“I can’t sing,” exclaimed the young girl as her friends tried to drag her onto our stage at the John Henny Music Academy. As a vocal coach I have heard this countless times. My response is usually, “I’m sure your singing voice is just fine, you haven’t learned how to use it yet.”
I showed her a new way to hit the note she was afraid of. Her eyes grew wide as suddenly this new, wonderful sound filled the room. She was now hooked on the joy of singing.
Each one of us has been given an amazing instrument, with uniqueness that is ours alone. Unless there is physical deformity or damage, almost any of us can learn to sing. It just requires finding the right path.
Why You Sound Bad
Do you hate the sound of your voice? It’s probably your mouth – or more correctly, your throat and mouth. These two areas actually take the sound waves your vocal cords make and amplify them, in good or bad ways.
Watch someone who is straining while they sing – they all make the same face. The mouth is open really wide and the muscles in their neck are bulging. This is because they have not learned to use the resonators (or amplifiers) of the throat and mouth correctly.
At The John Henny Music Academy in Glendora, we specialize in training singers to access correct resonance, which will make almost any voice sound great.
Singing In Tune
Another common problem for those who think they can’t sing is not being able to sing in tune. This is because the muscles of your vocal cords act in a rather unique way.
We don’t control the little muscles in our vocal cords the same way we can wiggle our toes and fingers.
These muscles are controlled indirectly. In other words, when trying to match a pitch you don’t have conscious awareness of all the muscles that control the vocal cords. You actually need to think pitch and then the cords will adjust.
This muscle memory can be built through specific vocal exercises. It comes easier to some, but we can all learn to do it.
Your Voice is Just Too Awesome!
Believe it or not, we never get to hear some of the biggest singing voices. This is because those who are blessed with these amazing instruments find it harder to learn to sing and give up.
Even Pavarotti struggled with learning singing. He almost gave up and became an insurance salesman. Can you imagine the loss to the musical world?!
It takes vocal coaches with great skill to bring out these special voices and to protect them from damage. Though it takes more dedication from the singer, the results are well worth it.
If you’d like to get started with singing lessons, schedule your free consultation.