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GMC Forum _ CHILL OUT _ Poll: Can You Learn To Sing Or Is It Always Just A Natural Ability?

Posted by: leonard478 Jun 21 2013, 09:40 PM

would love to hear your thoughts on this guys
I'm gonna start some vocal lessons soon and see where it gets me in a years time or so

Posted by: jstcrsn Jun 21 2013, 09:55 PM

your voice is an instrument, the right practice - the better you become. The wrong practice -well, you know what happens,.
however , this is the one instrument that being blessed by God really comes into play

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 21 2013, 11:17 PM

I think that it's possible to practice and to became a better singer but the main difference (with guitar for example) is that the instrument comes from your birth with you and you can't change it.

Posted by: dcz702 Jun 22 2013, 03:56 AM

I was wondering this myself. As I'm playing acoustic more I have the urge to sing. I've learn some acoustic covers and I can sing along but not that great. I've noticed that the more I try I find my voice is better matching the chord that is being played with the verse, so now I've been slowly singing over specific chords trying to match the pitch with my voice. So I totally think you can train yourself to sing.

Posted by: Tharn Jun 27 2013, 02:50 AM

Great poll- Hi- I just signed up today - Man I am so impressed with these lessons and have so much -sooooo much to learn.. part of me is a bit disappointed in myself for not pushing to learn more advanced techniques all these years...
anyway- anyone can learn to sing- to use what they were born with to the best of what they have- but not everyone can learn to sing in all genres' or for that matter at the level the purest voices on the planet.

Posted by: vonhotch Jun 27 2013, 03:00 AM

Personally I think nature has a good deal to play. I think practice can definitely help, but in my case, I have sinus/allergy issues that change how my voice acts at any given time. One minute I think I could sing well, the next I couldn't hit a note if my life depended on it, no matter how much I practiced.

Posted by: Musicman65 Jun 27 2013, 05:03 AM

I'm living proof. The day I began treating my voice as an instrument and realizing its tonal strengths and weaknesses, that's the day I began improving. I sing scales and interval patterns in much the same way I practice lead riffs on guitar. I am 47 and have more range and control today than in my late teens. I wish Ihad done this way back when!

No matter your talent level, knowing your strengths and limitations and performing within those limits really helps. Dont try to do something you know you cant physically do (not as a performance) ...but exercise and practice daily and your limits will broaden, no doubt.

bd

Posted by: Sensible Jones Jun 27 2013, 04:17 PM

Your vocal chords are controlled by muscles. Keep the muscles fit, healthy and trained and you can learn to control them in order to sing. I believe that with practice anyone can learn how to sing.

Posted by: Gitarrero Jun 27 2013, 04:35 PM

Interesting question since I am at the beginning of my singing journey as well

You can learn to sing to an extent, meaning you can master some techniques, reach higher and lower ranges, hold the notes longer, stay in pitch etc. Meaning you can become a decent singer.
The really great singers have a voice that makes them unique, though, and they were born with it. Check audition tapes of pop singers like Beyonce Knowles or Christina Aguilera...they had powerful voices as young kids!
On the other hand there are people with weird or even umpleasant but unique voices, like Josh Homme, Brian Molko (Placebo), Ben Kowalewicz (Billy Talent) or Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins). I wouldn't call their voices nice, but they fit the music and really stand out of the masses.
Anyway, enjoy your singing lessons, and make sure to post some results here!

Posted by: PosterBoy Jun 27 2013, 05:15 PM

Things like a vocal tone are natural, some people voice's just sound nicer than others even if they are doing everything right.

Tone can be improved on to some extent though, my band mate and vocal coach has helped me a lot with that, things like altering vowel sounds in the top end of my register etc

Posted by: TeoWulf Jun 27 2013, 06:57 PM

Yes you can, here's some inspiration:

26 years later

Posted by: Headbanger Jun 27 2013, 07:03 PM

Yep...its just another thing to practice..I don't think anyone can sing well without practising a lot. I realise that I'm not a famous singer because I just never practised.

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Jun 28 2013, 08:25 AM

It is all a matter of perspective - take two opposites

Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day is not the greatest vocalist out there in terms of complexity - he is a GREAT frontman and he sings in tune and he fits the bill perfectly for his band, hell, he is iconic!

Mariah Carrey - she has vocal abilities that will lay you flat on the floor, but she could never sing in a band like Green Day

Now - my idea is, that if you can sing in tune, like with the guitar, everything is relative and you can't say that you are a bad singer, simply because you can't do what Andrea Bocelli or Withney Houston were doing.

You can be as good as you can be, but for that, you need to practice and what's more - with this instrument, you REALLY need to discover your tone and natural abilities and work on perfecting them. So I guess that if you are ambitious enough, you can be the best vocalist YOU can be

Posted by: bleez Jun 28 2013, 08:32 AM

Im always curious about singing, I'd really like to be able to do it! what sort of things do you actually do to practice?
if Im learning guitar I would practice chords or picking.... y'know stuff like that. What would be some of the first things you should practice for singing?

Posted by: The Professor Jun 28 2013, 08:38 PM

I think people can learn to sing. I was terrible when I first started, couldn't keep a tune at all. But after singing in choir at Uni I got my ears and voice together, and then aural skills class kicked my butt, which was good for me as well. After working on it for a few years I was able to get my act together and while I'm not Pavaratti I can get by and use my voice when teaching, practicing now all the time.

Posted by: leonard478 Jun 28 2013, 08:44 PM

Thanks to you all

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Jun 29 2013, 12:57 PM

Great answers! We should have nice singers here at GMC judging by the nature of each one's train of thought - the masterclass held by Steve Vai which I attended to last Monday, had him talk about singing and how much using your voice can help you in feeling your instrument and the music inside you - basically, it is a method to shorten the distance between the music in your head and the outside world