As a vocal coach, one thing that really makes me laugh are the myths associated with becoming a good singer. Most people will find ‘reasons’ for why YOU could never become a great singer. Ironically, it’s the same people who have no desire to become singers.

Go figure.

I’m going to list these ‘so called’ reasons here and then explain why they simply aren’t true.

Are you ready?

You Need To Have A Musical Background

Wrong. You don’t need to have a musical background to become a great singer. Half of today’s commercial singers didn’t start out playing ANY kind of instrument nor did they have musical parents or family.

Through doing a series of vocal exercises, using correct singing technique and singing on a daily basis, they managed to learn a skill which allowed them to then show off their vocal abilities.

You need to be gifted from an early age

No you don’t. This is false. No doubt, it does help you in your ability to pick up good vocal technique in your childhood (providing you have a good guidelines or teachers to follow) …but there are plenty of great singers who didn’t have the advantage of singing in their childhood or in their teens.

This is simply yet another myth to try and talk you out of learning. It’s actually more of an excuse for not doing it.

You Need A Big Vocal Range

Ah, this one always makes me cringe. For some reason, ever since Mariah Carey exploded onto the music scene in 1990, folks from all over the world considered a ‘good singer’ to be one with a huge vocal range. Perhaps this is because Mariah’s vocal range is around 5 -6 octaves and all aspiring singers now thought that they had to have the same, otherwise they were doomed from the very start.

Well, of course this is a fallacy. It’s not true at all. Most (and I do mean MOST) singers have around 3 octaves to their name. Some even have 2 and a half.

But vocal range isn’t the point. It really isn’t.

It’s the least thing that anybody should be worried about. There are far more important things to improve …like breathing, your diaphragm and so on.

You Have To Have A Beautiful Sounding Voice

Again, this is something that’s proved to be wrong time and time again. Just listen to Bob Dylan …he doesn’t exactly have the best sounding voice in the world, does he? Sure, he has written some great songs, but as for the TONE of his voice, it’s pretty average.

So why is it that he’s had such a brilliant carer in music? For one, he has great songs – no doubt about it. But second, his vocal delivery is excellent. The way he translates his feelings with his voice is a huge part of what is so magical about him.

Think about that for a second. Somebody with an average sounding vocal tone can sing a song so beautifully, that it makes people from all over the world reach into their wallets and swap their hard earned cash for a ‘slice’ of that artist.

Amazing.

So you see, anybody who has the right training and who does their practicing can learn how to become a singer.

Shamir