It can be quite expensive to learn how to sing, which is why I see the question – can you teach yourself to sing, being asked quite a lot.
I know learning how to sing is expensive, because I personally have spent thousands of dollars on teachers and coaching. Some being worth every penny and more, and others causing more problems than providing solutions.
In this article i want to explore this topic further and hopefully provide an answer to the much asked question – can you teach yourself to sing.
Can You Teach Yourself To Sing?
The answer is both yes and no.
For the yes part, it is possible to develop your voice by singing along to your favorite songs, especially when first starting out. This is a good way to get into singing in the first place, especially when you are younger, and this is most likely how most singers start out.
While this is good in getting a start into singing, the biggest problems with this method are as follows:
- There is no focus on building a solid technique which can limit longevity
- The singer does not develop any knowledge of their instrument
- There is no structure to learning so improving can be hit and miss
- Bad habits can easily form that could cause vocal issues down the track
I like to perform and sing songs. This what got me into singing in the first place – the excitement of hitting an awesome high note and hearing the audience applaud appreciatively.
Even though songs are fun to sing and performing can be the end goal, in my opinion, you will need to do more if you want to become a professional/semi-professional singer and have a long career with minimal vocal problems.
This brings us to the ‘no’ part of the answer.
To get the most out of your voice, at some point you will need to find a good teacher or vocal coach.
Now does this mean you will have to invest tens of thousands of dollars?
Not necessarily, as that is up to you, but to get a good grounding in technique and to make sure you are not developing any bad habits, a vocal coach or teacher can be well worth the investment.
As you can see, the answer to the question – can you teach yourself to sing, is not necessarily so cut and dried.
You can start off learning to sing by singing along to your favorite songs, but at some point you should find a good coach or teacher to help with technique so you won’t have any vocal problems such as nodules down the line.
Other than a good vocal teacher/coach or formal study, there are other ways you can learn how to sing, especially if you can’t find a good teacher or coach in your area.
Other Ways To Learn Singing
Now we are in the age of global communication via the internet, geography is no longer a limiting factor to be able to learn how to sing. There are other ways you can learn how to sing without having to teach yourself.
Online Singing Courses
There are many online singing courses available over the internet – I even sell one myself.
They can be a good way to develop a solid foundation to singing technique as they will give you some structure to learning.
The teachers behind these courses can also provide email support and online forums etc, that can help you if you run into problems, so there is a coaching element here as well.
One of the main disadvantages is that there is limited accountability around practicing.
This means you will only get out what you put in and no one is going to keep you honest other than yourself.
Remote Lessons
This style of lesson has become more popular in recent times and can be an add on bonus to online singing courses, or offered as a master class style lesson as well.
These lessons are generally delivered via technology like Skype, and they give you the opportunity for a face to face lesson over great distances.
Summary
So I hope we have answered the question – can you teach yourself to sing in the article.
Even though the answer is not so cut and dried, my personal recommendation would be to seek out a good singing teacher, vocal coach or at a bare minimum a good online singing course so you can develop a solid technique.
And remember, geography is not such a limiting factor anymore with the advent of technology such as Skype etc, so don’t let this stop you.
I hope you have found this article informative and please feel free to leave a comment. I wish you success in all your singing endeavors.
Andy Barnes
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