Do you wanna know the truth about singing?  It’s simple. It’s maybe not what you think.  

If you’ve been taking lessons with me for a while, you’ve probably heard me say this 100 times and guess what, I’m gonna keep saying it:  

Singing is a skill that requires consistency in training and practice.

Eye-rolling?  Hear me out…

Let’s look at the reasons why this truth is so hard for us to digest.

Instantaneous mindset:  We live in an instantaneous world.  If I want tacos, (yum tacos!) I just click on my food ordering app, and my tacos will arrive in under 20 minutes usually.  It baffles me every time.  

Well vocal development isn’t like this.  Improvement usually happens in small increments over longer periods of time.  If we don’t see those small improvements immediately, there is a tendency to get discouraged and sometimes throw in the towel.

The reason why people give up so easily is that we want immediate confirmation that we are either “good” or “not good”.  If that’s the case, then you’re most likely singing for the wrong reasons.  Let’s look at that a bit more…

Either you ‘have it’, or ‘you don’t’ mindset:  Some singers may have grown up in environments that nurtured their musicianship and singing skills from a very young age.  So they have been singing for much longer.  And their skill and expression is way more developed because it was encouraged and celebrated!  So we hear those singers and we think “they really have it”.  Meanwhile we don’t know their history and how long they have been training and practicing for.

If you’ve come to singing later in life, don’t fret.  If your goal is to improve your skill, then keep your focus on the skill building.  You have to learn to shut off that story that tells you either you ‘have it’ or ‘you don’t’.  That story will show up in your training and practice especially when you hear a bad note coming out of your mouth. Yikes!  It’s scary.  But trust me, it’s not the end of the world.  It’s just part of the process.

So how can we move past this?

Cultivate a ‘childlike mindset’ around singing:  

I’ve worked with children and teens over the years, more often than not, they are so free in using their voices.  They aren’t worried whether they are good or not. They are present-moment beings.  Most of the time they are ego-less in their approach to singing.  They just sing and have no problem making sound and using their voices depending on the age of course.

As adults, we rely so heavily on confirmation that we are good.  We want that validation.  We want reassurance.  We’ve built up a lot of walls. We wouldn’t dare sing a wrong note.  

But what would happen if you allowed your 5 year-old self to step forward during your practice and training.  What would happen if your focus was on the task of skill building?  Singing would most likely become way more enjoyable and guess what results would start to happen.

Need a singing reset?   Check out my vocal workouts!