So you think you can't Sing . . . 6 Myths about singing

Well, after a big move across six states and the obligatory Comcast nightmare, I'm back to blogging.  One of the fun things about moving is that you get to meet people and learn about them.  After I've met someone we often end up talking about what I do as a singing teacher and their own vocal history.  Almost everyone seems to have some interest in singing, whether they wish they could sing better themselves or just enjoy listing to a certain type of singer.

As I've been talking to people over the past few weeks I've thought a lot about some of the common misunderstandings surrounding singing.  It's not the first time I've encountered these incorrect ideas, but this time around I've really mulled them over.  I met one lady who began to explain some of her vocal difficulties (mostly allergies) to me.  When I asked a few probing questions,  she immediately said "No, really, it can't be fixed."  And that was that.  It struck me as a bit odd; not the women herself, but the interchange in general.  Maybe I should leave the probing questions for lessons, but would you start to explain some medical problem to doctor you just met and then tell THEM that it was incurable?  Another girl said to me "If I could choose any talent to magically have, I'd choose singing.  I feel like almost anything else you can learn to do, but singing is just gift you're born with--or not."  Both of these ladies have fundamental misunderstandings of how singing works.  

Anyway, these exchanges--and others like them--have inspired today's post.  Here are 6 Myths (and a bonus Truth) about singing.

1.  Myth: Singing is a born talent.  I'm not saying that some people aren't more predisposed toward singing, or have a "better" sounding instrument than yours, but at the heart of this myth is the fact that singing is an athletic activity.  After you start your vocal training you should be sore--and I'm not talking about a sore throat (that's bad).  I'm talking sore abs, sore laterals, sore obliques.  Your ribs should feel stretched and expanded, your posture should be different.  If you don't ever feel sore, find a different teacher.  

Sure, not everyone is going to be able to play basketball as well as LeBron James, right?  But everyone can learn to play basketball better than they do now.  I can personally attest to this as my husband loves basketball and has taught me quite a few things to improve "my game."  I still can't shoot from the 3 point line (I'm pretty weak), but I probably could if I were willing to invest in the strength training needed.  I'm just . . . not willing.  It's not one of my priorities in life, and that's fine.  If you don't have the time, drive or desire to be a better singer that's your choice, but know that you could improve.  Very few physiological issues are actually going to prevent you from singing.
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2.  Myth: Singing is all about having a good ear.  Having a good ear is very useful when singing, but it's not the only ingredient to vocal success.  As I said above, singing is an athletic activity and sometimes you aren't going to be able to sing something (or sing something healthily without damaging your voice) simply because you haven't trained to do so.  You shouldn't run a race without training and there are a lot of songs you shouldn't sing without training as well.  

Beyond this, some people think that if they don't have a good ear they'll never be able to sing.  But hearing and singing melodies can often be trained.  I've worked with a dozen people who have claimed to be "tone deaf."  Some had a harder time than others, but every single one of them improved enormously after investing the time and energy necessary to develop that skill.  ​​

3. Myth: Children shouldn't take singing lessons.  I addressed this more in depth in this post, but I wanted to mention it here.  Having a good ear is an element to singing and this can be best developed in children.  In much the same why that children generally learn languages more easily than adults, children exposed to musical training while young will pick up musical concepts and develop their ears far more easily than an adult trying to do the same thing.  We all know that person who can speak a foreign language but has an awful, obvious accent.  That can happen with music too.  It doesn't mean the language can't be learned, but children simply do so more naturally.

4.  Myth: Having allergies or being prone to colds means I can't sing.  Yes and no.  I mean, the key concept here is that there is a moist mucosal lining on your vocal chords.  This is what vibrates and creates the buzz tone needed for singing.  You want to keep this warm and wet.  If you're dehydrated--or if you've been taking antihistamines to dry out your sinuses--you may have some difficulty singing.  You can prevent or compensate for these issues by drinking a lot of clear liquids.  There are of course some more severe sicknesses that will prevent you from singing.  

However, most often I find that people's sensory systems rather than the vocal mechanism itself are compromised by allergies or colds.  This means that it feels or sounds weird to sing, but not that they'd be unable to sing, especially if guided by an experienced teacher.  In fact, sometimes singing with a cold can be a blessing--as long as you're hydrated.  It often forces you to sing more correctly and not to rely on faulty monitoring systems.

5.  Myth: Certain foods either help or hinder vocal chords.  You may have heard that honey or lemon will soothe vocal chords while milk will make it so your vocal chords won't work.  This is simply not true.  Foods never actually come into contact with your larynx so any perceived benefit or disadvantage is probably just that: a matter of your perception.  As I said above, singers rely on some sort of sensory feedback and if milk makes you phlegmy that may interfere with how you monitor your singing voice or make you feel uncomfortable.  The phlegm itself won't actually interfere with your vocal chords at all.  

And while honey may ease a sore throat encouraging you to sing with tension, it won't do anything for dried out vocal chords per se.  For that, you need to monitor your fluid intake.   That said, drinking something soothing can ease tension which in turn can be helpful when singing. ​And on a related note, food may interfere with singing if you have a legitimate, serious food allergy.  This should be temporary though, and hopefully easy to avoid.

6.  Myth: I don't need a voice teacher, I can learn to sing on my own.  Much of what you learn as a singer will be done on your own, but without an experienced teacher you're likely to learn bad habits, run around in technique circles, and worse, damage your voice.  Again, I'll come back to the point that singing is an athletic activity.  Do you need a trainer to get fit?  Maybe not.  But are you more likely to injure yourself during an intense workout?  And let's be real, would you really be able to develop a well-balanced workout for yourself with no sort of instruction?  And would you stick with it?  

Singing is a lot about proper body awareness;  in this way it's very much like yoga.  I think that's one of the reasons I love yoga.   I tried to learn yoga from youtube videos at first, which was fine, but I certainly didn't nail down proper technique until I attended yoga classes with a teacher who could correct me personally rather than just trying to mimic what I saw on a screen.

 
And after all of those myths, here's a Truth: The best thing you can do to improve your singing is to get over yourself.  Time and again, the most common issue I run into with students is a hesitancy to try new things or to go "all the way" with some instruction I've given because they're afraid of the sound that will come out of their mouths.  These inhibitions can completely undermine vocal development.  Be willing to try new things and experiment.  Self-consciousness makes people declare that they "can't" sing.  It's easier to believe that you can't sing "period" than that you can't sing now but that you could sing if you really wanted to put the time and effort into it.  It's okay if you don't want to learn to sing--we all have to choose where to put our focus and energy.  And though I really believe singing is something that can benefit both the body and the mind in every individual, you have to choose where your time and attention will go.  But know that you CAN sing.  You really can.