Once upon a time as a singer you were ‘indentured’ that is to say you were apprenticed to a Master Teacher, The Maestro (usually after an arduous audition). Quite often you lived with the teacher and most likely exchanged chores for tuition. It was quite common that you would only do vocal exercises, breathing techniques etc for many months until you developed enough skills to actually study and sing the repertoire of the day.
Thank goodness those days are over…
Today you can open your device and access thousands of backing tracks on Youtube and a number of other platforms. So with all that is available when should you start singing songs? In 40 years of teaching singing I can only recall 2 clients who claimed that they had NEVER sung a song unless they were singing along to the radio etc, and 1 client who claimed he hadn’t even done that..hard to contemplate.
I am of the opinion that you should, in fact MUST commence singing songs as soon as you can. I have laid down a few guidelines following:
- You need to sing songs that you feel comfortable with. If you have very little musical experience you will go a lot further ( and enjoy it more) if the song is dead easy. One such song that I use on occasions is ‘Little Help From My Friends’ by the Beatles. NB ( verse and chorus only, NOT the ‘Do You Need Anybody’ part). This song was written for the drummer Ringo who had a nice sound but a limited range. The entire song only has 5 notes in it and can be handled easily by most beginners
- Try what I call ‘Safety In Numbers’. Singing in a choir, church or vocal group etc where you can develop your confidence
- Enlist the help of a good vocal coach who can fast track you to songs and provide techniques that will help you grow and build your voice and musical skills
- Be sure to warm up sensibly and stay well hydrated. Your voice is a group of muscles and once you coordination increases, so to will your voice
- Be patient, get the right song/s and the best advice and you will be zooming along in no time
Enlist the help of a good vocal coach who can fast track you to songs and provide techniques that will help you grow and build your voice and musical skills
