benefits and maybe give a clear reason (e.g. for a charitable event), it gives men something to hang onto rather than it being a wishy washy art activity for its own sake.
   
   Get a group of men to sing together for a one-off event; sign the group up for a singing competition so they have something to aim for; say that you’ll only be taking the best singers on for your choir; tackle a big, challenging piece of music.

5. treat men seriously
   As Simon pointed out last time, men in a choir are often the butt of jokes. Male choir leaders can often be disparaging of the bass section. I know I’m guilty of this myself. I always thought it was a way of lightening the atmosphere and keeping things jokey and not serious, but Simon has pointed out how this can backfire, whereas men crave warm encouragement and praise.
   
   Make sure you praise the men regularly. Acknowledge that it’s hard to hold a drone note! Men need to feel valued and that they are contributing to something.

6. once you’ve got them, you’ve got to keep them
   Although it’s hard to get men to join choirs, you can’t just stop once you’ve got them. You need to put in some work to make the men feel valued and welcome or they will leave.
   
   Make sure the existing men in your choir/ workshop welcome the new boys and involve them in any social activities like going to the pub. Make the new boys welcome, ask their name, make them laugh, involve them, praise them, give them important things to do.
   
   Make sure that that parts you give to the men aren’t always the boring bass drone or the tricky tenor line. Also, acknowledge that many men don’t fit easily into either of these categories either: most men are baritones – the tenor is too high and the bass is too low. Ensure that the arrangement you use take this into account or you will lose men who feel that it’s too hard for them.

7. it’s a team thing
   Yes, men maybe competitive by nature, but they love playing team games. Team games are all about collaboration, working together, mutual support, being part of the same gang, training together, etc. etc. Sounds familiar? These are precisely the elements that make for a good choir who sing in harmony.
   
   You can take the team idea further by pointing out that singing together (a very egalitarian activity) can actually help to build team-spirit in an existing group: e.g. football team, workplace team.

more ideas?

I think I’ve distilled what I believe to be the most important elements in attracting men to singing. But I’m sure I must have left some things out! There were lots of good, specific ideas last week, but I guess I’m looking for some more general approaches that we might try. Do let me know if you have any others.

further reading

If you’re interested in this subject you might find these forum discussions interesting:

Are women’s choirs different?

Advice on starting a men’s choir

 

Chris Rowbury's website: chrisrowbury.com