By Diana Drew |  Jan 19, 2016  | tagged " Singing Classes, Singing Tips "

Singing is a part of almost every culture in the world; from the tribes of Africa to the monks in Tibet. It allows us to communicate over great distances and share thoughts, feelings and words of great importance. There is so much that can be done through singing, and music in general, that it is truly amazing. Moreover, in today’s society, someone who sings can bring great joy, express immense pain, and show support for many different, significant causes -- some of which may be the catalyst for ‘great change in the world’. 

When an individual sings well (in tune, with genuine emotional expression and a pleasurable tone) people want to listen to this type of pleasant, confident and inviting communication. The truth is that with proper lessons, almost anyone can sing and with great success. Singing can help open up the breathing and respiratory passages, train dormant muscles to work at their maximum power, enhance one’s mood, lift the spirits and ultimately increase a person’s self-esteem.

Some Tibetan monks have learned what is called “overtone singing” where they activate the overtones in their voices, singing three notes simultaneously. Thus, each singer individually creates a complete chord. They learn to control the muscles of the vocal cavity and re-shape it while singing, thus intensifying the natural overtones of the voice. In effect, the body is transformed into an effective overtone amplifier. This exercise and practice helps teach focus, patience, and perseverance. Yet, this leaves the question - how can someone learn to do any of this? The answer is: ‘Singing Lessons’.

Singing lessons can bring an individual roughly the same benefits of the Tibetan monk. With the proper lessons and positive encouragement, a person can develop more self-confidence. For someone who enjoys singing, lessons will show them the proper techniques to make real significant strides in their singing, save them valuable time, and maybe make some kind of career out of something they really enjoy doing. The better we learn to sing, the more we can enjoy an emotional freedom that others can appreciate when they hear the beautiful results. With these types of lessons, an individual will be able to share their emotions more powerfully and effectively. Singing can bring people to tears when a singer learns to connect with the depths of their soul and allow their real feeling to show in their singing. Their true life experiences and personality then are free so the listener can hear the unique vocal qualities of the individual. Copying other singers will not achieve these results.

The benefits of singing lessons are astonishing! However, the greatest levels of singing cannot be self-taught. Einstein’s famous quote comes to mind: "The world we have made, as a result of the level of thinking we have done thus far, creates problems we cannot solve at the same level of thinking at which we created them." In relation to singing, we cannot solve our own vocal issues with the same mind that created them. We cannot even hear ourselves accurately the way someone else can hear us. When that someone is highly trained, they definitely hear what we cannot. A great singing teacher can help us achieve the greatest success in singing by saving us time and getting right to the centre of the issues, giving us ways of working the voice that we could never have come up with on our own.

And it is not something that can just be learned from reading a book – a book won’t demonstrate correct breath control, vocal projection, show ‘how’ to use the diaphragm muscles correctly, nor will it vocalize the tensions out of the voice for you. Ultimately a book cannot ‘show’ you how to completely ‘free the voice’. If you want to learn the proper way to advance your talent, become a much better vocalist, and enjoy singing at a much higher level; the only option is to allow someone the opportunity to teach you how.

Not only can a singing teacher make you a better singer, but singing can also bring you into a whole new world of success, adventure, joy, greater self-awareness and noticeable inner confidence.

Vocal improvement can show up in many other areas of life as well: presentations, business meetings, sales, important phone conversations, public speaking of all kinds, acting and, of course, singing in front of any size audience. The more effectively we learn to use the voice, the more the ‘Power of the Voice’ can help us achieve the confidence we need to succeed in all areas of our lives.