You may have heard the phrase ‘I can’t sing, I’m tone deaf’, you may have even previously said it about yourself. This brings us onto the main point of this post: can anyone learn to sing? 

In short, yes. 

Assuming all is ok with your vocal cords there’s a strong likelihood that you can, with help, sing. It’ll take practise, some professional help and the ability to ignore naysayers but you can do it.

Now let’s talk about being ‘tone deaf’. While it is true that some people out there are unable to pick out differences in pitch and so are unable to carry a tune, also known as Amusia, if you’re able to distinguish high pitches from lower one’s chances are, you’re probably not tone deaf. In actual fact, the majority of people who say they are tone deaf just have an untrained musical ear. 

So, yes, assuming you’re not tone deaf and everything is ok with your vocal cords you can sing, you just haven’t learnt how to use your voice – yet! 

Imagine, you can close your eyes if it helps, your first music lesson learning to play your favourite music instrument. It may feel like you’re at the bottom of a very, very large mountain. You’ll fall down and make mistakes, but you’ll also get up again and learn from them. 

Learning to sing is just like learning a new instrument. A good vocal coach will help to inspire and encourage you while helping you with technique. The biggest hurdle for anyone learning to sing is perhaps the fear of singing in front of people, which you will have to do in a singing lesson. However, the only way to improve is for your vocal coach to first understand where you are. 

Outside of a lesson the most important thing is to practise. Make time for yourself and find some time to sing. In London, this can be tricky, we get it - while you’re learning you may not want others to hear you but the more time you put in the more you’ll improve. It really is as simple as that. 

What’s more, listen to lots of music and, if you have time, learn to play a musical instrument as this can really help you to train your musical ear. 

At City Vocal Coach we offer expert singing tuition from our studio in East London. Our teachers appreciate how daunting singing lessons can be but will help to put you at ease and work with you to help you reach your singing goals, no matter your starting ability. If you’re interested in singing lessons, please get in touch.  

Photo by Bogomil Mihaylov on Unsplash