The title of this post is also the title of a post over at the Reddit singing forum, and it does come up from time to time. Being one such person, I’ll try to “cover all the bases” on the subject. First, of course it’s possible, since most people can sing on a basic level with more or less no knowledge or understanding (according to some researchers). Most aspiring singers want to go beyond that stage (often far too quickly), though. The key question seems to be, how does one go about doing this? There isn’t one answer to this question, but I will share my experiences, beginning five years ago.
Before that time (when I decided to try and figure out how to sing on a more complicated level), I had tried singing in a “garage band” in the 1980s, then sung some falsetto along to opera singers while driving to work around 1990, and tried to mimic a line or two from a song in modal voice on rare occasion (with mixed “success”). I did have “cord closure” by 2015, due to having had to “speak up” while giving lectures. What I learned first back in 2015 was the importance of breath support, and one video I watched on Youtube on this subject helped me out considerably (I looked for it a couple years ago but it was gone, apparently). This allowed me to sing in my tessitura, which is low, and I worked on that for a couple years, as I was interested in trying out different songs and listening to what other singers were doing.
However, at some point around that time it was clear that my low voice wasn’t appealing to most people (I learned that by playing recordings to them). I didn’t know about “EQing” my recordings to remove the “muddy low end,” but even if I had done that, I doubt it would be much more appealing. Here’s an example of the kind of singing I found most comfortable to do back then:
However, though I found it difficult at first, I worked on developing a voice for Led Zeppelin songs, and that led to a “mixed voice” that I found worked well for Blues and Blues/Rock, which are my preferred genres. Here’s an example of where I’m at with that, sung a couple days ago (the karaoke track I used caused me problems when I mixed them so it does sound to me like they are out of sync):
But back to learning to sing by yourself. Having a specific goal can be very helpful, but you also have to consider which approach you want adopt, which I explain here:
https://learningtosing.wordpress.com/2020/03/17/what-is-singing-what-is-the-best-way-to-learn/
So, you might start off trying out the “low larynx” approach but then decide you don’t like it for some reason, then switch over to the “high larynx” approach. Either way, you have to understand at least one of these approaches or else you are essentially hoping to stumble into it, so to speak, and that’s generally not a good idea in any endeavor. You can watch videos or read books/blogs on the subject, but it probably won’t “take hold” in your mind for a while. And from what I’ve seen, most “voice coaches” don’t want to try and explain it to you, because they want you to keep coming back to them (they want to be your singing guru or something along those lines). It’s also possible most don’t even understand and are just doing what their teachers did when they tried to learn how to sing (and possibly failed).
I would suggest not trying to use genre affectations until after you develop a consistent, fundamentally-sound technique, and as I’ve said before, phrasing and overall musicality are difficult to teach (I’ve recommended taking acting lessons for those who do have such difficulties). However, you can study singers in the genre that interests you, because developing your “ear” is very important if not crucial. And on that note, you can also learn some basic audio editing to help with this. It also gives you an idea of what you can do to make your voice sound more “professional,” so that you don’t try to sing in a way that is not humanly possible (as many do who try to emulate studio recordings). As I’ve said in previous posts, I’n now using the Samson Go USB mic and free Audacity software (if you want a free assessment, though, please use your smart phone’s basic recording app because that is what I am used to hearing when I do the assessments).
There are some good books you can read, though you are not going to understand everything that is said, unless you read the book over and over again until you do. Two that I found very helpful were “Great Singers on Great Singing” ‘by Hines and “The Great American Popular Singers” by Pleasants. Also, don’t assume everything you read in such books is accurate or applies to you. The idea is to get a sense of how “pro” singers think. The concept of “placement” is especially interesting, and I think of that in terms of singing a bit higher than feels entirely comfortable these days. I am “placing” it in a higher key but losing some tone and maneuverability. However, it might sound better after I use Audacity to “clean it up.”
Time is crucial; do not try to rush things! Learning the “pure” vowels, crucial for “low larynx” singing, takes week or months, for example. Too many seem to think they can quickly learn to sing in a near professional way if they just learn a few “tricks” that a voice coach claims to know. After doing a lot of study, research, practice, etc. (just make sure you don’t strain while trying to learn on your own), you then might want to take advantage of the free assessments or initial lessons that many voice coaches offer. That will provide you with feedback, and you can also get feedback on forums such as the one at Reddit. And it’s often crucial to step back at times, when you feel “stuck in a rut,” and try to figure out what the problem is. If you can figure it out on your own (or with some advice, such as at the Reddit forum), you don’t only solve the problem, but you become a better problem-solver in general (and it’s very common for “great” singers to find themselves in need of help at times).
What I often encounter are aspiring singers who want advice, but don’t seem to want to do what is necessary to solve the problem they are having. They ask for help but then they don’t follow up with advice they are given. For example, it’s common for beginners to sing in a weak and flat way, so I have told them to try and “push” their singing just a little bit (again, avoiding as sense of strain), record the result, and let me hear it. I’d say nine out of ten times I never hear from them again. If you can’t even follow up on something that might be a “quick fix,” I don’t think you have the temperament to be a singer. My sense is that successful singers tend to be perseverant and highly motivated. They don’t care if someone tells them they are bad singers, because they know what their goals are and they intend to keep working hard (but intelligently) to get there. Moreover, they may know that a “raw” or “dry” recording is now what most people are used to hearing, and they might call such recordings of their favorite singers “bad” if they heard the unprocessed track!
NOTE: As of this date I am still offering a free first lesson/assessment with absolutely no obligation of any kind. Just email me: nickspinner55@gmail.com. Also, I won’t give your personal information to anyone else. I might reference your singing on some blog posts if you provide me with audio clips, so let me know if you don’t want me to do that, but remember that the idea is to help aspiring singers! If you have publicly posted on sites like Youtube or Soundcloud, I’ll assume it’s okay to link to those in my blog post. I can’t guarantee that there is room for you in my schedule at any given time, and the earliest I can schedule new lessons will be some time in July, 2020, but I should be able to provide you with some advice that might be helpful, after getting a sense of where you’re at.
Learning to sing (with microphones) 