How to discover your voice: WHY DON'T MORE PEOPLE SING?

Do YOU love to sing? But believe that you can't? Or, can't sing well?!

I would like to invite you to continue reading, to find out the 3 main elements, that I believe, when addressed, are the key to unlocking the answer to

Bob Roach's question, (the Founder of 'Megalomaniacs Without Borders),

"Why don't more people sing?"

1/ PITCH

MYTH - The ability to stay in tune, or hold pitch is usually the NO. 1 element we judge a good or bad singer by.

MYTH BUSTED - According to Sean Hutchins, of Conservatory of Music, Toronto, only 2% of the population have a 'pitch perception deficit'.

As vocal science suggests and my teaching experience says, to gain pitch control largely comes down 'motor control'. Meaning,

Is the pitch you hear, the same as the pitches your voice is creating?

Or in other words, is what you are intending to do, actually happening?

The body needs to learn the coordination, and develop 'muscle memory' , of the physical processes involved to control pitch.

Is this possible? Absolutely.

I have a student , who started lessons recently, because she believed she "cannot hold a tune".

By her 2nd voice lesson, we had a process in place to help her link the pitch being played to the sound she was making. And with excitement she said, "I have never been able to do this before".

2/ PHYSICAL MAKE-UP

MYTH - To be a good singer, you have to be a natural, right?! Singing is just something you are born with.

MYTH BUSTED - The Second element that plays an important role in what we sound like, that perhaps we don't know is a contributor, is our natural 'physical make-up'. Eg the shapes and sizes of our vocal folds, pharynx, nasal cavities etc all vary.

One of the beautiful things about voice, is that it is a human instrument. No two people are the same, hence, no two voices shall sound the same. To play it well, means understanding and embracing what God has given you.

With training, you can learn how to use your body to create and develop a sound you would like.

My voice was always a very "soft, sweet" sounding voice. As I learnt about good breath support, placement and resonance, my voice became much stronger and is now quite rich in tone and has a pleasant timbre (that even I am happy to listen too).

3/ BRAIN

MYTH - "I sound terrible. I hate my voice".

MYTH BUSTED - Reality check.

This third element, from my experience, is the most influential part in singing well. What you believe about your voice, is going to play a significant part in how you sound. When internal dialogue is negative, the consequences become a self fulfilling prophecy.

It's not that you have to "lie" to yourself, eg "I am a fantastic singer" or " I love the sound of my own voice", when reality is that we are singing flat, or the tone is nasal etc. However, just like when you were young, with the right instruction, and with patience, practise and perseverance, anything is possible.

As Sean Huthchins says, “The psychology involved can make a very big difference. I've given talks where a number of people have come up to me afterwards and said that a teacher had told them they didn’t have any musical ability when they were young and they should just mouth the words in the school choir. And that just made them think, why bother to try. Which is tragic really, as trying is the only way you’re going to improve the skills you have.”