three things I wish i knew before i started singing

Beginning your singing journey is no small feat! Just the thought of singing in a choir with a bunch of other (usually very friendly) people can be absolutely terrifying, let along the decision to find yourself a singing teacher and start working on all different aspects of your voice.

But learning to sing can also be incredibly rewarding. I have been in and out of private singing lessons with various teachers for the last 10 years, and I’ve been singing in groups since I was in grade 5 (Festival of Music, anyone?) In that time, I have learned so much about singing, vocal technique, and how I can get the most out of my voice.

I have also learned a lot of things I wish I had known before I started learning to sing. So, let me share some of that wisdom with you…

ONE: YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR SINGING TEACHER

Now, this might not be mind-blowing, but sometimes we really do need a reminder. Just doing some quick maths in my head, I have had five different private teachers, four online mentors and four different choir trainers over the years, all of whom have taught me something about singing (even if that thing is how not to teach people to sing.)

Does that sound like a lot? I don’t know, but I do know this: I’m just getting started.

Here’s the thing; even though I definitely learned things from every one of those teachers, not all of them were a good fit for me. That’s not to say that they were bad teachers, they just weren’t right for me. Today, if I started working with a teacher that didn’t seem to be helping me improve, I would not stick around for long. But back then? I thought it wasn’t working because I hadn’t practiced hard enough, or worked at it for long enough.

Since I learned a bunch more about how I learn best (give me all the technical science-y knowledge and the exercises to go with it, please and thank you,) it’s far easier for me to find teachers I work well with. But when you’re first starting out, you may not know what teaching style works for you. That’s fine, it’s time to experiment! That’s exactly why most of us offer some kind of introductory lesson or chat so that you can get to know them and see if it’s the right fit. And if you decide I’m not the right teacher for you, but you’re not sure where to go next, reach out! I’ll happily recommend some incredible teachers who have a different approach to teaching. One of them might just be your best fit.

TWO: YOU WILL NEED TO BREAK THE RULES AT SOME POINT

Ever notice that when you learn something like maths, you learn a whole bunch of rules. Then, the very next year, you learn that those rules were actually nonsense and we are going to break them to learn a more advanced concept.

We do that with singing, too. When we begin, we learn some basic rules about how to sing. And then, as we get better, we throw those rules out the window and learn different rules. It sometimes feels like every time we want to reach the next level in our singing, we have to break some rules.

For example, my coach told me just yesterday to stop using a technique I have been using for seven years because it’s now holding me back. This technique got me through an awful lot of songs and vocal challenges. Until yesterday, it was one of the most important techniques I had. Now I have to ditch it in order to reach the next level of my singing.

This can be challenging, especially if you’re technically minded like me, and all your instincts are telling you that you have to do this thing. But, when it works, it’s game-changing. Last time I undid a technique, my singing ability sky-rocketed, so I absolutely cannot wait to see what happens this time around!

Keep this in mind when you’re learning to sing - we approach vocal technique as a set of hard and fast rules, but the reality is that your technique will evolve and adjust with you. It’s okay to break the rules to reach the next level.

THREE: IF IT FEELS GOOD, IT SOUNDS GOOD

Over the years, this has become my number one rule for singing. But it wasn’t always that way.

I spent many, many years doing things that felt terrible because a teacher promised me that this was the “right way” to do it. In every single one of these instances, it turned out to be really bad advice.

From squeezing my stomach muscles when I sing to using my cheeks to lift up my soft palate, I have used (and subsequently taught) many techniques that actually made it harder for me to sing. I don’t blame myself or my past teachers for this - we all teach using the best knowledge we have at the time. Which is why, when I learned that there are no muscles that connect the cheeks to the soft palate (a mind-blowing revelation), I immediately stopped teaching that way.

But you know what? Both of those things kind of sucked. They never felt great, my voice never felt free when I was using them and it just didn’t feel right. Once I had learned alternate techniques, I dropped both of them and poof! Singing felt so much better, and it sounded great.

This is why I will often be asking you about how things feel when we test out new techniques. If we try something that works for me, but it feels terrible for you, it’s probably not the right approach for you and your voice. But if it feels great, it’s going to sound amazing.

Bonus: this means that even if you’re not listening to yourself sing, you can know instinctively how good you sound based on the feeling. You can stop listening to your voice and second guessing every technique and just focus on singing in a way that feels good. Which, believe me, is way more fun!